Observational comedy

• In the first nine months of this year, QHSLab conducted over 30,000 patient digital medicine assessments through participating healthcare providers.
• QHSLab digital medicine assessments translate into a substantial increase in revenue for healthcare practices that utilize the Company’s innovative solutions.
• Physician clients have shared that their reimbursements have increased by 20-30% as a result of adding QHSLab digital health services to their practices.
• Preliminary outcomes data shows that healthcare providers can enhance a patient’s quality of life through digital medicine programs, a bright light for the future of healthcare.

• DALLAS, Oct. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ventra Health ("Ventra"), a leading business solutions provider for hospital-based clinicians, announced today that it has named Mike Drinkwater as a Strategic Advisor to support the company.
• In this newly created role, Mr. Drinkwater will help ensure that Ventra continues to deliver white-glove service to its clients.
• Ventra, which supports approximately nine million Emergency Medicine visits annually, is a portfolio company of Varsity Healthcare Partners, a leading private equity firm focused solely on building leading healthcare companies.
• Steven Huddleston, CEO of Ventra Health, said, "I am thrilled to welcome Mike to Ventra.

• As a political scientist with a public finance background, I have been studying the impact that environmental contamination can have on government finances.
• Environmental liabilities are the future costs assumed by licensed oil and gas companies to remediate the extraction site to its previous state.

Reclamation

• What’s known as the “polluter pay” principle in Alberta law requires all licensed and operational oil and gas companies to adhere to the remediation and reclamation practices of the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER).
• Since 2015, financial hardship has resulted in a number of court decisions with significant ramifications for those who could ultimately be stuck with the reclamation bill — taxpayers rather than company shareholders.
• Financial security is defined as cash or letters of credit that ensure funds are available to the regulator for reclamation costs if companies go bankrupt and fail to meet their obligations.

Two key court cases

• The first court case on this issue began in May 2015 after ATB Financial, an arm of the Alberta government, pushed Redwater Resources into bankruptcy.
• Taking such action is always a last resort for a creditor, especially for a public institution like ATB.
• When the case made it to the Supreme Court of Canada, the polluter pay principal was upheld.

Unpaid municipal taxes

• Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) says that as of December 2021, $253 million in unpaid taxes had accrued.
• The RMA is particularly galled that the provincial government allowed companies to avoid municipal taxes on new wells drilled until 2025.
• Furthermore, it would only apply to 41 per cent of unpaid taxes owed by companies that are currently operating.

Smith’s royalty lobbying

• Smith’s support of the oil industry’s efforts to receive royalty payment breaks, meanwhile, is an embarrassment to the sector.
• The premier’s proposed royalty deferral program, RStar, was previously rejected by then Energy Minister Sonya Savage, who was soon moved to the Environment and Parks department.

Kearl Lake spill

Recently a toxic spill at Imperial Oil’s Kearl Lake oilsands mine has led to a House of Commons environment committee inquiry. The AER and Imperial Oil failed to notify affected First Nations or the federal government. Heartbreaking testimony from First Nations and evasive testimony from chief executives of both Imperial Oil and the AER reveal continuing indifference to the environment.

A tool of the industry

• All of these developments suggest the Alberta Energy Regulator is controlled by the industry and has lost the public’s trust, particularly First Nations.
• A powerful book, Hidden Scourge by ecologist Kevin Timoney calls for a dismantling of the regulator, given it apparently acts on behalf of the industry and not the public.