The people of Red Deer and central Alberta deserve their regional hospital to be a priority. The UCP’s handling of the Red Hospital expansion has been chaotic and incompetent.
Rachel Notley will prioritize the completion of the Red Deer Regional Hospital.
An Alberta NDP Government will:
Press forward urgently with the expansion of the hospital, and explore any opportunity to speed up the timeline
Recruit and train new healthcare workers to ensure the hospital is fully staffed
Be transparent with the project’s timeline and communicate any changes
The UCP has failed to deliver any substantial progress on expanding the Red Deer Hospital. After nearly four years they have quietly delayed the project even further.
We will never pursue a P3 construction model for the hospital, as these models only lead to further delays.
We will provide stable, competent leadership that will end the chaos in healthcare in central Alberta.
We must build on the past and look towards the future with ambition. Alberta has among the slowest wage growth in Canada. Under the UCP, capital investment stalled.
We will reinvigorate Alberta’s investment climate. There are massive job creation opportunities – which the UCP is not seizing.
Our proposals will create over 47,000 good-paying jobs and attract an estimated $20 Billion in private sector investment.
Our strategy:
Create an Alberta’s Future Tax Credit targeting growth in emerging industrial sectors
Supercharge the Alberta Petrochemical Incentive Program we created when in government
Use Performance Fast Pass to speed up the approvals of projects for responsible companies
Consult with Indigenous communities on expansion of the Alberta Indigenous Opportunity Corporation
We must build on the past and look towards the future with ambition. Alberta has among the slowest wage growth in Canada. Under the UCP, capital investment stalled.
We will reinvigorate Alberta’s investment climate. There are massive job creation opportunities – which the UCP is not seizing.
Our proposals will create over 47,000 good-paying jobs and attract an estimated $20 Billion in private sector investment.
Our strategy:
Create an Alberta’s Future Tax Credit targeting growth in emerging industrial sectors
Supercharge the Alberta Petrochemical Incentive Program we created when in government
Use Performance Fast Pass to speed up the approvals of projects for responsible companies
Consult with Indigenous communities on expansion of the Alberta Indigenous Opportunity Corporation
Alberta NDP Commits to Red Deer Hospital Expansion
The people of Red Deer and central Alberta deserve their regional hospital to be a priority. The UCP’s handling of the Red Hospital expansion has been chaotic and incompetent.
Rachel Notley will prioritize the completion of the Red Deer Regional Hospital.
An Alberta NDP Government will:
Press forward urgently with the expansion of the hospital, and explore any opportunity to speed up the timeline
Recruit and train new healthcare workers to ensure the hospital is fully staffed
Be transparent with the project’s timeline and communicate any changes
The UCP has failed to deliver any substantial progress on expanding the Red Deer Hospital. After nearly four years they have quietly delayed the project even further.
We will never pursue a P3 construction model for the hospital, as these models only lead to further delays.
We will provide stable, competent leadership that will end the chaos in healthcare in central Alberta.
Rachel Notley’s famous Oktoberfest event is back… but now in February! Join us for a fun night full of beer tastings from local breweries and wine selections from Color de Vino. There will also be live music, delicious food, live art, and a silent auction.
We welcome donated items for the silent action. If you would like to donate an item, please contact us silentauctionoktoberfest@gmail.com.
Saturday February 4th 7:30pm – 11:00pm (Mountain time)
Westbury Theatre (Fringe Theatre Arts Barns) 10330 84 Ave. NW, Edmonton, AB (map)
There is currently one eligible candidate for the nomination:
Jason Heistad
Jason Heistad has lived in Innisfail for the past 38 years, with deep roots in our constituency and family members in Innisfail and Sylvan Lake.
He is a political veteran, currently serving a 4th term as a member of Innisfail Town Council with 12 years of municipal experience. Jason works for the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) as their Executive Secretary-Treasurer, second only to the President of that organization.
Jason cares deeply about the issues that matter to all of us in Alberta: strong public systems of healthcare and education, affordable living, good jobs in a resilient economy, clean air and water, and so much more. As our MLA, he is prepared to fight for these issues and everything else that matters to residents of our riding.
