Columns

You’ve probably heard that our health-care system is in crisis as our health spending costs continue to rise at unsustainable rates: it’s a pretty popular mantra with pundits and politicians alike.

A friend (and St. Albert neighbour) recently told me of a disturbing incident she encountered many weeks ago.

Amalgamation with Edmonton is a topic that comes up in St. Albert every now and again. Some citizens, frustrated by the state of affairs in St. Albert, believe that we’d be better off as part of Edmonton.

In 1967 I was a young military officer in Halifax and got a free train ride to Calgary by escorting a draft of military recruits to various training depots west, ending in Calgary.

St. Albert is a beautiful city — full of dozens of wonderful and opportunistic places to hide a photo radar vehicle.

I think St. Albert’s aggressive tree removal campaign is excessive and disproportionate to the problem. Removing entire streets of trees creates scenes reminiscent of a clear-cut forest.

Worthy goals should be ambitious. With that in mind I have one goal for Alberta Health Services in my time as chair of the board: total Albertan satisfaction. It goes without saying that patient and family satisfaction are a high priority.

Fall is in the air. School, college and university campuses are again hives of learning activities. Students are abuzz with excitement and enthusiasm as they catch up with schoolmates, telling stories of all-too-fleeting summer adventures.

Dull. That’s how most people describe their marriage. One study found the top boredom factors include lack of fun, lack of conversation, and lack of romance.

All political parties are children of Saul Alinsky. I will get to justifying that statement a little further on, but let me start by explaining the difference between a negative ad and an attack ad.