Have you heard the expression “a solution in search of a problem?”
If you go to this week’s Town & Country and read the article on Page 6, you’ll find a classic example of that old saying in an article concerning the mess the NDP has gotten into with veterinarians across the province.
On Nov. 29, the province introduced Bill 31, which contained a number of proposed consumer protections in areas ranging from ticket sales, to car purchases and high-cost credit. In other words, it was a bit of a hodgepodge of everything.
Bill 31 also proposed requiring veterinarians to disclose any possible fees to animal-owners before administering services, as well as giving vets the ability to advertise said services.
It also puts the onus on vets to get permission before administering any treatments, unless it happens to be an emergency.
These are all fairly common sense ideas, right? Thing is, the NDP apparently didn’t do any consultation with vets before they jammed these new rules into Bill 31.
The Alberta Veterinary Medical Association has pointed out that they already have bylaws requiring veterinarians to obtain informed consent from animal-owners, which includes disclosing fees. As for advertising, the association has some strong restrictions around the practice, as it can lead to ‘aggressive marketing’.
This has raised a stink in the Legislature, which is why Bill 31 hasn’t gone past second reading. As Dr. Richard Starke, the MLA for Vermilion-Lloydminister put it, this bill lumps veterinarians in with “ticket scalpers, loan sharks, and curbers.”
This is especially an important issue for we rural Albertans, where producers rely on veterinarians to help care for their livestock.
There are no doubt many Albertans out there who have horror stories to share about the experiences they had with vets — prices that were way too high, bills that had hidden costs, misdiagnoses and so forth.
Still, Albertans don’t need haphazard consumer protections slapped on the industry that are likely to create confusion. The NDP needs to take a step back and dump this part of Bill 31.
