CW note, re: July 19, 2012
letter from Mr. Fred Horne ”… your letter of May 18 and e-mail of June 21, 2012…”:
This was apparently an internal government communication following a telephone
call to the Premier’s office asking about a response to the May 18th letter.
Seniors’ Action and Liaison Team (SALT)
January 11, 2012
The Honourable Alison Redford, QC
Premier of Alberta 307 Legislature Building
10800 – 97 Avenue NW
Edmonton, AB., T5K 2B7
This year the Seniors’ Action and Liaison Team (SALT) is
observing one of the standard traditions and marking the start of 2012 with a
retrospective review of the year that has just ended and a prospective look at
the coming year. You and your new office figure prominently in both.
During your campaign for the leadership of the PC party, one
of your frequently-repeated statements was that there needs to be “a new way of
doing things”. We hope the new way means an open dialogue between the
government and the governed; and meaningful consultation before, rather than
after, new policies are developed. However, we suggest that a change in the
style of government will necessarily require an appraisal of Alberta’s current
situation and recent history.
In the past 25 years the Alberta Government has introduced
legislative and policy changes with predictions and (in some cases) explicit
promises, that the change being introduced will be a net benefit to all
Albertans. Before the government proceeds even further with these changes or
embarks on new initiatives, it would be appropriate to take stock by comparing
the present realities with the past promises. This approach could be usefully
applied, for example, to evaluate the success (or otherwise) of the
deregulation of utilities, the introduction of the flat tax, the changes in the
health care system, and the evolution of the continuing care system.
The last of these examples is of particular concern to us as
seniors, as it is to our children and grandchildren. Sadly, it is our
perception that the current legislative and regulatory framework governing the
continuing care system would be totally
Correspondence between SALT and
the Premier of Alberta, January – October 2012 Page 2 of 10
unacceptable if it were applied to
the care of children or animals. We believe that an effective continuing care
system must be guided by five basic principles:
1. The system’s first priority must be the safety and
security of all individuals;
2. It should provide for housing, care and medically
necessary health services (defining the last of these as services necessary for
the preservation and maintenance of life);
3. It should provide a defined minimum range and quality of
care;
4. The care should be comprehensive; and
5. There should be a realistic sharing of costs between the
public purse and the individual/family, without concessions to
commercialization.
The members of SALT have instructed me to invite you to one
of our regular meetings, to continue this discussion. We would be delighted and
honoured if you were willing to accept this invitation and fit it into your
schedule. However, we realise that the calls on your time are considerable, and
this may not be possible. As an alternative, we would be happy to welcome your
designate. I look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
On behalf of SALT
John Wodak
213 Village Close Sherwood Park, AB., T8A 4Y2.
[Phone: 780-417-1705]
Ms. Danielle Smith, Leader, Wildrose Alliance Party
Mr. Brian Mason, Leader, Alberta New Democrats
Mr. Glenn Taylor, Leader, Alberta Party
Correspondence between SALT and
the Premier of Alberta, January – October 2012 Page 3 of 10
Seniors’ Action and Liaison Team (SALT)
John Wodak (Chair)
213 Village Close
Sherwood Park, AB. T8A 4Y2.
Phone: 780-417-1705
May 18, 2012
The Honourable Alison Redford, QC
Premier of Alberta 307 Legislature Building
10800 – 97 Avenue NW
Edmonton, AB., T5K 2B7
I am writing on behalf of the Seniors’ Action and Liaison
Team (SALT) for two reasons: first, to congratulate you on your election
victory; and second, to repeat our request of last January, for a meeting with
you or your designate to discuss issues of concern to our members. We would be
delighted and honoured if you could attend one of our regular meetings (the
second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, September to June, from 1:00 to 3:00
pm). However, recognizing the constraints on your time, we would be happy to
meet at a time and place to suit your convenience.
The members of SALT collectively value our political
independence, which allows us to comment on issues from a non-partisan
perspective. We believe this to be a valuable part of public discourse which
has been increasingly marginalized in recent years. We hope that your
commitment to “a new way of doing things” will restore open dialogue between
the government and the governed and lead to meaningful consultation before new
policies are developed rather than token consultation after the fact. The
process would be improved considerably if public resources were made available
without preconditions, to community groups wishing to participate.
Turning from “style” to “substance”, we suggest that this
would be a good time to evaluate the results of at least some of the legislative
and policy changes which have been implemented in the past quarter century.
