This afternoon, the federal government tabled their 2024-2025 budget. Included is funding for the continued expansion of national dental care coverage, and crucial funding for the roll out of universal, single-payer Pharmacare — both key commitments in the Confidence and Supply Agreement between the NDP and the Liberals.

EDMONTON — This afternoon, the Minister of Mental Health and Addiction announced they are tabling Bill 17, a piece of legislation that establishes the Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence (CoRE), an entity designed to be directly aligned with the goals and priorities of the Government of Alberta.

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 — This morning, Premier Danielle Smith and Minister of Mental Health and Addiction Dan Williams announced the next phase of the UCP government’s ideological “Alberta Recovery Model,” with the establishment of two new organizations: Recovery Alberta and the Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence (CoRE).

Albertans will be watching for public health care investments in tomorrow's provincial budget.

Health care is expected to dominate the spring session of the Alberta legislature, which begins today. In advance of the start of session, the UCP government has already signaled an austerity budget, and has made concerning decisions around health care capital projects, including pausing the Airdrie Urgent Care Centre and the South Edmonton Hospital. As cover for these broken promises, the Health Minister announced $20 million over three years to go towards a new Stollery Children’s Hospital — an amount of funding that isn’t even enough to build an elementary school — while refusing to give a timeline for when the project would actually be fully funded and built.

EDMONTON — Heading into the long weekend, Albertans learned that our province is expected to surpass the annual record for toxic drug poisoning deaths in 2023. New data shows there were 1,692 drug poisoning fatalities between January and October of 2023. These updated numbers mean Alberta is expected to set a new record for fatalities last year.

EDMONTON — Yesterday, Premier Danielle Smith announced a widely condemned new policy that includes putting new restrictions on gender-affirming health care. The new policy infringes on the rights of young Albertans and their families to access the health care services they need, when they need them.

EDMONTON — November 19 - 25, 2023 marks National Addictions Awareness Week, meant to be an opportunity to learn and to highlight ways to address harms related to substance use.  As we mark NAAW this year, Alberta continues to set records for deaths due to drug poisoning. This week must be a time to commit to doing better.

EDMONTON — Following yesterday’s leaked documents, Danielle Smith’s government followed through on announcing a massive restructuring of public health care in Alberta, as well as a new Alberta Health Services Board chaired by a former conservative cabinet minister, Lyle Oberg. None of this was part of the UCP’s platform in this year’s election.

After years of unprecedented pressures on our public health care system, health care workers and patients in this province are seeking certainty when it comes to something as important as our public health care system. They aren’t looking for changes of this scale being directed by politicians, rather than health care experts and community needs.

EDMONTON — This afternoon, Danielle Smith tabled her first Speech from the Throne since being re-elected Premier. The speech promises disappointingly little in terms of protecting and improving Alberta’s public health care, and continues to push their failing agenda of privatization. There was no indication as to how the government plans to repair the damage they have wreaked on Alberta’s public health care system, besides proposing a vague commitment to decentralize health care decision making.