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premier's office
Last Updated: Friday, September 25, 2009 7:07 PM MT Comments34Recommend18
CBC News
Hundreds of people protested against health-care cuts outside Premier Ed Stelmach's constituency office in Fort Saskatchewan Friday. (CBC)Recently announced cuts to the Alberta health-care system drew hundreds of protesters Friday to a Friends of Medicare rally outside Premier Ed Stelmach's constituency office in Fort Saskatchewan.
People travelled from Edmonton, Red Deer and Hinton to object to what they called the government's dismantling of the public health-care system.
"We came here for a very specific purpose to ask Mr. Stelmach to explain in plain language exactly what his intentions are for public health," David Eggen, executive director of the public health care advocacy group, said after the rally.
After listening to speeches from union leaders, people waved signs and chanted "We want Ed" in front of Stelmach's office. However, Stelmach was in Vancouver Friday for the Open Skies Summit.
In the past couple of months, the province has announced a number of cuts to the health-care system to deal with a $1.3-billion deficit.
People carried signs like this one at the rally in Fort Saskatchewan Friday. (CBC)They include the closure of hundreds of hospital beds, including 300 in Calgary and Edmonton, and the closure of another 246 psychiatric acute-care beds at Alberta Hospital. Patients will be moved to what health officials said are more suitable placements in the community.
In the case of seniors, many will be moved out of hospitals into assisted living facilities, a move critics charge will simply allow the province to download the costs onto individuals.
'I need it. I paid for it'
Anger over cuts and rising costs brought Ruth Melhus to Friday's rally.
"I need it. I paid for it. I thought it would be there," she said of the health-care system.
Melhus worked for the Alberta government for 40 years and now lives in an assisted living facility. Last year, her rent went up by five per cent, but her pension only increased by two per cent.
"I'm starting to worry about the pension. It's not going to be enough. I'm even starting to think I have to die before the pension runs out," she said. "And who wants to think like that?"
Health-care cuts mean nursing graduates will have to look elsewhere for work, one union leader charged at Friday's protest, in reference to a rally Thursday by about 60 fourth-year nursing students at the Alberta legislature.
"We're losing these new graduates which we desperately need in our system and we're losing our investment that we have paid as taxpayers into their education," Bev Dick with the United Nurses of Alberta told people at the rally.
Other provinces and countries will benefit from these Alberta-educated nurses, Dick said.