Friends of Medicare will be speaking at the Rally for Paid Sick Days for All Albertans today at the Legislature at 4:30 p.m.

EDMONTON — Friends of Medicare stands with Health Sciences Association of Alberta members, health care workers and others who will be rallying today to demand paid sick days for all Albertans. Paid sick days allow workers to take the necessary time off to rest and recover from illness without fear of lost wages or job repercussions. At the same time, they keep other workers and their families safer and healthier, saving lives while minimizing the impact on our strained public health care system.

May 24, 2022
EDMONTON

Support for EMS is urgently needed this Paramedic Services Week

Friends of Medicare's statement on Paramedic Services Week 2022:

This week is Paramedic Services Week, and Friends of Medicare would like to take this opportunity to recognize the instrumental role that paramedics play in our health care system—and especially when a public health crisis is at hand. 

Friends of Medicare to participate in events in five cities calling on the provincial government to put people before profit

May 12, 2022
EDMONTON

Nurses deserve support and respect during Nurses Week, and year-round

Friends of Medicare's statement on National Nursing Week 2022:

This week is National Nursing Week, with May 12 marking International Nurses Day. Friends of Medicare would like to take this opportunity to recognize the instrumental role that nurses play throughout every aspect of our health care system—a role that has been amplified and become all the more vital as we battle the disastrous consequences of a worldwide pandemic.

April 27, 2022
EDMONTON

The Day of Mourning: Statement from Friends of Medicare

Front-line Workers Deserve our Respect and Solidarity, not Wage Freezes and Rollbacks.

Over the weekend, Albertans learned that AUPE General Support Services members received an insulting package of bargaining proposals, including four years of 0% wage increases, as well as a variety of rollbacks to their collective agreement.

Just weeks after the government boasted about balancing the budget at the expense of our public services, they are forging ahead with their short-sighted austerity agenda by undermining front-line staff in an already overstretched health care system. 

The Alberta Government is seeking wage rollbacks as high as 10.93% in bargaining with the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA)

Heading into the weekend, Albertans learned on Twitter of the UCP’s shameful bargaining proposal to cut the wages of frontline health care workers, with proposed rollbacks as high as 10.93%.

Alberta still has a long way to go to achieve gender equality

Gender remains an important social determinant of health—We know that gender-based discrimination and ongoing gender inequality in our society results in increased health risks and poorer outcomes. Far too many Albertans still do not have proper access to reproductive and sexual health care, or gender-affirming health care.

Solidarity with Striking University of Lethbridge Faculty

Friends of Medicare stands in solidarity with University of Lethbridge Faculty Association members who are now on strike

Health Care Workers Deserve Our Respect – Not Bullying and Intimidation

Statement from Friends of Medicare’s Executive Director, Chris Gallaway, in response to planned protests this weekend:

The news of plans for the escalation of protests around Alberta hospitals and medical facilities this weekend is deeply concerning. Our front-line health care workers have spent the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic going above and beyond, keeping our public health care system going, and protecting Albertans. Health care workers deserve our respect and support, and our thanks for their vital service.