EDMONTON — Raising taxes will reduce provincial budget cuts and save more than 1,000 teachers from losing their jobs in Alberta, say unions, community groups and social-services agencies, which have banded together to push for more funding.
Collecting more revenue will help the government provide more stable and long-term funding to programs and services that Albertans need and rely on, said Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour.
To that end, McGowan’s group and dozens of other organizations have launched a campaign called Join Together Alberta to press the government for more funding for education, social services and health care.
“Why should we be skimping on the services and programs that we need to build a stronger foundation for the future of our province and its citizens? The truth is: there is no good reason,” McGowan said. “We need to talk about higher royalty rates for the development and sell of our collectively owned natural resources.”
Alberta also needs to talk about reducing corporate tax breaks and increasing taxes for higher-income earners, he said.
Join Together Alberta’s initiative comes on the heals of an announcement from Edmonton’s public school board that provincial budget cuts will cost nearly 350 jobs, including more than 200 teaching positions. The Calgary board is expected to trim 358 teachers and support staff. The government committed this week to spend $550 million on new schools.
How the government fixes the problem is its decision, said Sharon Armstrong, vice-president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association.
“The children that are in our schools right now are entitled to a proper education in a province that is this wealthy,” she said. “They need to put $100 million back into the education system now for this fall.”
Armstrong said if the cuts are made, it will lead to larger class sizes, less teacher attention per student and more difficulty improving graduation rates.
Diana Gibson, research director for the Parkland Institute, said the provincial government should stop tying social services to oil and gas prices. That system isn’t working and hasn’t been for a long time, she said.
“Our social spending goes up and down. It’s very volatile because oil and gas is volatile. To have some form of stability in our education, health care and social programs, we need to rely on stable, predictable revenues.”
Politicians have long boasted that Alberta has the lowest taxes in Canada, Gibson said, but Alberta should be beating other provinces by a yard, not a mile. The province can raise taxes to provide adequate funding for services and still have the lowest tax rates, she said.
The rest of the provinces are collecting between $11 billion to $20 billion more in taxes than Alberta.
“That gap is so big,” she said. “Why the difference? We could capture $10.9 billion and still be the lowest tax jurisdiction in Canada and one of the lowest in the G7.”
McGowan agreed, adding the change won’t affect industry.
“People in businesses don’t come to Alberta because of the low tax rates. They come to Alberta because of the oil and gas.”
So why is Alberta laying off education workers; under-funding universities, colleges and technical schools; and skimping on other services,s he asked.
“The answer is clear: the reason our cupboard is bare is because provincial government has decided to make it bare.”
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Province launches $2M campaign to reduce STI rates
Alberta's rate of sexually transmitted infections highest in Canada
By Jodie Sinnema, edmontonjournal.com May 24, 2011 6:39 PM
EDMONTON - After years of delays and failed attempts to bring down the rising rate of syphilis — which killed four of nine babies infected in 2009 — the province has launched a $2-million awareness campaign that will target bar patrons and club goers.
A sharper, edgier campaign against all sexually transmitted diseases will follow, with $4 million in annual funding over the next three years. The campaign is intended to eradicate congenital syphilis cases and bring rates of gonorrhea, chlamydia, HIV and hepatitis down from the highest in the country to below the national average.
“We need to be much more aggressive than we ever have been and we need a lot more help than we ever thought we would,” said Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky, whose department will tackle the problem along with the education, aboriginal affairs and housing ministries, as well as the federal health and corrections departments and local community groups. “We’re not achieving the results we had hoped to achieve. … Whatever those efforts were, they were insufficient to yield the positive results that we’re looking for, so we have to ramp up, rethink some of that strategy, augment those parts that worked, discard some of those perhaps that didn’t work so well and move forward.”
Alberta’s rates of sexually transmitted infections are the highest in Canada, Zwozdesky said. In 2009, the province recorded 1,585 cases of gonorrhea, a rate 2.4 times higher than in 1999. Chlamydia cases jumped 207 per cent in that decade, to 13,000 infections in 2009.
Between 2005 and March 31, 2011, 25 babies had confirmed congenital syphilis. Nine died and one is blind.
During that same time period, 56 adults were diagnosed with neurosyphilis, of which 18 have permanent vision loss and one is blind.
Overall, the province had 279 syphilis cases in 2009, up from 77 cases in 2004 and only two cases in 1999. Left untreated, syphilis can cause severe brain, heart and bone damage, and can be fatal. Infected babies can suffer vision and hearing problems and diminished mental abilities.
Dr. Karen Grimsrud, a public health official, warned of the syphilis crisis back in 2007. One year later, she and three other public health officials, including the one in charge of sexually transmitted diseases, did not have their contracts renewed and left their jobs with Alberta Health and Wellness. None have said why they left.
Former health minister Ron Liepert also cancelled a broad campaign against syphilis, choosing to focus the fight on high-risk groups. But the infections have spilled over into the general population, affecting people as young as 14 and as old as 84, university students and professionals, homeless pregnant women and workers in the oilfield.
“Most Albertans are completely unaware of the risk that they’re taking. Nor do they know how serious the consequences can be,” said Dr. Andre Corriveau, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health.
