| Council rejects expanded low-income transit pass
The City of Calgary has decided not to expand its universal transit pass. As of January 1, 2006, all Calgarians who live on less than 75 per cent of Statistics Canada’s Low-Income Cutoff (LICO) will be eligible for a $35 a month bus pass.
But at its November 7 meeting, council voted against offering a $15 to $25 a month pass for Calgarians who make only 60 per cent of LICO.
Mayor Dave Bronconnier says the city is not in the "income redistribution business" and provincial and federal levels of government have to take more responsibility for social issues.
Ald. Helene Larocque, who voted in favour of expanding the pass, says not everyone can afford $35. "I think even though we’ve implemented the low-income transit pass… there’s still a segment of the population that still can’t afford the $35 a month, so a third tier would help those that are further disadvantaged," she says.
According to city administration, offering a transit pass that costs $15 to $25 a month would cost the city $600,000 to $1 million over and above the $2.5 million it will cost the city to offer a $35 a month pass.
"That’s a drop in the bucket – $600,000 to $1 million additional is something that we shouldn’t even blink at," says Larocque. " We should be willing to do it and take that leadership role."
Alberta Coalition Against Poverty member Donna McPhee says anti-poverty advocates will continue to push for a further subsidized pass.
"A lot of the population isn’t doing that well. It’s just we’re not vocal. We’re not heard from," says McPhee.
Council didn’t get a chance to vote on a controversial proposal by Ald. Gord Lowe, which recommended that the $35 low-income bus pass be funded through Family and Community Support Service’s (FCSS) budget. Instead, city administration will prepare a report that looks at how FCSS would be impacted if it had to fund the low-income bus pass. The report is expected to be presented to council next February.
Klein government keeps contract with shady company
The Alberta Liberals have leaked some documents from Alberta Health and Wellness that health critic Laurie Blakeman says shows the government is moving rapidly forward on its privatization agenda.
One of the documents suggests amending the Alberta Health Care and Insurance Act and Hospitals Act in order to "open the market to private insurance and remove barriers to private delivery." It suggests amendments so that doctors and dentists could provide what are deemed medically necessary services in both the public and private system. Currently that isn’t allowed.
Another document discusses the need to increase public awareness of health costs, specifically how many taxpayer dollars go to services that are not required to be covered under the Canada Health Act. In a section entitled "where are we going," the document says, "Shift public expectations from an "entitlement to all" perspective to a shared responsibility perspective."
After the documents were leaked, Alberta Health and Wellness Minister Iris Evans issued a press release that says the leaked information represents "working documents only."
"They do not represent government policy. They do represent some of the options this government is currently exploring," says the press release.
The ministry also put the documents up on its website. To read them, go to www.health.gov.ab.ca.
Meanwhile, despite outcry from opposition parties and Friends of Medicare, the provincial government has refused to cancel a $1.5 million contract with Aon Consulting. The company contracted to examine private insurance options for funding health care. Shortly after the contract was awarded, critics pointed out that Aon Corporation, the U.S. parent company of Toronto-based Aon Consulting, recently had to pay $190 million to settle allegations of fraud and anti-competitive practices.
Ontario regulators have also charged Aon Consulting with six offences for allegedly overstating the value of a company’s pension plan. |
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