Buy your membership today and share with your friends.
If you can’t make it, consider donating as generously as you can to Jason’s campaign so that we can put on a strong campaign against the UCP: https://act.albertandp.ca/donate/INSL
Monday February 6th 6:30pm – 8:30pm (Mountain time) Doors open at 6:30pm, and the meeting will begin at 7pm.
Innisfail Public Library 5300A 55 St Cl, Innisfail, AB (map)
Eight years and one month ago, former Reform Party leader Preston Manning offered a public apology for his role in the mass defection of MLAs — which included now-premier Danielle Smith — from the Wildrose Party to the Progressive Conservative party.
Eight years and one month ago, former Reform Party leader Preston Manning offered a public apology for his role in the mass defection of MLAs — which included now-premier Danielle Smith — from the Wildrose Party to the Progressive Conservative party.
The week previous, however, he had described the floor crossings as a “positive development.” Manning did indeed play a key role in the whole affair and was one of the people advising Smith at the time. The subsequent apology speaks to how poor the political judgment was of all involved.
Manning’s judgment and his eagerness to provide political support and cover to his friend are once again particularly relevant in Alberta politics. Last week, via news release, Smith named Manning as the chair of an “expert panel” tasked with reviewing the province’s response to COVID-19.
The government has budgeted $2 million for this exercise, with a tidy 12.5 per cent of that amount going directly to Manning himself. The panel chair also has the privilege of deciding who else gets to sit on this panel (subject to the premier’s final approval). A final report and recommendations are due back to the government in just under 10 months from now.
There is an interesting and probably unresolvable debate about whether governments went too far in trying to contain COVID-19 or not far enough. That debate may have been more intense here in Alberta than anywhere else in Canada and Jason Kenney’s attempts to find a balance between the two led directly to him becoming a former premier.
Could we have done more to have saved lives and prevent illness? Could we have done more to protect businesses and civil liberties? The case for the affirmative can be made on both questions.
We know where Smith stands on that. We also knowwhere Manningstands on that. Not surprisingly, their views are very much in alignment. So what is the likelihood that the premier’s well-established views will be contradicted in any way by her like-minded and now well-compensated ally?
The premier certainly has the prerogative to seek out whatever advice or opinion she wishes, and if Manning’s views on these matters are important to her, then she’s free to solicit them. In fact, it would be surprising if she hasn’t already. That would be just as productive as this endeavour but much less costly to the taxpayer.
Also, as head of government, the premier has the prerogative to propose changes to legislation. Whatever comes of Manning’s work, it won’t give any new or greater mandate for the government to act. Perhaps the premier thinks this gives her some political cover for what she plans to do, anyway. If so, she should spare us the expensive political theatre and be upfront with Albertans about her intentions.
Aside from his long-standing relationship with the premier and his shared outlook on the relevant issues at hand, it’s hard to see what qualifies Manning to oversee a review of the government’s pandemic response and the underlying public health legislation in the first place. If the government was serious about a thorough and independent review, it would look nothing like this.
Smith’s dangerous flirtation with potential political inference into COVID-related matters still before the courts does not create the impression of a premier who has moved on from the sort of pandemic politics that thrust her to victory in the UCP leadership race. Her political judgment is astute enough, at least, to realize the need to punt all of this until after an election. Manning, it seems, is prepared to do his part.
Ultimately, though, it’s hard to see how this will be anything other than a waste of time and taxpayers’ money. This doesn’t exactly help the government’s — or Manning’s — credibility, either.
Kathleen Ganley speaks during a news conference in Vancouver on Friday, Sept. 15, 2017. The energy critic says there should be public consultations, in regards to a government plan that would subsidize oil and gas companies fulfilling legal commitments to clean up old wells. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Alberta’s New Democrat Opposition wants public consultations on a government plan that would subsidize oil and gas companies to fulfil legal commitments to clean up old wells, a major proponent of which has been working directly in Premier Danielle Smith’s office for months.
“The fox has entered the henhouse,” said energy critic Kathleen Ganley.