The new five-year action plan will see Alberta Health Services hire another 10 nurses this year in addition to the 13 hired last year to track down past partners of those infected. Alberta’s health authority will boost a halftime physician position into a full-time one to focus on sexually transmitted diseases. Testing will continue to be offered three times during pregnancy instead of once. In a few weeks, an edgier campaign to target people aged 15 to 24 through social media will be rolled out. No details are yet available.
This past weekend, posters started going up at nightclubs featuring alluring young people and suggestions they may pass along more than coy smiles if you don’t know their sexual history. TV ads and video boards also warn people that infections don’t always come with obvious symptoms.
“Don’t you get it,” advises the syphilis campaign.
NDP Leader Brian Mason accused Zwozdesky of being “delinquent” for not responding sooner to the baby deaths.
“All of this could have been prevented,” he said. “This is absolutely disgusting and that is entirely at the feet of this government.”
But Dr. Ameeta Singh, who was the government consultant for sexually transmitted infections before her contract ended, said such a campaign is better late than never.
“At this point, I don’t think it is too late,” said Singh, an infectious disease professor at the University of Alberta who also works in Edmonton’s STD Clinic. “I’m very happy to see a comprehensive strategy.”
Edmonton’s clinic already has an outreach team that does on-site testing in places like the Remand Centre and the Boyle Street Community Co-op. Singh is also doing a research project to test a new rapid testing kit that supplies results in 20 minutes rather than 10 days. Preliminary results will be presented at an international conference this summer in Quebec.
Dr. David Swann, a former public health doctor and outgoing leader of the Alberta Liberals, also welcomed the campaign.
“We’ve never had a higher rate of syphilis than we have today,” Swann said. “This is a disgraceful state for our province to be in and speaks volumes to the lack of understanding and the lack of commitment in this government to health care and to a long-term plan and expert advice in that planning.”
David Eggen, executive director of Friends of Medicare, said he wondered if the government delayed an aggressive campaign because it felt embarrassed about broaching a sensitive topic, if “misguided morality” played a role or if there was a “tendency to blame the victim.”
“We need to make up for lost time here now,” Eggen said. “I think if we could have acted three years or four years or five years before … then probably (we) could have spent less money, time and effort here in 2011.”
Alberta's rate of sexually transmitted infections highest in Canada
By Jodie Sinnema, edmontonjournal.com May 24, 2011 6:39 PM
EDMONTON - After years of delays and failed attempts to bring down the rising rate of syphilis — which killed four of nine babies infected in 2009 — the province has launched a $2-million awareness campaign that will target bar patrons and club goers.
A sharper, edgier campaign against all sexually transmitted diseases will follow, with $4 million in annual funding over the next three years. The campaign is intended to eradicate congenital syphilis cases and bring rates of gonorrhea, chlamydia, HIV and hepatitis down from the highest in the country to below the national average.
“We need to be much more aggressive than we ever have been and we need a lot more help than we ever thought we would,” said Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky, whose department will tackle the problem along with the education, aboriginal affairs and housing ministries, as well as the federal health and corrections departments and local community groups. “We’re not achieving the results we had hoped to achieve. … Whatever those efforts were, they were insufficient to yield the positive results that we’re looking for, so we have to ramp up, rethink some of that strategy, augment those parts that worked, discard some of those perhaps that didn’t work so well and move forward.”
Alberta’s rates of sexually transmitted infections are the highest in Canada, Zwozdesky said. In 2009, the province recorded 1,585 cases of gonorrhea, a rate 2.4 times higher than in 1999. Chlamydia cases jumped 207 per cent in that decade, to 13,000 infections in 2009.
Between 2005 and March 31, 2011, 25 babies had confirmed congenital syphilis. Nine died and one is blind.
During that same time period, 56 adults were diagnosed with neurosyphilis, of which 18 have permanent vision loss and one is blind.
Overall, the province had 279 syphilis cases in 2009, up from 77 cases in 2004 and only two cases in 1999. Left untreated, syphilis can cause severe brain, heart and bone damage, and can be fatal. Infected babies can suffer vision and hearing problems and diminished mental abilities.
Dr. Karen Grimsrud, a public health official, warned of the syphilis crisis back in 2007. One year later, she and three other public health officials, including the one in charge of sexually transmitted diseases, did not have their contracts renewed and left their jobs with Alberta Health and Wellness. None have said why they left.
Former health minister Ron Liepert also cancelled a broad campaign against syphilis, choosing to focus the fight on high-risk groups. But the infections have spilled over into the general population, affecting people as young as 14 and as old as 84, university students and professionals, homeless pregnant women and workers in the oilfield.
“Most Albertans are completely unaware of the risk that they’re taking. Nor do they know how serious the consequences can be,” said Dr. Andre Corriveau, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health.
The new five-year action plan will see Alberta Health Services hire another 10 nurses this year in addition to the 13 hired last year to track down past partners of those infected. Alberta’s health authority will boost a halftime physician position into a full-time one to focus on sexually transmitted diseases. Testing will continue to be offered three times during pregnancy instead of once. In a few weeks, an edgier campaign to target people aged 15 to 24 through social media will be rolled out. No details are yet available.
This past weekend, posters started going up at nightclubs featuring alluring young people and suggestions they may pass along more than coy smiles if you don’t know their sexual history. TV ads and video boards also warn people that infections don’t always come with obvious symptoms.