Initiatives such as the flat tax, the deregulation of utilities and changes to
the continuing care system were introduced with
Correspondence between SALT and
the Premier of Alberta, January – October 2012 Page 4 of 10
the (usually explicit) promise that
there would be a net benefit to all Albertans. How do the present realities
compare with the past promises?
The last of these examples is of particular concern to us as
seniors, as it is to our children and grandchildren. Sadly, it is our
perception that the current legislative and regulatory framework governing the
continuing care system is more concerned with protecting commercial interests
than with the quality of life of frail seniors. We believe that an effective
continuing care system must be guided by four basic principles:
1. The system’s first priority must be the safety and
security of all individuals;
2. It should provide for housing, care and medically
necessary health services (defining these as services necessary for the
preservation and maintenance of life);
3. It should provide a defined minimum range and quality of
care; and
4. The care should be comprehensive.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely, On behalf of SALT
John Wodak
Correspondence between SALT and
the Premier of Alberta, January – October 2012 Page 5 of 10
ALBERTA HEALTH
Office of the Minister MLA,
Edmonton-Rutherford
JUL 1 9 2012 AR
98672
Mr. John Wodak
213 Village
Close Sherwood Park, Alberta
T8A 4Y2
Premier
Redford forwarded your letter of May 18 and e-mail of June 21, 2012, regarding
continuing care services. The Premier has reviewed your comments and asked me
to respond on behalf of the Government of Alberta.
I recognize
your concerns about the quality of continuing care for Alberta's seniors.
Please be assured that our Government is committed to the provision of
comprehensive continuing care services to meet the needs of Albertans.
Mandatory standards are in place and the Ministry of Health and Alberta Health
Services monitor the provision of these services to ensure compliance.
The Continuing
Care Health Service Standards are designed to guide staff in providing
quality care based on the assessed needs of each client, and stipulate
mechanisms for client and family feedback. These standards are under review to
ensure that the continuing care system is flexible and responsive to new models
of care, emerging best practices, and the changing needs and expectations of
its clients. Please visit www.health.alberta.ca/documents/Continuing-Care-Standards-2008.pdf
to view the standards.
The Long-term
Care Accommodation Standards and Supportive Living Accommodation
Standards support a safe and comfortable environment that increases the
quality of life for Albertans residing in long-term care facilities and
supportive living sites. For more information, please visit http://www.health.alberta.ca/services/continuing-care-system.html#CSSstandards.
While the
Premier appreciates your request for a meeting, she is unable to accept your
invitation at this time.
Thank you
again for writing.
Fred Horne
Minister of
Health
Premier
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from original CW
Correspondence between SALT and
the Premier of Alberta, January – October 2012 Page 6 of 10
Seniors’ Action and Liaison Team (SALT)
John Wodak (Chair)
213 Village Close
Sherwood Park, AB. T8A 4Y2.
Phone: 780-417-1705
September 24, 2012
The Honourable Alison Redford, QC
Premier of Alberta 307 Legislature Building
10800 – 97 Avenue NW
Edmonton, AB., T5K 2B7.
I am responding to the Honourable Fred Horne’s July 19 reply,
written at your request, to my May 18 letter to you. Copies of the two letters
are attached for your convenience. My letter was actually a follow-up to
invitations extended last January to leaders of all the registered political
parties in Alberta, to come and talk to us. Regrettably, only two accepted our
invitation.
I believe I should correct an apparent misconception: the
members of SALT are Albertans who happen to be seniors. Thus, although seniors’
issues are obviously matters which concern us directly, we pride ourselves on
taking a general (and non-partisan) interest in all aspects of provincial
affairs. It was appropriate of you to refer my letter to Minister Horne for
comment on the seniors’ issues raised; it would have been equally appropriate
to ask the Minister of Finance to respond to our concern about the flat tax, or
the Minister of Energy to discuss the deregulation of utilities. I further
suggest, with all due respect, that you yourself would be the best person to
respond to our concern that the “new way of doing things” is looking remarkably
like the old way which many of us found so frustrating, including
“consultations” with carefully-selected “stakeholders” and tightly-scripted
questionnaires.
We do not share Minister Horne’s complacency about the Continuing
Care Health Service Standards, the Long-term Care Accommodation
Standards and the Supportive
Living Accommodation Standards. These standards were developed with major input from the industry; there is a definite lack of specific performance measures; and it is not clear how the standards have improved the support for and care of the residents. There are significant discrepancies between the experiences of many individuals and their families, and the results of inspections. These concerns need to be recognized and addressed. Perhaps the Seniors Advisory Council for Alberta could pay more attention to sections 2(2) and 2(3) of its legislated mandate.
