Every now and then something happens here in Nova Scotia that gives me hope. The recent decision by the NS government to stop the development of this quarry was one of the most intelligent things I've seen it do since I moved back here. The quarry was one of those terrible ideas that should have been rejected immediately, but wasn't. I'm sure that the PC government was willing to allow it, but intense local opposition eventually resulted in a study of the project. The conclusion of the study was a no brainer - the quarry would be detrimental and should not proceed.
We can't be opposed to all quarries. Lets face it, we need them to build our roads - not that we are building a lot of roads here lately. Americans are building lots of them though, that is where the Digby Neck gravel would be destined for. Clayton Concrete of New Jersey planned to take 2 million tons of the Digby Neck to the US annually. You won't see them dig up their own state because they can't.
The North Mountain has a lot of basalt, and I think most people have no problem with a quarry located in an environmentally approved, unobtrusive area away from the coast. The problem is that we handle these matters the same way we did a century ago...there is no clear policy. The people of Nova Scotia should be paid an appropriate royalty for the stone when it is exported. There was no royalty for stone exported from the Digby Neck megaquarry.
My hat goes off to Andy Moir. I met him 10 years ago, a fellow who moved to Freeport because he loves the place. Andy took a large part in championing the struggle against the megaquarry along with many others. There is hope, but it takes more people like Andy to fight for their beliefs. Sadly, not a lot of this is happening. We still have herbicide spraying of the forests, clear cutting, unjust foreign land ownership, and Nova Scotia Power undermining clean and renewable power development through government sanctioned policies. The politicians here (all parties) are extremely backward when it comes to intelligent progressive policies to benefit the population. As long as this continues, Nova Scotia will remain a backwater.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Nothing to Brag About
From the Canadian Press, Nov 1, 2007:
Canada rates worst on health-care waiting times among 7 countries
The Canadian Press
WASHINGTON — Canada has the worst rating in a new study of health care in seven countries when it comes to wait times for seeing doctors and getting elective surgery.
And the Commonwealth Fund says Canadians are most likely to report going to an emergency room as an alternative to a visit to a doctor’s office or clinic.
Some 12,000 people were surveyed last spring by the Commonwealth Fund. The results have now been released in Washington.
Only 22 per cent of Canadians survey say they could get a same-day appointment when they’re sick. Thirty per cent — by far the highest among the countries — say they had to wait six days or more.
And 15 per cent reported waits of six months or more for non-emergency surgery.
Meantime, two-thirds reported having a lot of difficulty getting care at night, on weekends or holidays.
‘‘The report indicates that Canadians are saying the same thing to politicians that they’re saying to the Commonwealth Fund: access to physicians and access to medical services has to improve,’’ said Health Minister Tony Clement.
‘‘We share that concern.’’
The number of people with chronic conditions reporting a medical mistake or medication error in the past two years is 28 per cent. That was the highest among all countries surveyed except the United States, which had 32 per cent.
‘‘This bolsters my opinion that Canada does have to lay an emphasis on patient safety,’’ said Clement, who attended a session in Washington on the findings.
‘‘On the plus side, when it comes to access to care without extra payment, Canada stands out very well among the top of the nations. That’s certainly a value that Canadians treasure.’’
Twelve per cent of Canadians skipped some form of care in the past year because of cost-related problems, compared with 37 per cent in the United Sates.
Still, 12 per cent of Canadians also reported spending more than $1,000 on medical care in the last year.
Ninety-one per cent of Canadians reported having a regular doctor or place of care.
But 60 per cent said they think Canada’s system needs fundamental changes, with 12 per cent saying it should be rebuilt completely.
**********************
So why do Canadians brag about their poor health care system? Probably because its free. I can't put a price on my health. Can you?
Canada rates worst on health-care waiting times among 7 countries
The Canadian Press
WASHINGTON — Canada has the worst rating in a new study of health care in seven countries when it comes to wait times for seeing doctors and getting elective surgery.
And the Commonwealth Fund says Canadians are most likely to report going to an emergency room as an alternative to a visit to a doctor’s office or clinic.
Some 12,000 people were surveyed last spring by the Commonwealth Fund. The results have now been released in Washington.
Only 22 per cent of Canadians survey say they could get a same-day appointment when they’re sick. Thirty per cent — by far the highest among the countries — say they had to wait six days or more.
And 15 per cent reported waits of six months or more for non-emergency surgery.
Meantime, two-thirds reported having a lot of difficulty getting care at night, on weekends or holidays.
‘‘The report indicates that Canadians are saying the same thing to politicians that they’re saying to the Commonwealth Fund: access to physicians and access to medical services has to improve,’’ said Health Minister Tony Clement.
