Saturday's letters: Politicians ill-suited for public health decisions

Published Aug 05, 2023 • Last updated 43 minutes ago • 3 minute read

Premier Jason Kenney and Health Minister Tyler Shandro reveal the Open for Summer Plan as Alberta crosses the 70 percent first dose COVID-19 vaccine uptake on June 18, 2021. Photo by Shaughn Butts / Postmedia Photo by Shaughn Butts /Postmedia

Re. “Power should rest with those who are elected,” David Staples, Aug. 4

Leaving public health decisions to elected politicians is, according to David Staples, the “least worse choice.” If that were the case, under the current premiership during the pandemic, there would have been few, if any health restrictions, we would have been encouraged to take horse tranquilizers and anti-malarial drugs and the increased mortality would be laid at the door of Alberta Health for having insufficient intensive-care beds. Leaving it to political leaders? Let’s not forget those who lost loved ones during the previous administration’s declaration of the “best summer ever.”

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Unlike politics, medicine is a reality-based discipline. Medical officers, like all physicians, are bound by the rules of evidence, as flawed as that sometimes seems, and by a code of ethics. Politicians are beholding to the opinions of whoever they see as their base and frankly by their own ignorance — not a great basis on which to make health-related decisions that have life-or-death consequences.

The problem with Mr. Staples’ analysis of the aftermath of COVID, is that the unwanted adverse effects of public health measures are obvious; the benefits are invisible, even more so when they are effective.

Anthony McClellan, Edmonton

Climate change, wildfires are connected

On Thursday, with his editorial cartoon, Malcolm Mayes demonstrates a dangerously deficient understanding of climate change, as it pertains to wildfires.

What climate scientist Richard Betts of the U.K. Met Office said about a carton that appeared recently in the London Telegraph applies to Mayes’ cartoon: “It basically says ‘I hate science, I don’t care about facts or understanding, just as long as I get a cheap laugh, that’s fine.’ ”

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No one with an understanding of the subject is saying that the forest fires are caused by climate change. What they are saying is that there is a connection. And, says climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, the connection is that “climate change is making wildfires worse.”

Mike Flannigan, science director of the Canadian Partnership for Wildland Fire Science at the University of Alberta sums it up: “Currently in Canada some nonsense is circulating that wildfires and climate change are not related. Many research efforts show that we are seeing more fires as we warm due to anthropogenic climate change including one study just published in PNAS (Proceeding’s of the (U.S.) National Academies of Science).”

In preparation for his next take on climate change and its connection to wildfires, Mayes would be wise to do some research. Or, at the very least, to call can expert.

Peter Adamski, Edmonton

Yes, housing is a federal issue

The Edmonton Journal recently outlined a statement from the PM that “housing not a federal issue.” Remembering that housing prices/affordability are highly reflective of both supply and demand, the federal government has in fact played a major role in the rapid increase in Canadian housing prices.

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First and foremost, the federal government’s ongoing promotion of immigration levels at historically high levels (well in excess of the rate of new housing construction) has greatly increased housing demand and prices.

Second, the federal government’s failure to ensure an adequate quality and quantity of housing on First Nations reserves has resulted in overcrowding and an exodus of First Nations people into nearby cities. For example, in Edmonton about half of its large and growing homeless population are Aboriginals who have recently relocated from the overcrowded reserves.

The federal government needs to address these issues when making its decisions to increase and sustain immigration at historically high levels and to be negligent in dealing with housing shortages on First Nations reserves.

A.W. Jenkins, Edmonton

Letters welcome

We invite you to write letters to the editor. A maximum of 150 words is preferred. Letters must carry a first and last name, or two initials and a last name, and include an address and daytime telephone number. All letters are subject to editing. We don’t publish letters addressed to others or sent to other publications. Email: [email protected] .

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