Calgary Health Region Sticks it\'s Neck Out

I see in the papers where the CHR is putting up an objection to the drilling of some sour gas wells just outside of south east Calgary. This after the company that requested the wells was given a smooth ride through the approval process. It\'s amazing that the CHR would raise such an objection, and here\'s why I think that is. First, it\'s just as likely that the provincial government will ignore the CHR just as it ignored people who\'ll live in the area around the proposed sour gas wells. The provincial Tories are notorious for putting business interests ahead of all others, and it\'s unlikely that they\'ll be concerned about the health of a few voters who\'ll keep voting for them, regardless of what they do. It\'s so much tilting at windmills for the CHR and the area residents. What an oil and gas company in Alberta wants, it gets, period.

Second, it wouldn\'t amaze me if the CHR reverses it\'s objection when a representative of the provincial government shows up to tell them how much less funding the region will get if it continues to object to the wells. The Regional Health Board, Alberta\'s answer to the federal Senate, is filled with Conservative party hacks and is likely to cave like a house of cards when pressed by the government. After all, the purpose of the CHR isn\'t to provide health care, it\'s to make the government look good.

I think this points to a fundamental flaw with our provincial government, it\'s insensitivity to the people who elect it. The provincial Conservative party rakes in over a million dollars annually from oil, gas and other companies, so they listen to these special interests. What\'s in the best interest of the people is ignored. Alberta, the best politicians money can buy.

So we shall see if anything comes of the CHR objection, or if it will be quietly swept under the rug, like any other objection or criticism of the provincial government.