‘‘We share that concern.’’
The number of people with chronic conditions reporting a medical mistake or medication error in the past two years is 28 per cent. That was the highest among all countries surveyed except the United States, which had 32 per cent.
‘‘This bolsters my opinion that Canada does have to lay an emphasis on patient safety,’’ said Clement, who attended a session in Washington on the findings.
‘‘On the plus side, when it comes to access to care without extra payment, Canada stands out very well among the top of the nations. That’s certainly a value that Canadians treasure.’’
Twelve per cent of Canadians skipped some form of care in the past year because of cost-related problems, compared with 37 per cent in the United Sates.
Still, 12 per cent of Canadians also reported spending more than $1,000 on medical care in the last year.
Ninety-one per cent of Canadians reported having a regular doctor or place of care.
But 60 per cent said they think Canada’s system needs fundamental changes, with 12 per cent saying it should be rebuilt completely.
**********************
So why do Canadians brag about their poor health care system? Probably because its free. I can't put a price on my health. Can you?
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Why Are We Bragging?
From The Chronicle Herald, Oct 21, 2007:
AMHERST — Bill and Tina Archer are caught in a vicious circle: They can’t get help for their seven-year-old son’s ear problem without a referral from a family doctor — and they can’t find a family doctor even after months of trying.
"I’ve done everything I can think of to get a family physician, without any luck," Ms. Archer said Saturday in an interview from her Amherst home. "Now, I just don’t know where to turn."
******************Canadians love to brag about their substandard health care. Why do they oppose adopting European models which are working?
Unfortunately Canadians are deluded by a socialist myth invented by Liberals that any kind of private heath care is evil. They fail to realize that EVERY OTHER DEVELOPED COUNTRY on the planet Earth have both public and private systems, and most of them are cheaper and work better than our Cuban style system. I wonder if that thought ever crossed Mr. Archer's mind as his child suffers because he can't find a family doctor.
When are Canadians going to look to Europe and realize that they have health care that works? When are they going to wake up and realize the system they have now is crap?
It'll happen once the wealthy baby boomers get old and sick.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Lazy Yokals
Its that time of the year again...apple harvesting time in the beautiful Annapolis Valley. Apples that are harvested by hard working Jamaicans and now Mexicans. Despite a high unemployment rate, farmers have to bring in pickers from other countries because unemployed Valley people are too lazy to get off their ass and do a decent day's work. Instead, they sit around drinking and getting fat on my taxes. These yokals should have their welfare cut off if they are unwilling to work when jobs are available. This is a prime example of the culture of dependency you create when you dole out money without strings.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Foreign Land Ownership in Nova Scotia
If you've ever though of buying a nice piece of oceanfront property in Nova Scotia, you'd better have a very thick wallet. And if you currently own some, or your parents do, you'd better have a thick wallet to pay the outrageous taxes.
The major reason for this - foreign ownership of our coastline areas. This has driven up the value of seaside property making it unaffordable for most Nova Scotians. In the past, our low dollar made property relatively cheap for Germans and Americans, who have bought up the prime land in our province.
PEI discovered that something had to be done, and instituted laws to prevent non-residents from buying up their province. Efforts to do the same in NS resulted in a task force that published its final report in Dec 2001. See http://www.gov.ns.ca/vp/nonres/fr.pdf
Here is a quote from the report - "The provincial government’s background information on non-resident land ownership in Nova Scotia identified non-residents as owning 6.4 per cent of the Province,16 per cent of the coastline and 6.8 per cent of non-coastal waterfront land. On the high side of the range, Digby, Annapolis, and Shelburne counties report non-resident ownership approaching 30 per cent of the coastline."
The outcome of this report was a complete disappointment for Nova Scotians who want to limit the detrimental effects of unchecked foreign ownership. Any measure to control foreign ownership was shot down.
I spoke to a German about buying 14 acres of undeveloped land he owned near Margaretsville in Annapolis County. This man also owned land in Lunenburg Co. He told me he is holding it as an investment, "Money in the bank" he said. Well, it sits there unused until he sells it to another German. It does not generate any economic activity, and denies Nova Scotians the opportunity to build and live there. And if it does get developed, the Germans will only visit it a few weeks a year, then go back home. This provides very little economic benefit for Nova Scotia for the rest of the year (supporting businesses, paying taxes, etc).
It's time our leaders stand up for Nova Scotians, to ensure foreigners are limited in the amount of acreage they can own, and to make them pay much higher taxes to compensate our province for lost economic activity. It is also important to ensure existing Nova Scotia landowners are protected from skyrocketing property assessments due to the deleterious effects of foreign landowners .
