Latest news with #Bill55
Calgary Herald
15-05-2025
- Health
- Calgary Herald
Alberta government cites 19 bills as spring sitting ends in shadow of talk on tariffs, separation vote
Article content Alberta MLAs rose in the wee hours of Thursday morning to mark the end of the legislature's spring sitting, which saw the government pass 19 pieces of legislation but was also overshadowed by allegations of corruption related to health-care procurement that prompted the resignation of a cabinet member, a response to American tariffs, and the potential of an independence referendum. Article content Article content Article content Speaking with reporters at the legislature on Thursday, government house leader Joseph Schow pointed to the bills that had been put into law over the past weeks and said the government would take stock of its priorities over the summer. Article content Article content 'Our government has always been and will continue to be unapologetic in our fight to protect and promote a strong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada, because we are relentless in our work to create a brighter future for Albertans,' he said. Article content 'We're going to take the summer to go back to our constituents and the people that hired us to do this job, and listen to them, hear what they have to say.' Article content Among the bills passed since the sitting began on Feb. 25 was legislation formalizing the overhaul of auto insurance rules, taking a further step towards a provincial police force, eliminating municipal codes of conduct, and changing how justice system non-profits are funded. Article content Major pieces of legislation were left for closer to the end of the sitting. Those include the Compassionate Intervention Act, which would allow for adults and youth to be placed into involuntary addiction treatment if they are deemed to likely cause significant harm to themselves or others. Article content Article content It also includes Bill 55, which moves public health roles from Alberta Health Services (AHS) to Primary Care Alberta, and Bill 54, which drew attention for lowering the bar for a potential citizen-led separation vote while also reintroducing union and corporate campaign contributions. Article content Article content Bill 54 prompted a backlash from First Nations and led the government to introduce some last-minute amendments late Wednesday. Article content In February, the government faced questions raised in the statement of claim by former AHS head Athana Mentzelopoulos about health-care procurement, with those allegations being the main subject of many question periods throughout the sitting. Article content And the threat of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and the potential impact on Alberta's economy was also at the forefront of legislative debates, most notably around the provincial budget tabled in February that delivered the government's long-promised tax cut but also forecast a $5.2-billion deficit.
CTV News
08-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Critics concerned Alberta to allow private oversight of public hospitals, LaGrange calls it ‘fearmongering'
The Royal Alexandra Hospital can be seen in this undated file photo. (File) A group of health-care organizations and advocates is accusing the Alberta government of opening doors for private operators to run public hospitals. The Alberta NDP held a joint press conference on Thursday with six unions and health-care advocates condemning changes in Bill 55 and calling on the province to postpone passing it. Bill 55, the Health Statutes Amendment Act, 2025, was tabled on May 1. The sweeping legislation impacts 54 pieces of legislation under 19 government ministries. The province says the bill continues the restructuring of the health-care system away from Alberta Health Services (AHS), but health-care advocates say their worried about private interests -- pointing to the health minister's power to appoint entities outside provincial health agencies to operate hospitals. 'Allowing Bill 55 to pass would queue things up for the government to very quickly turn over our public hospital infrastructure to be operated by private, for-profit interests,' said Friends of Medicare executive director Chris Gallaway. Under Alberta's new health-care system, AHS will become an acute care provider and the province last month took over 380 AHS land titles and 700 buildings. The group wants assurances private companies won't be enlisted take over operations at any of those facilities. At a press conference on Feb. 28, Smith didn't answer when asked if the takeover was part of a plan to sell hospitals to private companies. Instead, she said the change was in response to her government's frustrations around spending money on capital projects but not being able to decide how they are used. 'That will allow for us to choose the operator, and it will allow us to repurpose them to our needs,' Smith said. On Thursday, Alberta NDP Shadow Minister for Health Sarah Hoffman said the opposition plan to introduce amendments that would ensure hospitals remain publicly operated. 'When you're a private operator, you're accountable to your owners, to your shareholders, not to the patients, not to the people of this province who paid their tax dollars to build the hospital that you want to take over and run,' Hoffman said. Health Minister Adriana LaGrange said no amendments are needed and that the group is wrong in their interpretation of the legislation. 'When you look at Bill 55, it doesn't touch the Health Facilities Act," LaGrange said. 'The Health Facilities Act stipulates very clearly that no person shall operate a private hospital in Alberta. So I find it very, very disingenuous of them to fearmonger." The health minister maintains the new legislation is simply to amend the Hospitals Act, which she has repeatedly called 'outdated,' and that the power to appoint non-provincial entities to operate hospitals is not new. 'While (AHS) runs most hospitals in the province, some hospitals are already operated by non-provincial entities, such as Covenant Health and the Lamont Health Care Centre — both of which are public, non-profit organizations, not private companies,' LaGrange said. LaGrange said the province has 'no plans to make hospitals private,' but would not confirm if the province could appoint a private entity to oversee publicly-funded health care in a hospital. The Alberta government has come under fire in the past for the decision to have private companies carry out publicly-funded health care, including the failed transfer of lab services to DynaLife and the increase of the use of private surgical facilities, which has given rise to an investigation into procurement practices. The group also criticized the province for using a closure motion to limit the amount of time the sweeping legislation can be debated. 'Smith and her UCP colleagues rail on about how heavy-handed and undemocratic Ottawa has been with Alberta,' said Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan. 'But they do far worse. Bill 55 represents a fundamental change to our health-care system, and it should get weeks of debate, not days.' LaGrange said the province is committed to robust debate and discussion on the new legislation and would 'ensure that the bill receives due consideration while also keeping our commitment to moving important legislation forward.'
