Opinion
Blackfalds on track to get a high school in 2017-19 capital plan.
Blackfalds is on track to have a new high school built by 2019, thanks to the Wolf Creek Public School Board. There will be a 700 student capacity high school built near the junior high to accommodate the students living in a community of 9328 residents.
Nearby, in Red Deer, there are 30,000 residents living north of the river with no expectations of a high school, while across the river there are 4 high schools now, and 2 more on the books.
Blackfalds is on track to have a 2nd covered ice rink, before the north of the river Red Deer residents get a 2nd covered ice rink. Across the river the south of the river, Red Deer residents are on track to have 7 indoor ice rinks.
Who is to blame for abandoning 1,000 plus students to long commutes, neighbourhoods without high school gyms, facilities and programs, and enough recreational facilities to meet their needs? When did it become acceptable to have parents and students living north of the river commute across the city often times more than twice a day? Making it difficult for students to participate in extra-curricular activities.
Is it a culture of structural societal discrimination that it is okay for children living north of the river to endure long commutes in rush hour traffic?
Blackfalds and Wolf Creek Public School Board are working to keep their children in their community, why aren’t the school boards and municipal leaders in Red Deer working to keep the children in their communities?
Red Deer communities living north of the river shrank in population by 777 residents according to Red Deer’s own municipal census, while Blackfalds grew by 700 residents. How many more will leave Red Deer and move to Blackfalds to allow their children to avoid long commutes to high school and have easier access for extra-curricular activities?
Is it this culture that saw Blackfalds grow while Red Deer shrank in population? Something to think about.
From StosselTV
Many politicians across America condemn gambling. They crack down on slot machines and want sports betting banned. Yet, there’s one gambling operation they never try to ban: their own!
The politicians’ hypocrisy is disgusting. They should leave us alone. How we spend our money should be up to us!
After 40+ years of reporting, I now understand the importance of limited government and personal freedom
——————————————
Libertarian journalist John Stossel created Stossel TV to explain liberty and free markets to young people.
Prior to Stossel TV he hosted a show on Fox Business and co-anchored ABC’s primetime newsmagazine show, 20/20. Stossel’s economic programs have been adapted into teaching kits by a non-profit organization, “Stossel in the Classroom.” High school teachers in American public schools now use the videos to help educate their students on economics and economic freedom. They are seen by more than 12 million students every year.
Stossel has received 19 Emmy Awards and has been honored five times for excellence in consumer reporting by the National Press Club. Other honors include the George Polk Award for Outstanding Local Reporting and the George Foster Peabody Award.
—————————
To get our new weekly video from Stossel TV, sign up here: https://www.johnstossel.com/#subscribe
—————————
From the Montreal Economic Institute
Alberta’s move to fund acute care services through activity-based funding follows best practices internationally, points out an MEI researcher following an announcement made by Premier Danielle Smith earlier today.
“For too long, the way hospitals were funded in Alberta incentivized treating fewer patients, contributing to our long wait times,” explains Krystle Wittevrongel, director of research at the MEI. “International experience has shown that, with the proper funding models in place, health systems become more efficient to the benefit of patients.”
Currently, Alberta’s hospitals are financed under a system called “global budgeting.” This involves allocating a pre-set amount of funding to pay for a specific number of services based on previous years’ budgets.
Under the government’s newly proposed funding system, hospitals receive a fixed payment for each treatment delivered.
An Economic Note published by the MEI last year showed that Quebec’s gradual adoption of activity-based funding led to higher productivity and lower costs in the province’s health system.
Notably, the province observed that the per-procedure cost of MRIs fell by four per cent as the number of procedures performed increased by 22 per cent.
In the radiology and oncology sector, it observed productivity increases of 26 per cent while procedure costs decreased by seven per cent.
“Being able to perform more surgeries, at lower costs, and within shorter timelines is exactly what Alberta’s patients need, and Premier Smith understands that,” continued Mrs. Wittevrongel. “Today’s announcement is a good first step, and we look forward to seeing a successful roll-out once appropriate funding levels per procedure are set.”
The governments expects to roll-out this new funding model for select procedures starting in 2026.
* * *
The MEI is an independent public policy think tank with offices in Montreal, Ottawa, and Calgary. Through its publications, media appearances, and advisory services to policymakers, the MEI stimulates public policy debate and reforms based on sound economics and entrepreneurship.
Mark Carney refuses to clarify 2022 remarks accusing the Freedom Convoy of ‘sedition’
Poilievre To Create ‘Canada First’ National Energy Corridor
Are the Jays Signing Or Declining? Only Vladdy & Bo Know For Sure
First Good Battlefield News From Trump’s Global War on Fentanyl
-
Podcasts2 days agoTrump’s Tariffs: The US, Canada, and the rest of the world
-
2025 Federal Election2 days agoMark Carney Comes to B.C. and Delivers a Masterclass in Liberal Arrogance
-
Alberta2 days agoProvince introducing “Patient-Focused Funding Model” to fund acute care in Alberta
-
2025 Federal Election2 days agoPoilievre to invest in recovery, cut off federal funding for opioids and defund drug dens
-
Business2 days ago
Trump threatens additional 50% tariffs on China, urges ‘patience’
-
Alberta2 days agoMedical regulator stops short of revoking license of Alberta doctor skeptic of COVID vaccine
-
International2 days agoUN committee urges Canada to repeal euthanasia for non-terminally ill patients
-
Business2 days agoTrump eyes end of capital gains tax in 2025