A Letter To The Ersd Minister

[fishyfish]

While we are on about sustainable resources, how about random camping, especially on the banks of prime fishing streams where damage is very very visible to the banks and water quality?

Uncontrolled off-road ATV and bikes in most of the province is probably even worse for your fisheries.

[bigbowtrout]

The brightest of the bright go where the money is. Make it worthwhile for these people to run for office. Low MLA saleries and the crap,abuse and evasion into your pivate life doesn't make it a very attractive job.

[BigFoamy]

99.9% sure I'm going to change my vote this time. Eventually people need to matter too...

[toolman]

This just in..... "Prentice resigns as NDP's Orange Wave sweeps Alberta".... Harper's next!

[Heimdallr]

Well, the political landscape has completely changed as of last night, so if anyone wants to write a tone setting letter, this next little while is the time.

[McLeod]

This just in..... "Prentice resigns as NDP's Orange Wave sweeps Alberta".... Harper's next!

Lets not get to carried away !

[BigFoamy]

This was lose lose. We either get pumped from behind continually by a grease ball and all his rich friends or we get taxed right to our faces. regardless, I'm f'ing tired of living fear of the oil patch, this was necessary imo. Im more about real people not money!!

[Pipes]

What's done is done. Here's hoping the NDP gets it. Like it or not, oil runs this province and much of our federal economy. That's just the facts. If we treat the oil companies the way they want to be treated, they stay and our economy is status quo (once things get back to normal...hopefully). If we push too hard, they leave. Then what? No worries about increase taxes when we are all on welfare.

[BigFoamy]

Its also up to those companies to accept the fact that need to bend a bit. My guess would be that they wont, oil companies care about nothing other than money, humans mean nothing other than digging it out of the ground for them. Ive never had money, Ive never worked in the patch but have lived in fear of it almost my entire life. Im glad the PC's are out, then again Im just a real person. This place is ready for change, theres to many people that live here that are not involved with the oil patch but who's lives are affected by it.

[Pipes]

Its also up to those companies to accept the fact that need to bend a bit. My guess would be that they wont, oil companies care about nothing other than money, humans mean nothing other than digging it out of the ground for them. Ive never had money, Ive never worked in the patch but have lived in fear of it almost my entire life. Im glad the PC's are out, then again Im just a real person. This place is ready for change, theres to many people that live here that are not involved with the oil patch but who's lives are affected by it.

Ideology vs reality. Almost all Albertans are involved in the oil industry, don't simplify it. Your comments prove how little you know about the world you live in. If you're tired of it, move. This place has been built on the oil industry. If we don't have it, then what? I'm not going to argue ideology, I'm about keeping my head out of the sand and realize what makes Alberta tick.

 

Almost every year, Calgary TU dinner raises $1,000,000. Where do you think that money comes from? Weaving hemp rope?

[jpinkster]

One thing is true in Alberta:

The Oil and Gas industry has allowed a lot of really unintelligent people to get rich.

 

We are approaching a crisis in Alberta. What incentive is there for a 19 year old to go to post secondary when they go up to the rigs and make $90K a year driving a dump truck?

[McLeod]

Almost every year, Calgary TU dinner raises $1,000,000. Where do you think that money comes from? Weaving hemp rope?

 

LMAO.. That' s awesome !

[bcubed]

 

Almost every year, Calgary TU dinner raises $1,000,000. Where do you think that money comes from? Weaving hemp rope?

Just a note. The Big One is TU Canada, not the Bow River Chapter. Despite what some may have thought they were sponsoring

[Smitty]

One thing is true in Alberta:

The Oil and Gas industry has allowed a lot of really unintelligent people to get rich.

 

We are approaching a crisis in Alberta. What incentive is there for a 19 year old to go to post secondary when they go up to the rigs and make $90K a year driving a dump truck?

 

Just another perspective, from a jr/Sr high school teacher; we don't need every 19 year old to go to post-secondary. What we need more is for more curriculum beyond Calm 20 to teach the financial literacy skills to the 19 year olds so they aren't quite so stupid with their money.

