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Alberta Politics

video: the raj sherman allegations.

Independent Edmonton-Meadowlark MLA Dr. Raj Sherman surprised and confused political watchers in Question Period yesterday by alleging that the former Capital Health Authority was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of cancer patients. Dr. Sherman then claimed that medical doctors were paid millions of dollars in hush money to keep the issue quiet (see the above video of Dr. Sherman’s claims).

While initially responding that his office would investigate these allegations, Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky went straight for Dr. Sherman’s jugular today by demanding that the MLA provide evidence to back up his allegations. Dr. Sherman told iNews880 that he would bring forward evidence, but needed assurance that none of his sources would be prosecuted.

These comments come a week after Dr. Sherman openly mused about running for the leadership of one of the three political parties seeking new leaders.

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17 replies on “video: the raj sherman allegations.”

I believe in the idea that Raj Sherman’s demands; that his sources are protected is nothing more than fair.
Some people would decry, why? And how is that fair?

This idea and principle; is simple fairness, given that this is precisely how the Alberta government operates in its very own sanctioned investigations of medical wrongdoings by one of its own agencies.
All of the people involved in the Massive Government Sponsored Fraud Scheme known as the WCB Alberta demands nothing less.
First of all, ALL WCB Employees are “forced” to sign a 100% total across the board NON-Disclosure document upon their being hired by the WCB AB.
Want proof of the existence of this document for many years, simply as Rachel Notley. She sat on the Appeals Commission and is fully aware of what goes on within the WCB Alberta Investigative and dispute resolution mechanisms.
Secondly, if you look at how the wording of how the Appeals Mechanism and Appeals Commission is set up at the WCB, then you will see that if reads that the Appeals Commission has no powers to rule on or prosecute “ANY” wrong doings or actions taken by Claims managers or any previous Board decision process.
So what this results in, is that the claims managers can do whatever in the hell they damned well pleased to innocent suffering injured workers in desperate need of critically necessary medications and medical treatments. And these unlicensed medical practitioners are allowed to do so, without fear of ANY prosecution in any court in Alberta.
So Basically WCB AB Claims managers are allowed to practice Medicine in the Province of Alberta WITHOUT a MEDICAL LICENSE!! And they get to do so without fear of prosecution in ANY COURT in the LAND.
So, it follows that Raj Sherman and his sources should enjoy the same protections that criminal unlicensed and even unsolicited medical practitioners in the province of Alberta enjoy.
Fair is Fair!
What is good for the goose is good for the gander.
This government has so deliberately tampered with the medical system and the legal system in this province to the point where we DO NOT LIVE IN A DEMOCRACY any more.
The Alberta Conservative Party has toyed with the laws and bastardized our Justice System with outright deliberate Malice.
I mean right up to the Minister of Justice Alison Redford when she was Justice Minster. A fellow injured worker dropped undeniable evidence of deliberate Bias and Corruption at all levels of the WCB, including and most importantly the legally empowered Appeals Commission. These powers were given with the specific intention of these boards acting impartially and completely free of the influence of the WCB Boards. That is no longer the case, but more importantly what the Justice Department has deliberately allowed to happen is that these boards are simply a retirement home for old crony WCB Board Claims managers and government cronies with the Malicious intent to deliberately DENY legally entitled Injured workers to the benefits, and more importantly the critical lifesaving medications and treatments they are entitled to and deserve.
So if Alison Redford when she was the Justice Minister deliberately allowed all of these injustices to continue unabated, then she did so with deliberate Malice. This is a true travesty of Justice when the corruption goes right to the top.
The very underpinning of Democracy demands an open and accessible Justice System where the Judiciary is completely separate from the Executive of the Government. Without this base principle in place, we are no longer a Democracy.
So how can we possibly expect any sort of fairness or proper treatment by whomever the new crony our corporate puppet government has set up as the new crony minister of the Justice Department?
I feel sorry for Raj, because I have gone up against these crooks [AB Government], and there is NO WAY to WIN against these crooks and cronies.
The matter is compounded by all the cowardly voters here in the province that will not even stand up for a fellow neighbour, who is a medical professional. Albertans are so cowardly they are going to simply stand by and watch as the Progressive Conservative Corruption Machine “CRUCIFIES RAJ SHERMAN”.
The AB PC’s will do this publicly so that YOU will know what will happen if you try to stand up to this band of crooks and corporate shills.
I will cry if the people of Alberta stand by and watch these crooks crucify Raj Sherman.
That is a signal that Democracy is DEAD HERE forever. DOA

These allegations are indeed troubling. If Dr. Sherman has the evidence to back them up, the Government will have even more egg on its face… in fact, an entire hatchery. If not, they undermine his credibility and label him as a loose cannon, to be avoided like the plague by the opposition parties.

