EDMONTON — Friends of Medicare and concerned Albertans will be holding an information picket outside of Canadian Blood Services (CBS) in Edmonton at noon today, December 1. This action coincides with events being held outside of CBS locations in Ottawa, ON, Dartmouth, NS and elsewhere.

EDMONTON — This afternoon, Danielle Smith tabled her first Speech from the Throne as Premier. It promises disappointingly little in terms of protecting and improving Alberta’s public health care, continues to push an agenda of privatization, and provides no indication as to how the government plans to repair the damage they have wreaked on Alberta’s public health care system. 

EDMONTON -- Albertans who use drugs and their allies will be holding the second Dying for Access event at 12:00 PM today, November 29, 2022, at the Alberta Legislature Grounds. 

Coinciding with the re-opening of the Alberta Legislature, this rally is a call for the government to take urgent action on the ongoing drug poisoning crisis that continues to kill more Albertans aged 25 to 39 than any other cause of death. 

Albertans who use drugs and their allies will hold the second Dying for Access event in Edmonton at 12:00 PM MST on November 29, 2022, at the Legislature Grounds. 

Coinciding with the re-opening of the Alberta Legislature, this rally is a call for the government to take urgent action on the ongoing drug poisoning crisis that continues to kill more Albertans aged 25 to 39 than any other cause of death. 

This afternoon, the Premier announced that she has fired the Alberta Health Services (AHS) board and will be replacing them with a full-time administrator tasked with making further reforms.

EDMONTON -- As per their mandate, Alberta Health Services is “subject to the direction of, and the resources provided by, the Minister of Health.” Yet, blaming AHS has long served as a convenient means of deflection for the government. 

The mandate letters from Premier Smith to the Ministers of Health, Mental Health and Addiction, and Seniors, Community and Social Services have been released to the public.

EDMONTON -- The mandate letter to the Minister of Health prioritizes ideological pet projects like the Premier’s promised health spending accounts, and posits restructuring at Alberta Health Services as the solution to our health care challenges. Not addressed are the most urgent issues facing our public health care system: the drastic rise in respiratory illnesses, and the ongoing staffing crisis.

Alberta is experiencing a rapid rise in school outbreaks and absenteeism due to widespread respiratory illness in students, putting pressure on families, our health care system, and economy. 

EDMONTON - Cases of COVID-19, influenza, the common cold, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are all on the rise earlier than normal for this time of year, especially among children.

EDMONTON - Friends of Medicare and Public Interest Alberta, the two advocacy organizations behind the campaign Alberta Seniors Deserve Better, have sent a letter to Jeremy Nixon, the newly-appointed Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services. The groups are demanding to meet with the minister to urgently address the state of continuing care. 

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.

Friends,

Today is Tommy Douglas Day!