Dr. Swann: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This government flies by the seat of its pants.

It has no long-term plans, only reactions to issues of the day. It has flip-flopped on everything from cuts to foster parents, persons with developmental disabilities, ambulance dispatch centralization, Calgary cancer centres, the seniors’ pharmaceutical plan, postsecondary tuition, and more. To the Premier: how can Albertans depend on anything you or your ministers say when there seems to be so much confusion and backtracking on the part of your administration?

Mr. Stelmach: Mr. Speaker, we just approved a budget before we broke for the Easter break. The budget and the documents with the budget clearly articulate Alberta’s position. We will be back in the black in three years. We will be in the best financial position of any province in Canada, and we will lead this country out of its recession.

Dr. Swann: Mr. Speaker, with respect, I’m talking about flip-flops, Mr. Premier. Given that the decision to cut critical services profoundly affects Albertans, why does this government continue to release policy before ensuring that it’s the right decision for Albertans and you won’t have to change it in the next week or month? It’s about flip-flops.

Mr. Stelmach: Mr. Speaker, we’ve had to make difficult decisions with this budget to find a balance between the loss of revenue that we’ve seen as a result of this recession. We’ve also been able to tap into a cash surplus fund, the sustainability fund, to cushion the blow to the revenue and protect the programs that help the most vulnerable Albertans. They’re in a variety of programs, including health, and I believe we’re still the only jurisdiction in Canada to provide an increased five-year funding commitment for health. I can tell you that we’re not changing any position on that.

Dr. Swann: Well, in fact, the reverse is happening, Mr. Speaker. Given that seniors have been left completely in the dark, unable to budget for their future pharmaceutical costs, and postsecondary students still don’t know if they’ll be able to attend school this next semester, will the Premier admit his mistakes and apologize to Albertans for this consistent pattern of flip-flops?

Mr. Stelmach: Mr. Speaker, we continue to have some of the best programs for seniors in the country of Canada here in the province of Alberta.

With respect to tuition fees, we kept our promise. We said that tuition fees would not increase more than the CPI, the consumer price index. There were some adjustments made as a result of tuition fees set much lower going back to 2004. The minister made those adjustments, and the minister may want to speak to those adjustments he made last week.

The Speaker: Second Official Opposition main question. The hon. Leader of the Official Opposition.

Cataract Surgery

Dr. Swann: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With three days’ notice this government reduced cataract surgery capacity by reducing the number of publicly funded cataract clinics in Calgary from five to two. This created an even greater bottleneck for people to get access to the care they needed. The cataract surgery system in Calgary has been thrown into chaos. To the Premier: why was there only three days’ notice given to some cataract surgery providers in Calgary that their cataract surgeries were going to be terminated?

Mr. Stelmach: Mr. Speaker, because of the decision that was made, I believe over 2,100 additional cataract surgeries will be able to be completed in this province. Again, as to the details the minister may want to supplement.

Dr. Swann: Well, given that the best way to handle this would have been to let the facilities complete the surgeries that had been booked and then not book any additional ones, why did the Premier not order this action to be taken? What’s the explanation?

Mr. Stelmach: All I can say is that no surgeries have been cancelled. I don’t know where the hon. member is getting the information, but no surgeries have been cancelled. In fact, 2,100 new surgeries have been added.

Dr. Swann: Well, clearly the Premier doesn’t know what’s happening in Calgary.

Will the Premier immediately order the minister of health to begin plans to start a publicly funded cataract surgery centre in Calgary as a way of bringing stability and consistent cataract surgery to Calgarians?

Mr. Zwozdesky: Mr. Speaker, there are a couple of facilities in Calgary that are very public that do certain ophthalmological procedures. The bulk of those procedures are cataracts, and they have typically been competed for by facilities who submit bids so that Albertans get good cost effectiveness at the same time as they get good quality and good patient safety. We’re working now on the second blitz. As you may recall, we did a preliminary blitz back in February. That included 2,230 additional surgeries, 750 or more of which were cataracts. We’re just looking at other ways to shorten the wait times that exist.

Alberta Hansard, April 12, 2010

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