[DrCaleb]

Let people carry pepper spray for self-defence, Alberta urges federal government



Brilliant! Ignore the causes, arm everyone. What could go wrong?

[DrCaleb]

$1:

Here's what environmental groups say the anti-Alberta energy inquiry knows about their foreign funding


. . .

A controversial two-year long inquiry into allegations that foreign actors attempted to unfairly sully the international reputation of Alberta oil and gas is scheduled to be completed by July 30.

On that day, commissioner and forensic accountant Steve Allan's report will be due to Energy Minister Sonya Savage. She is compelled to publicly release his findings within 90 days of receiving them.

In 2019, Allan was initially tapped to report back by July 2, 2020. He had a budget of $2.5 million to investigate any funding furnished by sinister actors to environmental groups, and whether any organization receiving that money to smack-talk oil also receives government grants or holds charitable status in Canada.

Environmental groups called the exercise a witch hunt designed to intimidate charities that have raised concerns about the oil and gas industry. Environmental law group Ecojustice tried, unsuccessfully, to have a court quash the process.

. . .

350.org

"At best, it's an attempt to create a smear campaign, and at worst, it's a huge waste of money that seems to be creating a more and more shambolic process, the further and further it gets along," Fenton said.

. . .

Greenpeace

"If I got this as an undergrad paper, I would ask them to resubmit or take a failure," Stewart said.

. . .

Dogwood

"Instead of preparing for that transition, the Alberta government has engaged in a political witch hunt, attacking a list of its enemies, using public money to create an inquiry, which is little more than political ammunition for the United Conservative Party," he said.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton ... -1.6111990

[DrCaleb]

Burned out and demoralized: Some Alberta nurses look to leave amid province's bid to cut pay


Who knew? The UCP thought the best way to keep vital workers and attract new ones was to cut their pay and give them longer hours.

[bootlegga]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

Burned out and demoralized: Some Alberta nurses look to leave amid province's bid to cut pay


Who knew? The UCP thought the best way to keep vital workers and attract new ones was to cut their pay and give them longer hours.

Maybe Kenney can get the wage savings he wants when we lose a few thousand nurses and nobody wants to replace them.

I remember the Klein cuts and the hundreds, if not thousands of nurses who went to other provinces or even the States. There were news clips every couple weeks showcasing the recruiting drives by other health authorities in Edmonton and Calgary. Healthcare was in shambles for years after that, and some might even argue it never did recover.

[DrCaleb]

bootlegga bootlegga:

Healthcare was in shambles for years after that, and some might even argue it never did recover.

I would argue that. My girlfriend has been a nurse for a very long time, and she always told me of working short staffed. Always. Even when she worked in the ER, they would be one or two people short. Now that she runs a continuing care home, she has always run shifts short, and sometimes had to go back to nursing to cover off. They would be even shorter if half the staff weren't TFW's with the training to be a RNA or Nursing Assistant.

And they are mostly there because it pays better than most jobs for TFW's, not because they like the job. If it doesn't pay well, they will go somewhere they like the work better.

[DrCaleb]

‘Nurses feel let down,’ picket against Alberta government’s proposed rollbacks

[llama66]

Randy Jason, whether he knows it or not, is killing Conservatism in the west.

[DrCaleb]

He has help too, in Maxime Bernier and whoever is running the Maverick Party. Kenney is going to take off his pants anytime now, then watch out!

[DrCaleb]

Alberta hospital laundry job cuts to begin in September as work outsourced

$1:

Trucking laundry around Alberta instead of washing it locally could also lead to shortages when the roads are in poor condition, said Alberta Union of Provincial Employees vice-president Kevin Barry.

$1:

Last week, the government also said it's accepting proposals for future private clinics to perform hip and knee surgeries in Edmonton and Calgary.

. . .

Its plan is to spend $140 million on private, low-risk orthopedic surgeries during the next seven years, but the cost of individual contracts will depend on the bids.

A similar initiative in Saskatchewan saw wait times drop only temporarily while that province was putting more funding into public and private surgeries.

Critics say these kinds of arrangements don't resolve systemic problems that cause waitlists and introduce risks for taxpayers.
Azocar says the health system is already struggling to retain workers burned out from the pandemic and facing government wage cuts.

If private clinics now compete for those workers, it will drive up pay and costs in both sectors, she said.

"It just doesn't make sense for this government to be so bent on privatizing public health care when they can't even address some of the issues that are taking place within our public system," she said.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton ... -1.6118553

[llama66]

Alberta is by far the most backwards place I have ever lived.

[DrCaleb]

It's our superpower.

[Zipperfish]

I thought Kenney would have done better. Taking on health care workers is the military equivalent of starting a land war in Asia.

[bootlegga]

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

I thought Kenney would have done better. Taking on health care workers is the military equivalent of starting a land war in Asia.

If you thought that, then you really didn't know Jason Kenney!

I (and many other Albertans) predicted he would do most of the things he has done (war on healthcare, education, gay rights, double down on oil & gas, etc.) before the election, but most middle of the road Albertans called us all fear mongers.

Sometimes it really sucks to be correct...

[llama66]

I say it's more akin to invading Russia. In September.

[Thanos]

Now we're attracting them to come here from all over the country, or encouraging them in their own home territory to behave like our worst do here in Alberta. This is what happens when the extreme side of ideology basically takes over an entire province like Alberta's been by the alt-right, the shitbirds flock here like cheap metal to a magnet:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ ... -1.6119390

$1:

Charges have been laid against a Toronto man for posting photos of the Alberta judge who recently convicted four anti-mask, COVID-19-denying men who repeatedly breached public health restrictions and judges' orders.

This is the second-known breach of judges' privacy in as many weeks. It follows news earlier this month that lawyers with the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms had Manitoba Chief Justice Glenn Joyal — who is presiding over a court challenge related to the province's lockdown measures — followed both to his home and cottage.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Adam Germain has been tasked with handling all Alberta pandemic-related breaches of judges' orders. The aim is to control repeat offenders who refused to abide by public health restrictions and encouraged others to follow along.

Donald Smith, an anti-mask, pandemic-denying supporter of Calgary mayoral candidate Kevin J. Johnston, admitted in court Tuesday that he took pictures of Germain as well as Alberta Health Services (AHS) lawyer Mark Jackson.

He was charged with contempt of court.

The images were screen grabbed during virtual court hearings hosted on WebEx, video-conferencing software similar to Zoom. At the beginning of all hearings, Germain issued warnings that no images or recordings were to be captured during the court sessions.

"Crooked #LiberalCalgaryJudge/Former MLA making is decision on Calgary mayoral candidate Kevin J. Johnston on Friday to see if Kevin gets out of jail," wrote Smith on June 28.

"I know posting this picture of the judge can land me in hot water but I really do not care because its time to expose these crooked judges for what there doing."

The contempt charges are for both taking and posting the photos and for allegedly recording the proceedings and posting non-certified transcriptions.

And of course he has the face of a person who'd probably love to drive a vehicle at full speed down a crowded sidewalk. Go fucking figure. Five years in prison, minimum, for these sorts of assholes from now on.