The Cold Lake Lockout is Over

What’s Changed in Continuing Care?

On June 22 the lockout of staff at the private-for-profit supportive living centre operated by Points West Living in Cold Lake ended. The residents were relieved to see the dispute end and welcomed the staff back.

The settlement is seen by the workers not as a victory, but as a conclusion. Many issues remain. While the staff were seeking measures in the contract to hold the provider accountable for short staffing, they instead will only have a committee to discuss these issues. Some training will be provided to the staff now that they are back to work, but they did not get sufficient training guaranteed in the contract. Short staffing and lack of training continues to be an issue in many private facilities across the province. 

Since the dispute began the facility was found to be non-compliant with AHS standards on multiple occasions. We have been told AHS has been closely monitoring the facility and we hope to see Points West Living meet those standards.

Our Public Blood System Still Isn’t Protected

How far will Canadian Plasma Resources expand operations?

On March 23 the Alberta NDP government passed the Voluntary Blood Donations Act on third reading, recognizing the role of Canadian Blood Services (CBS) as our sole not-for-profit collector and provider of blood and plasma. The bill introduced by Health Minister Sarah Hoffman banned the sale of blood and plasma in Alberta, allowing CBS to focus on its ambitious plans to more than double voluntary plasma collection. This will reduce Canada’s reliance on the American paid plasma market, where vulnerable populations are taken advantage of to help line the profit margins of a billion dollar industry.