Ganley said that it appears the United Conservative government has already made up its mind to bring in the RStar program, despite criticism from an array of outside experts, rural municipalities and internal government analysts.
“All indications are the government has made their decision,” Ganley said. “There should be public consultations.”
Under RStar, companies would earn valuable credits for remediating old wells even though the obligation to clean up a well is part of the licence to drill it. That credit could be sold or applied against revenue earned from new production to reduce provincial royalties.
Alberta Energy spokesman Scott Johnston confirmed RStar remains on the agenda.
“Alberta Energy has been actively working on options for a reclamation incentive pilot program,” he said in an email.
“This work will continue over the coming weeks. Once this work is completed the department will consult with key stakeholders to determine next steps.”
Proponents say RStar or something like it would encourage new drilling, help clean up Alberta’s 170,000 abandoned wells and create jobs. In a letter written by Smith when she was a business lobbyist less than a year ago, she quotes a consultant who says $20 billion in RStar credits would create 366,000 jobs and $8.5 billion in royalties.
Critics, including staff within Alberta Energy, have said RStar would subsidize work that almost all companies do anyway as a legal condition of their drilling licence. They say current high oil prices mean there’s no need for the subsidy, which could cost Alberta $5 billion in lost royalties.
The proposal, however, has been pushed for years by groups including the Sustainable Alberta Energy Network, formerly led by Kris Kinnear. He now works in Smith’s Calgary office as manager of special projects.
His LinkedIn profile suggests he’s been there since October.
Smith’s spokeswoman, Rebecca Polak, refused to explain what Kinnear does or whether he would appear on the province’s Sunshine List, a database of civil servants who earned more than $136,805. In an email, she said disclosure information is posted only on June 30 and Dec. 31.
Kinnear did not respond to a telephone call.
Alberta’s New Democrat Opposition wants public consultations on a government plan that would subsidize oil and gas companies to fulfil legal commitments to clean up old wells, a major proponent of which has been working directly in Premier Danielle Smith’s office for months.
“The fox has entered the henhouse,” said energy critic Kathleen Ganley.
Ganley said that it appears the United Conservative government has already made up its mind to bring in the RStar program, despite criticism from an array of outside experts, rural municipalities and internal government analysts.
“All indications are the government has made their decision,” Ganley said. “There should be public consultations.”
Under RStar, companies would earn valuable credits for remediating old wells even though the obligation to clean up a well is part of the licence to drill it. That credit could be sold or applied against revenue earned from new production to reduce provincial royalties.
Alberta Energy spokesman Scott Johnston confirmed RStar remains on the agenda.
“Alberta Energy has been actively working on options for a reclamation incentive pilot program,” he said in an email.
“This work will continue over the coming weeks. Once this work is completed the department will consult with key stakeholders to determine next steps.”
Proponents say RStar or something like it would encourage new drilling, help clean up Alberta’s 170,000 abandoned wells and create jobs. In a letter written by Smith when she was a business lobbyist less than a year ago, she quotes a consultant who says $20 billion in RStar credits would create 366,000 jobs and $8.5 billion in royalties.
Critics, including staff within Alberta Energy, have said RStar would subsidize work that almost all companies do anyway as a legal condition of their drilling licence. They say current high oil prices mean there’s no need for the subsidy, which could cost Alberta $5 billion in lost royalties.
Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley says UCP documents show the estimated completion date for the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre (RDRHC) expansion project has been delayed by up to two years. However, the provincial government says the project is still on schedule.
Notley held a press conference in Red Deer on Thursday at the Baymont by Wyndham hotel (4311 49 Ave), proclaiming her government will make three commitments for the future of the hospital. She was accompanied by Red Deer –North candidate Jaelene Tweedle, Red Deer-South candidate Michelle Baer and Health Critic David Shepherd.
Just two days earlier, Alberta’s Minister of Infrastructure, Nathan Neudorf, announced the provincial government would be hosting a public information session to provide an update on the project. They did not give further details on what would be discussed.
