Red Deer - Noon-hour Protest

By Matthew Gauk - Red Deer Advocate

Published: February 10, 2010

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About 70 people gathered in front of City Hall on Tuesday to protest funding cuts in the province.

The noon-hour crowd included social work students at Red Deer College, seniors and those interested in the care of persons with development disabilities, among others.

They split up into two groups and delivered placards outlining their demands to the constituency offices of Red Deer MLAs Cal Dallas and Mary Anne Jablonski, also minister for Seniors and Community Supports.

Retired RDC business instructor Mike O’Hanlon was in the crowd, where many were decked out with scarves of the Alberta tartan — the symbol of the organizing movement Join Together Alberta.

“The government basically caused the problem that is now resulting in budget cuts, as far as I’m concerned,” said O’Hanlon, giving short shrift to the global economic downturn. “They cut taxes, they cut Alberta health-care premiums, they eliminated the tax they put on alcohol, they cut the royalty programs they put on oil companies, all of which reduced the revenue, and now they’re screaming they don’t have enough money.”

Social work students Jill Baranitsky and Tyson Griffin skipped out on part of a class to attend the rally.

The protest preceded the provincial budget which came down at 3 p.m.

“Basically the issues we’ve been discussing in class are the issues that are up, so why not come support them?” Griffin said about social funding cuts.

Diane Lehr, executive director of Cosmos Community Disabilities Services Foundation, said cuts are “scary” for “our most vulnerable population.”

Cosmos and other Central Alberta groups have been asked to “voluntarily return dollars” to the government from this year’s contract, she said, and “the reality is we can’t do anything more.”

“We can’t have cuts without it affecting our staffing and levels of service. That’s our biggest concern as an organization. Over the years as a non-profit organization, we’ve strived to be as efficient as we can. We just don’t have any gravy to cut.”

Bev Hanes, a board member with Central Alberta Council on Aging, came to the rally with her mother, now in her second nursing home. The marquee issue for Hanes and her organization is the quality of long-term care to be provided to seniors.

She said they’re “skeptical” about the care to be provided at Extendicare Canada’s continuing care facility Michener Hill Village when it opens and Red Deer Nursing Home and Valley Park Manor are phased out.

“(Extendicare is) a large corporation, they’re throughout North America, and profit is their bottom line,” said Hanes. “They are actually pleased when they keep their care and nursing costs down, which doesn’t translate into necessarily good care.”

Other Join Together Alberta rallies were held across the province to coincide with the release of the provincial budget.