 

I don't really view the province has having a post-secondary enrolment issue in terms of numbers. Best to concentrate on keeping it affordable for those that want to go.

 

Also, may I say or acknowledge that as a teacher, my job is quite related to the oil patch; whose kids do you think I'm teaching? Increased funding for education comes from increased #'s of kids, which come s from in-migration, and that comes from a healthy, robust economy.

 

I voted for Notley because I am fed up of 44+ years of instability (as in yo-yo) funding for education and gonzo curriculum policies being tested like our kids were guinea pigs. Don't even get me started on the lack of funding for inclusive classrooms.

 

Anyways, all that to say that yeah, I went "left" in this election, but I'm watching Rachel, I'm watching. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, hoping that she and the Notley Crue are actually (?) the most centrist, 'right wing' version of the NDP in the country. Time will tell.

 

Smitty

[jpinkster]

Just another perspective, from a jr/Sr high school teacher; we don't need every 19 year old to go to post-secondary. What we need more is for more curriculum beyond Calm 20 to teach the financial literacy skills to the 19 year olds so they aren't quite so stupid with their money.

 

I don't really view the province has having a post-secondary enrolment issue in terms of numbers. Best to concentrate on keeping it affordable for those that want to go.

 

Also, may I say or acknowledge that as a teacher, my job is quite related to the oil patch; whose kids do you think I'm teaching? Increased funding for education comes from increased #'s of kids, which come s from in-migration, and that comes from a healthy, robust economy.

 

I voted for Notley because I am fed up of 44+ years of instability (as in yo-yo) funding for education and gonzo curriculum policies being tested like our kids were guinea pigs. Don't even get me started on the lack of funding for inclusive classrooms.

 

Anyways, all that to say that yeah, I went "left" in this election, but I'm watching Rachel, I'm watching. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, hoping that she and the Notley Crue are actually (?) the most centrist, 'right wing' version of the NDP in the country. Time will tell.

 

Smitty

We talked to a number of teachers throughout the campaign and they were so fed up with the PCs. My big fear is that the NDP gives teachers a raise without any other improvements to service. We need to hire more teachers and we need to reduce class sizes. Giving teachers a raise is fine, but we need to prioritize some of those other needs as well.

[Smitty]

Jpinkster:

 

Well, I'm about to "out" myself.

 

Here's something that makes me a pariah in the staffroom at some schools and labels me with a scarlett letter with other teachers. But, deep breath, here it goes;

 

I don't need a raise.

 

I earn -choose your descriptive here- a decent to excellent middle class wage. The collective bargaining agreements are online, for public perusal. Just google "ATA collective bargaining agreements". Anyone can see that after 11 years, a full time teacher in the province pretty much makes 100K. Now add outstanding benefits. A well-funded pension.

 

Of course, it's a tough job. Of course, due to workload, the majority of us have earned a raise. Yes, the same % of incompetent teachers exist as the do in other jobs and professions. The %'s are pretty much identical. They don't deserve a raise, and some of that minority, a tiny %, deserve firing. That soapbox is for another day.

But here's what I'd offer to Ms. Notley:

 

Freeze my salary.

 

But please, for the love of God and all things holy Ms. Notley, please start fixing the system.

1. Please spend the money on the resources and supports we need. We need dedicated art, music, and phys-ed teachers.

2. We need the funding that comes with special needs kids and inclusive classrooms to be spent on more classroom aides.

3. We need the education department to stop treating our children as if they were guinea pigs to be experimented on with gonzo curriculum policies.

4. We need class sizes to be smaller so I can spend more than 78.934 seconds of individual attention on kids.

5. We need more than 90 minutes - per week!!!!! of prep time out of more than a 1000 minutes of instructional time. Some teachers don't even get 90 minutes...did I say this is per week? This is the biggest issue, by far. Teacher workload. Between technology demands, IPP (special needs kids), and differentiated instruction (modifying the lesson plan to suit 2-5 'types' of learners), this is THE issue. Teachers should have at least 60 minutes of prep time every day to deliver robust, well designed lessons. And that ain't happening.