“Don’t you get it,” advises the syphilis campaign.
NDP Leader Brian Mason accused Zwozdesky of being “delinquent” for not responding sooner to the baby deaths.
“All of this could have been prevented,” he said. “This is absolutely disgusting and that is entirely at the feet of this government.”
But Dr. Ameeta Singh, who was the government consultant for sexually transmitted infections before her contract ended, said such a campaign is better late than never.
“At this point, I don’t think it is too late,” said Singh, an infectious disease professor at the University of Alberta who also works in Edmonton’s STD Clinic. “I’m very happy to see a comprehensive strategy.”
Edmonton’s clinic already has an outreach team that does on-site testing in places like the Remand Centre and the Boyle Street Community Co-op. Singh is also doing a research project to test a new rapid testing kit that supplies results in 20 minutes rather than 10 days. Preliminary results will be presented at an international conference this summer in Quebec.
Dr. David Swann, a former public health doctor and outgoing leader of the Alberta Liberals, also welcomed the campaign.
“We’ve never had a higher rate of syphilis than we have today,” Swann said. “This is a disgraceful state for our province to be in and speaks volumes to the lack of understanding and the lack of commitment in this government to health care and to a long-term plan and expert advice in that planning.”
David Eggen, executive director of Friends of Medicare, said he wondered if the government delayed an aggressive campaign because it felt embarrassed about broaching a sensitive topic, if “misguided morality” played a role or if there was a “tendency to blame the victim.”
“We need to make up for lost time here now,” Eggen said. “I think if we could have acted three years or four years or five years before … then probably (we) could have spent less money, time and effort here in 2011.”
Monday, May 16, 2011
Un dentiste de Calgary fait face à de nouvelles plaintesMise à jour le mardi 10 mai 2011 à 19 h 37
PartagerCourrielFacebookTwitterImprimer.
Jozef Celovsky a porté plainte contre son dentiste.
De nouvelles plaintes ont été déposées contre un dentiste de Calgary, qui a déjà été suspendu deux fois par l'Association dentaire de l'Alberta.
Le dentiste Marvin Schnapp est accusé de faute professionnelle par l'un de ses patients, Joseph Celovsky. Il aurait perdu presque toutes ses dents depuis ses visites chez ce dentiste. Il accuse le Dr Schnapp d'avoir mal cimenté un pont dentaire et de lui avoir créé une infection.
Il dit que ses visites lui ont laissé des douleurs et une facture de 40 000 $ pour réparer les dégâts. Il a déposé une plainte auprès de l'association des dentistes de la province.
Le représentant de l'association, Bob Huff, n'a pas voulu commenter le dossier et a signalé qu'une enquête sur l'affaire était en cours. Cependant, il a confirmé que le dentiste était en règle.
Ce n'est pas la première fois que ce dernier se retrouve en eau trouble. Son nom est cité dans 12 pages d'ordonnances de cour pour des dettes impayées. L'association professionnelle l'a d'ailleurs suspendu en 1997 pour fraude.
En novembre 2008, l'association a convoqué à deux reprises le dentiste en audience disciplinaire avant de reconnaître son manque de compétence. Le Dr Schnapp a alors été suspendu pour un mois et il lui est depuis interdit de pratiquer sur des enfants de moins de 12 ans.
Cette situation n'étonne pas le directeur de Friends of Medicare in Alberta, David Eggen. Il estime qu'il est difficile d'assurer la santé du public lorsqu'une seule association contrôle et supervise la profession.
Selon lui, la solution serait d'intégrer les dentistes au service public pour obtenir plus de surveillance.
Un autre défenseur des patients, Rick Lundy, recommande plutôt à l'association d'agir rapidement et sévèrement si elle veut garder la confiance du public.
PartagerCourrielFacebookTwitterImprimer.
Jozef Celovsky a porté plainte contre son dentiste.
De nouvelles plaintes ont été déposées contre un dentiste de Calgary, qui a déjà été suspendu deux fois par l'Association dentaire de l'Alberta.
Le dentiste Marvin Schnapp est accusé de faute professionnelle par l'un de ses patients, Joseph Celovsky. Il aurait perdu presque toutes ses dents depuis ses visites chez ce dentiste. Il accuse le Dr Schnapp d'avoir mal cimenté un pont dentaire et de lui avoir créé une infection.
Il dit que ses visites lui ont laissé des douleurs et une facture de 40 000 $ pour réparer les dégâts. Il a déposé une plainte auprès de l'association des dentistes de la province.
Le représentant de l'association, Bob Huff, n'a pas voulu commenter le dossier et a signalé qu'une enquête sur l'affaire était en cours. Cependant, il a confirmé que le dentiste était en règle.
Ce n'est pas la première fois que ce dernier se retrouve en eau trouble. Son nom est cité dans 12 pages d'ordonnances de cour pour des dettes impayées. L'association professionnelle l'a d'ailleurs suspendu en 1997 pour fraude.
En novembre 2008, l'association a convoqué à deux reprises le dentiste en audience disciplinaire avant de reconnaître son manque de compétence. Le Dr Schnapp a alors été suspendu pour un mois et il lui est depuis interdit de pratiquer sur des enfants de moins de 12 ans.
