Alberta Politics & Government Thread 3.0

[Fuzz]

#### me, they can't stop being absolutely ####ing disastrous, can they?

Pharmacists are pushing back against the Alberta government's plan to cut some of their fees, warning the move could lead to job cuts and ultimately hurt patient care.
Health Minister Adriana LaGrange notified pharmacists of the cuts in a letter on Monday.

She said Alberta's pharmacy services budget is forecasted to go $30 million over its $670-million budget for this fiscal year.

As a result, she is cutting the amount pharmacists are paid for conducting comprehensive annual care plans from $100 to $70.

And the number of followups and medication reviews they can charge for drops from 12 to four per year.

"Up until now, all of the messages have been that your pharmacist is one source of some kinds of primary care in a hope to try and address some of the gap that Albertans are experiencing," said Fiona Clement, a professor in the department of community health sciences at the University of Calgary.

"It is surprising to then see the fees being pulled back because one might hypothesize that this will have exactly the opposite effect of more pharmacists engaging in primary care activities for patients."

Clement agrees the pay rollbacks could lead to service reductions.

"It is a business at the end of the day … and that will likely translate into changes to the way people interact with their pharmacist."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...361494?cmp=rss

Ya, a 30% cut in pay for service sure feels reasonable, particularly given recent inflation. Dafuq? But cutting billing for follow ups is the real disaster. So if you need more than 4 followups, either the pharmacist eats the cost or I guess you are just denied service? As someone who has had the unfortunate need for multiple medication and dose changes this means my pharmacist(who is incredible) gets screwed just for having me as a patient?

Maybe some voters will give their head a ####ing shake next election. So dumb.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

#### me, they can't stop being absolutely ####ing disastrous, can they?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...361494?cmp=rss

Ya, a 30% cut in pay for service sure feels reasonable, particularly given recent inflation. Dafuq? But cutting billing for follow ups is the real disaster. So if you need more than 4 followups, either the pharmacist eats the cost or I guess you are just denied service? As someone who has had the unfortunate need for multiple medication and dose changes this means my pharmacist(who is incredible) gets screwed just for having me as a patient?

Maybe some voters will give their head a ####ing shake next election. So dumb.

Maybe if pharmacists weren't peddling fake vaccines ........

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Maybe if pharmacists weren't peddling fake vaccines ........

Many of them can't because the idiots in charge have been working maliciously to slow delivery. I mean, why wouldn't you want to increase the chance of illness for people? It seems like such an obviously good thing to do. For a ####ing moron.

[Tron_fdc]

Originally Posted by habernac

They could totally build Alberta’s answer to Fernie there. Might be a tough sell as a lot of the locals still love coal. My sister in law is one, even though coal mining shortened her father’s life.

There's still lots of people in Fernie that are RW pro energy, F-Trudeau types in town, most of which work in the mine. It's not as LW as some might think, other than the recent transplants from Toronto and Vancouver. Plenty of locals like your SIL who hate tourists and pine for the good ol days of cheap housing and less people.

Crowsnest is kiiiiiiind of going that way nowadays, but not as much. Biking is getting more and more popular, but you would need to see a major ski hill expansion and eco tourism blow up for it to really take off to the level Fernie is at. That takes time though and would be a hard sell to people currently there who are mid/low income who only see property value increases and job creation that comes with a giant mine.

I love the pass, and I think having a mine nearby would be great for jobs, but Selenium is a major concern. Teck hasn't figured it out and I highly, highly doubt Northback has any viable solutions to bring to the table. Fernie is already at this point; sure, you can still catch fish in the rivers, but no way would I eat them.

I'd also hate to see the area turn into a coal dust trap like Sparwood. I've been up on top of 3 Sisters in Fernie and on a clear day you can visibly see the black cloud on top of the Coal Valley. It's pretty gross.

[Harry Lime]

Most of the southern part of Alberta are either right wing or conservative. The people that have been paying attention are fully against eastern slopes mining, because of the huge long term effect on farming and ranching downstream. It's the people suckling off of the UCP teat that are the problem.

