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As people have been pointing out elsewhere, a large majority of cabinet ministers are from rural Alberta, and Sinclair's riding is the least populated in the province. (Lesser Slave Lake and Central Peace—Notley both have <28000 residents as of 2021, compared to a more typical 40-60K.) So in that sense, rural areas have far, far more power than they should. That's not to deny the disinvestment in health care and other services in rural Alberta, but it's worth asking why a party with such a strong mandate from rural Alberta does such a terrible job at advocating sincerely for the well-being of their constituents.
 
constance_chlore said:
it's worth asking why a party with such a strong mandate from rural Alberta does such a terrible job at advocating sincerely for the well-being of their constituents.
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If I had to guess, it would be because they know that no matter what they do, rural Alberta will overwhelmingly vote for them. In the same way that (until the most recent budget) they essentially gave the bare minimum of funding to Edmonton, because they knew no matter what they did Edmonton was going orange. It's the same thing in reverse for the rural. They know they've got them locked up and so have zero interest in giving them any funding whatsoever. Being transphobic and propping up big oil is enough to win rural votes.
 
Francesca Ward, the mayor of Slave Lake in Sinclair's riding, says she and the rest of town council echo his concerns.

"I fail to see the logic between having a provincial budget that is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to tear down an arena when we can't have a highway maintained, and we can't keep our [emergency room] open," she said in an interview.

Ward said Highway 88 connecting her town to the hamlet of Fort Vermilion to the north is not just a case of maintenance but of fundamental safety.

"Not to be dramatic, but it [the highway] is costing lives now," she said. "It needs more than asphalt being topped on the surface. It needs passing lanes [and] it needs shoulder widening."

Ward also backed up Sinclair's concerns about rural health care, saying the emergency room at the Slave Lake hospital was closed at least twice in the past year due to low staffing levels.

"We're asking for basic rights that Albertans in cities get to experience," she said.
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Gus Haynes said:
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"Hundreds of Millions to tear down an arena." Well if 'Ol Smitty didn't start by giving her YYC friends north of $330M, she wouldn't have felt obligated to reciprocate to YEG. Geez, I wish these politicians would remember previous budgets.......

This fool: "If the government insists on running multiple deficits [which I strongly oppose], then I would expect to see real investments in one-time infrastructure projects for northern Alberta — fixing our roads, bridges, building new schools, and upgrading regional airports," he wrote. What schools does his riding need? Upgrading the Slave Lake airport? Piss off, Smitty is gonna bury him alive.....sucks to be him.
 
Gus Haynes said:
UCP MLA Scott Sinclair (Lesser Slave Lake) blasts the budget, criticizing it for running a deficit and for funneling too much money into Edmonton and Calgary. He says he will not vote for it without "significant changes":
https://www.facebook.com/scottsinclairucp/posts/pfbid032nHYffFDpUibVZt5eJQaYGXr2QbY72i2yVQS5g6n8ypQhNCkPuSg9GEA2cU8BU8kl
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They damn well better not scale back on Edmonton's share of the budget (i.e. Ice District 2, Fan Park, Coliseum demo, post-secondary education, etc) because of his idiotic whining.
 
Over 10 years later, Scott Hennig is still bitter about the Oilers' arena deal. Has he ever been to a hockey game or a concert at Rogers Place? Meanwhile, Janz is continuing to fly his hardcore socialist flag.
 
I wonder how much of the UCP discord is due to the attendance of UCP MLA's at Trump's breakfast in Washington, DC.
 
constance_chlore said:
Odd bedfellows: Janz partners with the CEO of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation on an op-ed:

Opinion: Tax dollars for Calgary arena was wrong; Funding the Oilers won't make it right​

edmontonjournal.com

Opinion: Tax dollars for Calgary arena was wrong; Funding the Oilers won't make it right

Two wrongs don't make a right when it comes to provincial funding of the Calgary arena and matching money for the Edmonton Oilers.
edmontonjournal.com edmontonjournal.com
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You gotta give it to Scott, he stays true.

.
 
So 22 hospitals at a MIN of $1B per = $22B on the very low end for BC - versus 1 measly Podunk Red Deer hospital for AB. How is BC affording these new hospitals and we're not?
 
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I just threw up all over my desk! That MANY new/expansion hospital projects?!!! I don't have enough memory on my calculator to ADD up the multi BILLIONS on that list. Can someone please forward this to the UCP - in particular 'Ol Smitty and LaGrange....
 
Someone has got to get this to our news outlets....anyone got any friends out there that would listen?
 
Airboy said:
Long term debt. But its an investment. Its not just hospitals.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/accessing-health-care/capital-projects

Sask is building 3 new hospitals, 3 LTC and a new Mental health Facility. Plus renos at other hospitals.
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This will have an effect on our doctor recruitment as well. Why work in AB for less money where our hospitals are falling apart (my last visit to Royal Alex had them holding up the IV bag with a tourniquet because the stands were all broken)?
 
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