April 2000

Media

Environment

Labour

Health

Background

Reviews

Editorial

Letters to the Editors

Letters to the Editors

Democracy by Default Who's listening to the silenced majority.

The Alberta version of "Family Feud", a provincial form of civil war, has broken out over Bill 11, "The Health Protection Act". Like two teams in a pick up game of ball, the sides square off. If you pick Ralph and Stockwell, we get Nancy and Raj. The results of this local game have national ramifications with the future and form of Medicare as the trophy up for grabs. Nancy's team wins the toss and elects to take last bat. The first pitch/accusation is thrown. "Current privatization is costly, unmonitored, and results in lengthy line-ups".

The batters swing and miss. Captain Klein's team takes the field to throw their first strike: "trust our team to tell the truth"; a swing and a miss. After several innings the score fluctuates only slightly which results in a great sense of restless unease from the silent fans. Why are the fans so silent? Their voices have been muted by the lack of opportunity for open debate. Captain Klein refuses to leave the dugout. The only voices that are, being heard outside of short legislative clips of debate, are letters to the editor, and ,recorded TV and radio talk back. Elections are expensive, referendums considerably cheaper with petitions being the least expensive; as a result we- are reduced to democracy by petition and poll.

--Harry B. Chase, Calgary

Dear Editor:

A group of Albertans without help from their Government forces a gas plant near Rimby to remove cancer causing benzene from its emissions. The company grumbles how this will reduce their profits until shown that they can sell the by product and create royalties. Meanwhile our government decrees they may use up this extra money take their families and friends on four trips per year. It seems to me the worst pollutant produced in this province today is our Tory government.

--Larry MacKillop, Nanton