Cette situation n'étonne pas le directeur de Friends of Medicare in Alberta, David Eggen. Il estime qu'il est difficile d'assurer la santé du public lorsqu'une seule association contrôle et supervise la profession.
Selon lui, la solution serait d'intégrer les dentistes au service public pour obtenir plus de surveillance.
Un autre défenseur des patients, Rick Lundy, recommande plutôt à l'association d'agir rapidement et sévèrement si elle veut garder la confiance du public.
Health issue isn't going away any time soon Discussion likely to be front and centre in coming leadership contests
By Jodie Sinnema, Edmonton Journal May 14, 2011 StoryPhotos ( 2 )
More Images » Outgoing Alberta Liberal Leader David Swann says he is determined to rebuild accountability in government and health.Photograph by: Bruce Edwards, The Journal, Edmonton JournalNow that the spring legislature session has wrapped up, Dr. Paul Parks is worried the public's attention to the health system will wane.
Although critics suggest all the political drama in the legislature over the last two sessions has tarnished the hard work of Alberta Health Services and stalled its ability to move forward, Parks knows the daily debates and political grandstanding in the house has highlighted systemic problems after years of status quo.
"It resonates that this is an important issue to Albertans," said Parks, the emergency room physician whose letter to the premier last fall warned of an impending collapse of the emergency system if nothing was done to bring down waiting times and save patients dying in hospital waiting rooms.
That letter sparked one of the most raucous legislature sessions in Alberta history, with Dr. Raj Sherman being punted from the Tory caucus. He has since said he is joining the Liberals and will run for the leadership.
This spring session continued the health-care focus with outgoing Liberal Leader David Swann, a doctor himself, hounding the government daily to call a public inquiry into allegations of physician intimidation.
Day after day, he tabled statements of claims from doctors or letters from nurses, claiming they were gagged by a system that didn't want them to speak out about long waiting times or bad patient care.
That tactic worked well, though the government never capitulated, said Chaldeans Mensah, a political scientist at Grant MacEwan University.
"David Swann was really at his best on this file. He actually displayed a feistiness which had been lacking when he first came on the scene," Mensah said.
"The difficulty is the government has portrayed a very united and focused approach on this. They don't want to buckle under from the demands of the opposition, so I think we're in a stalemate on the issue."
At times, the session seemed to be more about scoring political points than improving care, Mensah said. "Sometimes it took away from the health care issues and wait times," he said.
Dr. Tom Noseworthy agreed. "(The legislative session) has been overtly focused on health, but I don't believe any results or outcomes have come from all that attention health has received," said Noseworthy, a health policy expert from Calgary.
"I think the attention on health care is name-and-blame recently."
Name the doctors with complaints -Dr. Ciaran McNamee, Dr. Lloyd Maybaum, Dr. Stan Houston, Dr. Tim Winton, Dr. Anne Fanning and others -then blame the government.
Noseworthy thinks the government's refusal to launch a public inquiry to coincide with the Health Quality Council of Alberta's review into allegations of physician intimidation and patient care issues, is hurting the good progress made by Alberta Health Services, which has moved beyond former CEO Stephen Duckett, a controversial character, to Dr. Chris Eagle, the new president. "It's time to properly put it to bed in a non-political way," Noseworthy said.
"That's the only way we're ever going to clear the air, and we have to clear the air soon because it's having a detrimental effect on Alberta Health Services. It's kind of guilt by association, and it's kind of not fair."
Many of the cases brought forward by the Alberta Liberals are 10 years old and involve former health au-thorities, he said.
Alberta's new health authority -and the existing political establishment -aren't at fault for previous actions, Noseworthy said.
But the allegations still need investigation.
"I personally believe the government should distance themselves from this and see to it that the public get the facts and clear understanding" by calling a judicial inquiry, Noseworthy said.
He doesn't believe the government has anything to hide, despite the claims of opposition parties.
"They can blame the government if they want, but it was a former government. And they can blame AHS but that's illogical and unfair. . Can we put a lid on this and close it and do a proper post-mortem that is nonpolitical and once and for all clears the air so Alberta Health Services can get on with its business?"
Heather Forsyth, health critic for the Wildrose Alliance, thinks a public inquiry will definitely be called by whomever succeeds Stelmach.
"They will call a public inquiry, I have no doubt," Forsyth said.
Health care will remain a priority, Mensah said.
"This is likely to define the premiership of whoever takes over the Conservative party," he said.
It will also define the Liberal leadership race, but whoever succeeds Swann must broaden the focus, Mensah said.
"David Swann has really taken this issue to heart and has focused singularly on it for a long time," he said.
"I think the next leader has to take a much more comprehensive approach. I think Raj Sherman, for all his positive attributes, would be associated with the health-care issue."
NDP Leader Brian Mason said while the Liberals weren't wrong in their approach to hammer the government, Swann squandered opportunities to talk about other things besides health.
"At a certain point, you've said all you can say on a topic and it's time to move on," Mason said.
Swann didn't apologize for pushing hard on health.
"We are still in a deeply troubled system," said Swann, whose is determined to rebuild accountability in government and health.
