Earlier yesterday I tweeted remarks from the Premier's speech at the Chamber Luncheon at Festival Place. I have had several residents ask me for more of my personal thoughts.
I believe that Ed Stelmach knew many of the audience and was relaxed and gentle humoured. This resulted in him cutting through the rhetoric as he updated Sherwood Park business owners and residents on initiatives that he believes are important to move Alberta forward.
The stress he put on health care identified his strong support of improving the public health system and making it sustainable by training workers and meeting workforce requirements. He discussed the needs for expanding power distribution in Alberta and acknowledged residents would have an opportunity to present views on preferred technology and alignments - even mentioning the possibility of burying power lines.
I think he showed confidence in the robust businesses of the Capital region particularly Strathcona County. Premier Ed said that expanding our oil and gas interests by building upgrading capacity was his governments way of building Alberta for future generations. His promotion of upgrading bitumen here in Alberta won him solid applause at the packed Sherwood Park & Area Chamber Luncheon.
Premier Ed referred to a Dec. 9, 2010 press release of an additional $69.1 million allocated for construction of the new Strathcona Hospital saying that Phase 2 of that project will include inpatient beds and operating rooms. Construction is currently underway on Phase 1 of the hospital, which will include 24/7 Emergency services. In a response to a question about the Strathcona Community Hospital he said he keeps his commitments and phase 2 would follow right after phase 1 is built.
My hope is that MLA Iris Evans and Dave Quest have finally been heard amidst the myriad of issues in the caucas and that Strathcona County residents can now focus on just what the new medical facility will specialize in. Looking at other Alberta hospitals, we know that the most recent ones specialize in specific areas. Councillor Fenske has wondered out loud about an arthritis centre of excellence. Given the '" demographic time bomb" ( 2,000 people turned 65 today) that our Premier referred to today, I wonder whether Strathcona County residents and their medical professionals should be advocating for a Geriatric Centre of Excellence?
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