Saturday, October 22, 2022

Saturday's letters: 
Health-care restructuring never ends

Edmonton Journal -

I worked at a hospital in Edmonton for 16 years in the early 1990s. I was working when the Klein government proceeded with aggressive cuts to AHS, which resulted in a lot of layoffs and reduced availability of hospital beds. There have been many major upheavals in the AHS system, primarily in 2004 and again in 2008, at which time the regional boards became our current AHS system.


Demonstrators protest during the Rally to Support Public Healthcare organized by Protect our Province Alberta at the Alberta legislature in Edmonton on Wednesday, April 6, 2022.
© Provided by Edmonton Journal

There have also been expensive reviews done. In 2019, Ernst and Young was hired, at a cost of $2 million, to review AHS. Their report was released in February 2020, with 57 recommendations and 72 money-saving opportunities presented to our government, very few of which were acted upon.

I am not sure how many reviews and upheavals of AHS we taxpayers have to go through. Every time a new premier is installed, another restructuring seems to occur. Perhaps it is time for premiers, like Danielle Smith, to quit messing around with major restructuring ideas without considering prior reviews and recommendations already paid for.

I agree our health-care system is in trouble but I would like to know what her specific plan is and if she is listening at all to anyone else’s advice other than the power-hungry ideas in her own head.

Carol Alexander, Edmonton

Albertans didn’t vote for Smith’s changes


Premier Danielle Smith, regarding your upcoming changes to be made, you are quoted as saying, “be patient and gentle with us because we know that we have to do this for Albertans.” Premier Smith, you do realize, I hope, that you were not elected by the people of Alberta. You were voted in to be leader of the UCP, not voted in by Albertans. Tread carefully.

H.H. Kohel, St. Albert

Premier subscribes to conspiracy theories

We shouldn’t even have to be talking about taking responsibility or apologies. Those are her true colours and beliefs. She said she had to do her research to find the true information. Really, are you kidding me? We’re not ignorant. She’s trying to hide her true beliefs now that she’s been caught.

Bottom line, she’s a conspiracy theorist. The Ukrainian community should not waste a minute of time explaining things to her. This is who she is; you can take the horse to water but you can’t make him drink. What’s next with her? We should not be discussing any of this with any leader in Canada. Scary and shameless that a leader follows the dark web.

J.T. Syrnyk, Edmonton

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