However, we know from Dr. Swann’s past life as a regional Medical Officer of Health how this government treats its critics. There is very little that I would put past them, so the seriousness of these allegations is most definitely not evidence that they should be discounted.

Brent, you should be ashamed of yourself for making comments like that. People are currently dieing in the streets in countries around the world fighting for the very right to be able to criticize their own government, and you have the audacity to insult your own country where you obviously take your freedoms for granted. I’m sorry I even wasted my time reading your comments. Shameful.

James the frustration the people of this country feel because of our rights being eroded is coming to the surface. I agree that it isn’t as bad as other places around the world but it sure isn’t what it should be. People aren’t dying in the streets here, they’ve contained it to the waiting rooms in hospitals.

You guys are cretinous and uniformed. People here are too busy, lazy or just conditioned to accept some things here.

Dr. Sherman is not taking freedom for granted, neither is Brent. In fact you two need to be reminded that this group voted against: human rights(bill 44), to take away land, against transparency, against whistleblower legislation, against audits, against investigating themselves and many other things too long to list.

Why all this venom against one lone man? that stands up for the truth and for the welfare of the people?

What has he taken from anyone here he has only given and taken great sacrifice to come out to advocate and speak for the public.

If there is nothing to hide, why not pass the whistleblower legislation and give full immunity to that want to talk? Is this not a democracy anymore?

Maybe, not a full one, when a small group tightly control the many with a clenched fist, this damages the health of democracy.

Again, if there is nothing to hide, why not do all of the audits, access to information, full whistleblower legislation.

What is more shocking is that you two are not demanding this. Your apathy, complicity and inablity to use intelligence and question is the true sad thing here, you should be ashamed for taking democracy for granted. Democracy does not happen on its own, it only maintains itself when inherent checks and balances are working.

Keep living in your dreamworld.

I strongly disagree. I recently spent time in a hospital with my daughter who was extremely ill, I can’t say enough for what an amazing system we have. If you and Brent can identify a Province or country that you would rather live in, I would strongly encourage you to consider moving there. We’re blessed to live in this Province. Exaggerating haf-truths and spreading misinformation and using name-calling as a tool are not ways to garner respect.

@Joe: Should he show the evidence to somebody trustworthy.

If producing the evidence causes the source to be exposed, he’s right to spare that source the public humiliation and persecution that we’ve seen our provincial gov’t heap on it’s critics.

First point: My father recently underwent cancer surgery.. While the care he received once arriving at the Baker Clinic was exemplary, the delay in getting biopsy results and in getting answers for why he was delayed beyond accepted protocols to commence chemo and radiation was inexcuseable.

Second Point: The prevalance of direct and indirect pressure inherent in the system to keep government happy is a massive impediment to the interests of Albertans. There are far to many “perks” of government support for those on the inside to speak against government.. and I beleive that is what Sherman is speaking to.

If you get appointed to any of these government retirement plans (otherwise known as Boards and other positions of appointment) the last thing you are going to do is bite the hand that fed you.

As a recovering PC Constituency President I have seen first hand how the “soft graft” resulting from hoping for being seen as a “good PC soldier” infects the system so that the interests of the citizens become secondary to the mutual love between government members and the people who support them.. ie) cronyism.

Good for you, I am glad your daughter, received treatment that was timely and professional, as long as you are not the waiting list.

Talk to people who have suffered in the ER waiting and talk to those that lost loved ones who were not as lucky as you.

I even knew a family doc, who had to wait in ER for 10 hours before her 2 yr old daughter’s head injury was treated.

Consider yourself lucky. Sherman is an ER doc and treats the loved ones of everybody here. What he has done not warrant such harsh criticism. its fair to ask for proof bu he has worked the system and probably knows things that we don’t and would not irresponsibly expose his sources to retribution and jeapordize his cause to political interference.

Again, I am glad that you got lucky and good care for your daughter. Talk to others who were not lucky like you, try to empathize with their suffering rather than taking a holier than thou know it all attitude from one positive experience you had.

