EDMONTON — This past Friday, the provincial government announced that they were shutting down the long-COVID outpatient programs, meaning that the clinics in Alberta dedicated to treating people suffering from long-COVID will be closing. The letter from Alberta Health Services informing patients of the closure suggests that they should contact their primary care provider to determine if they require additional resources. This at a time when over 650,000 Albertans are without a family doctor.

EDMONTON - The UCP government’s woefully inadequate response to what is likely the worst pediatric E. Coli outbreak in Canadian history continues to fuel mistrust in this government’s ability to respond to public health crises. Today, Public Interest Alberta and Friends of Medicare are calling for an immediate and independent public inquiry into all entities involved – both government and non-government.

EDMONTON — Tomorrow marks 3 years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. While Albertans continue to be impacted, and while people in this province are still getting sick and dying from this disease, our governments would rather declare the pandemic over and move on. To date over 5600 people have died of COVID-19 in this province.

This afternoon, the Premier announced that she has fired the Alberta Health Services (AHS) board and will be replacing them with a full-time administrator tasked with making further reforms.

EDMONTON -- As per their mandate, Alberta Health Services is “subject to the direction of, and the resources provided by, the Minister of Health.” Yet, blaming AHS has long served as a convenient means of deflection for the government. 

Alberta is experiencing a rapid rise in school outbreaks and absenteeism due to widespread respiratory illness in students, putting pressure on families, our health care system, and economy. 

EDMONTON - Cases of COVID-19, influenza, the common cold, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are all on the rise earlier than normal for this time of year, especially among children.

The vast majority of Canadians now have access to a fourth dose/booster shot of COVID-19 vaccine, but not here in Alberta.

Canada is now in the seventh wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wastewater numbers are up, case numbers are up, and fatalities continue, making it clear that the highly contagious BA.5 sub-variant is spreading quickly through Alberta. In response, other provinces have been announcing expanded vaccination programs, but the Alberta government has yet to announce any changes or expanded access. Nor have they reinstated any public health measures to help protect Albertans or our health care system from this ongoing pandemic.

Whether it’s drug poisonings, heat waves, EMS Red Alerts or COVID-19 – the UCP government have consistently obstructed the collecting and sharing of good data in decision making

EDMONTON — The recent article by independent investigative journalist Charles Rusnell, “The Opioid Toll, by Neighbourhood, that Alberta Tried to Hide,” paints a damning picture of how the UCP government operates. The article shows that rather than formulate their response to the ongoing drug poisoning crisis with good evidence, the provincial government hid important information from the public that contradicted its ideological approach. The government has since refused calls from harm reduction groups to release recovery and treatment program data. 

Health experts say Alberta is likely in, or on the verge of a seventh wave. Other provinces including Ontario, Quebec and BC have already declared a seventh wave.

EDMONTON — The highly contagious BA.5 variant is hitting Alberta at a time when our health care system is already struggling with staffing shortages, dozens of temporary facility closures, an EMS crisis and a drug poisoning crisis, and while we’re facing the potential for summer heat waves to put further strain on the system. Yet the UCP government has repeatedly ignored calls for policy changes to protect Albertans and to manage the pandemic over the long-term.

VICTORIA (the traditional and unceded territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən speaking peoples) - Canada’s premiers are meeting for the Council of the Federation today and tomorrow (July 11-12, 2022). A major feature of this meeting will be the call by provincial and territorial governments to increase federal funding for health care through the Canada Health Transfer (CHT) from 22% to 35%. 

In the summer of 2021, Alberta experienced a record-breaking heat dome, claiming an estimated 66 lives. That heat emergency finally passed one year ago today.

Hundreds of people in western Canada died from extreme heat during 2021’s heat dome. Seniors and unhoused communities were some of the most vulnerable and impacted. 619 people died in British Columbia, mostly seniors. In Alberta, there were an estimated 66 deaths, but no comprehensive data or analysis has been released.

One year later, Friends of Medicare has sent an open letter to Alberta Health Minister Jason Copping, calling on the Alberta government to take action to prepare for future extreme heat events.