Dear Constituents, 

I trust everyone has enjoyed the summer, albeit too short, and now with children returning to school it is time to reflect on some of the initiatives that have taken place over the past six months and look ahead to the remainder of 2010.

Certainly a new era of trust and confidence has taken place in the energy industry, especially in Calgary, with the changes government made last spring to the royalty framework. All indications point to a very aggressive drilling program this winter.
Work will continue on streamlining our regulatory regime with a final report by our MLA/industry task force due out by the end of the year.

Changes to how health care is delivered in Alberta will be announced this fall as the advisory committee consultations with Albertans concludes. These recommendations will be important as they will set the tone for an updated Alberta Health act which will provide more options for health care delivery in the future.

The government has announced a number of new initiatives in the past six months which will get seniors housing and long-term care projects underway. These initiatives will go a long way to freeing up needed acute care spaces in our hospitals. The government has also delayed implementation of a revised seniors’ drug program, pending some of the consultation that is currently underway.

By way of background, last year the government announced that a proposed new seniors’ drug program would take effect July 1, 2010. However, implementation of the program was delayed because more time is needed to address necessary legislative and regulatory changes and, most importantly, to ensure better alignment of prescription drug coverage with other government programs for seniors. A coordinated approach to address the needs of seniors now and in the future is required, given that Alberta’s senior population is expected to double – from 400,000 today to more than 800,000 by 2030.

In the meantime, our government continues to pay about 80 per cent of seniors’ total drug program costs through our existing seniors’ drug program, which remains available to all Albertans age 65 and over. Seniors with this coverage will continue to pay a co-payment of 30 per cent of each prescription’s cost, to a maximum of $25 per prescription.

This fall will also see passage of our distracted driving legislation. I would like to thank all those constituents who have contacted our office regarding this important bill.

On a final note, it is encouraging to see major construction initiatives on the west LRT and the new high school progressing so well. Clearly the traffic inconvenience is something we would all rather do without; however, a few years from now when we all look back on this time I know it will be seen as well worth it.

Thank you for your support and your contribution to making our province a great place to live.

Sincerely,


Ron Liepert, MLA
Calgary West