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I noted in a recent edition of the Edmonton Journal that our minister of Health is “pleased by the progress made under Dr. Cowell’s leadership in the immediate areas of action he was tasked with. We already have tangible results that Albertans can see.”
In the six months sinceDr. Cowell has been in charge, my family physician has left his practice and there are no doctors in our community who are accepting new patients. I have spent considerable effort trying to find a family physician without
success. This past week, I took a person who was experiencing a lot of pain to an emergency at the local hospital. The wait period for her to be treated was totally unacceptable. I have not seen tangible results of improvements in health care in my community.
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EJ Miller, Leduc
Too little revenue set aside for future
UCP Finance Minister Nate Horner announced a $11.6-billion surplus for 2022/2023. How much of this is being put aside for future generations of Albertans? Not much.
The Alberta Savings Trust Fund was established in 1976; by 1985, the fund had a market value of $14.4 billion ($35.7 billion in 2022 dollars). The value of the funds in 2022 had a balance of $20 billion. In real terms, this represents a 44-per-cent reduction. Where has all the resource revenue gone? Governments have been in a spending fever aligned with lower taxes. Governments since 1985 have failed to be proper custodians of the vast resource revenues generated in the province. For 33 of the 37 years, Albertans have been governed by the Conservative/UCP party. Need I say more?
Charles Hitschfeld, Edmonton
Canada Day a time to remember our past
Re. “For some, July 1 was once called Humiliation Day,” Opinion, June 29
Teresa Woo-Paw’s opinion reminds us that, 100 years ago, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923 prevented Chinese immigrants from entering Canada. Readers may also wish to read “Being Chinese in Canada” by William Ging Wee Dere, available in the Edmonton Public Library. The book provides a fuller description of the barriers faced by him and others whose families could not reunite in Canada until Parliament repudiated the act in 1947.
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After 1903, Chinese men immigrating to Canada paid a “head tax” of $500, an exorbitant cost not required of other groups. Opportunities for work were limited and many came to work in restaurants or laundries (as did his father). July 1 is an important opportunity to reflect on Canada’s heritage.
Ian MacDonald, Edmonton
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