Ralph Klein Wants to Know What You Think...
...as long as it agrees with his point of view. Now I haven't read the Klein plan for health “reform” yet, but I'm not commenting on that specifically so it's not important at the moment. What I am commenting on is the discord between what the premier told the Calgary Herald, specifically that he wants to hear from Albertans what they think of his health care plan, and his actions in the legislature when provided with alternative ideas. By tossing the Liberal plan (and I'm not saying I necessarily agree with the Liberals) at the page saying “I don't need this crap”, the premier is indicating to the people of Alberta that the only opinion that matters is that of the premier. Any public hearings (if any will be held) will only be window dressing, to give the appearance of public input into policy. The premier's actions show this more than any amount of spin that the Herald and his press office can muster to his defence.
This just goes to show how dead democracy is in Alberta. If there were an actual chance of a non-Tory getting into power, Ralph wouldn't have acted the way he did. He still would have ignored the input, of course, but at least would have put on a public face of acceptance, to keep up the illusion of caring what people who don't agree with the government think.
What it does mean is that the so called “consultation” process is a sham. The Tories will push their package through regardless of what the people of the province think. We should at least thank Ralph for showing the people of Alberta what a lot of us have known for years, he doesn't give a damn what the people think.