Notley says her government would commit the following:
Press forward urgently with the expansion of the Red Deer Hospital and explore any opportunity to speed up the timeline
Ensure the current and future hospitals are fully staffed, as a part of their plan to recruit and train new healthcare workers
Be transparent with the project’s timeline and communicate any changes
“The UCP’s handling of the Red Deer Regional Hospital expansion has been chaotic and incompetent leadership and it is unacceptable,” said Notley. “The people in Red Deer and throughout central Alberta deserve honesty and transparency and for the Red Deer Regional Hospital to be a priority. Not more secrecy and empty promises from the UCP.”
With the recommendation for a hospital expansion dating back to 2014 in the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre Master Plan, the project was left off the Alberta Health Services (AHS) health care infrastructure priority list in 2018 by the former NDP government, in power from 2015-2019. At the press conference, Notley said AHS recommended other priorities at the time while they had “fewer resources”.
“It took us, quite honestly, I’ll be very frank, a couple of years to reconsider that and overrule that and decide that ‘no, we needed to get this back on the active list’ which is what we did while still in government,” said Notley, adding that since that time, the pressures at the hospital have grown. “Because of the unique position that Red Deer occupies as a city that offers a pretty full range of specialized services yet in a smaller setting, the pressures have perhaps been felt more intensely here and the need has grown at a greater rate.”
In 2019, she says the Alberta NDP put back the project on their priority list, creating a Multi‐Year Health Facility Infrastructure Capital Submission plan to redesign how governments would communicate to Albertans about capital construction. She says they also funded preliminary scoping work for the hospital expansion and commitment to its recommendations.
Under the following UCP government, the hospital expansion project was initially left out of their first capital budget. In 2020, the government anticipated construction would begin the following year. In November 2022, Premier Danielle Smith announced a 2030/31 estimated completion date for the project alongside site details.
However, the NDP say, according to the recent Request for Proposal (RFP) for a Prime Consultant Services document posted for open response on January 12, the new anticipated completion date for construction is 2032 and 2033 for post construction. The date for construction to begin is still undetermined.
“Sadly, this news will likely not come as a surprise to the hospital staff and everyone that relies on the hospital’s services,” said Baer, who referenced patients waiting up to 18 hours at the hospital’s emergency department. “This is just another failed commitment to the people of Red Deer by the UCP. When we are in government, we will get the hospital expansion done and address the crisis in healthcare all across Alberta.”
“The 2032/2033 date referred to from the RFP is the total contract period for a Prime Consultant. It’s standard industry practice to retain a Prime Consultant beyond completion for complex projects like the Red Deer Hospital, to address any warranty issues, minor deficiency completions, and to support the building handover and commissioning,” he said in a statement.
“Alberta’s government will continue to have transparent and open communication with the City of Red Deer about this project as it proceeds.”
STAFFING
“The chaos in our healthcare system and the need to improve the Red Deer Hospital is top of mind for many here,” said Tweedle. “Last week, I spoke with a nurse new to the Red Deer Hospital who was shocked to see how underserved and understaffed our hospital is and how it is literally bursting at the seams. We must take action — and I can promise you that Michelle, Rachel and myself will end the chaos in our healthcare system.”
In a response, Alberta Health Services said that four new physicians have been hired for the Emergency Department in a new mentoring role and clinical and physician assistants are being recruited to support physicians.
They also said surgical services have seen recent success in recruiting seven full time anesthesiologists, one currently practicing in Red Deer, and three more expected to arrive in February. For the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), in 2022, they say eight new spaces were added, bringing the hospital’s ICU capacity to 20 beds.
“Despite capacity pressures, RDRHC continues to provide a full suite of surgical services for patients. At this time, no procedures have been postponed and both emergency and scheduled cases continue to be seen as quickly as possible,” AHS said in a statement.
Steve Buick, Press Secretary for the Minister of Health, added that although more doctors are needed, he states the province, and Red Deer in particular, have seen big gains in 2022.
With a spring election around the corner, it’s critical that we keep our momentum going for a better Alberta. We only get stronger when we work together.
With your support, we can stop Danielle Smith and the UCP’s cruel and chaotic agenda—and bring stability back to our healthcare, education and economy.
Chip in now to keep the momentum building
More Info: https://act.albertandp.ca/donate/better-alberta/