He needs to be given the public forum to present his evidence, this needs to bve done in public so we can all hear and see the evidence. Joe Albertan? I don’t think so I was just reading his page and that sure is not what he’s saying, must be a fake.

Those who have received “exemplary service” and therefore discount Raj Sherman’s accusations are missing the point. Medical services in Alberta are now hit and miss. While I would have thought that treatment for cancer patients would be better over all because this is a disease that affects everyone, I’m not surprised that there are gaps even in this area. In the area of mental health, as we know from on-again, off-again reports in the media, service is extremely variable. While an admission to Grey Nuns or Alberta Hospital for a family member will generally result in good care, the opposite is true at the Royal Alex and the U of A. They don’t have the staffing and they don’t have the beds. So even getting someone beyond ER is tricky. And you often have no choice about the hospital where your family member will go. I had a family member taken by court order for an assessment and asked that the individual be taken to Alberta Hospital or the Grey Nuns. The police officer was sympathetic and indicated that the cops know that U of A and Royal Alex discharge people to the streets rather than admitting them to the psych ward. But their hands are tied and they have to observe a strict rotation.

The family member was indeed dismissed after a 25-minute assessment, with the psychiatrist refusing to take collateral evidence claiming that the individual in question, who was 18 at the time, was an adult and therefore she couldn’t consider family input. As another psychiatrist from a different institution subsequently told me, backed up by a variety of psychologists, that is simply bullshit. A psychiatrist can and should consider family evidence since a patient can hold things together and not appear psychotic for the short period of a psych assessment.

A month later this family member made a serious suicide attempt. When you under-fund an area of medical service, the combination of the under-funding and the variable abilities of the people in the system create a lot of risk. You might end up getting good service despite the problems of the overall system. But then again, like the alleged 250 lung cancer patients, you might not.

Mr. Finkel, thank you for the honest story. As an oilsands worker, I used to come across an email or two every week from oilsands workers that died from cancer. These guys came here in their 20’s from allover to work in Ft. Mac and it seems once they reached 45-55, they would just get cancer and die off, not even living long enough to get their pension. It just became normal to hear of guys dying from cancer up there. Statistically, you can bet the cancer rate is far higher for Ft. mac workers than other areas.

There is not chain of accountability for these lost lives. No follow up, no admission of anything. These people are human beings for god’s sake, not cattle to be used and thrown away. The ignorance of this problem is absolutely godless.

Here’s a Couple of interesting articles:
http://www.ourcourtssuck.com/DoctorKuntz.html

Here’s How Mr. I. David Marshall fixed the WCB System of the “Unfunded Liability”.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:3f9cTedk47wJ:injuredworkersonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Backgrounder_NewBenefitsPolicies_2014_12pt.docx+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca

Protection, lets look at this Scenario:

POLICY TITLE

WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION

AUTHORIZATION

Fraser Health Authority – Board of Directors

DATE APPROVED

May 2006

(Formerly “Allegations of

Wrongdoing”)

DATE REVISED

September 2012

1. PURPOSE

Fraser Health is committed to maintaining high standards of ethics and business conduct in the administration of publicly funded resources in achieving its vision of “Better Health Best in Health Care”. To maintain and enhance the public’s trust and confidence in our integrity, we are committed to sound business practices that support legal and

regulatory compliance.

The purpose of this policy is to establish a process that allows individuals to bring forward information, in good faith, concerning allegations of wrongdoing, without fear of reprisal or retaliation.

This policy does not replace, supplant or circumvent other established processes or usual reporting structures nor does it replace or supercede reporting obligations mandated in legislation.

Fraser Health is committed to addressing reports pertaining to a breach of this policy including conducting an appropriate, objective and impartial investigation, where warranted, in a timely manner. Fraser Health will not take, tolerate or allow any indirect or direct reprisal or harassment against a person who, in good faith, reports a suspected violation, a person who acts as a witness in an investigation or a person who carries out an investigation under this Policy.

Exceptions to the Scope:

This policy does not cover matters for which there are other established processes for he reporting and investigation of alleged improper conduct or violations including:

• Grievance procedures under a collective agreement;

• Reports on safety hazards and unsafe conditions made in accordance with the provisions of the WCB Occupational Health and Safety Regulations;

• Misconduct related to behaviours identified in Fraser Health’s Respectful Workplace policy which would be dealt with through the internal mechanisms of that policy;

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search…

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