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More articles by Lisa Lambert (such as her pieces in Alberta Views)
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Past
Issues of Martha's Monthly Jump to issues from 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
2009 September 2009 - A Thousand Ducks Feast on Albertans - Just last month the (un)Health Minister announced that Alberta Hospital in Edmonton would be closing acute psychiatric care beds in favour of “community care”....Read more or view pdf . Sign the petition by the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees marthasmonthlyseptember09.pdf
July 2009 -
It Left a Bad Taste in His Mouth
No new nuclear power plant has been built in Canada for three
decades. You know why? Nuclear yucky. And nuclear pricey. Martha has no
intention of debating nuclear power with the Alberta government because
they should be able to tell what a bad taste it leaves in everyone’s
mouth. March/April 2009 - I Want You to Sit Down for This One Is the Alberta government seriously telling me that I cannot be legally married, bear a child not fathered by my husband, and continue to live with my husband? Seriously? Why does the AB government not simply produce one set of forms for birth that does not have all these caveats and just let women register the birth of their child without being told they must be married, monogamous, and straight? November/December 2008 - Snowzilla #2 Martha wonders if it isn’t time to stage our own Save Snowzilla campaign, complete with toques, for Alberta’s continuing care system. Somehow, it seems, the welfare of the most vulnerable in our society, the chronically ill and the aged, has been forgotten and Albertans have been snowed! October 2008 - A Mother's Loss is our Responsibility We must find ways to end the slaughter of women and children at the hands of their husbands and fathers. The safe visitation program needs our support and the government of Alberta needs to hear that the program is important and worthy of expansion. September 2008 - First it's red pens, then it's Adopt-a-Teacher for a Week! Martha does not begrudge the teachers their red pens and overhead markers. She knows more than a few teachers that buy books, stickers, and pens out of their own pocket when budgets are too tight. The problem is that we are not living through the Depression in Saskatchewan. We are living in the richest province in Canada at the richest moment of its existence. July 2008 - Letting the Dog Walk Himself: Pay Increases for the Premier and his Cabinet...The Premier and his Ministers can (vote themselves a pay increase) without any debate or public knowledge as an "Order in Council" which is not unlike a neighborhood club of children coming up with a secret code word to get in the hideout June 2008 Martha's garden has been whispering, "Ban Pesticides!!" Cosmetic pesticides are linked with cancers, they are more damaging to children (who tend to be the ones rolling around on the lawn!), and other provinces have banned their sale and use. So why is Alberta behind on this one?? May 2008 - The Industrious Beaver is reclaiming the Tar Sands. The Government of Alberta does not require oil sands companies to use the best strategies to minimize environmental impacts so some companies are doing things much better than others. February 2008 - Groundhog Day and Election Day may be the two toughest things to explain to a friend from away. As a voter, and especially as a Martha, you can, and have, made policy changes- no knitting needles required. This election we can make a difference again so that we don’t relive the last four years all over again. January 2008 - Home Alone, watching the Fonz, while I wear my Brown & Orange polyester suit Out-of-school care in Alberta is in a crisis and it is about to get worse. Alberta is the only province that thinks it is okay for 7 year olds to have no alternative but to be a latch-key kid. November 2007 - Turning Back Time only happens on Superman (and in Alberta under Bill 46) Minister Mel has no powers to turn back time. Well, he didn’t until he introduced Bill 46, the Alberta Utilities Commission Act. That piece of legislation would fundamentally alter the way energy regulatory hearings are held. October 2007 - Martha has a hero and Alberta needs one It seemed to Martha that Edith Macefield is a hero because she had the guts to say NO. Here is the short version of the royalty issue. Alberta charges a fee to oil and gas companies when they take oil and gas out of the land. For many years there were think tanks and individuals saying the amount we charged was too low.
September 2007 -
Nude Carpenters
and the Freedom to Associate
Not only is the Alberta
government not protecting farmworkers from unsafe workplaces they are
doing so in contravention of the Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms.
August 2007 -
The Greatest Canadian Song
Ever
Written Some of you may remember the Special Places 2000 program of the
Alberta government. It named 81 "Special Places". The Castle headwaters
is the only one of the 81 that has yet to be legislated as any
type of park...Raise a little hell! June 2007 - Deal or No Deal in Alberta's Rental Housing Market Alberta's Premier Ed Stelmach and his Cabinet have been indulging in some magical thinking themselves lately. Because they BELIEVE that rent control is bad and the market will be the saviour they choose to overlook the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
May 2007 -
Spy quarters and living quarters: the Continuous Care
Crisis An
oxymoron is “continuing care” as it pertains to long term care
facilities in Alberta. See, when we read that, we think of “continuing”
and “care”, both words that conjure up ideas of, well, care and
continuity... March 2007 - It is International Women's Day and all we have is Britney's bald scalp (This one was read at Public Interest Alberta's democratic forum) Sadly, women have yet to get halfway to equal in elected office. In Alberta we have just 13 women in the Legislature. They face 70 men. February 2007 - Homer Simpson in Alberta - Gardasil vaccine as topic. This year the government is dragging its feet on a decision to pay for the vaccination Gardasil. Gardasil was approved by Health Canada more than six months ago as it prevents four kinds of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) which cause 70% of cervical cancers.
January 2007 - Snowzilla Snowzilla reminded Martha of Alberta’s very own monstrosity of international interest…Fort McMurray. This hit the front page of www.rabble.ca
Snowzilla was also reprinted in December 2006 - Will Honest Ed keep his promises? Today, in Alberta, we have our own Honest Ed – the man who will be sworn in as Premier on December 14th on the steps of the Legislature. November 2006 - Slightly Unusual, Really Weird, and Totally Bizarre: A Tale of a Leadership Race There are eight men running. (The one woman, Alana Delong, who had thought of running dropped out before the race officially started) These are eight men who are all white, middle-aged, professional men... October 2006 - Free education is priceless Martha has long opposed those little extras that her children are charged at school. This year, her grammar schoolers paid more than $160 each in extra fees for their free education.
