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  #1181  
Old Posted May 17, 2019, 4:49 PM
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Originally Posted by 240glt View Post
So those are the only two options.. terrible government access or privatizing the profits and socializing the losses (massive subsidies for the systems that the registries use) ? I refuse to accept that this couldn't have been done in such a way to protect the public and not provide shady back room deals for corrupt PC hacks

The registry fiasco is but one of the failures of the previous PC's. There are many more.
Clearly you didn't live in Alberta when registries and liquor stores were government run, no one who experienced those days of inconvenience and wait times would want to go back to those systems. It was probably the two best things the Klein government ever accomplished. OK I do miss the way the liquor store clerks could snap dollar bills when they gave you back change!
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  #1182  
Old Posted May 19, 2019, 3:42 AM
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Originally Posted by jawagord View Post
Clearly you didn't live in Alberta when registries and liquor stores were government run, no one who experienced those days of inconvenience and wait times would want to go back to those systems. It was probably the two best things the Klein government ever accomplished. OK I do miss the way the liquor store clerks could snap dollar bills when they gave you back change!
Huh? While I certainly am glad that Alberta privatized liquor sales, given the added convenience of multiple shops, the government run stores were hardly a disappointment. I don’t recall ever waiting that long at the cash.
As for registries, I find them a bit sketch. Was very glad when the government stepped in to take over road exams after watching my son and everyone of his friends systematically fail their first road test, have to pay for a second one, and then all pass...
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  #1183  
Old Posted May 19, 2019, 2:30 PM
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Huh? While I certainly am glad that Alberta privatized liquor sales, given the added convenience of multiple shops, the government run stores were hardly a disappointment. I don’t recall ever waiting that long at the cash.
As for registries, I find them a bit sketch. Was very glad when the government stepped in to take over road exams after watching my son and everyone of his friends systematically fail their first road test, have to pay for a second one, and then all pass...
The government run stores were too hard to find and not open enough hours. Calgary has something like 18 to serve a population of 700,000. They were extremely sketchy. As a teen, I remember the scam to get served underage. An off shift liquor store employee would hang out by the CIBC ATM at Southcentre. If you wanted to guarantee that your ID would be accepted regardless of birthdate, you would take $40 out from the ATM and give it to the guy along with the receipt. He would write a code word on it. You then went to the ALCB store on the second floor where Sport Chek is now. At checkout, you would show the receipt along with your ID and the cashier would always accept the birthdate as legal. Jobs at the ALCB store were extremely hard to come by, especially in small towns. At a time when the minimum wage was sub $4, an ALCB cashier or stock person started at around $14. Generally, you had to have a family member already working there or be friends with an MLA to get hired. In small towns, ALCB employees were among the highest earners.

The old motor vehicle department locations were unionized, government bureaucracy at its worst. Calgary had two locations, one in the south at Fisher Park and another in the northwest near 16th Ave and Bowness Road. They were only open 9 to 5 and closed for an hour over lunch. You would pass through a series of lineups were some grumpy employee would initial or stamp your form and send you onto the next line-up. It would take minimum two hours to get anything done.

Even before the registries, you could take driver’s tests from private driving schools. The advantage was not having to wait weeks or months for an appointment. I did mine the morning or my 16th birthday, skipping school. The fee was $40. I could have done it for free at the Motor Vehicles Department but the wait list was months long, and the only location that did exams at the time was the one way in the NW.
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  #1184  
Old Posted May 19, 2019, 2:45 PM
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Originally Posted by PPAR View Post
Huh? While I certainly am glad that Alberta privatized liquor sales, given the added convenience of multiple shops, the government run stores were hardly a disappointment. I don’t recall ever waiting that long at the cash.
As for registries, I find them a bit sketch. Was very glad when the government stepped in to take over road exams after watching my son and everyone of his friends systematically fail their first road test, have to pay for a second one, and then all pass...
The government run stores were a mess on long weekends like this one, because the government stores were closed on Sunday and Monday and weekday evenings there would be massive line ups on Saturday and nothing but bar off sales if you ran out. Not to mention the beer was warm! Lack of stores, lack of product, lack of innovation were the hallmarks of the government liquor stores. The Alberta government needs to go another step forward and allow beer and wine sales in grocery stores.
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  #1185  
Old Posted May 19, 2019, 4:59 PM
milomilo milomilo is offline
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The government run stores were a mess on long weekends like this one, because the government stores were closed on Sunday and Monday and weekday evenings there would be massive line ups on Saturday and nothing but bar off sales if you ran out. Not to mention the beer was warm! Lack of stores, lack of product, lack of innovation were the hallmarks of the government liquor stores. The Alberta government needs to go another step forward and allow beer and wine sales in grocery stores.
It's an embarrassment to Canada that Alberta is one of the 'better' provinces. The system here needs to be completely destroyed, make us like a normal country and just have a free market run everything and sell alcohol wherever you want, and get rid of the pointless AGLC wholesaling

