Alberta Politics & Government Thread 3.0

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by KelVarnsen

Lip balm is serious business

Ummm, balms have fragrances. Mine is fragrance free.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by SebC

But actually, it won't help "much". So it will help. And it won't save money because we're not going to deal with the supply crunch, but if we were to match supply to demand then it would. Economists understand that firing judges and reducing the need to hire more judges are both a reduction of tax spending on judge salaries from what they would otherwise be. If it instead reduces queues then it's an equivalent gain, but in the long run supply will have to exceed demand or the queue will become infinite.

Fookin' lawyers. You're picking at things that don't actually matter. The spirit of what I said was correct. Which you probably know, but you're more concerned with being right than being fair. This is why nobody likes you.

Not as far as judges go it isn't. It won't save a dime in taxes, and it will make no appreciable difference in wait times or lineups at the courthouse. Personal injury files take almost zero court time.

[malcolmk14]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Ummm, balms have fragrances. Mine is fragrance free.

Can confirm. Scentsless.

[KelVarnsen]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Ummm, balms have fragrances. Mine is fragrance free.

I don’t know how to reply to this

[Slava]

I didn’t see if they actually announced the insurance reforms yesterday (I thought they were supposed to?). Seriously though, have they announced a single plan that’s actually improved or going to improve anything? I don’t even think it’s political at this point. It’s just sheer and utter incompetence.

And to think, oil has been in good shape, the economy is fine, and these guys can’t balance the budget. Every sector is crying for money, and it must being spent somewhere, but where? I’m pretty sure if I was Nenshi and the NDP my platform would be basically that. None of the public sector has gotten the money they need, but the budget is a mess…what in the world is going on?

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Slava

I didn’t see if they actually announced the insurance reforms yesterday (I thought they were supposed to?). Seriously though, have they announced a single plan that’s actually improved or going to improve anything? I don’t even think it’s political at this point. It’s just sheer and utter incompetence.

And to think, oil has been in good shape, the economy is fine, and these guys can’t balance the budget. Every sector is crying for money, and it must being spent somewhere, but where? I’m pretty sure if I was Nenshi and the NDP my platform would be basically that. None of the public sector has gotten the money they need, but the budget is a mess…what in the world is going on?

Exactly what they plan. Starve services of dollars, claim on only the private sector can help as you offload responsibilities to them and municipalities, then cut taxes because what does the government need that much money for?


At this point I'm kinda surprised anyone is this confused.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Exactly what they plan. Starve services of dollars, claim on only the private sector can help as you offload responsibilities to them and municipalities, then cut taxes because what does the government need that much money for?


At this point I'm kinda surprised anyone is this confused.

I'm only confused because they're still spending money on...something. I can understand that you spend nothing on anything and balance the budget. So, where is all the money going?

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Slava

I'm only confused because they're still spending money on...something. I can understand that you spend nothing on anything and balance the budget. So, where is all the money going?

Presumably tearing down the provincial health agency into 4 pieces and 7 regions has created a lot of expensive work. Staffing up the Alberta Sheriffs to takeover the RCMP probably isn't cheap. They've also decided to fund the building of private schools. And lets not forget all the Conservative consultants who need to get their cut. Preston Manning has probably received more taxpayer dollars in the past few years than many of us will ever earn in our lives, but I'm sure it's worth it. And we've got to fund oil well cleanups. Money for the arena, and oh ya, more consultants to come up with a green line plan that was rejected a decade ago. Then there's the Sturgeon refinery expenses, and all the CCUS stuff that I am sure we are paying for, and isn't cheap.

[Fuzz]

And for a less facetious response, you can check out the parts they want you to know about, here:
https://www.alberta.ca/budget-highlights


and the full budget:
https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/23c8...an-2024-27.pdf

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

And for a less facetious response, you can check out the parts they want you to know about, here:
https://www.alberta.ca/budget-highlights


and the full budget:
https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/23c8...an-2024-27.pdf

Thanks (genuinely!), but I honestly can't be bothered to go through all that. There was a time when I would, and I would've picked it apart. I just plain hate them, and it's not going to change my mind, so I'll just complain!

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by KelVarnsen

I don’t know how to reply to this

You're playing it wrong. If you express surprise and interest there's a chance he'll hook you up with a sample. That's how Malcolm played it and now he's rocking the samples into the dry season.

[Cappy]

Originally Posted by Slava

I didn’t see if they actually announced the insurance reforms yesterday (I thought they were supposed to?). Seriously though, have they announced a single plan that’s actually improved or going to improve anything? I don’t even think it’s political at this point. It’s just sheer and utter incompetence.

And to think, oil has been in good shape, the economy is fine, and these guys can’t balance the budget. Every sector is crying for money, and it must being spent somewhere, but where? I’m pretty sure if I was Nenshi and the NDP my platform would be basically that. None of the public sector has gotten the money they need, but the budget is a mess…what in the world is going on?

They did announce it yesterday with a pretty crap presser and slide show:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...stem-1.7390247

Glossed over a lot of the main points while promising a care-first model run by private-insurance companies who for some reason will have our interests at heart.

There were some inferences drawn about declining profits and that the implementation of this was to cover for increased property claims (Jasper, Fort Mac, Hail storms) which is hilarious.

The system appears to be similar to WCB model (it's actually the Sask model) run by private companies. injury payouts are on a schedule; long-term care is promised but unknown. you can potentially sue for "pain and suffering" if the driver is convicted of an offence like dangerous driving.

