We rate the G8

What in the hell is all the fuss about the upcoming G8 summit at Kananaskis? Some facts and figures:

Focus of the G8 summit at Kananaskis: economic development in Africa

Possible solution that will not be on the summit’s agenda: debt relief

Size of the Kananaskis Village security zone: 6.5 kilometres

Number of RCMP officers expected to patrol the zone: 1,500

Number of Canadian Forces soldiers expected to patrol: 5,000

Number of authorized protesters at Kananaskis: 0

Ranking, according to size, of the summit as security operation in Canadian history: 1

Level of force that Canadian soldiers will be authorized to use to protect summit attendees: lethal

Desired destination of G8 protesters: Kananaskis

Actual destinations of G8 protesters: Calgary, Ottawa

Distance between Kananaskis and Calgary: 115 kilometres

Number of delegates to an alternative G8 summit, a nonviolent event to held at University of Calgary, denied access to Canada outright: 10

Number of anti-G8 graffiti slogans that were analyzed for clues then removed from the streets of Calgary: 19

Number of grizzlies fitted with radio collars so that summit security can avoid run-ins with bears: 6

Minimum cost of stock-piled medical treatments for biochemical attacks, mass tear gassings and other emergencies: $700,000

Cost of the G8 environmental "legacy" established by the federal government and the University of Calgary to create a wildlife crossing and promote research and conservation: $5 million

Estimated cost of the G8 summit to the federal government: $300 million

Duration of G8 summit at Kananaskis: 2 days

Still paying your health care premiums?

Did you know that you don’t have to?

Not if you’re willing to assume the responsibility of paying the full cost of your health care for a year.

That’s what Gordon Sopczak and about 200 other Albertans do.

When his wife slipped and cracked her shoulder three years ago, Slopczak was unsatisfied with the care she received. He decided to opt out of the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan.

The following year he paid for his annual checkup out of his pocket. "I’m standing there waiting for the girl to do up the receipt. One of the doctors from the clinic comes out and says, ‘Oh, you’ve opted out. That’s probably a good call. The average family of four only uses $400 worth of medical services a year and they get billed for about $1600.’"

"The system is skewed to make everyone believe that they’re getting good value for the money." Sopczak believes that people should save the money that they spend on premiums and plow it into healthy food and natural remedies.

John Kolkman isn’t opposed to opting out in principle. "I think originally it was set up as a safety valve for people who were philosophically opposed to what they might describe as socialized medicine," says the research director for the provincial New Democrats.

But he fears that most people opt out for financial rather than philosophical reasons – because they’re having trouble paying their premiums and are tired of collection agencies chasing them down to collect arrears. With premiums rising by 30 per cent, he fears that the problem will only get worse.

"Premiums should be phased out," he says. Not only are they a regressive form of taxation, he says, they’re costly to administer, requiring a collection system that’s parallel to the income tax bureaucracy. And the province still has to write off tens of millions of dollars worth of premiums, he adds.

"There are better ways to pay for [health services]," says Kolkman.

"We think we’ve done a good job of protecting people with lower incomes," says David Dear, spokesman for Alberta Health and Wellness,. noting that low-income Albertans have their premiums subsidized.

Moreover, he says, premiums serve a purpose, insofar as they are "an honest reminder that health care has a cost." He adds that people need to contribute to the plan equally if we want to ensure equal access. He doesn’t think that argument is compromised by the fact that premiums account for only 13 per cent of the cost of health care, with the rest coming out of general revenue.

Dear says that Albertans get a pretty good deal, challenging Slopczak’s figures. He notes that the premiums for a family of any size are only $88 per month, less, he says, than they might be paying for entertainment.

The deadline for opting out of the provincial insurance plan is June 30.