The Alberta Liberals are planning to launch a provincewide petition this summer to gather signatures of Albertans who want the government to call for a public inquiry.
David Eggen, executive director of Friends of Medicare, said there is public appetite to keep the fire burning, even though he believes Swann allowed the debate to be reduced to stories of individual doctors with individual beefs rather than the broader fact that Alberta's health system simply doesn't have the capacity to care for everyone who needs it.
"It's up to the various leadership candidates to carry this torch and clear their position on a public inquiry or not," Eggen said.
Tory leadership hopeful Doug Griffiths has voiced his support for a public inquiry. Doug Horner and newcomer Rick Worman both say an inquiry will be needed if more proof of doctor intimidation shows up.
Alison Redford has said she believes the Health Quality Council should be the body conducting a public inquiry. Ted Morton has remained silent on the issue, while Gary Mar has said he believes the health council and the police can deal with concerns.
"Health care will be the front and centre through these leadership contests," Eggen said.
jsinnema@edmontonjournal.com t w i t t er. co m/ j o di es i nnema
checklist
??The major business of this spring session -one of the shortest ever -included the passing of various bills, including: ??Bill 1: The Asia advisory council act allows the government to establish a council on how best to tap trade and business opportunities in the growing region.
- Bill 2: This bill strengthens protection for victims of family violence and holds accountable those who violate protection orders.
- Bill 8: The missing persons act allows police to get personal information on missing people, even if there is no reason to suspect a crime. This can help speed up a search.
- Bill 10: The land stewardship amendment act did little to quell concerns of the opposition parties that the rights of land owners wouldn't be stomped on as the government plans for future population and development needs.
- Bill 20: An amendment to the workers' compensation act gives 10,000 volunteer, part-time and casual firefighters in Alberta who suffer from work-related cancer the same benefits as full-time firefighters.
-Notably not passed:
- Bill 18: The new education act is highly controversial and therefore needs more time for government. The bill would raise the high school dropout age to 17 from 16, give schools the power to expel bullies, even if the bullying happens outside school hallways or on the Internet, and gives more power to school boards, including decisions to close schools, set the school calendar and dismiss trustees who breach new codes of conduct that will be required.
© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal
By Jodie Sinnema, Edmonton Journal May 14, 2011 StoryPhotos ( 2 )
More Images » Outgoing Alberta Liberal Leader David Swann says he is determined to rebuild accountability in government and health.Photograph by: Bruce Edwards, The Journal, Edmonton JournalNow that the spring legislature session has wrapped up, Dr. Paul Parks is worried the public's attention to the health system will wane.
Although critics suggest all the political drama in the legislature over the last two sessions has tarnished the hard work of Alberta Health Services and stalled its ability to move forward, Parks knows the daily debates and political grandstanding in the house has highlighted systemic problems after years of status quo.
"It resonates that this is an important issue to Albertans," said Parks, the emergency room physician whose letter to the premier last fall warned of an impending collapse of the emergency system if nothing was done to bring down waiting times and save patients dying in hospital waiting rooms.
That letter sparked one of the most raucous legislature sessions in Alberta history, with Dr. Raj Sherman being punted from the Tory caucus. He has since said he is joining the Liberals and will run for the leadership.
This spring session continued the health-care focus with outgoing Liberal Leader David Swann, a doctor himself, hounding the government daily to call a public inquiry into allegations of physician intimidation.
Day after day, he tabled statements of claims from doctors or letters from nurses, claiming they were gagged by a system that didn't want them to speak out about long waiting times or bad patient care.
That tactic worked well, though the government never capitulated, said Chaldeans Mensah, a political scientist at Grant MacEwan University.
"David Swann was really at his best on this file. He actually displayed a feistiness which had been lacking when he first came on the scene," Mensah said.
"The difficulty is the government has portrayed a very united and focused approach on this. They don't want to buckle under from the demands of the opposition, so I think we're in a stalemate on the issue."
At times, the session seemed to be more about scoring political points than improving care, Mensah said. "Sometimes it took away from the health care issues and wait times," he said.
Dr. Tom Noseworthy agreed. "(The legislative session) has been overtly focused on health, but I don't believe any results or outcomes have come from all that attention health has received," said Noseworthy, a health policy expert from Calgary.
"I think the attention on health care is name-and-blame recently."
Name the doctors with complaints -Dr. Ciaran McNamee, Dr. Lloyd Maybaum, Dr. Stan Houston, Dr. Tim Winton, Dr. Anne Fanning and others -then blame the government.
Noseworthy thinks the government's refusal to launch a public inquiry to coincide with the Health Quality Council of Alberta's review into allegations of physician intimidation and patient care issues, is hurting the good progress made by Alberta Health Services, which has moved beyond former CEO Stephen Duckett, a controversial character, to Dr. Chris Eagle, the new president. "It's time to properly put it to bed in a non-political way," Noseworthy said.
"That's the only way we're ever going to clear the air, and we have to clear the air soon because it's having a detrimental effect on Alberta Health Services. It's kind of guilt by association, and it's kind of not fair."
Many of the cases brought forward by the Alberta Liberals are 10 years old and involve former health au-thorities, he said.
Alberta's new health authority -and the existing political establishment -aren't at fault for previous actions, Noseworthy said.
