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Friends of Medicare’s statement on the Federal Speech from the Throne

November 23, 2021 1:45 PM

Friends of Medicare’s statement on the Federal Speech from the Throne
Following today’s Speech from the Throne, Friends of Medicare were disappointed to see an utter lack of movement towards the long-awaited expansion and much-needed improvement of our health care system. Particularly, we saw little direction as it pertains to the implementation of universal Pharmacare, taking profits out of Long-Term Care, and investing in better and public mental health care. We had also hoped to see an indication of a permanent fix to Employment Insurance by ensuring that paid sick days for all workers is the rule and not the exemption.
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Enough is Enough: No time left for political foot-dragging

September 30, 2021 5:47 PM

September 30, 2021
EDMONTON

Enough is Enough: No time left for political foot-dragging

The last two press conferences held by Premier Jason Kenney and Minister of Health Jason Copping have been filled with what Premier Kenney does best: non-answers, inconsistent with what Albertans actually need to stop this devastating fourth wave. In his many non-responses to media questions, our Premier continuously compared our province’s current COVID-19 numbers with those of other jurisdictions in this and previous waves, downplaying the true gravity of our present situation. 

“Kenney may be optimistic about our case numbers and hospital admissions appearing to have plateaued, but that’s not the outlook Albertans have been hearing from our health care workers and patients across the province,” says Sandra Azocar, Executive Director of Friends of Medicare. “These are the same levels that have already been overwhelming our health care system. This is not sustainable and we can’t keep on like this.”

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Government continues to play political games with our health care and our lives

September 28, 2021 12:51 PM

September 28, 2021
EDMONTON

Government continues to play political games with our health care and our lives
Over the weekend, Albertans saw their leadership once again engage in political games with our lives, gaslighting and projecting their own negligence onto others. This time, Alberta Health Services' leadership has been called into question, specifically Dr. Yiu, AHS’ CEO and President. 
 
In two Facebook posts that have since been deleted, UCP MLA Shane Getson pointedly called into question AHS’ COVID-19 response, claiming “we need to be getting more bang for our buck when it comes to resource planning.” 
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Cabinet Shuffle September 2021

September 21, 2021 3:43 PM

September 21, 2021
EDMONTON

Kenney sacrifices Shandro to salvage political career while health care system hangs by a thread

Today the Alberta government saw its second cabinet shuffle in less than three months. This time, Premier Kenney has named a new Health Minister: Jason Copping, MLA for Calgary-Varsity and previously, the Minister of Labour and Immigration. 

As we have seen over the past 20 months, our health care system is in urgent need of leaders who understand that Medicare is an ethical trust, who value and respect the principles of public health care, and who are committed to its success. Unfortunately for Albertans, our Health Ministry has sorely lacked the kind of leadership that is necessary to govern such an important portfolio.

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Government once again fails to put in measures to immediately meet the health care capacity crisis

September 10, 2021 1:34 PM

September 10, 2021
EDMONTON

Government once again fails to put in measures to immediately meet the health care capacity crisis

Yesterday’s announcement from Health Minister Tyler Shandro regarding our health care system capacity failed to introduce any new public health measures to address the growing number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the province.

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Government's latest proposal continues to let down front-line workers and patients

September 08, 2021 3:10 PM

September 8, 2021
EDMONTON

Government's latest proposal continues to let down front-line workers and patients
While the government’s latest proposal in the ongoing negotiations with the United Nurses of Alberta rescinds their previous plans to cut wages by three percent, they continue to undermine nurses’ value by rolling back compensation through other areas of their collective agreement, in what would amount to an immediate pay cut of two percent for Alberta's nurses.
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Health Advocates to Kenney: Show up and do your job

September 07, 2021 9:34 AM
September 1st, 2021
EDMONTON

Health Advocates to Kenney: Show up and do your job
Friends of Medicare are calling for Alberta’s missing Premier, Health Minister, and Chief Medical Officer of Health to show up to work, do their job, and take action to save lives and our health care system.
 
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Provincial Health Coalitions Put Federal Parties on Notice

August 19, 2021 10:00 AM

August 19, 2021  For Immediate Release

Provincial Health Coalitions Put Federal Parties on Notice: Canadians Demand Real Action to Fix Long-Term Care

(Canada-wide) - With a federal election called for September 20, provincial Health Coalitions across Canada are putting all federal political parties on notice. The federal government could have already set real national standards for long-term care in legislation or an emergency federal-provincial-territorial funding accord with sufficient funding attached to leverage real change. Instead, nothing has happened. Canadians expect all political parties to commit to bring in national standards for long-term care as a matter of national priority.

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Government continues to disrespect Alberta’s front-line workers

August 16, 2021 12:39 PM

August 16, 2021
EDMONTON

Government continues to disrespect Alberta’s front-line workers

Late last week, Albertans learned that Alberta Health Services is contemplating plans to address nursing shortages by hiring contract nurses. AHS has been in ongoing negotiations with United Nurses of Alberta, and has proposed a 3% pay cut for the nurses it employs, which the UCP government has claimed is necessary in order to get Alberta’s finances “back on track.” Now we see that they are considering offers from Greenstaff Medical Canada to contract nurses for $55-$75 an hour — compared to $36.86-$48.37 per hour earned by AHS nurses currently.

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The power of the people can never be underestimated—Even under this reckless government

August 13, 2021 10:26 AM

August 13, 2021
EDMONTON

The power of the people can never be underestimated—Even under this reckless government

After 15 straight days of protesting the government’s reckless decision to remove Alberta’s most basic and necessary COVID-19 protections, the government has finally taken notice, and moved to “pause” the removal of these protections for 6 weeks, until September 27.

“Today the voices of Albertans proved louder than the irresponsibility of our government. Albertans have shown that we’re able to protect each other when the government won’t,” stated Sandra Azocar, Executive Director of Friends of Medicare. “Faced with a government that has given up on providing leadership and making difficult decisions, Albertans have demonstrated that we truly are in this together when it comes time to protect each other, our children and the most vulnerable.”

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