December 3, 2021
Friends of Medicare (Edmonton, Alberta) is seeking an exceptional individual to be the effective and persuasive lead voice for public health care as our Executive Director. The successful candidate will be responsible for guiding FOM and its impact on public health care policy in Alberta’s social, political and economic arena.
Closing date: December 17, 2021
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July 8, 2021: What does the cabinet shuffle mean for Alberta's health care? |
by Alyssa Pretty, Communications Officer of Friends of Medicare. July 8, 2021.
Friends of Medicare had hoped to see a change to the Health Minister in today’s cabinet shuffle. After a horrendous year, including unyielding attacks on our public health care and frontline workers, Albertans deserved to see accountability from this government. Instead, we saw few changes of impact, ignoring the needs of the people of this province who have been loud and clear about their opposition to changes being imposed on public services, including our public health care system.
Here’s two notable changes that we did see:
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On June 16, 2021, Friends of Medicare was joined by Melissa Miller, a personal injury lawyer focused on nursing home litigation and founding member of Canadians 4 LTC Standards, to discuss Bill 70: COVID-19 Related Measures Act, currently in debate in the Alberta Legislature. If passed, this bill would ensure legal protection for health services facilities—including continuing care operators—facing lawsuits over illness or death due to exposure to COVID-19. The bottom line is that Bill 70 will prevent grieving families from being able to seek answers and hold care homes responsible for negligence of their loved ones.
Alberta's 2021 provincial budget was passed on February 25, and despite promises from the UCP government that health care would be the priority, it was clear that this budget was a disingenuous attempt to cover the privatization of our health care. If we have learned anything from this pandemic, it should be that we all depend on well funded, staffed and resourced public health care. Albertans need a more responsive public health care system, and that can only be achieved by improving and expanding our current system, not by imposing private, for-profit alternatives.
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On March 22, advocates representing more than a million Canadians came together to demand that the federal government and provinces work together to establish national standards for long-term residential care. The groups released a legal opinion setting out a proposal for a commitment from the federal government to ongoing funding for long-term care with clear criteria requiring the provinces to improve quality, accountability and take profit out of seniors’ care.
On February 17, Friends of Medicare and Manitoba Health Coalition cohosted this webinar to discuss Canada's urgent need for a national, universal drug program, with guests Heather McPherson (MP for Edmonton-Strathcona) and Peter Julian (MP for New Westminster-Burnaby).
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On January 20, 2020, Friends of Medicare and Public Interest Alberta's Seniors' Task Force co-hosted this webinar. We were excited to be joined by guest speakers and seniors' care experts Dr. Margaret McGregor, Dr. Pat Armstrong, and Dr. Rebecca Graff-McRae (moderating) for this important and timely online conversation about our continuing care system during COVID-19 and beyond.
See the video recording, and additional resources from our panelists below!
Read moreBy Sandra Azocar, December 21, 2020
As 2020 winds down, I look back with appreciation at everything that Alberta’s public services have accomplished to keep Albertans healthy and safe. When this year began, we could not have imagined the challenges we would face with a global pandemic and the impact it would have on the people of Alberta. We had to adapt quickly, and the resolve, professionalism and commitment shown by health care workers and all essential workers to maintaining vital services was truly impressive.
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