But the allegations still need investigation.
"I personally believe the government should distance themselves from this and see to it that the public get the facts and clear understanding" by calling a judicial inquiry, Noseworthy said.
He doesn't believe the government has anything to hide, despite the claims of opposition parties.
"They can blame the government if they want, but it was a former government. And they can blame AHS but that's illogical and unfair. . Can we put a lid on this and close it and do a proper post-mortem that is nonpolitical and once and for all clears the air so Alberta Health Services can get on with its business?"
Heather Forsyth, health critic for the Wildrose Alliance, thinks a public inquiry will definitely be called by whomever succeeds Stelmach.
"They will call a public inquiry, I have no doubt," Forsyth said.
Health care will remain a priority, Mensah said.
"This is likely to define the premiership of whoever takes over the Conservative party," he said.
It will also define the Liberal leadership race, but whoever succeeds Swann must broaden the focus, Mensah said.
"David Swann has really taken this issue to heart and has focused singularly on it for a long time," he said.
"I think the next leader has to take a much more comprehensive approach. I think Raj Sherman, for all his positive attributes, would be associated with the health-care issue."
NDP Leader Brian Mason said while the Liberals weren't wrong in their approach to hammer the government, Swann squandered opportunities to talk about other things besides health.
"At a certain point, you've said all you can say on a topic and it's time to move on," Mason said.
Swann didn't apologize for pushing hard on health.
"We are still in a deeply troubled system," said Swann, whose is determined to rebuild accountability in government and health.
The Alberta Liberals are planning to launch a provincewide petition this summer to gather signatures of Albertans who want the government to call for a public inquiry.
David Eggen, executive director of Friends of Medicare, said there is public appetite to keep the fire burning, even though he believes Swann allowed the debate to be reduced to stories of individual doctors with individual beefs rather than the broader fact that Alberta's health system simply doesn't have the capacity to care for everyone who needs it.
"It's up to the various leadership candidates to carry this torch and clear their position on a public inquiry or not," Eggen said.
Tory leadership hopeful Doug Griffiths has voiced his support for a public inquiry. Doug Horner and newcomer Rick Worman both say an inquiry will be needed if more proof of doctor intimidation shows up.
Alison Redford has said she believes the Health Quality Council should be the body conducting a public inquiry. Ted Morton has remained silent on the issue, while Gary Mar has said he believes the health council and the police can deal with concerns.
"Health care will be the front and centre through these leadership contests," Eggen said.
jsinnema@edmontonjournal.com t w i t t er. co m/ j o di es i nnema
checklist
??The major business of this spring session -one of the shortest ever -included the passing of various bills, including: ??Bill 1: The Asia advisory council act allows the government to establish a council on how best to tap trade and business opportunities in the growing region.
- Bill 2: This bill strengthens protection for victims of family violence and holds accountable those who violate protection orders.
- Bill 8: The missing persons act allows police to get personal information on missing people, even if there is no reason to suspect a crime. This can help speed up a search.
- Bill 10: The land stewardship amendment act did little to quell concerns of the opposition parties that the rights of land owners wouldn't be stomped on as the government plans for future population and development needs.
- Bill 20: An amendment to the workers' compensation act gives 10,000 volunteer, part-time and casual firefighters in Alberta who suffer from work-related cancer the same benefits as full-time firefighters.
-Notably not passed:
- Bill 18: The new education act is highly controversial and therefore needs more time for government. The bill would raise the high school dropout age to 17 from 16, give schools the power to expel bullies, even if the bullying happens outside school hallways or on the Internet, and gives more power to school boards, including decisions to close schools, set the school calendar and dismiss trustees who breach new codes of conduct that will be required.
© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal
Friday, May 13, 2011
Canadian Press
Alberta seniors can sue province over nursing home costs: Supreme Court
(The Canadian Press) – 15 hours ago
OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada has given a partial legal victory to a group of seniors who want to file a class-action suit against the Alberta government.
The suit involves claims of overcharging in nursing homes.
In the 9-0 decision, the justices say the class-action suit cannot include claims of breach of fiduciary duty, bad faith or negligence.
However, the court says the suit can proceed on other grounds, including a claim of unjust enrichment.
The province doesn't run any long-term care facilities itself, but does set a maximum rate which nursing homes can charge for food and accommodation.
The seniors say the government artificially inflated the accommodation charges to subsidize the cost of medical expenses.
The lobby group Friends of Medicare declared the ruling a victory.
"This ruling should serve as a wake-up call for Alberta Health and Wellness to start providing the affordable long-term care services that our province so desperately needs," said spokesman David Eggen.
"This government's long-term care policy has been destructive, and now it's one step closer to being illegal. It's too bad you have to sue this government to force them to do the right thing
(The Canadian Press) – 15 hours ago
OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada has given a partial legal victory to a group of seniors who want to file a class-action suit against the Alberta government.
The suit involves claims of overcharging in nursing homes.
In the 9-0 decision, the justices say the class-action suit cannot include claims of breach of fiduciary duty, bad faith or negligence.
However, the court says the suit can proceed on other grounds, including a claim of unjust enrichment.
The province doesn't run any long-term care facilities itself, but does set a maximum rate which nursing homes can charge for food and accommodation.