If Jason Kenney is an actual conservative, he should do this.
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  #1186  
Old Posted May 23, 2019, 7:54 PM
adam-machiavelli adam-machiavelli is offline
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I don't care who operates what, but the fact that private registries owned by organized criminals have access to all our personal data through Service Alberta should terrify all of us.
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  #1187  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2019, 4:24 AM
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So has Jason returned from Federal campaigning on your dime and gone to visit some of the communities that have been evacuated because of the fire threat?
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  #1188  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2019, 4:49 AM
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Investigation launched into fraud, forgery, improper inducement and bribery allegations against UCP MLA Peter Singh
https://www.thestar.com/edmonton/201...d-bribery.html
Quote:
Alberta’s election commissioner has launched an investigation into allegations a United Conservative MLA used bribery to gain votes during his nomination contest, even though an internal party investigation cleared him of wrongdoing.

Peter Singh, now the UCP MLA for Calgary-East, is facing accusations of “fraud, forgery, improper inducement and bribery” from four of the nomination candidates who ran against him in the same riding. Back in November 2018, the four — Jamie Lall, Matthew Dirk, Issa Moussa and Andre Chabot, a former city councillor — sent a letter to party leadership detailing their complaints.

They claimed Singh had offered gifts or money for votes and fraudulently registered people for the UCP by forging their consent and identity. Two sworn affidavits signed by residents of the riding and provided as evidence of improprieties outlined how Singh allegedly gave discounts at his business — an auto-repair shop located in Calgary — for votes and offered cash to people for support.
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  #1189  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2019, 4:57 AM
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More fines in case of UCP money laundering / illegal donations, as RCMP requests out of province prosecutor given government conflict of interest
https://edmontonsun.com/news/politic...9-98dd1ec3360e

Note that this is separate from the RCMP voter fraud investigation.
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  #1190  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2019, 5:27 PM
BlaineN BlaineN is offline
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Agree with Jawagord. I love the privatized liquor stores and registries in this province compared to back in Ontario. I don't know what it was like in Alberta before privatization, but I know it's much better than Ontario where they are government run.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jawagord View Post
Clearly you didn't live in Alberta when registries and liquor stores were government run, no one who experienced those days of inconvenience and wait times would want to go back to those systems. It was probably the two best things the Klein government ever accomplished. OK I do miss the way the liquor store clerks could snap dollar bills when they gave you back change!
Quote:
Originally Posted by PPAR View Post
Huh? While I certainly am glad that Alberta privatized liquor sales, given the added convenience of multiple shops, the government run stores were hardly a disappointment. I don’t recall ever waiting that long at the cash.
As for registries, I find them a bit sketch. Was very glad when the government stepped in to take over road exams after watching my son and everyone of his friends systematically fail their first road test, have to pay for a second one, and then all pass...

Last edited by BlaineN; Jun 1, 2019 at 5:41 PM.
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  #1191  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2019, 5:39 PM
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The privatized liquor stores are 100 times better than the old government run ones, in so many ways. I would never, ever want liquor retail to go back to the government.

I'm indifferent about the vehicle registries. Generally speaking the line-ups are less, and there are more locations, but outside of that not much difference.

Re: road tests. Yes, much better with government testing. Either they were failing people to make them take it again, or they were taking bribes and passing people who had no clue how to drive. Just look at some of the unbelievably bad drivers in Alberta and you just know they bribed their way into a license.

Quote:
Originally Posted by PPAR View Post
Huh? While I certainly am glad that Alberta privatized liquor sales, given the added convenience of multiple shops, the government run stores were hardly a disappointment. I don’t recall ever waiting that long at the cash.
As for registries, I find them a bit sketch. Was very glad when the government stepped in to take over road exams after watching my son and everyone of his friends systematically fail their first road test, have to pay for a second one, and then all pass...
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  #1192  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2019, 5:42 PM
BlaineN BlaineN is offline
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Totally agree. Alberta has it really good here when it comes to liquor stores.

