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trained human services people are paid less than janitors, work long hours and shifts, and harldy ever see our families. why don't all human services workers strike province wide? we care too much about our clients, so we stick it out. there are enough trained staff already look after the ones we have.

homeless shelters and crisis centres are crying for help. divorce and abuse rates are high. jobs pay so poorly, with mom and dad working, the family falls apart with all the stresses. we do not all earn fort mcmurray salaries. the average is $10 - $16 an hour.

what has happened to our legal system? a spouse can abuse his/her partner in any way they like, as long as not dead, comatose, broken bones or scarred, there is "no proof". this logic states its fine for kids to be exposed to abuse, but just because mom and dad "can't get along", the kids are still entitled to a relationship with both. victims are ashamed, think its their fault, and are just plain scared, broken and have given up, so do not speak out. who is going to support them and believe them? certainly not 90% of the judges in our judicial system. meanwhile the cycle continues

then we get to the gambling, boozing, drug abuse, criminal offences and increasing gangsterism. alberta needs to make a clear stand - either be for or against addictive substances and addictive activities, and apply the same rules for all.

cap the casinos - allow the patrons buy a capped amount of tokens per a night to play.
don't make it ok to smoke, but then make weed illegal. thats double standards. if its ok to smoke in your car, then why not have a beer? why is it ok to drink in a bar, but can't smoke? is the cigarette the reason they will kill someone when driving drunk?

alberta needs to make a stand about whether this province is about the welfare of the people who live in it, or not.

Posted March 1, 2008 10:51 AM

QUALITY OF LIFE IN ALBERTA

The following is what I learned from my late parents:

1.) You reap what you sow.
2.) The bed you make is the bed you sleep in.

If you live in a booming economy, expect to pay a high rental and more for your home.
Everything is relevant because wages are higher and jobs a plentiful in a booming economy as well.

I am a senior now and I have never had any Government subsidy for housing nor did I or do I expect any in the future.

Hard work, a few sacrifices in regard to entertainment and other luxuries is the key to a decent future life style and retirement.

I love the free enterprise system and so did my parents and this is why they chose to come to Canada.

If you want governments to do everything for you, you had better be prepared to pay more taxes.
Personally, I hate Socialism because it can lead to Communism.

I would not trade Alberta or Canada for any other country in the world.

Firstly, let us get out to vote and then help our Elected Officials to do a better job.

Complaining about the Governments at home or to your friends and neighbors will not help Elected Officials to do their job any better.

Posted February 29, 2008 07:47 AM

Mathew Anderson: These parties are no longer working for the people of Alberta - Both the PC and the Liberals get their funding from their corporate masters. Most of their masters are from the the south. This is truely not the Canadian way, we have always helped one and another,been represented as peaceful nation from around the world. The last federal election was fixed. Harper's government was handed the Liberal's agenda during the last election.(not a Liberal voter) If you look at every nation that was against the war in Iraq, they have been all been replaced.(Strange how that worked). By building Skyscrapers and ghettos, you only have to look at what's happening down south. (Blinded by own greed for world control of oil) It's time for a change, vote for a new party. The PC have been in power for 37 years and have done nothing but destroy and sell off everything that Albertans have work so hard to build this is a sign of a party being completely out of touch. Vote! and Volunteer
Because now they are trying to rig this election by saying they can't get enough volunteers for voting booths. Let's Get Alberta back!!! Or be a slave for the Corporations.

Posted February 24, 2008 01:55 PM

I am a 21 year old working male in calgary. I think the polital groups in alberta are forgetting who they work for. You do not become a political leader for the money, yourself or fame. You work for the people, you were elected by us because there are issues that need to be dealt with. Health care (with our billions in over priced oil revenue this should not be an issue). Ridiculously over priced rent and house prices, as a carpenter i make a little above the average 21 year old, and i still pay $700 a month in rent for 450 sqr feet and more than double that in taxes and i am fed up with being required to spend even more money on health care premiums. these are things that without dispute i must pay or be homeless. Take your heads out of the sand and do the right thing, why has this government lost touch with this?? Being a politician is about doing the right thing for everybody and as somone who builds homes for a living all i see is wealthy land and home owners making more and more money at the cost of working people. Abolish the health care premiums, cap rent or even more fairly, lower it and stop forcing the people who need to work to live be pushed to near poverty to survive. I'm barely making it by in this province and i kills me to think of less fortunate people being pulled as they climb the ladder. i work 55 hour weeks and volenteer on occasional sundays. what has the government done?