I hope that you and/or Minister Horne will reconsider your
decisions not to meet with SALT. We believe that citizen engagement is
important, and that we have a valid contribution to make to public discourse in
this province.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely, On behalf of SALT
John Wodak
cc:Hon. Fred Horne, Minister of Health Ms. Danielle Smith, MLA
Dr. Raj Sherman, MLA
Mr. Brian Mason, MLA
Correspondence between SALT and
the Premier of Alberta, January – October 2012 Page 8 of 10
Premier of Alberta
Office of the Premier, 307 Legislature Building,
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T5K 2B6
OCT 22 2012
Mr. John Wodak
Chairman Seniors' Action and Liaison Team (SALT)
213 Village Close
Sherwood Park AB T8A 4Y2
Thank you for
your September 24, 2012, follow-up letter regarding accommodation standards in
continuing care, energy deregulation and flat taxes. It is critically important
for elected officials to be aware of the views and concerns of Albertans and I
appreciate your taking the time to write.
The Ministry
of Health undertakes a number of monitoring activities to ensure supportive
living and long-term care facilities maintain quality care and
accommodation-related services (including meals, housekeeping and maintenance)
that promote the safety, security and quality of life of Albertans living in
those settings.
The Ministry
of Health conducts inspections at least annually to verify operator compliance
to the Supportive Living Accommodation Standards and the Long-Term
Care Accommodation Standards, and coordinates the monitoring of the Continuing
Care Health Service Standards with Alberta Health Services. The Ministry of
Health also investigates individual complaints regarding non-compliance to
accommodation standards; the Complaints Officer can be contacted at
1-888-357-9339. In addition, the Health Facilities Review Committee
investigates complaints about the care, treatment and standards of
accommodation received by specific residents in long-term care.
The Seniors
Advisory Council for Alberta provides a mechanism for seniors, seniors'
organizations and stakeholders to share their views with the Government of
Alberta. The Council is a government-appointed body that reports to the
Minister of Health and provides advice on matters relating to seniors. Members
regularly engage with older Albertans and seniors' organizations in communities
across the province to hear perspectives and solicit feedback. Should you wish
to schedule a meeting with members of the Council, you may do so by email at saca@gov.ab.ca
or by calling 780-422-2321.
While my
schedule does not permit me to meet with you, Minister Horne and Associate
Minister VanderBurg did meet with representatives from fourteen organizations
to discuss issues and opportunities in meeting the needs of an aging
population.
In regard to
your concerns about taxation, Alberta's single rate personal income tax system
balances fairness with concerns for a healthy economy. The system offers high
basic personal credits that ensure individuals and families can earn an initial
amount of income tax-free. It offers the highest basic personal and spousal
credits in Canada, meaning that Albertans can earn more before they have to
start paying provincial income tax. The single rate tax system treats
low-income
earners fairly, but also provides the lowest top marginal
rate in Canada. This encourages individuals to work and invest more of their
income because they can keep more of what they earn. It also helps the province
to attract and retain the highly skilled individuals that are necessary to grow
the province's economy and provide a higher standard of living for all
Albertans.
Regarding your
comment about electricity deregulation, it is important to know that the
Government of Alberta does not subsidize any form of electricity generation.
Unlike other provinces, Alberta taxpayers are not on the hook for building
expensive generating plants. In Alberta, industry pays up front for the cost of
building new generating plants and takes on all the related risks. In contrast,
Crown-owned utilities in other provinces have incurred billions of dollars in
debt, which is then passed on to taxpayers. Essentially, they are paying for
their electricity on their bill as a consumer, then through taxes as a
taxpayer.
You may be
aware that in March, 2012, I appointed an independent committee to review
Alberta's variable electricity rate option and consider the ability to reduce
volatility and costs. The committee was also tasked with reviewing regulations
affecting deposits for energy marketers and fixed-rate contracts to find out
how to make more options available for consumers who need them.
The committee
consulted with experts and with industry and consumer stakeholders, including
representatives from consumer groups such as the Utilities Consumer Advocate.
Presentations from stakeholders are available on the committee website at www.rmrc.ca.
The Government of Alberta will carefully review the report and respond to the
recommendations in the near future.
Again, thank
you for taking the time to contact me.
Alison M.
Redford, QC
President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance
Honourable Fred Horne
Minister of Health
Honourable Ken Hughes
Minister of Energy
Honourable George VanderBurg
Associate Minister of Seniors
Cathy Olesen,
MLA, Sherwood Park
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from original CW
Correspondence between SALT and the Premier of Alberta,
January – October 2012 Page 10 of 10
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