CALGARY — This morning in Calgary, Friends of Medicare stood alongside Mike Parker, President of the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA), in calling on the provincial government to release up-to-date data and broaden its approach to addiction care beyond their one-size-fits-all model. 

EDMONTON — Friends of Medicare, and activists within the disability community are at the legislature today to call on the Alberta government to improve the province’s home care system. Our online petition containing more than 33,000 names of individuals who have signed in support of improved home care funding and services in Alberta will be tabled in the legislature after Question Period

Following recommendations in the Facility-Based Continuing Care (FBCC) review, the UCP government has repeatedly made clear their intention to shift the delivery of Alberta’s continuing care services to include a greater proportion of care in-community. But while disabled Albertans, seniors, families and advocates have long called for an expansion to our home care system, we have seen no meaningful investment to support this shift in care delivery. 

Last week, Albertans learned that the long-needed expansion and renovation of the Airdrie Community Health Centre has been paused as the government considers a proposal to add private delivery to the publicly funded facility.

EDMONTON — Yesterday afternoon, the UCP Government used their majority in the Legislature to vote against Bill 201: Alberta Health Care Insurance (Access Fees) Amendment Act. This legislation would have banned access fees and membership-only health care in Alberta, and required the Minister to enforce the Act.

A Calgary clinic recently informed patients they are moving to a costly membership system for primary care. Since it is illegal in Canada to bill directly for a visit to a family doctor, membership fees such as these are designed as a loophole to get around the rules and principles contained in the Canadian Health Act.

Friends of Medicare stands in solidarity with laboratory workers in their fight for fairness

This morning, Alberta’s medical laboratory workers called on DynaLIFE to return to the bargaining table, and to commit to fairness. Lab workers provide incredibly important services to Albertans, essential for timely diagnostics and treatment. Yet once again, just like when DynaLIFE tried to take away their pension plan, this private company’s profits are being prioritized at the expense of working conditions, public oversight, and patient care. All while Alberta is facing a chronic short-staffing crisis throughout our health care system.

Expanding the use of for-profit surgical centres in Calgary is making health care short staffing worse while failing to solve the surgical backlog

EDMONTON — This morning, Minister of Health Jason Copping announced an expanded use of private, for-profit surgical centres in Calgary. Friends of Medicare and others have already spoken out at length about the problems with the government’s Alberta Surgical Initiative and their unfounded claims that privatization will improve surgical wait times.  

October 24, 2022 

Members of Alberta’s major health-care unions are joining together to demand that the government of Alberta develop a plan to deal with the crisis in health care. 

EDMONTON – Following the swearing-in of Premier Smith’s cabinet Alberta’s health-care unions are coming together to advocate that the government take steps to fully address the staffing crisis in health  care.  

Leaders of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) and the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA)  along with Friends of Medicare (FOM) are urging the newly announced cabinet to deliver a  comprehensive plan to fix the health-care system which has been thrown into chaos by short-staffing.

When negotiations are concluded, Alberta Health Services will go from contracting out 40% of retail food services in Calgary and Edmonton to 100%.