Quote:
Originally Posted by b1crunch
Not that I'm looking to move right now but my wife and I have had conversations with where this province is going. We're not thinking ideologically, but practically. I'm a teacher and I have had a kidney transplant and rely heavily on the health system on a very regular basis. I'm less concerned about my job as a teacher and more concerned about my ability to access the health system as I have been for the last 15 years. Smith has said some very interesting/frightening things about both health and education. Regardless, I'm worried.
However, the bigger issue is my wife's career. She works for the RCMP in the forensics lab, in a highly specialized role. There are only 3 RCMP forensics labs in the country. One in Alberta, one in Vancouver and one in Ottawa. Both the Edmonton and Calgary Police use the Alberta RCMP lab for their work as well. Our concern is the UCP's stance on creating a provincial police force, and the negative impact that would have on my wife's job. There aren't a ton of other forensics options in this country. So we've been discussing what we'd do if the province decided to create its own force (and likely own forensics lab). This could be devastating for her career, and we'd likely be looking at moving to either Vancouver or Ottawa. I'd really rather not, but you never know. Right now we are discussing whether to wait and see what the province does (and she potentially loses her job) or whether she should start applying on openings in Vancouver/Ottawa soonish.
It's frustrating because it's creating a ton of uncertainty. I think that's the biggest issue I'm having with the UCP (and now Smith) is the uncertainty. What will they do and what impact will it have? Do we wait until it's created a negative experience for us or do we move on before? What if my wife loses her job and there aren't any openings at other labs at that time? It's not necessarily easy to get her job, and it took her a long time to get where she is.
I guess, the point is that people have lots of reasons why a government or government policy might make them want to move. And the UCP/Smith can 100% make decisions that impact a person's day-to-day life. It's easy to discount someone else because you can't see how these things would impact your own life.
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My wife and I considered moving back to Ontario near our family, and decided not to because the healthcare is so much better in Alberta. Only a small percentage of people in my hometown in Ontario have doctors. A while back a new doctor came into our town and they had a lottery to see who would get him. One summer we had to go to the emergency at a nearby hospital, and it was like a war zone. They had turned off the air conditioner in the waiting room to save money, and people were sitting there sweating with the high heat and humidity.
If we get our own police force, why would we get rid of the crime lab? I realize change can be unsettling, but this province is so bent on attracting talent, that she should probably have no trouble getting a job. Anyway, I believe we should have as much control over our police force as Ontario and Quebec.
In my opinion there will be just as much uncertainty, if not more, with an NDP government. Their tendency to raise the debt and personal taxes, and be influenced by the federal party, are a few things to consider. In the last 50 years I have seen how disastrous NDP premiers can be. Their failing seems to be primarily related to financial matters. However, I have to say that Rachel is probably the best of the bunch.