The seniors say the government artificially inflated the accommodation charges to subsidize the cost of medical expenses.
The lobby group Friends of Medicare declared the ruling a victory.
"This ruling should serve as a wake-up call for Alberta Health and Wellness to start providing the affordable long-term care services that our province so desperately needs," said spokesman David Eggen.
"This government's long-term care policy has been destructive, and now it's one step closer to being illegal. It's too bad you have to sue this government to force them to do the right thing
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Globe and Mail
Mayo with that? Insurance covers Canadians for diagnosis, care at famed US clinic
By Sheryl Ubelacker, Health Reporter, The Canadian Press – 17 hours ago
TORONTO — Canadians are being offered a private health insurance plan that will provide a second opinion on diagnosis and treatment for serious illness at the Mayo Clinic south of the border.
The MyCare program, announced Monday by Assured Diagnosis Inc. of Calgary, will initially will be available to Canadians outside of Quebec, up to the age of 75.
MyCare policyholders will have access to diagnostic expertise delivered remotely via an electronic second-opinion consultation as well as on-site care at the Mayo's three clinics in Rochester, Minn., Jacksonville, Fla., and Scottsdale-Phoenix, Ariz.
The program is aimed at illnesses such as cancer and heart disease, with policies available for singles, couples and families, said Jim Viccars, president and CEO of Assured Diagnosis, who has long been involved in the insurance industry.
"I had wanted to bring forward a program that involved Mayo Clinic because I'd been exposed to how Mayo Clinic does health care," said Viccars, who first approached the world-renowned, not-for-profit institution more than three years ago about setting up an insurance program for Canadians.
He said there are many stories of Canadians having difficulty obtaining a definitive diagnosis in a timely manner, resulting in a treatment lag.
"I think there's enough evidence that the health-care system is strained in some cases to the breaking point, depending on which part of the country you're in, and the delays in treatment have resulted in death ... or resulted in situations for others who have to live in pain while they're waiting for a diagnosis or joint-replacement surgery or for back surgery."
While some Canadians may want to seek faster care at U.S. health centres, including at the Mayo, they may be unable to afford the cost. "So an insurance program would work to their benefit," he said.
And MyCare is meant to complement, not compete with, Canada's publicly funded system, he asserted, explaining that consultations and treatment plans are done in conjunction with a policyholder's Canadian doctor.
But David Eggen, executive director of Friends of Medicare in Alberta, said the introduction of such private coverage "goes against the spirit if not the letter of the law of the Canada Health Act."
"We see insurance companies trying to expand their markets all the time in Canada. It's very lucrative to sell private insurance, as we see in the United States," Eggen said Monday from Edmonton. "It's part of a disturbing trend that I think we should protect Canadians from, quite frankly."
Eggen said such companies profit by spreading the idea that Canada's universally accessible system is irrevocably broken and that the care provided is somehow inferior to American private-sector health services.
"That's not helpful and simply not true as well."
The insurance program, underwritten by Lloyds of London, does not include deductibles or co-payments, but there are coverage exclusions for pre-existing medical conditions. In other words, a person with existing heart disease would not be covered for that condition, but would be eligible for electronic consultations and treatment for cancer and joint replacements, for instance.
The plan also pays travel and accommodation costs for the patient and in some cases for a companion, Viccars said.
Premiums depend on age, lifestyle and other factors: a non-smoking couple under age 40, for example, would pay C$60.90 per month in premiums; a similar couple who smokes would pay $102.90 a month. The premium for a single person over age 50 would be $87.50 per month if a non-smoker, $149.33 a month if a tobacco user.
Dr. David Hayes, a cardiologist at the Mayo in Rochester, Minn., said tens of thousands of Canadians have sought testing and treatment at the clinic's three locations over the years.
For some time, said Hayes, its physicians and other staff have been providing diagnosis and second opinions through remote electronic consultations and Mayo is now looking to make that expertise available outside the United States.
Canada, which shares a common language and is geographically close, "seemed like an excellent opportunity for such an initiative," he said. "But it's really just to extend the ability of Mayo to try to reach out to more Canadian patients.
"We can offer a timely second opinion, so this will be up to the people offering the product when they reach out to us for the electronic second-opinion consultation," he said, adding that if a patient and their Canadian health provider feel that treatment might be better done at the Mayo, then those arrangements would be made.
"But that will be decided on the Canadian end of things. I do want to make the point that ... it's not our goal to see these Canadian patients and then keep them as Mayo Clinic patients to deliver all of their care here. This is being done collaboratively, so we can work with the local health-care provider through MyCare to help get the best for the patient."
Depending on the success of MyCare, Mayo Clinic may entertain hooking up with insurers from other countries, said Hayes. "So if we can reach out to more international patients, we'd love to do so."
Eggen of Friends of Medicare — a member of the Canadian Health Coalition, which is dedicated to preserving and improving universal health care — is not knocking the Mayo Clinic, nor indeed U.S. health care overall.
"We do use that very clinic for some out-of-country procedures for Canadians and we have a sophisticated level of interaction between our health systems, in terms of technology and expertise and so forth," he said.
It's the continuing attempts to introduce different forms of private for-profit health care, undermining the bedrock of the universal-access system, that he finds objectionable.
