AUPE members have been concerned about the Blue Ribbon Panel for months, and this report confirms every fear we had about what it would mean for us and the public services Albertans rely on.
Making working Albertans suffer
The Blue Ribbon Panel report demands rollbacks and cuts for working people.
The government says it wants to do this to make up for low revenue, but their own corporate tax giveaways will cost the province billions of potential revenue.
They’re giving away billions to their corporate friends and now they’re asking working Albertans to pay for it.
The report
The Blue Ribbon Panel report calls for drastic, ideological changes to government programs, health care, education, and other public services in our province. The report does not even consider the growing demand for services, which will only increase with Alberta’s rising population.
The government has already shown it does not respect our contracts or constitutional right to bargain with Bill 9. But the report goes one step further. It recommends back-to-work legislation if workers were to strike against these attacks on our wages and benefits.
Privatizing health care
The report also shows the government is ideologically determined to privatize even more of Alberta’s health care.
The report recommends increasing the use of publicly-funded private care clinics. This move will drive wages down while actually increasing costs, and quality of care will suffer.
We need to fight back!
AUPE members and all working people in Alberta are at a crossroads. We have to decide what we’re willing to do to stand up for our wages, our rights, and Alberta’s public services.
Visit www.aupe.org/fightback and sign up to join all AUPE members in this fight.