Edmonton - November 24 - 30, 2024 marks National Addictions Awareness Week (NAAW), meant to be an opportunity to learn and highlight ways to address harms related to substance use. As we mark NAAW this year, Alberta continues to see multiple deaths per day due to drug poisoning. This week must be a time to commit to treating addictions care as health care, and to putting patients ahead of profits.

EDMONTON — Yesterday, the provincial government announced a new name and logo for Acute Care Alberta, one of four new agencies the government is tasking with delivering healthcare services in place of Alberta Health Services. They also announced that the roll out of this new sector agency is now delayed from this fall into next spring, prolonging the confusion and chaos surrounding the government’s decision to restructure our public healthcare.

EDMONTON — Public Interest Alberta and Friends of Medicare are raising the alarm following Premier Smith’s private remarks today at the Alberta Continuing Care Association’s Annual Conference. The Premier championed the explicit privatization and “uberization” of continuing care, signalling further restructuring and for-profit care in the immediate future.

LETHBRIDGE — Two family doctors at the Campbell Clinic in Lethbridge recently posted public letters explaining why they are leaving their practices, pointing the finger squarely at the government and Health Minister for their failure to listen to Alberta’s physicians and act to sustain primary care.

EDMONTON — Beginning today on the International Day of the Older Persons and continuing all week, Public Interest Alberta and Friends of Medicare are releasing harrowing stories and videos from seniors and Albertans who are experiencing the current crisis in seniors care. They are standing with seniors to send letters to the provincial government calling for minimum staffing hours so that Albertans receive the care they deserve.

EDMONTON — Before announcing her plan for education infrastructure, Premier Smith’s 10-minute televised address opened last night with an extended anti-immigration rant, blaming folks moving here from other countries for Alberta’s lack of capacity in health, housing and education. 

EDMONTON — Yesterday, the Office of the Minister of Health confirmed to DiscoverAirdrie that the controversial proposal to build a facility to house a primary care clinic as well as a second urgent care centre in Airdrie has been approved. Airdrie remains by far the largest city in Alberta without a hospital.

EDMONTON — Each year, August 31 marks International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD). It is an opportunity to mourn those we have lost, and to refocus our collective work to end overdose and tackle the toxic drug poisoning crisis in our communities. Last year, Alberta saw our highest ever number of drug poisoning deaths, with the most recent government data now tallying a devastating 2,069 deaths in 2023.

EDMONTON — At a recent UCP townhall in Drayton Valley, Danielle Smith shared her plans to remove Alberta Health Services (AHS) as the operator of some provincial hospitals, suggesting other options to manage the facilities, such as turning facilities over to Covenant Health (Alberta’s Catholic health operator). This follows news that the government is also reviewing a proposal to privatize urgent care services in Airdrie.