The People’s Health Care

By Mimi Williams mimi@vueweekly.com

In January, when the Advisory Committee on Health recommended the introduction of a new Alberta Health Act, Health and Wellness Minister Gene Zwozdesky appointed Edmonton Rutherford MLA Fred Horne to lead a public consultation process and report back to him by September 30th.

To that end, the committee, invited a number of organizations to provide written submissions and participate in consultations about the new Act. Last month, Mr. Horne announced that the province's 12 local Health Advisory Councils will host workshops in their respective areas throughout the month of June. Mr. Horne intends to submit a written report to the Premier by September 30th.

Unfortunately, the online survey, launched at the end of April, appears to have attracted little attention. To date, only 490 surveys have been completed. David Eggen, the Friends of Medicare's Executive Director believes this is because Albertans do not believe this is a legitimate process. "The public care very much about health care," says Eggen. He says the government's survey contains leading questions and the language used makes it quite clear the direction it wants to go in health care delivery.

His group, upon learning the government's public consultation process was going to be an invitation-only affair, decided to hold their own public meetings to discuss the proposed health legislation. He says meetings held last week in Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, and this week in Camrose were very well attended.

Eggen expects large turnouts when the Friends of Medicare hosts a public meeting in Edmonton next Tuesday and, later this month, in Hinton, Grande Prairie, Peace River and Red Deer. "People want to have an open and honest debate without the message being controlled," he says.

A U of A think tank is calling for the whole idea to be scrapped. In "The New Alberta Health Act: Risks and Opportunities," released last week, the Parkland Institute's Research Director Diana Gibson and co-author Colleen Fuller conclude that any potential benefits of the proposed legislation are easily outweighed by the substantial risks involved. Their research suggests that there is every indication that the government intends to use the new Act to expand and entrench the role of for-profit delivery in health care, which could have implications right across the country.

Tue June 15 (6:30 - 9:30 pm)

Regional Health Advisory Council

Caernarvon Community League

1-888-436-0986 for more information

Tue June 15 (2 -4 pm)

Central Lions Seniors Centre

Friends of Medicare public meeting

11113 – 113 Street

This article was published in the VUE on June 9, 2010. Read the full article on the VUE website.