Alberta Politics: Once more unto the breach, public sector lab workers save medical test system from collapse in Calgary after privatization fiasco

With its latest medical lab privatization scheme in a shambles, Premier Danielle Smith’s market-fundamentalist government has turned to the public sector in a desperate bid to keep the system from collapsing in Calgary, Alberta’s largest city. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). Or, to put it more colourfully, as

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Alberta Politics: Forget that stuff about decentralizing health care, AHS directed to consolidate all mental health and addictions programs in one silo

Mental Health and Addictions Minister Dan Williams has issued a directive to Alberta Health Services giving the provincial agency 90 days to consolidate all of its mental health and addiction programs, services, and operations under a single administrative silo, the government announced yesterday.  Alberta Premier Danielle Smith with Postmedia political

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Alberta Politics: Cabinet was ignoring the law when it ordered Dr. Hinshaw around during the pandemic! Who knew?

You can blame Jason Kenney, principal author of the United Conservative Government’s clown-show response to COVID-19, if Alberta’s many pandemic scofflaws manage to wiggle off the hook for their violations of public health restrictions, such as they were in this province.  Then chief medical officer of health Deena Hinshaw (Photo:

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Alberta Politics: Why saying Alberta Health Services’ original mandate was only running acute care hospitals is dangerous and false

A dangerously misleading statement appeared in an op-ed story under Health Minister Adriana LaGrange’s byline Thursday in the Calgary Herald. To wit, “that Alberta Health Services has evolved beyond its original acute-care hospital system mandate.” Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange (Photo: Facebook/Adriana LaGrange). Everyone makes mistakes and most politicians spin

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Alberta Politics: Alberta medical clinic’s ‘membership’ billing scheme won’t hurt a bid by PM to attack Pierre Poilievre through Danielle Smith

There must have been a moment of pure delight in the Prime Minister’s Office in Ottawa when the story broke about Dr. Sally Talbot-Jones’s plan to get her patients to pay thousands of dollars a year to become “members” of her Calgary medical practice.  Alberta Premier Danielle Smith (Alberta Newsroom/Flickr).

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Alberta Politics: Smith to Alberta: ‘Of course I’m going to take advice from CEOs; who else would I take advice from?’

Irritated by a question from an impertinent reporter about the makeup of her “expert panel” on Alberta’s energy future led by former Wildrose Party president David Yager, Premier Danielle Smith snapped back last week. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith at Thursday’s Edmonton Chamber of Commerce speech (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). “Look, he

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Alberta Politics: Alberta Health Services ordered back to the future: A catastrophe in the making, or just ideological window dressing?

The premier who centralized the management of Alberta Health Services under a single administrator who answers only to her now says she wants to decentralize the province-wide public health agency “to enhance local decision-making authority”? Alberta Premier Danielle Smith (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). What’s wrong with this picture?  According to Danielle

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Alberta Politics: Premier’s meeting with PM sparks petulantly hyperbolic ‘readout,’ Postmedia hysteria

Danielle Smith’s petulant afternoon “readout” from Friday’s Calgary Stampede meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggests Alberta’s premier didn’t get very far trying to bully the feds into abandoning their energy emissions targets. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, looking steely eyed (Photo: Liberal Party of Canada). In other words, my assessment

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Alberta Politics: Canadian prime minister and Alberta premier exchange vapidities in public for 5 minutes and 10 seconds

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith had a five-minute-and-10-second televised conversation of remarkable vapidity in Calgary yesterday. Why is this man smiling (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). Notwithstanding the frenzied spinning of some local newshounds, what little news there was at the Calgary Stampede photo-op needs to be prised

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