When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, or to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or even spiritually. They may seem like a godsend too you, and they are. They are there for a reason, you need them to be. Then, without any wrong doing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die, Sometimes they just walk away. Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on.

When people come into your life for a SEASON, it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season. And like Spring turns to Summer and Summer to Fall, the season eventually ends.

LIFETIME, relationships teach you a lifetime of lessons; those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person/people (anyway);, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas in your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant. Thank you for being part of my life…..

© Brian A. “Drew” Chalker

I’ve raised my concern previously about how all the lawsuits flying around Ottawa lately are damaging our democratic institute. The right to question government is a democratic right! And many times, elected representatives of opposition parties are the ones doing the questioning on behalf of Canadians.

Lawsuits to settle political battles that should be settled in public opinion, do not only intimidate MPs who are causing a “nuisance” to the government, they also muzzle MPs from speaking on the matter in the House or in committee­ - which effectively prevents the MP from doing the job they were elected to do.

I usually try to stay away from blogging about “Ottawa issues” as I see a lot of politicians spending an unbalanced amount of time on these scandals instead of tackling the problems that really affect Canadians. But this issue threatens our democracy so much, that if it isn’t solved, it will greatly undermine our democratic institution in Canada and will have a direct effect on all Canadians.

Is anyone else sick of Harper and the Conservatives suing everyone? I’ve been quite busy lately, graduating from college, but it seems every time I turn on the TV I hear about a Conservative suing or giving legal notice over an allegation.

It started with Brian Mulroney suing a Liberal MP over the Schrieber affair. Then Harper serves legal notice to the Liberal Party over the Cadman affair. And now the Conservatives are suing Elections Canada. Next thing I know, I will be sued for writing this post.

Is anyone else concerned about what this means to our democratic institutions?

Parties should not be using our courts to settle political debates. Not only is it a waste of taxpayers money, but it also allows a party with a lot of money to scare other parties into being silent.

When you enter politics, you should expect your actions to be scrutinized. And you should expect to be accused of many different things, by many different groups. I’m not suggesting that baseless accusations are a good thing, but it’s not out of the norm in politics and you should be ready to defend yourself. Instead of suing, the Conservatives should be defending themselves to the public. Imagine if the Liberals sued the Conservative party over initial allegations of AdScam… we may have never gotten to the bottom of it.

We live in a democracy. Yes, when you make an allegation against somebody else you should have your facts straight. But you shouldn’t have to fear a lawsuit when you question authority.

Questioning authority is a right in a democracy.

As many of you probably already know, my campaign was a low budget one. With $0 in the bank, the campaign relied mostly on me knocking on doors and talking to voters. I did increase the vote slightly, and I believe I presented a good choice to the voters I was able to talk to.

In the last week and a half of the campaign, I shifted my focus onto another campaign as an e-day manager. That was the Calgary Fort campaign where the NDP managed to get 14% of the vote. Julie Hrdlicka was an amazing candidate with her passion for social justice. I do hope that she is not discouraged, and that she will run again. The campaign was started with virtually nothing, and achieving 14% was a major feet. If she runs again, I have no doubt that she will be able to win it.

That said, I was quite disappointed in the overall provincial results, and the low voter turn out. The opposition will need to work harder, and speak out louder so that the concerns of ordinary Albertans can be heard.

I am not discouraged, and my name will appear on a ballot in the not so distant future. I will always fight for the ordinary working/middle class person.

“I am hurt, but I am not slain:
I’ll lay me down and bleed a while,
And then I’ll rise and fight again.”
-Sir Andrew Barton

I believe that we must move towards a greener future, and that politicians must ensure this. If elected I will work towards a more sustainable Alberta, not only for us but for our children.

The Endorsement.
Responses to survey questions.

The lack of quality health care is what NDP candidate Tyler Kinch is hoping will motivate voters to support his party.

“What I mainly find at the doorstep is people talking about the lack of funding for public services in their community, specifically health care facilities,” he said.

“A lot of the communities don’t really have close health care facilites or properly funded health care facilities.”

The delays to the south Calgary hospital and higher price tag have left many voters feeling irked, said Kinch.

“I think the Progressive Conservatives really fumbled on this one and they should have been more prepared for new communities, building new health care facilities and also training doctors and nurses to staff them,” he said.

“I think we need a government that has a vision and I think the NDP has that.”

A renter himself, Kinch said affordability is another serious issue that needs to be addressed.

“Household budgets are getting strained more and more every day,” he said.

“A lot of the constituents are younger families just buying their first homes on their first mortgage,” he said.

“They’re being faced with struggles because they’re working, middle-class families and I think different things such as health care premiums being scrapped right away and a public auto insurance program could help them out.

“We need a government that looks after the interests of middle class families.”

Link to story.

The economy is also an important part of people’s lives. We depend on it so that we can afford to have our necessities met and our luxuries fulfilled. However, without a healthy environment our economy is in jeopardy. We can create a prosperous province, while protecting our environment.

That’s why the NDP is proposing that we use the increased royalty rates to research and develop alternative energy such as wind, solar and geo-thermal. The NDP will ensure that “green” collar jobs are created with this initiative, allowing our economy to be strong and our air and water to be clean.

Also, we must live up to our international obligations. We must have stronger greenhouse gas emissions regulations and enforcement in the oil-patch. The Conservative’s intensity based targets will not cut it as they allow pollution levels to rise. We must implement hard emission caps, that allows us to get pollution under control and reduced.

It’s time to get more out of your government. I promise I will work hard as an MLA to ensure that the government is working on your side.

This idea would save the government millions per year in drugs purchased by the province’s health regions. New Zealand first implemented this idea, and they spend about half of what we do on drugs. These savings could then be put into an improved Pharmacare plan for seniors.

Right now, seniors pay up to $25 per prescription. But many seniors have multiple prescriptions. With a fixed income, it can be difficult for seniors to pay hundreds of dollars in prescription costs each month. Under the NDP’s plan, the cap would be $25/month per person. Saving seniors hundreds of dollars, while giving seniors the dignity and respect they deserve.

Liberals and Progressive Conservatives can not be trusted with any promises for perscription drug reform, due to resistance from the many drug companies and insurance agencies who donate considerably to the two parties.

The NDP is the only party that stands up for ordinary Albertans and their families.

More information about the NDP’s perscription drug plan.