Edmonton – Alberta Liberal Health Critic Dr. David Swann has released the following statement:
“It was very gratifying to hear Wildrose House Leader Rob Anderson speak so highly of Alberta Liberal policies on health care and seniors’ care in the Legislature on Tuesday.
“Raj Sherman and I – along with all of our colleagues in the Alberta Liberal Caucus – have fought long and hard to protect and improve health care and seniors’ care on behalf of Albertans.
“Allies are always welcome and needed in the struggle to halt the PC government’s agenda of health care privatization by stealth.
“When Anderson rose in the House to say ‘it is common knowledge that it costs far more to care for seniors in a hospital setting than in a proper long-term care facility’ and then ask the Premier why this government continues ‘to chronically underfund long-term care for seniors while wasting billions unnecessarily by housing seniors in crowded and expensive hospital beds,’ I could have sworn I was listening to Sherman himself.
“Rob was also channeling Raj when he said, ‘Instead of spending billions on new hospital beds, how about reallocating some of those infrastructure dollars into new long-term accommodations for seniors? Not only would this result in better care for seniors, but it would also open up hundreds of existing acute-care hospital beds without having to build a whole bunch of expensive new ones. It will help improve health care while saving money.
“Exactly what the Alberta Liberals have been advocating for years! The only detail Anderson got wrong was claiming this is a ‘common-sense Wildrose solution,’ but he got the important points right, so that’s okay.
“I sincerely hope that the Wildrose’s adoption of these Alberta Liberal policies on health care and seniors’ care is sincere and that they have in fact retreated from their agenda to privatize health care.
“If so, the PCs are the only remaining party which poses a threat.”

Edmonton – In response to questioning by Edmonton Meadowlark MLA Dr. Raj Sherman today, Premier Redford claimed that there is no difference in the level of care between non-profit and for-profit long-term care – a position which is at odds with the evidence.

“What a ridiculous thing to say,” says Sherman. “Multiple studies show that what the Premier said in the House today is quite simply not true. She is either being untruthful or is ignorant of the facts.”

A recent Parkland Institute report found overwhelming scholarly evidence supporting Sherman’s claim that private-for-profit facilities do not meet the same level of care as public facilities, as private clinics frequently have inferior staffing levels, less time for individualized care, and lower patient and staff satisfaction.

“The premier simply isn’t credible on this issue,” says Sherman. “The research shows the quality of care for seniors in non-profit long-term care is often better than in private care clinics. The premier is completely wrong on this important matter, and that worries me.”

The Alberta Liberal Caucus calls for a doubling of home care funding so that seniors can live in their own homes with their spouses for as long as possible. The Alberta Liberal Caucus is also calling for an additional supply of non-profit long-term care beds to moderate prices and ensure an adequate supply of affordable spaces.