Dear Neighbours,
So many of my Calgary-Elbow constituents, like many Albertans across the province, continue to feel pressure from the ongoing affordability crisis.
From soaring taxes to eroding public health care services, I’ve heard too many stories from our friends and neighbours who feel abandoned by the UCP government.
Our province has had the slowest wage growth in Canada since 2019, the highest inflation, and the highest youth unemployment in the country.
From rising property taxes to real estate transfer fees and the ad valorem wine tax, UCP government policies have hit families and businesses hard. On top everything else, the UCP government is going to raise the cost of auto insurance.
Alberta already has the highest auto insurance premiums in Canada and because of the UCP government, drivers can soon expect to pay 15 percent or more. To make matters worse, the right to sue insurance companies if they don’t provide the benefits that injured people are owed will no longer exist.
On the health care front, chaos continues to reign. Look no further than the UCP government’s promise to reduce wait times through the Alberta Surgical Initiative (ASI). A recent report by the Parkland Institute, a non-partisan research institute based at the University of Alberta, revealed the “average cost per outsourced procedure has risen by 79 percent since 2019,” when the province started contracting private surgical services through the ASI.
The report also points out that wait times have increased. Since the start of the ASI, wait times have increased for nine of 11 priority procedures tracked by the Canadian Institute for Health Information, including knee replacements and all cancer surgeries.
It’s extremely concerning considering there are now multiple ongoing investigations by the Alberta Auditor General and the RCMP following allegations raised by former AHS CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos of political interference and contract irregularities in private surgical contracts.
MLA – Calgary Elbow Samir Kayande proudly serves the following Communities: Altadore, Bel-Aire , Britannia, Elbow Park, Elboya, Erlton, Garrison Green, Garrison Woods, Glamorgan, Lincoln Park, Lower Mount Royal, Marda Loop, Mayfair, Meadowlark Park, Mount Royal, North Glenmore Park, Parkhill, Rideau Park, River Park, Roxboro, South Calgary, Upper Mount Royal, Windsor Park