The major reason for this - foreign ownership of our coastline areas. This has driven up the value of seaside property making it unaffordable for most Nova Scotians. In the past, our low dollar made property relatively cheap for Germans and Americans, who have bought up the prime land in our province.
PEI discovered that something had to be done, and instituted laws to prevent non-residents from buying up their province. Efforts to do the same in NS resulted in a task force that published its final report in Dec 2001. See http://www.gov.ns.ca/vp/nonres/fr.pdf
Here is a quote from the report - "The provincial government’s background information on non-resident land ownership in Nova Scotia identified non-residents as owning 6.4 per cent of the Province,16 per cent of the coastline and 6.8 per cent of non-coastal waterfront land. On the high side of the range, Digby, Annapolis, and Shelburne counties report non-resident ownership approaching 30 per cent of the coastline."
The outcome of this report was a complete disappointment for Nova Scotians who want to limit the detrimental effects of unchecked foreign ownership. Any measure to control foreign ownership was shot down.
I spoke to a German about buying 14 acres of undeveloped land he owned near Margaretsville in Annapolis County. This man also owned land in Lunenburg Co. He told me he is holding it as an investment, "Money in the bank" he said. Well, it sits there unused until he sells it to another German. It does not generate any economic activity, and denies Nova Scotians the opportunity to build and live there. And if it does get developed, the Germans will only visit it a few weeks a year, then go back home. This provides very little economic benefit for Nova Scotia for the rest of the year (supporting businesses, paying taxes, etc).
It's time our leaders stand up for Nova Scotians, to ensure foreigners are limited in the amount of acreage they can own, and to make them pay much higher taxes to compensate our province for lost economic activity. It is also important to ensure existing Nova Scotia landowners are protected from skyrocketing property assessments due to the deleterious effects of foreign landowners .
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Commonwealth Games in Halifax - R.I.P.
The $1.7B games are dead, killed by the mayor of HRM and the premier. Halifax will no longer get to be a "world class city" saddled with debt. The taxpayers of Nova Scotia will get a break, as will their children and grandchildren.
Nova Scotians have substandard health care, substandard roads, substandard educational funding (my niece had to share her worn out textbooks in high school with several other kids), the highest university tuition in Canada, etc. How can you justify spending hundreds of millions of taxpayers money on a sporting event when situations like this exist? You can't. Then the cost ballooned to almost $2 billion. You'd think they were hosting the Olympics!
For once we're getting responsible political leadership. Hats off to mayor Kelly.
Nova Scotians have substandard health care, substandard roads, substandard educational funding (my niece had to share her worn out textbooks in high school with several other kids), the highest university tuition in Canada, etc. How can you justify spending hundreds of millions of taxpayers money on a sporting event when situations like this exist? You can't. Then the cost ballooned to almost $2 billion. You'd think they were hosting the Olympics!
For once we're getting responsible political leadership. Hats off to mayor Kelly.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Love Affair With Salt
One thing you'll notice here in the winter is the excessive use of salt on roads. So much is used that the roads appear as white as snow in some places. It isn't uncommon to see a cloud of dried salt rising up behind vehicles. Vehicles are crusted with salt for months.
The Dept. of Highways will dump loads of salt on the highways here even when its unnecessary. (They also "plow" the roads when there is no need to, which is another story). Cars rot out here due to corrosion within 10 years unless you have the vehicle sprayed with an anti-corrosion treatment (i.e. Krown).
All this salt damages the environment, and the water table has been ruined in many places along the roads. On Hwy 1 there are numerous places where salt is not used due to this, likely people have complained about salty well water. In these areas, road signs warn you that sand is used. I've never seen any problems with the roads in these places in the winter. So why not do more sanding, less salting, and protect the environment?
Just how much money does Nova Scotia spend on road salt? Is there a program in place to reduce road salting, and educate highway workers? How about alternatives?
The Dept. of Highways will dump loads of salt on the highways here even when its unnecessary. (They also "plow" the roads when there is no need to, which is another story). Cars rot out here due to corrosion within 10 years unless you have the vehicle sprayed with an anti-corrosion treatment (i.e. Krown).
All this salt damages the environment, and the water table has been ruined in many places along the roads. On Hwy 1 there are numerous places where salt is not used due to this, likely people have complained about salty well water. In these areas, road signs warn you that sand is used. I've never seen any problems with the roads in these places in the winter. So why not do more sanding, less salting, and protect the environment?
Just how much money does Nova Scotia spend on road salt? Is there a program in place to reduce road salting, and educate highway workers? How about alternatives?
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