It's a convoluted mess which will inherently leave injured parties worse off, frustrated, and will allow for no accountability or promises from insurers to limit rate hikes.

It's a big win for insurance companies; an absolute unknown for insurance payers; and a huge loss for injured.

I stand by my long-standing statement that every big announcement this government has made has been absolute trash.

[TheIronMaiden]

Private insurance companies make nothing better.

[The Fisher Account]

Every big announcement this province makes is a really a press conference to alert their donors that their plans are being followed

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by Cappy

They did announce it yesterday with a pretty crap presser and slide show:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...stem-1.7390247

Glossed over a lot of the main points while promising a care-first model run by private-insurance companies who for some reason will have our interests at heart.

There were some inferences drawn about declining profits and that the implementation of this was to cover for increased property claims (Jasper, Fort Mac, Hail storms) which is hilarious.

The system appears to be similar to WCB model (it's actually the Sask model) run by private companies. injury payouts are on a schedule; long-term care is promised but unknown. you can potentially sue for "pain and suffering" if the driver is convicted of an offence like dangerous driving.

It's a convoluted mess which will inherently leave injured parties worse off, frustrated, and will allow for no accountability or promises from insurers to limit rate hikes.

It's a big win for insurance companies; an absolute unknown for insurance payers; and a huge loss for injured.

I stand by my long-standing statement that every big announcement this government has made has been absolute trash.

Don’t shoot the messenger here and I absolutely hate insurance and how it all works but from what I understand there were a lot of threats and or comments a few months ago about how Alberta was an uninsurable jurisdiction or turning into it or something. So I suspect that underlying this move was a lot of pressure on the UCP to lift caps so they could “be competitive”.

CBC radio had a big chat about this a couple months ago.

Really tough to know what to believe on this one but with the UCP track record it’s probably the wrong move lol

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Cappy

They did announce it yesterday with a pretty crap presser and slide show:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...stem-1.7390247

Glossed over a lot of the main points while promising a care-first model run by private-insurance companies who for some reason will have our interests at heart.

There were some inferences drawn about declining profits and that the implementation of this was to cover for increased property claims (Jasper, Fort Mac, Hail storms) which is hilarious.

The system appears to be similar to WCB model (it's actually the Sask model) run by private companies. injury payouts are on a schedule; long-term care is promised but unknown. you can potentially sue for "pain and suffering" if the driver is convicted of an offence like dangerous driving.

It's a convoluted mess which will inherently leave injured parties worse off, frustrated, and will allow for no accountability or promises from insurers to limit rate hikes.

It's a big win for insurance companies; an absolute unknown for insurance payers; and a huge loss for injured.

I stand by my long-standing statement that every big announcement this government has made has been absolute trash.

Yeah, its the worst of every possible world. If you have no fault, you need a public insurer. Which, of course is soshulism. No fault and private insurers is a recipe for bad faith denials, crammed down lowball payout and no watchdog. I don't much like PI lawyers as a group - they inflate claims - but they do ensure that insurers don't trample victims.

And why is someone's pain and suffering somehow less if the offender was not convicted of an offence (which sounds a lot like fault).

This will (a) increase insurance profits (b) lower payments to injured and (c) maybe - but maybe not - reduce premiums. Where's the incentive for premium reductions exactly?

[Cappy]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

Don’t shoot the messenger here and I absolutely hate insurance and how it all works but from what I understand there were a lot of threats and or comments a few months ago about how Alberta was an uninsurable jurisdiction or turning into it or something. So I suspect that underlying this move was a lot of pressure on the UCP to lift caps so they could “be competitive”.

CBC radio had a big chat about this a couple months ago.

Really tough to know what to believe on this one but with the UCP track record it’s probably the wrong move lol

I mean, sure. Insurance companies cry about this all the time, but is there loss of profits a result of PI claims or property claims.

New article today on this same issue:

https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/extreme-w...stem-1.7120015

Calgary hailstorms cost insurance companies billions a year in property payouts, which are entirely different than injury payouts; and these will only get worse.

I have always said, we will only get serious about climate change when insurance companies stop insuring natural disasters as they increase.

[Raekwon]

Originally Posted by Cappy

I mean, sure. Insurance companies cry about this all the time, but is there loss of profits a result of PI claims or property claims.

New article today on this same issue:

https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/extreme-w...stem-1.7120015

Calgary hailstorms cost insurance companies billions a year in property payouts, which are entirely different than injury payouts; and these will only get worse.

I have always said, we will only get serious about climate change when insurance companies stop insuring natural disasters as they increase.

To be fair on the property side of things the choice for crappy vinyl is a builders choice due to costs, same with roofs and insurance companies were just replacing with like quality but they are finally realizing investing more now will save later and some are starting to offer upgrades like plank siding and tin roofs etc. For this to be cost effective they need to get builders on board and make the change right from the build so I don't know if we will see full adoption.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Raekwon

To be fair on the property side of things the choice for crappy vinyl is a builders choice due to costs, same with roofs and insurance companies were just replacing with like quality but they are finally realizing investing more now will save later and some are starting to offer upgrades like plank siding and tin roofs etc. For this to be cost effective they need to get builders on board and make the change right from the build so I don't know if we will see full adoption.

We have building codes. Make it code, no vinyl siding in a hail belt that can been defined with previous claims.



But vinyl is made from petrochemicals in Alberta, so the odds of government doing that are probably pretty slim.

[puffnstuff]

What if i promise to side my house with old wind turbine blades?