Democratic deficit kills amendments that could have made HQCA inquiry worthwhile
Edmonton – Official Opposition Health Critic David Swann says the government’s desperate push to ram controversial bills through the legislature will have potentially very negative consequences for Albertans, particularly the HQCA Act, which has been designed to replace and delay a true public inquiry into health care with a lacklustre imitation that is not truly independent of government.
“We had several amendments that would have improved this bill and given Albertans at least a fighting chance to hear the truth about allegations of intimidation and financial misconduct in public health care,” Swann says. “But by invoking time allocation to end the debate, none of those good amendments will be heard, let alone passed.”
Opposition amendments included:
• Removing a clause that allows inquiries and testimony to be heard in camera, behind closed doors, defeating the purpose of a true public inquiry;
• Inserting a clause that would grant an all-party committee of the Legislative Assembly the power to call for an inquiry and appoint the panel to conduct it;
• Inserting a clause requiring that at least one judge sit on the panel that will conduct an HQCA inquiry.
“The fix is in,” Swann says. “Without these amendments, the government has complete freedom to carefully manage and delay this inquiry so that it does the least possible damage to the government’s image. Democracy, the search for truth, and the public health care system are all casualties of the Tory desire to stay in power at all costs.”
Official Opposition Leader Raj Sherman says Premier Redford never wanted a fall session in the first place, but the government had called one before the leadership race so she had no choice.
“Most Albertans will be working hard right up to December 23rd, and they expect their government to do the same,” Sherman says. “Instead, the government is ramming through legislation that has huge impacts on Albertans. It’s undemocratic; the premier has broken her promises and Albertans deserve better.”
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