"We find this a little bit more disturbing, companies like this, because they're actively trying to sell a product," he said.
"And it could be game-changing. It's not necessarily difficult to go from selling private health insurance to go to the United States to selling private insurance to go to a clinic or a facility on Canadian soil."
Copyright © 2011 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
By Sheryl Ubelacker, Health Reporter, The Canadian Press – 17 hours ago
TORONTO — Canadians are being offered a private health insurance plan that will provide a second opinion on diagnosis and treatment for serious illness at the Mayo Clinic south of the border.
The MyCare program, announced Monday by Assured Diagnosis Inc. of Calgary, will initially will be available to Canadians outside of Quebec, up to the age of 75.
MyCare policyholders will have access to diagnostic expertise delivered remotely via an electronic second-opinion consultation as well as on-site care at the Mayo's three clinics in Rochester, Minn., Jacksonville, Fla., and Scottsdale-Phoenix, Ariz.
The program is aimed at illnesses such as cancer and heart disease, with policies available for singles, couples and families, said Jim Viccars, president and CEO of Assured Diagnosis, who has long been involved in the insurance industry.
"I had wanted to bring forward a program that involved Mayo Clinic because I'd been exposed to how Mayo Clinic does health care," said Viccars, who first approached the world-renowned, not-for-profit institution more than three years ago about setting up an insurance program for Canadians.
He said there are many stories of Canadians having difficulty obtaining a definitive diagnosis in a timely manner, resulting in a treatment lag.
"I think there's enough evidence that the health-care system is strained in some cases to the breaking point, depending on which part of the country you're in, and the delays in treatment have resulted in death ... or resulted in situations for others who have to live in pain while they're waiting for a diagnosis or joint-replacement surgery or for back surgery."
While some Canadians may want to seek faster care at U.S. health centres, including at the Mayo, they may be unable to afford the cost. "So an insurance program would work to their benefit," he said.
And MyCare is meant to complement, not compete with, Canada's publicly funded system, he asserted, explaining that consultations and treatment plans are done in conjunction with a policyholder's Canadian doctor.
But David Eggen, executive director of Friends of Medicare in Alberta, said the introduction of such private coverage "goes against the spirit if not the letter of the law of the Canada Health Act."
"We see insurance companies trying to expand their markets all the time in Canada. It's very lucrative to sell private insurance, as we see in the United States," Eggen said Monday from Edmonton. "It's part of a disturbing trend that I think we should protect Canadians from, quite frankly."
Eggen said such companies profit by spreading the idea that Canada's universally accessible system is irrevocably broken and that the care provided is somehow inferior to American private-sector health services.
"That's not helpful and simply not true as well."
The insurance program, underwritten by Lloyds of London, does not include deductibles or co-payments, but there are coverage exclusions for pre-existing medical conditions. In other words, a person with existing heart disease would not be covered for that condition, but would be eligible for electronic consultations and treatment for cancer and joint replacements, for instance.
The plan also pays travel and accommodation costs for the patient and in some cases for a companion, Viccars said.
Premiums depend on age, lifestyle and other factors: a non-smoking couple under age 40, for example, would pay C$60.90 per month in premiums; a similar couple who smokes would pay $102.90 a month. The premium for a single person over age 50 would be $87.50 per month if a non-smoker, $149.33 a month if a tobacco user.
Dr. David Hayes, a cardiologist at the Mayo in Rochester, Minn., said tens of thousands of Canadians have sought testing and treatment at the clinic's three locations over the years.
For some time, said Hayes, its physicians and other staff have been providing diagnosis and second opinions through remote electronic consultations and Mayo is now looking to make that expertise available outside the United States.
Canada, which shares a common language and is geographically close, "seemed like an excellent opportunity for such an initiative," he said. "But it's really just to extend the ability of Mayo to try to reach out to more Canadian patients.
"We can offer a timely second opinion, so this will be up to the people offering the product when they reach out to us for the electronic second-opinion consultation," he said, adding that if a patient and their Canadian health provider feel that treatment might be better done at the Mayo, then those arrangements would be made.
"But that will be decided on the Canadian end of things. I do want to make the point that ... it's not our goal to see these Canadian patients and then keep them as Mayo Clinic patients to deliver all of their care here. This is being done collaboratively, so we can work with the local health-care provider through MyCare to help get the best for the patient."
Depending on the success of MyCare, Mayo Clinic may entertain hooking up with insurers from other countries, said Hayes. "So if we can reach out to more international patients, we'd love to do so."
Eggen of Friends of Medicare — a member of the Canadian Health Coalition, which is dedicated to preserving and improving universal health care — is not knocking the Mayo Clinic, nor indeed U.S. health care overall.
"We do use that very clinic for some out-of-country procedures for Canadians and we have a sophisticated level of interaction between our health systems, in terms of technology and expertise and so forth," he said.
It's the continuing attempts to introduce different forms of private for-profit health care, undermining the bedrock of the universal-access system, that he finds objectionable.
"We find this a little bit more disturbing, companies like this, because they're actively trying to sell a product," he said.
"And it could be game-changing. It's not necessarily difficult to go from selling private health insurance to go to the United States to selling private insurance to go to a clinic or a facility on Canadian soil."
Copyright © 2011 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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