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.

Friends of Medicare, along with over a dozen advocates and health care workers from Alberta, are in Ottawa this week to take part in the Canadian Health Coalition’s Health & Hope Lobby on Parliament Hill.

OTTAWA — Participants from across Alberta will be meeting with Members of Parliament from all three of our federal parties, as well as Senators, to push for universal single-payer Pharmacare, safer long-term care, expanded public health care, and to stop privatization through the enforcement of the Canada Health Act. Friends of Medicare is also proud to support the rally for public health care on Parliament Hill tomorrow afternoon.

Last week, Albertans learned that the long-needed expansion and renovation of the Airdrie Community Health Centre has been paused as the government considers a proposal to add private delivery to the publicly funded facility.

Friends of Medicare and our allies in the disability community are calling on the Alberta government to prioritize home care funding in the impending provincial Budget.

EDMONTON — Following Facility-Based Continuing Care (FBCC) review recommendations to shift the delivery of Alberta’s continuing care services to include a greater proportion of care in community, the UCP government has repeatedly made clear their intention to expand the province’s home care system. However, we have yet to see any meaningful investment to support this expansion.

EDMONTON — Earlier this week, the United Nurses of Alberta received deeply concerning letters from their employers warning about the potential for position reductions and contracting out in 2024. These letters were sent in the lead up as provincial bargaining is set to begin with nurses, and is similar to a tactic used in 2019 before that round of bargaining.

EDMONTON — Yesterday afternoon, the UCP Government used their majority in the Legislature to vote against Bill 201: Alberta Health Care Insurance (Access Fees) Amendment Act. This legislation would have banned access fees and membership-only health care in Alberta, and required the Minister to enforce the Act.

Every year, November 14 is recognized as World Diabetes Day. This year’s theme is Access to Diabetes Care, a reminder that we have a long way to go to ensure those living with diabetes in Alberta have access to the care they need.

Albertans will remember last year, when the UCP government announced that they would be terminating the Insulin Pump Benefits Program, impacting up to 4,000 Albertans with diabetes. Following massive public outcry from Friends of Medicare, Pump 4 Life, and thousands of grassroots Albertans, the government finally conceded by announcing they were stopping their plans to end the Insulin Pump Benefits Program and instead, struck a working group to consult on diabetes care. No new announcements or improvements to coverage have come since that working group was formed.

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.