MEDIA RELEASE
MARCH 21, 2019
EDMONTON

Advocacy groups: Good direction for long term care, but beds must be public

Today, Premier Rachel Notley announced that if re-elected, the Alberta New Democratic Party is committed to building an additional 2,000 long term care (LTC) beds. The promised $170 million investment is welcome news to a system that is currently facing serious shortages.

The Protection of Health Care Act: A step in the right direction to protect and expand public health

With the introduction of Bill 1, the Protection of Health Care Act, Friends of Medicare is optimistic that for the first time in this province we will see the political will to protect our public health care and an end to shirking the rule of law in Canada and Alberta.

March 13, 2019
EDMONTON

Been there, done that part 2: Albertans want public solutions that will improve our health care

The plans announced today by UCP leader, Jason Kenney, proposing to privatize laundry services in hospitals, is the second announcement he has made touting the supposed efficiency of the private sector in our public health care. His announcement takes us back to the mid-1990s when, under the Conservative government of Ralph Klein in Alberta, laundry services in Calgary were privatized. As a result, laundry workers went on a wildcat strike and garnered national headlines, but the contract was eventually given to K-Bro Linen.

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Following today's public signing of the "public health guarantee" made by United Conservative Party leader, Jason Kenney, Albertans were left sifting through carefully scripted rhetoric. Friends of Medicare are unconvinced that the announcement was any more than a PR visual, as it lacked both clarity and commitment to finding public solutions to the challenges within our health care system. 

MEDIA RELEASE
OCTOBER 5, 2018
EDMONTON

Show me your friends, I'll tell you who you are

Today the United Conservative Party will be hosting Premier Doug Ford in Calgary. This alliance between Premier Ford and Alberta Premier hopeful Jason Kenney, is in short, a concerning one for those of us who are wary about a potential repeat of the massive cuts that Ontario has been experiencing under Ford's leadership.
 

We are following the current attack on public health care ongoing now at the BC Supreme Court

As Dr. Day takes the stand this week, Friends of Medicare will be watching closely, and supporting our friends and allies at the BC Health Coalition as they fight to protect our public health care system.

MEDIA RELEASE
FEB 26, 2018
OTTAWA

Nine out of 10 Canadians Want to See the Federal Government Enforce the Canada Health Act

As the Alberta affiliate of the Canadian Health Coalition, Friends of Medicare is in the nation's capital this week to focus on provincial and national issues related to privatization and the proliferation of private clinics across the country. A new poll conducted by EKOS Polling and commissioned by the Canadian Health Coalition shows 9 out of 10 Canadians want the federal government to intervene when unlawful billing takes place.

MEDIA RELEASE
JAN 11, 2018

UCP Health Policies Would Move Alberta Backwards to the 1990s

Modern Health Care Solutions are Needed

Friends of Medicare are calling for a rejection of proposed UCP policies reported by the Calgary Herald yesterday that would see health care services privatized and budgets slashed.