Posted February 24, 2008 09:22 AM

Honestly, I find the quality of life in this province pretty terrible. I am a 21 year old female born and raised in Calgary. I am making starter wages and with the high rent in this city, it is difficult to live comfortably. On top of that, I recently got a bill for alberta health premiums as a birthday present from the province, so now I have to squeeze an extra $50 monthly from my already extended budget. Let's hope I never need to go to the hospital though - wait times are ridiculous. Historically, when there is an economic boom, everybody benefits, however, this time I think the rich has gotten richer, and the poor has gotten poorer. It is shameful the province barely did anything to level the playing field, especially with such a large surplus. Don't be surprised if young people such as myself disapear from this province, a lot of my friends and myself are looking to move somewhere more affordable.

Posted February 24, 2008 08:57 AM

First why do we have so many casinos in Alberta, these are nothing but incubators for crime. The funds from the lottery and gaming where to go back into the communities to help on the maintenance, why are they being filter back to the oil companies? With all the Schools, hospitals and roads in disarray, with crime on the rise, why are we opening one of the largest casinos north of Calgary?
We can double our police force but why??? Start closing down these casinos and we will have less crime and less homeless. With this Alberta advantage why are relying on these casinos anyways because the royalities should have been fully implemended and gone beyond. The Price oil will only go up and with One Oil company bragging about making 35 Billion in one quarter while the tax payers are getting the full bill for all their infrastructure and buildings,this is what you call Alberta's real disadvantage.It's time for a change. Albertians should not be struggling, 37 years of waste by the PC party and still no real plan. We need managed growth, protection for our environment, a plan for our future and our children. Vote anything but PC and free Alberta from these corporate thugs.

Posted February 24, 2008 08:56 AM

The province should outlaw such sneeky photo Radar Traps on main highways, eg Trans Canada #1 in Medicine Hat, where Speed reduced to 80km from 100km on a main four lane highway that tourist or visiters are unaware of, while driving, have no way to see heavy traffic, and their money sucking cameras, that allow them to mail notices by law to Alberta residents. $47 million collected last year from unaware travellers. Shame on Alberta and goverments !!!

Posted February 16, 2008 06:27 PM

I would like to see the 44 hour work week abolished. Also have 3 week a year holidays like saskatchewan. I like government insurance where it is does not discriminate your age or sex. Thank you, keep up the fight.

Posted February 16, 2008 11:38 AM

We do live in a great province that has plenty of opportunity. So then why living in a province that is very wealthy are people suffering. Why is their such a high homelessness rate. It is because people are unable to afford both Food and Shelter. With all the money this province has this should not be an issue. It is due to all the Greedy people that are taking advantage of Alberta's wealth. I am a middle class citizen whom is married and has children. I cannot even afford a house and yes I do work F/T and my husband is a tradesman. So why tell me is having a mortgage so out of reach for us. If we are having a hard time affording our ridiculous rent of course someone making minimum wage can't. This is a serious issue and in my opinion is the MOST important issue coming into this elections. Why is it so hard to implement a rental cap. This will create more affordable living for our citizens. It is not rocket science.

Posted February 11, 2008 11:34 AM

Alberta is still one of the greatest places on earth to live. We have a great quality of life if we are willing to work for it and have the ability and freedom to move or adjust our lifestyle as we see fit. Any complaints anyone in this province has about living here could be solved by a lifestyle adjustment or physical move within the province. This province is diverse enough that it offers something for everyone, the problem is that some people will complain about something no matter what they are provided with.

Posted February 11, 2008 09:58 AM

I left England to come to Canada when I returned from Korea at the age of 25, (I am 76 now) and all I can say is for petes sake stop complaining about what you have and what you don't have, don't you realize that you live in one of the finest countries in the world and the best darn province in Canada, stop bitching and get on with making this country and this province a better place to live

Posted February 10, 2008 04:18 PM

I view my life in Alberta as utter frustration: we have so much, and yet we have so little! For someone who believes in the wisdom of conservation (NOT Conservatives necessarily) it has been a tumultuous life knowing that we will leave nothing for those who follow except an empty hole, and now realizing that an empty hole free of the toxins would be a blessing.

As long as the transportation is subsidized by property taxes, and not supported solely by fuel taxes, those of us who care enough to walk to work even at great personal sacrifices in our wage-potential will be carrying the burden and thus sustaining the unsustainable: much against our wishes.

From the pages of Milton Friedman’s Chicago School Textbook, Alberta’s public trust has been forged into corporate profiteering; washing the profits to the haves through Bay and Wall Street. Stockholder is everything: stakeholder counts for nothing, unless of course they can be coerced into building the “roads” while the royalties collected barely keep them free of snow.

Unlike Gerald Poission, Alberta has not come to terms with what we could be, and if voting made a difference, it too would be abolished.

Posted February 9, 2008 05:57 PM