EDMONTON (Canada-wide) — Today, advocates representing more than a million Canadians came together to demand that the federal government and provinces work together to establish national standards for long-term residential care. The groups released a legal opinion setting out a proposal for a commitment from the federal government to ongoing funding for long-term care with clear criteria requiring the provinces to improve quality, accountability and take profit out of seniors’ care.
 

EDMONTON — March 11, 2021 marks the one year anniversary of the declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic, and seniors groups, labour groups, and advocacy groups are gathering outside of the Federal Building at the Legislature to install an visual representation of the lives we have lost to COVID-19, especially those of Alberta’s seniors who have been disproportionately affected. The visual will be a collection of roses, made by Erin Alyward, each one colour coded to show the age of the person we lost. The advocates and activists will also be joined by members of Alberta Arts Action Group, a group which blends arts and activism, who will sing and recite poetry as we mark this solemn occasion. 

Just as Budget 2020 was pushed through with unrealistic forecasts for oil prices and subsequent unfeasible estimations for government revenue, Budget 2021 is being presented under the pretense of unrealistic forecasts for the health needs of Albertans. Quite simply, Budget 2021 is a cruel blow to our public health care system in favor of privatization.

After many months of waiting, Rajan Sawhney, Minister of Community and Social Services, announced today that the Alberta government will maintain the current service model for residential and personal care facilities for people with disabilities in Edmonton and Calgary.  Albertans who have called these Direct Operations sites their homes for years or decades will be able to remain there under public operation.

EDMONTON — The Alberta government’s most recent announcement of new COVID-19 restrictions did little to promote the protection of seniors who reside in Alberta’s continuing care system. We heard nothing by way of a staffing plan to ensure that seniors receive much-needed care, or to address the shortages that will continue to be exacerbated by limitations set on families’ visitation.

November 24, 2020
EDMONTON

EDMONTON — As per today’s government mandated restrictions and declaration of a state of public health emergency, Alberta has become a place where family members are not allowed to visit one another, but individuals and households can continue to go to casinos, bars or restaurants. Alberta has become the last province to enact a mask mandate, but it only pertains to indoor workplaces, and only in Edmonton, Calgary and surrounding areas.

EDMONTON — AHS has proposed a new program that would shift the cost of certain medications, including those used to treat cancer and Crohn’s, onto patients, as revealed in a CBC report today. This change exemplifies this government’s cruel, shameful and short-sighted approach to saving money on the backs of sick Albertans.

The Standardizing Access to Medications for Ambulatory Patients (STAMP) program aims to reduce AHS spending by an estimated $2.3 million dollars by requiring that patients pay for the cost of their medications, as well as the costs of having them administered, such as in the case of infusions.

EDMONTON — This October 1st marks the 30th anniversary of the International Day of Older Persons. This year, as we contend with the ongoing upheaval caused by the COVID-19 global health crisis, we must also bear witness to the suffering caused by the long-standing failures of our seniors’ care system.

This October 1st marks the 30th anniversary of the International Day of Older Persons. This year, as we contend with the ongoing upheaval caused by the COVID-19 global health crisis, we must also bear witness to the suffering caused by the long-standing failures of our seniors’ care system. 

Seniors have suffered the greatest impact of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, and Alberta is no exception. To date 97% of COVID-related deaths have been Albertans aged 60 or older, including 165 residents in continuing care. In July, the Royal Society of Canada found that 81% of COVID-19 deaths nationwide were residents of long-term care homes—a rate far outpacing other countries. Further, the worst impacts have occurred in for-profit facilities, which have been found to have had “more extensive outbreaks and more deaths” than public facilities. COVID-19 has exposed the many shortcomings of our seniors’ care system, borne of decades of privatization and the inequity that perpetual cost-cutting has wrought. What we are seeing now was decades in the making.