September 2006 -
Slaying the
Dragon of unfair cancer treatment Women served by Tom Baker Cancer
Centre (nearly anyone living south of Red Deer) had to pay for their
treatment for lymphedema while those served by Cross Cancer Centre in
Edmonton had the treatment covered.
July 2006 - An old fox needs shooing from the chicken house. Klein seems to have gone on vacation a few months before he retires. It makes Martha a little sad to see a man so out of touch with his public, his province, and most importantly his caucus. June 2006 - (Martha’s Second Anniversary) Martha falls victim to the dreaded Snack Mom Syndrome. School boards cut the aides but the kids still need to cut, paste, and pee. So somebody has to be there. So parents, mostly mothers, trudge to class on their “snack day”... May 2006 - Smoke and Mirrors on Smoking Ban. Martha and Matilda couldn't help but ask: why don't women who work hard in bars, restaurants, and casinos deserve to be free from second-hand smoke, and its known carcinogens, while they work? April 2006 - 55% and 47%: A tale of two numbers. When 55% is considered poor support and 47% is considered a sweeping majority you do have to ask: what is wrong here? March 2006 - Warning: Reading warnings may make you lose your common sense. Today is International Women's Day. The Women of Alberta need to say NO WAY to Klein's Third Way... February 2006 - Ovenbirds and the poor forced to raise their voices in the Alberta noise-scape. The lawsuit, filed two years ago, claims the province underpaid or illegally clawed back money from welfare recipients, severely handicapped Albertans and people receiving widow's pensions.
January 2006 - A
little red wagon and some stone soup It is just that the little red
wagon highlights how very LITTLE the Alberta government has invested (in
the monetary sense of that word) in ensuring that Alberta is the best
place in the world for children to grow up.
December 2005 -
Martha makes a
Christmas list and checks it twice In November 2005 - Cattle Drives and First Contract Legislation The whole cattle drive got Martha thinking about the Lakeside strike, which began a few days before. Prior to the strike there was a 9-month long negotiation. October 2005 - The rewards of being an Albertan It struck Martha that sometimes when things get gift wrapped for us they look like more of a prize than they are. It reminded Martha of the new "Ralph rewards" program in Alberta. September 2005 - Of lockouts and births It took a little digging before Martha realized what a miserable job Alberta is doing of integrating midwifery care into the overall health care system. August 2005 - Terrorism in our homes The subsequent murder charges laid against Liana White's husband got Martha thinking about what threatens the lives of women in Canada and she was staggered to find out that women have far more to fear in their own homes than they do on the buses and subways of Canada. July 2005 - Martha's away and Henry is at play (Written by Henry) The other day, Martha was watching something on the CBC, and it was about some law in Alberta being changed that would let kids as young as twelve be allowed to work in restaurants. Let me tell you, smoke was coming out of her ears. June 2005 - Anniversaries and the gifts they bring Henry’s gift reminded Martha that there’s plenty of “madness” in the Alberta’s governments response to the beef crisis. May 2005 - A Hunger Striking Senior and Alberta's Elderly in long-term care The sometimes shameful treatment of our elderly in the richest province in Canada makes Martha downright mad! April 2005 - Martha says "no" to the Kentucky Fried Chicken franchising of Alberta's Child Care Child care needs to be outside of the realm of profit. Doesn't it? Well, not according to the Alberta government... March 2005 - Where is the word "Women" is Alberta's policies?? Martha found out more than she bargained for when she went looking for some simple answers to how much her government spends on women’s shelters. The Auditor General noted that in 2003-2004 the Ministry of Children’s Services spent $17 Million... February 2005 - Martha gets an education on education costs What has the government done to ensure that Albertans who are qualified to attend post secondary institutions are financially able to? Well, not much.
January 2005 -
Happy New Year to
all the Marthas and Henrys Martha
got to thinking about all the waste at this time of the year. Some
estimates place Alberta’s waste diversion at 15%, others say 21%. But
compare that to Nova Scotia’s 46%.. December 2004 - It's beginning to look a lot like...time for democratic reform! So Martha is hoping that Santa sees fit to puttwo things in her stocking: a commitment from Premier Klein for a review of the electoral system and a return to all-Party Standing committees. November 2004 - Barbie Sales, Crude Oil, and Elections As Martha likes to say, everything is political. Even Barbie sales. When we see these big drops in sales of Barbie we have to wonder why. The answer is simple... October 2004 - Britney's Gum While fame infects those who don’t have it, Power seems to cause those who hold it to lose their brains and be willing to say or do almost anything. Such is the case as we listen to Premier Ralph Klein and his Cabinet. September 2004 - Martha is Miffed Now Martha is neither against school children nor centenarians, but when a government spends over a million bucks on a medallion and cuts out Widows’ Pensions in the same month, Martha gets a little miffed. August 2004 - Dear Marthas and Henrys (What to do with Alberta's surpluses) We suggest there are many ways to alleviate the burden on women, but first we should be funding the provision of the best publicly funded, universally accessible, early childhood development system in Canada. July 2004 - Health Care The Premier's mixed messages over the past two weeks ranged from pronouncements on innovations that could violate the Canada Health Act to the ambiguous promise of June 30: "I said there will be meaningful reform and perhaps...
June 2004 -
Accountability
Mr. Klein is willing to let
the public see expenses after April 1. Why not those from before? In any
other province the public would have access to these as a matter of
course. Albertans deserve to be treated better. |