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The privatized liquor stores are 100 times better than the old government run ones, in so many ways. I would never, ever want liquor retail to go back to the government.

I'm indifferent about the vehicle registries. Generally speaking the line-ups are less, and there are more locations, but outside of that not much difference.

Re: road tests. Yes, much better with government testing. Either they were failing people to make them take it again, or they were taking bribes and passing people who had no clue how to drive. Just look at some of the unbelievably bad drivers in Alberta and you just know they bribed their way into a license.
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  #1193  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2019, 9:19 PM
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Totally agree. Alberta has it really good here when it comes to liquor stores.
Not compared to countries that aren't the USA or Canada. We're in the dark ages when it comes to alcohol here and people think it's normal.
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  #1194  
Old Posted Jun 2, 2019, 3:54 PM
the.tru.albertan the.tru.albertan is offline
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Originally Posted by topdog View Post
Re: road tests. Yes, much better with government testing. Either they were failing people to make them take it again, or they were taking bribes and passing people who had no clue how to drive. Just look at some of the unbelievably bad drivers in Alberta and you just know they bribed their way into a license.
No way. Absolutely erroneous.

The government took over the road exams and now the whole system is completely falling apart. This has affected every level of drivers license, inlcuding cutting into the riding season for motorcycle riders.

This was a very, very bad idea.

https://livewirecalgary.com/2019/05/...nation-switch/

https://globalnews.ca/news/5141474/a...system-delays/
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  #1195  
Old Posted Jun 3, 2019, 4:31 PM
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Things are starting to get interesting... UCP has mandated a 10% cut in expenditures including workforce and all contracts for this year and a 23% cut over four years for most sectors. Things could get rough here in Edmonton over the next while. Looks a lot like Klein 2.0 coming up
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  #1196  
Old Posted Jun 3, 2019, 4:39 PM
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Originally Posted by 240glt View Post
Things are starting to get interesting... UCP has mandated a 10% cut in expenditures including workforce and all contracts for this year and a 23% cut over four years for most sectors. Things could get rough here in Edmonton over the next while. Looks a lot like Klein 2.0 coming up
With the tax cuts coming, I don't think most here are shocked we are getting Klein 2.0.

Was on the phone with a friend at another firm. Almost all of their GoA projects are on hold for revaluation before they move to constructing. Good think I have 2 years worth of First Nations work lined up.
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  #1197  
Old Posted Jun 3, 2019, 5:06 PM
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Originally Posted by 240glt View Post
Things are starting to get interesting... UCP has mandated a 10% cut in expenditures including workforce and all contracts for this year and a 23% cut over four years for most sectors. Things could get rough here in Edmonton over the next while. Looks a lot like Klein 2.0 coming up
if Kenney delivers. - 23% would likely still leave AB as the biggest spending province. This will help other provincial budgets as their compensation comparables against big spending AB won't seem as low.
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  #1198  
Old Posted Jun 3, 2019, 5:10 PM
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^ It's just too bad the province still has such garbage infrastructure left over from the last round.
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  #1199  
Old Posted Jun 3, 2019, 9:07 PM
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if Kenney delivers. - 23% would likely still leave AB as the biggest spending province. This will help other provincial budgets as their compensation comparables against big spending AB won't seem as low.
Spending next to nothing because other places do is not sound economic policy. Waiting for better times where you end up paying three times as much as it would cost now is financially stupid. We've already done this and it was a disaster. Things didn't get better because of the cuts and not spending, they got better because oil and gas prices improved. Looks like the same old gang is back in power and nothing has changed. Kenney had better hope the general economy gets a lot better or he'll be one and done like Rachel. Hopefully over the next four years a financially responsible party emerges that's also willing to fight for our rights in Ottawa. If that happens they'll have my vote.
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  #1200  
Old Posted Jun 3, 2019, 9:14 PM
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I'm healthy and don't have kids so cuts aren't the end of the world to me, it's just stupid to needlessly throw away money on reducing the corporate tax and carbon tax, for negligible gains. We wouldn't have as much need to cut if wasn't for Kenney's inability to understand addition and subtraction.
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