Dr. David Keegan, a family physician, moved with his young family to Calgary in the early 2000s
It was a deliberate choice.
Alberta was fun, and there were lots of jobs.
The open skies and majestic mountains were a big draw.
So, too, was the allure of a province that made smart decisions.
For example, all those oil royalties were being pumped into the Alberta Heritage Fund, which supported medical research and advanced understanding of health science.
Remember that?
Or the Red Wagon school initiative that prioritized excellent public education for all, and the Alberta Promise initiative that was dedicated to improving the lives of Alberta’s children and youth by inspiring ideas, actions, and investment between business, agency and community partners.
Then there’s Kananaskis Country, the visionary crown jewel of Alberta’s park system that was a gift to conservation and for all Albertans who love getting outside.
It was a province that pulled off something rare – a fiscally responsible Olympics with the 1988 Winter Games.
The Alberta Advantage?
Has Alberta lost its advantage?
Dr. Keegan thinks so.
In a recent column published in the Calgary Herald, Dr. Keegan shared his pointed thoughts on why he thinks Alberta has lost its ways.
“Alberta, to me, was wise, bold and creative. Alberta called to me,” writes Dr. Keegan, who is also a family medicine professor at the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary.
“I’ve been here almost 16 years. Something has gone wrong with Alberta in this time. The Heritage Fund has languished. Our public education is crumbling with massive class sizes while funds are diverted into charter and private schools, eroding our community connections.”
Dr. Keegan points to a few prime examples of the less-than-bold, less-than-forward-thinking path Alberta is walking.
The COVID pandemic was minimized and ignored, and the province’s “Open for Summer” (2021) campaign set the trajectory for the explosive fourth wave that has pushed its healthcare system to the breaking point.
Premier Smith’s continued push to open up the Rocky Mountain foothills to foreign-owned coal mining despite vigorous opposition from Albertans of all walks of life.
At the same time, discouraging and pausing, without notification, approval of renewable energy projects.
The push to close, delist, or privatize 184 provincial parks and recreation areas also infuriated Albertans so much that the province eventually had to roll back their plans.
“Kananaskis has been corrupted and is no longer open to all,” writes Dr.Keegan.
”The wisdom that seemed to anchor Alberta’s decision-making has been thrown out, replaced by refusals to address the opioid crisis, advance Truth and Reconciliation, and ensure we have strong health and education systems for all. And for what? To save a bit of money in the very short term and enable some companies to extract as much as they can, while downloading costs to families and the future.”
In other words, poor leadership has turned our advantage, into a disadvantage.
Fractured and Divisive?
Dr. Keegan fears that Alberta is becoming an increasingly fractured society.
Excellent health care is becoming a privilege for the rich.
The same is true for top-level education, as class sizes in public schools grow and the government funnels resources to private charter schools.
And the extreme right, with David Parker’s Take Back Alberta, is infiltrating the UCP and local school boards across the province.
Dr. Keegan’s column is a sobering read. When skilled people are looking for a place to settle, he says they won’t see the Alberta he saw.
“Instead, they will see an Alberta that is embracing a cruel approach to society, which is actively spoiling the lands, and where even their Canada Pension Plan isn’t safe,” he writes.
Of course, there’s still good in Alberta.
But much of that good results from past wise decisions, not ones being made today.
Dr. Keegan ends his column with a simple call to action.
“It’s time for Alberta to reconnect with the good parts of its past. We need to hold our leaders to account and demand policies that work for all Albertans, not just the very few at the top.”
Alberta is blessed with resources, people who care about where they live, and people who are inventive and hard-working.
Every day, there are inspiring stories of Albertans doing amazing things in spite of the rear-view mirror policies of Premier Danielle Smith and the UCP government.
Alberta needs to be a place of respect for a diversity of views that makes possible the bold, wise and creative ideas that attract talented people like David Keegan.
If not, as Dr. Keegan notes, we all lose.
