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Regional: Meeting of the minds
Commentary by Jeff Burgar
for South Peace News
Alberta Progressive Conservative party members just had a big convention. A number of people from this area attended.
Some went because they are loyal PCs. They have to be there.
Some were there because they hope to influence by seeing, and being seen.
There are big issues facing our constituency of Lesser Slave Lake. As times change, the issues have also changed.
But because we are such a big part of Alberta, some things should always be on the radar.
For instance, roads aren’t getting the attention they used to get. Once upon a time, Lesser Slave Lake had among the largest road building budgets of any constituency. Over the years, that’s faded. That fading may yet prove to be an economic disaster for the west end of Lesser Slave.
As the heavy oil industry develops, the lack of a road network into the resource rich areas means the oilpatch is served by Peace River and Slave Lake, not from High Prairie. It’s only with the new Seal Lake road that potentially an energy service industry can develop, even if it did take six years to get the road built.
What of the North Shore of Lesser Slave Lake itself? Our politicians should be looking five, 10 and 20 years into the future. What will industry and business need then, not just in terms of roads, but everything?
Any discussion has to ask, what the heck is happening with medical services? Rural Alberta hospitals continue to see reduce services. Provincial advisory committee after advisory committee is trotted out, supposedly to let “government” know the best way to “deliver” services.
The best way is simple - send everybody to one hospital in the middle of Alberta. That one hospital will have all the experts, nurses, doctors, beds, equipment anybody could want, all under one roof. All the public has to do is get there!
Perhaps that slight problem will be solved by air ambulance, STARS, or even emergency Greyhound.
Maybe one hospital sounds good in theory. In practice, perhaps four or five “super hospitals” will be the order of the day. Since money seems so important, travel is your problem.
If you can’t get to one of Alberta's super hospitals for routine care like dialysis, birth, chemo, scans, just like today, too bad for you. You should know you have to live in a big city if you want health services.
This isn’t why the people of Alberta voted Progressive Conservative. Not one candidate in the last election, or even today, stands up and says, “We are going to destroy health services in your community.”
Look out the window, dear friends, and see what’s happening.
Do you think our policy makers are coming out of the PC convention with a wiser attitude? They better.
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