Letter of November 19, 2022

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Smith’s Health Account Plans ‘Zombies’ From The Past

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Re: Smith’s Health Plan Is Bad for the Sick and Bad, Nov 17

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The concept of delegation can become a zombie, lurking but lifeless. This is Prime Minister Smith’s “Personal Health Savings Account.”

This was revealed in the 2002 Mazankovsky Report under the title “Medical Savings Accounts”. Each Albertan has an annual account that is used for medical expenses. Each individual can withdraw their balance for specific personal reasons if it is underutilized. Benefits for those who didn’t need medical services anyway. Wrong recipient!

Those with the greatest need for health care are the very young, the very old, the seriously injured, and those with chronic illnesses. Each easily exhausts their annual allotment. Either way, this group will use medical services and the balance paid to healthy people will only be an additional cost to the system. Don’t let this zombie respawn!

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Ralph Coombs, Calgary

Wage increases are only half the solution

Re: living wage November 17, on the rise as household expenses rise

Declaring a minimum wage for a modest life makes no sense without benefits for workers. At the facility where I live, employees are paid close to the wages offered, but if an employee says she is sick for a day, they are not paid. In many cases, they need every dollar to pay rent, childcare, etc.

Wages without benefits equal poverty.

Larry McKillop, Nanton

More Questions from Inquiries

Re: Lack of confidence in the police in convoys L.Wookie Say; November 16th, RCMP chief speaks out about ‘impatience’ from politicians

Investigations into the activation of the emergency law point to numerous culprits, but I believe the RCMP Commissioner bears much of the blame for the fiasco. , perhaps Brenda Lackey thought that moving to Ottawa for a top job meant she was now destined to be a politician.

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Having never worked at RCMP headquarters, she may have been unaware of how strong the political pressure is. Judging from taped phone calls to her colleagues and her subordinates, Ms. Lucky may have been disproportionately influenced by her political leaders.

Another problem is that the federal government is overly enthusiastic about affirmative action. Did that outweigh the expertise and experience in the case of Ms. Lucki’s appointment? Judging by the call out, I have my doubts. She may still be proving that she was a victim of her own gender.

Nancy Marley Clarke, Calgary

Join the community that drives responsible climate planning

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Notley preempts Smith’s all-important procrastination

Many of us, during Daniel Smith’s leadership of the UCP, chose selectively some of her tougher public positions on the strategic scope of policy to achieve two goals. I personally tried to convince Daniel Smith of the importance of softening the Attract a large voting bloc of urban/rural moderate Albertans to the UCP tent well before the general election. And to switch early to a more moderate approach before it’s seen as just a desperate voting ploy.