Alberta need to decide whether agriculture is more important to them, or an Australian Mining Concern, that keeps changing it's name every few years.

[calf]

Originally Posted by Harry Lime

Most of the southern part of Alberta are either right wing or conservative. The people that have been paying attention are fully against eastern slopes mining, because of the huge long term effect on farming and ranching downstream. It's the people suckling off of the UCP teat that are the problem.

Alberta need to decide whether agriculture is more important to them, or an Australian Mining Concern, that keeps changing it's name every few years.

The great irony is that when Renewable electricity projects are being put forward, they're now being prove that they won't have an effect on prime agricultural land. But the effects of this? Completely ignored.

[Julio]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...erta-1.7360677

Speaking of renewables: Capital has dried up for new projects. Government is pointing to projects already in advanced stages before the moratorium to 'prove' that Alberta is still renewable friendly.

[Bigtime]

Relax all, UCP taking on the big issues.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1849477553054175417

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by Julio

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...erta-1.7360677

Speaking of renewables: Capital has dried up for new projects. Government is pointing to projects already in advanced stages before the moratorium to 'prove' that Alberta is still renewable friendly.

Too much uncertainty in Alberta right now with the pending (and needed) changes to the energy market framework, UCP shenanigans notwithstanding.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Relax all, UCP taking on the big issues.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1849477553054175417

I'm down with this. I propose all politicians must set the example, though, and trade in their trucks for golf carts.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I'm down with this. I propose all politicians must set the example, though, and trade in their trucks for golf carts.

We can be the Sun City, Arizona of the north!

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

We can be the Sun City, Arizona of the north!

If we can ride our bikes in the winter, they should be able to take golf carts out, too.

[Bigtime]

The gov does know that most golf carts are electric now right? How will they sleep at night?

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

The gov does know that most golf carts are electric now right? How will they sleep at night?

Knowing they've killed a lot of new green energy, and they will still be powered by natural gas.

[Looch City]

1. Bring back gas powered carts
2. Demand for fuel goes up
3. ???
4. Grift !

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

I'd also hate to see the area turn into a coal dust trap like Sparwood. I've been up on top of 3 Sisters in Fernie and on a clear day you can visibly see the black cloud on top of the Coal Valley. It's pretty gross.

It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire and ash and dust, the very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. - Boromir

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Looch City

1. Bring back gas powered carts
2. Demand for fuel goes up
3. ???
4. Grift !

Wait a minute, wasn't Dan McLean in the golf cart business prior to going into politics?

It's all coming together.

[btimbit]

And he's been in golf carts when he should be at council meetings

It all makes sense

[Yamer]

Sigh...

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her government will review professional regulatory bodies and introduce legislation next year to limit how they can police their own members.

In a social media video released Wednesday, Smith said it's not appropriate for the government or any professional association to compel Albertans to "some official version of truth."

"George Orwell's fictional 1984 should remain fiction," she said.

The premier said Albertans need to be confident regulated professionals are competent and practise ethically, but those professionals should also have freedom to express their personal views, especially outside their jobs.

"We will bring legislative changes next year to ensure that professional regulatory bodies are limited to regulating their members' professional competence and conduct, and not their speech," she said.

University of Calgary law professor Lorian Hardcastle wrote on social media that Smith's announcement amounts to "the freedom to spread misinformation without professional consequences."

Smith has long railed against what she called "mission creep" by regulators and complaints she's suggested came from "woke" colleagues.

Driven by COVID-era grievances, members of Smith's United Conservative Party voted in 2023 to adopt policy aimed at protecting Albertans from censorship.

That included pushing the government to protect health-care professionals from having their licences to practise threatened for expressing opinions, like concerns about vaccines, publicly.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...sion-1.7361315

Legislating your God-given right to spread misinformation and f### all professional standards! FREEDOM!

[Looch City]

This is just getting hilarious hahahah