EDMONTON — Alberta Health Services has managed to largely avoid the scrutiny of Albertans after many years of instability and costly reorganizations. But now, this government has made clear that they are willing to compromise that, via the appointment of privatization ideologues to the AHS board.

EDMONTON — Friends of Medicare stands in solidarity today with the United Nurses of Alberta, as they stand up for patient care with information pickets at hospitals and health facilities across the province.

EDMONTON
August 3, 2021

Enough is Enough! Friends of Medicare protests removal of Alberta's public health measures

• End nearly all public health measures, including masking;
• Close all testing centres;
• Require those with serious symptoms to get tested at a doctor's office or the Emergency Unit at a hospital;
• Largely do away with tracing contacts of people infected with COVID-19;
• Remove isolation requirements for people who test positive; 
• Stop asking people with mild symptoms to get tested; and,
• Stop issuing medical data on COVID-19.

EDMONTON — Today, Health Minister Tyler Shandro announced the allocation of $400 million in operational funding over four years, for 6,000 continuing care beds across the province. Of these, 2,200 will be new beds, and the remaining 3,800 will be refurbished or renovated from existing “underutilized” spaces in private facilities.

EDMONTON — Yesterday, Finance Minister Travis Toews announced that the government would be moving forward with plans to cut salaries of Alberta’s nurses. The newly proposed 3% salary rollback comes in addition to previously announced rollbacks, in the form of reduced shift and weekend premiums. All together, Alberta’s nurses are facing at least 5% compensation reduction.

EDMONTON — Friends of Medicare and Public Interest Alberta join organizations from civil society, labour, and senior citizens representing hundreds of thousands of Albertans speaking out against Bill 70: COVID Related Measures Act, which is expected to be voted on by the Legislative Assembly today. Twenty-three (23) organizations have signed an open letter to demand that this legislation not be passed into law because of the dangers it poses to Alberta seniors and their families. The letter was emailed to Premier Kenney, Minister of Health, Tyler Shandro and UCP MLA Richard Gotfried, the sponsor of this bill. The open letter will be tabled today in the Alberta Legislature by MLA Christina Grey, Critic for Labour and Immigration & Official Opposition House Leader. 

EDMONTON (Canada-wide) — Today Friends of Medicare joins provincial and territorial Health Coalitions from across the country, Canadians 4 LTC, advocates, family members, and seniors for a National Day of Action for Long-Term Care Standards. All across Canada, we will be virtually protesting the failure of our federal and provincial governments to set national standards for long-term care. The scale of suffering and preventable death in Canada’s long-term care homes throughout the pandemic has precipitated a moral obligation for meaningful change. However, our political leaders have failed to lead.

EDMONTON — Bill 70: COVID-19 Related Measures Act, introduced today, intends to ensure legal protection for health services facilities—including continuing care operators—facing lawsuits over illness or death due to exposure to COVID-19. If passed, Bill 70 will prevent families from being able to seek answers and hold care homes responsible for negligence of their loved ones. 

EDMONTON — Today the Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members' Public Bills deliberated Bill 215: the Seniors Advocate Act, introduced by MLA Lori Sigurdson, critic for Seniors and Housing. An independent seniors advocate, like that in British Columbia, would serve as an independent officer of the legislature to help seniors navigate services, provide policy recommendations to the government, and conduct reviews on service providers to ensure seniors’ needs are met. 

Yesterday, Alberta Health Services released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for ophthalmology chartered surgical facilities. The RFP is set to close mid-May 2021, and a contract will likely be awarded in fall 2021. While Albertans are trepidatiously looking towards the light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel, this government is barreling forward with their agenda of privatizing the very public health care system that we have all relied on throughout this pandemic.