| EMS Transfer Still Raising Concerns
Calgary city council remains concerned about the transfer of ground ambulance services from city to provincial responsibility, which is slated to happen early this spring.
Mayor Dave Bronconnier told aldermen at the January 24 council meeting that the Calgary Health Region and the provincial government still haven’t provided enough information about how the transfer will work.
Bronconnier says he’s hoping to have a meeting with both Jack Davis, the CEO of the CHR and Iris Evans, the new minister of Health and Wellness, to discuss city concerns about quality and level of service being maintained.
Alderman Barry Erskine asked at the council meeting if city council had a choice in the transfer or if it had to hand over responsibility to the CHR. Alderman Diane Colley-Urquhart said April 1 was completely unrealistic to ensure a seamless transition.
The Alberta government is planning to take over responsibility for all municipal EMS services beginning April 1. The government has argued it makes sense for EMS services to be administered by Health and Wellness rather than municipalities because it’s a health care service. However, various municipalities, including Calgary, have complained the government isn’t committing enough funding for the takeover. The Calgary Paramedic Union says it fears job layoffs and a lower quality of service if the CHR takes over control of ambulance services.
Kids Museum Gets Go Ahead
Calgary will be home to a new children’s museum this winter after city council voted to give a $2.4 million centennial grant to the Creative Kids Museum.
The interactive visual and performing arts museum will open its doors in early December, says Krista Schlosser, founding president of the Creative Kids Museum Society of Alberta. The museum will be temporarily located south of Chinook Centre until a permanent site can be found.
"We’re very confident we’re going to bring something fabulous to Calgary," says Schlosser.
Schlosser says the museum is hoping to relocate next to or in the same building as the Calgary Science Centre if it moves in 2010.
For more information on the museum you can go to www.creativekidsmuseum.com.
Meanwhile Liberal MLA Bharat Agnihotri is calling on the provincial government to provide more funding for arts groups in order for them to celebrate Alberta’s centennial.
Agnihotri says the government "is trying to pass off badly needed infrastructure projects as special centennial projects." He gives the renovation of the Jubilee Auditoriums in Edmonton and Calgary as an example of necessary infrastructure projects that shouldn’t be tied to centennial funding.
New Electronics Recycling Tax
Albertans will be required to pay an environmental fee on new electronic equipment starting February 1 as part of the government’s electronics recycling program.
The government says the fee will cover the cost of collection, transportation and recycling of electronics, as well as public education programs and electronics recycling research. The government has already set up 75 electronic recycling sites in Alberta. For more information on the program you can go to www.albertarecycling.ca.
New Endowment Fund For Parkland Institute
The Parkland Institute, a left-leaning think-tank based in Edmonton, has just received a $1 million anonymous donation that the organization says it will use to support ongoing research and programming related to important public policy issues in Alberta.
The Arusha Centre has also received a $50,000 grant from the Calgary Foundation. Arusha Centre coordinator Sharon Stevens says the grant will be used for a "two-year project to try and engage citizens in civil society." She says the centre already has a resource centre which people can use to gather information on a variety of social justice topics. But the goal now will be to actively encourage people to take concrete action on social justice issues, and to become a "hub" for activist groups. As part of the project, the Arusha Centre will also focus on matching up student researchers with needy community groups.
Talk on Iraq and Palestine Elections
Bill Warden, former Canadian ambassador to Pakistan and a worldwide elections observer, will give a talk about the elections in Palestine and Iraq on February 9 at the Parkdale United Church at 7:30 p.m.
Warden was an elections observer in the recent Palestinian election and he will also be an elections observer in the January 30 Iraq election. For more information call Tracey at 270-7355 or go to www.ploughsharescalgary.ca. |
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