Should Rachel and the Notley Crue decide it really wants to truly and actually address those issues, and not give them the once over, passing glance disrespect like the previous government, then I say...

 

...you can freeze my salary for 5 years.

 

 

But, the above just makes me a nutcase unfortunately. Though, I must say, more and more teachers are realizing that we can't have every. single. thing. I wish I lived in a utopia of "I want dollars for my raise and I want dollars for every fix for every single classroom issue". But I live in the real world. I am a public servant. I serve the public. I have to live in the reality of finite dollars, - dollars paid to the education system via taxes by everyone, including laid off oil workers who don't have the job security that I do - finite dollars that entails a choice. I understand that the department of education (and healthcare too) cannot exist as a giant black hole whose funding gravity siphons off huge percentages of the provincial budget.

So I choose the latter; please Ms. Notley, fix our classrooms. I'd argue that the kids are the most valuable resource in this province.

Think I should send that to the journal? I'd be a marked man. Oh well, life a moderate teacher who also owns a business. LOL

 

Smitty

[jasonvilly]

No Smitty, you are not the only teacher that feels this way.

 

I feel adequately compensated for the amount of time and care I put into my school and students.

 

But the ones suffering now with all of your above points are the students. They need to come first, and the government has to create a sustainable way of funding them. The roller coaster of funding needs to stop. I am hoping this happens with the NDP, because everyone knows it didn't happen with the PC.

[jpinkster]

I really appreciate your candidness gents. If more people in this province focused on doing what's right instead of focusing on the bottom line I think we would all be better for it.

[Smitty]

Thanks BiggyJ, if enough of us are vocal about how we really feel, who knows? Maybe we can instruct the hard working folks at the local representative level to advocate for those fixes. I know the ATA did make teacher workload a major issue the last round, but I wish they would do more.

 

 

-Mike

[fishinhogdaddy]

Not meaning to Hi-Jack BUT.

I am a healthcare worker. On the other end of the scale, I am not compensated fairly due to the reshuffling of the masses into catagories province wide and have not had a raise in four years. Being "red-circled" as I am, I predict that I will not get a raise in wages for close to 12-13 YEARS!

The previous government looked at us in GSS (General Support Services) as the "dreggs of society" this is the result. Now, if you were my age, 50+ and had many years of service in, with no where to go up the ladder, what would you do?

How do we entice the younger generation into positions like mine when the treatment we were getting results in the negativety many of us share in AHS.

It's hitting the people who are close to retirement the worst as the previous government knew that there are many, many people close to retirement age with nowhere else to go but to finish off their working careers at a wage that isn't close to industry standards that Albertans in other sectors are receiving. But, we all continue to provide our very best for our patients although many are of us are "tainted" with the way we are and have been treated.

Off my soapbox now and sorry to hijack.

FHD

[jpinkster]

I wouldn't consider that a hijack at all, always interesting to hear takes from a variety of angles.

[Heimdallr]

No one on here has done it that I've seen, but in other circles "the sky is falling" fear mongering of many conservatives is what's going to do more damage to Alberta and Albertan markets than anything the NDP have proposed. The fact is that the corporate taxes proposed by the NDP are less than what they were under Ralph Klein at the height of the oil boom and the personal taxes, fees, and levies proposed are actually less for the vast majority of Albertans than what the PCs had proposed. People just see orange and get freaked out. Just my two cents. I'm really very excited by the change and really looking forward to seeing if they can deliver. Regardless, a change was necessary to shake off the stagnation of 40+ years. Time for some new ideas, perspectives, and strategies.

 

Additionally,here's an article that I came across that I think is a very interesting and very poignant read:

 

http://www.ipolitics.ca/2015/05/05/escaping-the-politics-of-fear-lessons-from-alberta/