New AHS documents, obtained through FOIP, show that Jason Kenney’s Health Minister Tyler Shandro repeatedly lied in the legislature about the growing number of Alberta doctors resigning from rural hospitals due to his ongoing war on their profession.
“These documents prove that Tyler Shandro lied to the assembly, lied to his colleagues who represent these rural communities, and worse of all, he lied to the people of Alberta.”
- @DShepYEG, NDP Opposition Critic for Health
In the legislature on June 1, in response to questioning from Shepherd about nine doctors at the Athabasca Healthcare Centre publicly announcing their resignation, Shandro said...
... “to withdraw or to change hospital privileges in this province requires a physician to file a formal application with Alberta Health Services with a 90-day notice period, which has not occurred in Athabasca.”
On June 4, NDP Opposition Leader Rachel Notley questioned Shandro about hospital resignations in Athabasca, Rocky Mountain House, Rimbey, and Pincher Creek, and Shandro responded...
“to withdraw or change hospital privileges requires a physician to file a formal application to Alberta Health Services giving 90 days’ notice, which has not occurred in the locations that she’s mentioned.”
Weeks earlier, on April 5, AHS vice-president Dr. Francois Belanger produced a briefing note titled “Addressing the impact of AHS Medical Staff reducing or withdrawing services at AHS sites during the COVID-19 response.”
Belanger wrote that doctors were considering resignation from AHS hospitals due to Shandro’s tearing up of their contract and cutting their pay.
While the detailed response plan is redacted, the summary notes that “legal and emergency measures may be enacted if deemed to be necessary for the health and safety of Albertans.”
“Jason Kenney pursued a war on Alberta doctors at the height of a deadly global pandemic. He forced them to abandon their hospitals to save their family practices, and in some cases to abandon this province altogether..."
- @DShepYEG
"... and then Tyler Shandro repeatedly lied about it. It’s truly shocking that AHS was contemplating the use of emergency powers against doctors when all Jason Kenney had to do was stop attacking them.”
By early May, hospital doctors in 14 Alberta communities had given formal notices to AHS, although some were later moved from the “High Risk” list to “Medium Risk.”
Doctors in Pincher Creek agreed to delay their resignations in response to an emotional appeal from the community when it became clear AHS could not replace them. Doctors in Sundre resigned from their hospital and some are now leaving Alberta altogether.
The released weekly briefing notes only extend to mid-June, and the current situation at many other hospitals, including major urban ones, is unclear.
Tyler Shandro has proven himself to be utterly dishonest,” Shepherd said. “So I have written to AHS CEO Dr. Verna Yiu and respectfully requested that she provide Albertans with a comprehensive written update on doctor resignations at all Alberta hospitals."
Clearly AHS has been tracking this crisis closely. Albertans have a right to the truth and we can’t trust the Jason Kenney government to provide it. This is a matter of grave and urgent public interest.
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A cell phone video leaked to Alberta’s NDP reveals the true extent of Danielle Smith’s coordinated political interference in the justice system on behalf of those charged following the Coutts blockade. 🧵
The video appears to capture a January 2023 video call between Danielle Smith and street pastor Artur Pawlowski, who faces charges of breaching a release order and mischief for inciting people to block public property at the border crossing at Coutts in January 2022.
“For freedom to be preserved, people must be willing to sacrifice their lives,” Pawlowski told a crowd. “This is our time. If this is our Alamo then so be it.” Prosecutors called Pawlowski’s actions “an overt threat to violence.”
Over four years in government, the UCP have failed to lower surgery wait times and they’ve actually increased, according to data available from the Government of Alberta. 🧵
More than 70,000 Albertans were waiting for surgeries in May 2019. That number has increased to 74,000 as of February 2023.
According to the Government’s own data:
From April 2019 to January 2023, median wait times have increased for hip replacements from 18.7 to 26.3 weeks and knee replacements have increased from 20.6 weeks to 36.9 weeks.
Franklin is a full-time pharmacist in Stettler, and the first-generation Canadian in her family who immigrated to Alberta from India.
Franklin currently lives in Parkdale in Stettler with her husband, and grew up in Edmonton.
Franklin holds a Doctorate in Pharmacy from Chicago State University, and a Bachelors in Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Studies from University of The Sciences in Philadelphia.
On Monday, Savage was asked about a letter Danielle Smith wrote during her time as a corporate lobbyist advocating for the RStar program. In response, Savage said the program “didn’t align with Alberta’s polluter-pay principle and the royalty framework.”
“Alberta’s system has always been based on a core principle: when you make a mess, you clean it up. Danielle Smith wants to violate this basic principle to give away billions of dollars to her friends that helped get her elected.” NDP Energy Critic @KathleenGanley
An Edmonton woman’s name was added to the list of thousands of Albertans who can’t find a family doctor after she was notified she lost hers through a lottery. 🧵
Mona Koch has had the same family doctor for eight years, but in November she received an email informing her that due to changes in her practice, Koch’s doctor would no longer be able to continue providing medical care to her.
Koch, 62, learned that because other doctors left the clinic, her doctor would be taking on some of their patients, forcing her to drop some of her own patients.
A new report shows the UCP government’s plan to withdraw Albertans from the Canada Pension Plan will cost Albertans more in the long term while increasing the risk to their retirement savings. 🧵
According to documents acquired by Postmedia from Employment and Social Development Canada, the federal government anticipates that any provincial withdrawal from the CPP will lead to “duplicate administration, limited risk pooling, and greater risk on investment returns”.
UCP leadership candidates including presumed frontrunner Danielle Smith and former finance minister Travis Toews continue to support the idea despite widespread public backlash.