EDMONTON—The federal government’s newly announced health care funding would be at risk of misuse in Premier Smith’s hands, says the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE).
Increasing the Canada Health Transfer (CHT) payments would greatly help Alberta’s health care system. AUPE estimates that the province could receive as much as $233 million in immediate funding from the CHT and $2 billion over the next five years from raising the CHT funding rate to five per cent.
However, the federal government’s announcement did not explicitly direct the provinces to invest the money into public health care.
AUPE Vice-President Susan Slade fears Premier Smith’s government would use the new money to further privatize and contract out front-line services.
“Health care must be accessible to everyone, not just for rich people who can pay to jump the line,” says Slade. “Services become expensive and patients suffer when health care is just another business built to make profits for the powerful.”
Since coming to power in 2019, the United Conservative Party government has already privatized in-hospital laundry services, which are now provided by K-Bro, and is currently contracting out hospital retail food services, which will cut over 300 AUPE members’ jobs.
Some conditions of the new transfer agreement promote investing in health care workers, including additional pay for health care aides (personal support workers). However, there is no guarantee the provincial government will focus on improving conditions for workers.
Slade believes the new funding should be used to take urgent action on the short-staffing crisis in Alberta’s health care system.
“Front-line workers are understaffed and overworked, and that was only made worse by the pandemic,” says Slade. “If the government wants to help patients, it needs to help the health care workers in our public system.
“Improving working conditions improves care conditions. Workers know that, patients know that, and Albertans know that, and that’s what Premier Smith must do.”
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AUPE Vice-President Slade is available for interviews.
Please contact Alexander Delorme, Communications Officer: a.delorme@aupe.org or 780-264-9274