Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has failed as a woman in leadership. She’s “unhinged” and suffers from a serious case of “misguided thinking.” And people are gonna die!.So said former health administrator Tony Dagnone on the heels of Smith showing him and his colleagues on the Alberta Health Services (AHS) Board of Directors the exit..“The light of her unhinged public pronouncements the premier represents the bleakest of role models for women who aspire it's hard to be accepted in positions of influence and leadership,” wrote Dagnone in a scathing open letter to Albertans posted on Twitter..“It is unforgiving for a female leader to set such a low standard,” he wrote..Oh my, that is a serious diagnosis. But how chivalrous was it of Dagnone to give Smith (a woman in case you forgot) such a dire prognosis when no one has seen the test results of her policies yet?.A gentleman proclaiming to be defending women climbing the ladder in politics or the workforce would at least give the little lady still new to the job a chance..And someone should whisper in Dagnone’s ear that women aspiring to leadership roles no longer face the same hurdles that they did, say, in the 50s..No, no, this wasn’t bitterness at all over getting the boot, as a sceptic might suggest. It was noble of Dagnone to champion the cause of women, and not at all a thinly veiled chauvinistic attack against Smith (a woman)..But was playing the woman card about politics as well as health care this same sceptic might ask? Regardless of Dagnone’s political allegiance, whatever it is, in light of the looming May provincial election and the NDP pining to get back into power, portraying Smith as a failure to women could perhaps be viewed as helpful..Smith (a woman) announced immediate actions to reform AHS on Thursday — moves aimed at increasing EMS times and decreasing emergency room and surgical wait times. “We need a health care system that meets our growing demand and to take action to improve access. And today we are taking steps to do just that,” she said..Whether AHS can be fixed remains to be seen. But Smith (a woman) wasn’t at the helm when the system crumbled — her biggest critics that she removed, were. And they seem to want cling to the same old policies that caused Albertans to suffer and take her down in the process..Smith (a woman) has promised that mask mandates won’t return to Alberta schools, federal vaccine mandates will not be enforced, and she will consider pardoning people charged with breaching public health orders from Dr. Deena Hinshaw, who she also fired..“Clearly the premier has chosen to play her misguided followers who rant against science and academic medicine on their veiled guise of freedom,” said Dagnone..“Her rep stance on COVID which I remind the premier was and is a public health issue, not a political punching bag, is nothing short of borderline dereliction when the lives of AHS staff and Albertans are at stake.”.“If the current premier position vocalizing false conspiratorial and unfounded claims she will be responsible for putting health-care providers and Albertans needlessly in harm's way. Her loose and corrosive words appear to satisfy her need for bizarre musings that can and will ultimately impact people's lives. People will die,” said Dagnone..Don’t be too quick to point fingers at possible-maybe scenarios. Because of the current AHS policy that discriminates against the unvaccinated, Sheila Annette Lewis, 57, is going to die. She is being denied an organ transplant she qualifies for, only because of her refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Is this an AHS policy some fear will be changed?.Florida Governor Ron DeSantis implemented much of what Smith (a woman) is proposing. That impacted people’s lives exceedingly well.. Sheila Annette LewisSheila Annette Lewis .Smith (a woman) appointed Dr. John Cowell as full-time official administrator to replace the part-time board of directors she booted out, as one step in her AHS Reform Plan..Dagnone alleged Smith consulted Dr. Paul Alexander, a former Trump administration adviser who was scorned for promoting 'medical quackery.' Well, that was a popular tactic during the COVID pandemic, to discredit anyone who dared defy what we now know were many failed mandates and policies..“This is another sign of her noxious grudge against Alberta's medical professionals,” said Dagnone..Would that include the medical professionals who were silenced and crushed by AHS polices? The ones who can speak freely now?.Dagnone said he wrote the letter to defend the valued 112,000 health care providers throughout Alberta. “No health-care provider in the AHS organizations should be subjected to the unfounded blame and shame vocalized by the Alberta premier,” he said..He accused her of ignoring the grueling “best efforts” made by AHS staff? Really? When did she do that?.Another rally cry to voters perhaps?.Wasn’t it Smith (a woman) who said reinforcements would be coming for frontline health-care workers to alleviate their stressful workloads?.“We cannot continue understaffing our hospitals and then forcing our frontline workers to work mandatory overtime and be called in on days off and have to cancel their holidays,” she said..Was Dagnone disingenuous? It wasn’t health-care workers she blamed or shamed. It was the people responsible for them that were calling the shots..“During my 30-year career in health-care leadership in Saskatchewan and Ontario, I had the privilege to work with eight premiers who represented all major political parties. I never once felt the need to publicly criticize their actions or inactions. Never in my wildest imagination did I believe I would hear the dangerous rhetoric spewing from the lips of the Alberta disruptor premier,” wrote Dagnone..Well, some people exit gracefully. Others yell and pound on the door closed behind them. Dagnone, as concerned as he genuinely might be, lost credibility when he turned it into a rabid personal attack against Smith (a woman.)
