Alberta Legislature – End of Fall Sitting 2009

Friend –

Another session of the Alberta Legislature ended this past month. Alongside my colleagues in the Liberal Caucus, I have been addressing various issues which have been important to Albertans.

One of the most important issues which came up was the spectacular failure of the H1N1 vaccination scheme put out by the Stelmach government. The failure of the vaccination scheme was clearly reflected in the fact that many Albertans were forced to wait in long line ups to receive the H1N1 vaccine. It was also clearly illustrated by the inappropriate rationing of the vaccine that has resulted in the closure of the H1N1 vaccination clinics throughout our province.

My fellow Alberta Liberal Caucus members and I have used ever opportunity in the Alberta Legislature to pressure the Stelmach Government to address these flaws. However, the government has not been upfront with the issue. Instead, the government has simply criticized any member of the Alberta Legislature who has pressured the Stelmach Government to improve its H1N1 strategy.

I will not be deterred by these criticisms, until the H1N1 virus is adequately addressed by the Stelmach Government, my caucus colleagues and I will continue pressuring the Stelmach Government to improve its strategy and prevent the deaths of many more Albertans.

Another issue which you have heard about was the passage of Bill 50 (Power Transmission Lines). Bill 50 is an unnecessary $14 – $20 billon expenditure of tax payer dollars by the Stelmach Government which will provide no benefits to Albertans.

While the legislature has been out, my office has been busy with various Christmas events around the riding. These events have included an end of the year meeting with the Presidents of Calgary Northeast’s Neighbourhood Associations held this past week.

I will also be discussing in the New Year with my colleague Devinder Shory – Member of Parliament for Calgary North East – to secure Ottawa’s share of funding for the Airport Tunnel. As many of you are aware, the federal government has released a $61 billion stimulus package to help the economic recovery. The largest sum of the fund will go to building new infrastructure projects around the country. Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty, has stated that this large investment will be the last time that the federal government will provide major funding for any project until the deficit is brought under control. Furthermore the remainder of the fund will be spent on projects which would provide the greatest benefit to the economy. I believe that the funding of the Airport Tunnel is a worthwhile investment from the stimulus package. The Airport Tunnel will require an amount of money from the federal stimulus package, but will have very significant and measurable benefit to not only to communities in the N.E., Calgary and Alberta’s economies, but the whole Canadian economy.

For those of you who are interested in contacting my office over the Christmas Holidays, my office will remain open for the greater part of the holidays. My office will only close on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Years Eve and New Years Day. To contact my office please call 403 – 216 – 5424 or email my office at Calgary.McCall@assembly.ab.ca.

On behalf of my family to your families in the community of Calgary McCall, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Sincerely,

Darshan S. Kang, MLA
Calgary McCall