It is evident that Norm Harley has bought into the provincial myth of health care bankruptcy. He has done some of his homework — now it is time to take the blinkers off and view the bigger picture.
Much of our current debt seems to have been created with our new Alberta Health Services Board. I am not sure where the statistics for diabetes came from, but to imply that it is immigrant-based is not a road we should be travelling down. What we need to look at is the trends in our society in the market economy. In North America we have a love affair with the fast food industry; this is cause for alarm for many diseases. We are sold on fast food and it is often based on cost and convenience. This cost factor is often something that plays a big part in the lives of those who are struggling to make a living in our society.
We live in a society where there is much wealth in the hands of a few and the rest struggle — or worse — live using credit. In Alberta we have a boom-bust cycle that afflicts working people. Loss of a job causes stress and as we know, stress is the cause of much illness. Yes smoking and drinking are part of the problem — some people use them as stress relievers. Remember someone is making money from the sale of these items, part of our market economy.
There is more evidence also available that some illness and disease have environmental causes. We do spend money on keeping people alive. We have low infant mortality rates; do we decide that every child born with a defect is expendable? As we age our bodies get worn, so do we decide that as soon as an older person shows signs of wear and tear they can be written off? Who decides which person, who we perceive as self-abusive, should no longer receive care or treatment? I believe that in the 1940s someone tried to implement some of these ideas. A great many people died defending these very issues.
It is obvious that our health care system is not being well managed but unfortunately this is something we have little control over because of a provincial government that has been given these powers for several decades.
Therefore I suggest that when the opportunity arises, we all enable democracy to return to this province. Then perhaps health care issues will be looked at in a fair and reasonable manner.
Blaming certain segments of the population for our difficulties deflects responsibility for the blatant misuse of health care funds from those who truly hold the purse strings.
Elizabeth Allchin, St. Albert
