The (Other) Race Is On
Fellow Albertans,Last week, Premier Ralph Klein made known his retirement plans. I have always said that he has earned the right to set his own time to retire. For my part, I will be casting my vote at the upcoming convention in support of the Premier.
That said, I have also been consistent in saying that when the Premier did decide his time of retirement, I would be in the race to serve as his successor. And I am.I'm passionate about Alberta. I have the skills, energy and passion to lead our province in the years ahead. I have experience in making tough decisions in government and I come with a fresh perspective having spent nine years in the business world and away from government.
There are those who want to make this a race that pits rural against urban and city against city. That's not going to be our race - it's time for the politics of inclusion.Over the next few weeks, our team will be gearing up to win. We'll be taking nothing for granted, including your support and
encouragement.
In the meantime, there is something you can go to work on. Start making a list of people who would buy a $5 membership card from you in order to support me, and our shared vision of Alberta. We'll need those lists in the weeks to come.
Thank you for your help and support. I'm excited about the race. We're going to win and we're going to have some fun too!
posted by calgarygrit at
4:22 p.m.
7 Comments:
CG... your a Dinning fan?
By
Joe Calgary, at 4:54 p.m.
JC; Just doing my op research...
By
calgarygrit, at 6:32 p.m.
A key thing to observe here is Dinning's observation that they'll need the list in the weeks to come. He won't need lists of potential members until within a year of Klein's departure. So he's expecting him to go a lot sooner.
By
Anonymous, at 7:19 p.m.
if you look closely in the newsletter, i'm in one of the pictures... :-P
By
daveberta, at 11:04 p.m.
In light of Ashley MacIsaac entering the race, I too am declaring my candidacy.
I figure I have a really good shot with the strategies I have outlined.
In other news.. PLEASE can we get more GOOD candidates to declare? I'm pleased with Godfrey but for PETES sake we need other good candidates to sign on!
By
Forward Looking Canadian, at 11:11 p.m.
The leading candidate to replace Ralph Klein is the Chairman of the Board of a Health Insurance company selling private health insurance and promising faster access to services like heart by-pass surgeries.
Further he was a Vice-President of TransAlta Utilities earning $300,000 a year while spending his time building support for his leadership bid.
http://www.jimdinning.ca/biography.htm
Last week Ralph Klein told existing cabinet ministers that they must resign by June 1 if they wished to run as candidates for the leadership of the provincial Conservative party in Alberta in 18 months.
When we level the playing field in Alberta, the word "level" takes on a completely different meaning.
Share this with your friends.
Help put a fork in Jim Dinning, before it's too late.
March 22, 2006
Insured to Queue Jump
Tory Leadership hopeful peddling private health insurance
Edmonton - The NDP Opposition Leader Brian Mason revealed today that a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Western Financial Group (WFG) is the underwriter for private health insurance policies being marketed to well off Albertans allowing them to jump the health care queue for diagnosis and treatment.
"The Chairman of the Western Financial Group's Board of Directors is none other than Conservative leadership candidate Jim Dinning," said Mason.
"I'm concerned that the front-runner of the Tory Leadership race is involved in the private health care racket," said Mason. "This is further evidence that the Conservative's plan to allow queue jumping has nothing to do with following the wishes of Albertans and everything to do with
pressure from powerful corporate interests and Conservative insiders like Jim Dinning.
This product, called Market Access Insurance (MAI), is being sold by Acure Health Corporation to groups of two or more people. Acure's promotional website states that "Market Access Insurance will take you out of the line and arrange to expedite your diagnosis and treatment in the United States or Canada, when services are available."
The President of Acure Health Corporation is Jim Viccars, formerly a director/shareholder of the private for-profit Health Resource Centre in Calgary
"With the so-called Third Way, the government intends to allow the wealthy to jump the queue," said Mason. "For the rest of us, it mean longer wait times and poorer service."
"Health policy should not be determined by Tory insiders who put wealth ahead of health," concluded Mason.
Market Access Insurance Backgrounder
March 22, 2006.
This product, called Market Access Insurance (MAI), is being sold by Acure Health Corporation to groups of two or more people. Acure promises faster diagnosis and treatments for over 130 medical treatments and procedures including MRIs, heart bypass operations, cataracts and joint replacements, all services currently covered by single-payer public insurance.
MAI is underwritten by Western Life Assurance Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Western Financial Group (WFG).
Jim Dinning is the Chairman of the Western Financial Group's Board of Directors.
The NDP Opposition spoke directly with three insurance brokers listed on Acure's website as selling their queue jumping product. The brokers confirmed that WFG subsidiary Western Life was the underwriter of the MAI product, with Acure being the Third Party administrator.
The insurance brokers further told the NDP Opposition that - at present - patients requiring MRIs were being referred to private MRI clinics in Edmonton and Calgary. Those requiring surgical procedures were being
referred to a hospital in Billings, Montana or the Cambie Surgery Centre in Vancouver, BC.
The brokers told the NDP Opposition that once the Third Way health reforms were approved, they hoped to refer patients to private surgical facilities in Alberta.
By
Anonymous, at 5:20 p.m.
Really useful information, thanks so much for the article.
By
www.mueblesensevilla.com, at 4:03 a.m.
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