Calgary Herald
08-05-2025
- Health
- Calgary Herald
LaGrange denies Opposition accusations of Bill 55 hospital privatization
Opposition New Democrats said Thursday the Alberta government's Bill 55 opens the door for private ownership of hospitals, something the government denies, stating such accusations amount to 'empty fearmongering.' Article content Article content The Health Statutes Amendment Act was introduced in the legislature last week and proposes hundreds of changes across its 332 pages of text. Article content Article content Opposition health critic Sarah Hoffman has criticized the bill throughout the legislative process, saying it will allow private, for-profit entities to operate hospitals. Article content Article content She spoke on Thursday alongside representatives of five labour unions including those representing nurses and health care workers, and called the bill 'a disgusting betrayal' of the province's responsibility to ensure health care for Albertans when needed. Article content 'They didn't put any parameters in to say that they will be publicly operated hospitals if they actually want to say that this isn't about privatization,' she said. Article content 'I've got amendments that I'll be putting forward to say that this is about making sure that they are still publicly operated and publicly accountable.' Article content Speaking to reporters inside the legislature Thursday, Health Minister Adriana LaGrange said Hoffman is mischaracterizing the bill. Article content 'The Health Facility Act stipulates very clearly that no person shall operate a private hospital in Alberta. So I find it very, very disingenuous of them to fear-monger,' she said. Article content Article content The bill began Thursday in second reading and was scheduled to be further debated into the early evening. Government house leader Joseph Schow gave oral notice that the government intends to limit further debate at second reading to one hour. Article content Hoffman said she plans to propose amendments to the bill intended to underscore the public funding, ownership and operation of hospitals in Alberta. Article content 'When you or someone you love goes to the ER or needs life saving surgery or has cancer, the people making decisions about you and your care should be focused on the patient, not the profit.' Article content 'There's no need to make an amendment,' she said. 'This bill does not do what they're saying.'
Edmonton Journal
08-05-2025
- Health
- Edmonton Journal
LaGrange denies Opposition accusations of Bill 55 hospital privatization
Article content Opposition New Democrats said Thursday the Alberta government's Bill 55 opens the door for private ownership of hospitals, something the government denies, stating such accusations amount to 'empty fearmongering.' The Health Statutes Amendment Act was introduced in the legislature last week and proposes hundreds of changes across its 332 pages of text. Article content Opposition health critic Sarah Hoffman has criticized the bill throughout the legislative process, saying it will allow private, for-profit entities to operate hospitals. She spoke on Thursday alongside representatives of five labour unions including those representing nurses and health care workers, and called the bill 'a disgusting betrayal' of the province's responsibility to ensure health care for Albertans when needed. 'They didn't put any parameters in to say that they will be publicly operated hospitals if they actually want to say that this isn't about privatization,' she said. 'I've got amendments that I'll be putting forward to say that this is about making sure that they are still publicly operated and publicly accountable.' Speaking to reporters inside the legislature Thursday, Health Minister Adriana LaGrange said Hoffman is mischaracterizing the bill. 'The Health Facility Act stipulates very clearly that no person shall operate a private hospital in Alberta. So I find it very, very disingenuous of them to fear-monger,' she said. Article content Article content The bill began Thursday in second reading and was scheduled to be further debated into the early evening. Government house leader Joseph Schow gave oral notice that the government intends to limit further debate at second reading to one hour. Hoffman said she plans to propose amendments to the bill intended to underscore the public funding, ownership and operation of hospitals in Alberta. 'When you or someone you love goes to the ER or needs life saving surgery or has cancer, the people making decisions about you and your care should be focused on the patient, not the profit.' In response to reporter questions, LaGrange said such an amendment would be unnecessary. 'There's no need to make an amendment,' she said. 'This bill does not do what they're saying.' Hoffman had earlier raised concerns about the bill during Tuesday night's sitting of the legislature, noting Premier Danielle Smith had raised the idea of taking away ownership of hospitals at a town hall last year. Article content Hoffman said the bill gives too much say over patient care to hospital operators who she said could order collection of unpaid bills, and have patients discharged or relocated to other facilities under the threat of trespassing. 'This is absolutely allowing hospitals like the Stollery to be run by corporations,' she said. In a statement, Alberta Health said that's not the case and that the bill is focused on improving accountability, co-ordination, and outcomes. 'The concept of a hospital 'operator' simply ensures clear governance and accountability,' it said in a statement. 'Alberta Health Services, a provincial health agency, or a provincial health corporation may serve as an operator — none of which are private entities.' The spring sitting of the legislature is scheduled to conclude May 15. mblack@ Article content Latest National Stories
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
LaGrange denies Opposition accusations of Bill 55 hospital privatization
Opposition New Democrats said Thursday the Alberta government's Bill 55 opens the door for private ownership of hospitals, something the government denies, stating such accusations amount to 'empty fearmongering.' The Health Statutes Amendment Act was introduced in the legislature last week and proposes hundreds of changes across its 332 pages of text. Opposition health critic Sarah Hoffman has criticized the bill throughout the legislative process, saying it will allow private, for-profit entities to operate hospitals. She spoke on Thursday alongside representatives of five labour unions including those representing nurses and health care workers, and called the bill 'a disgusting betrayal' of the province's responsibility to ensure health care for Albertans when needed. 'They didn't put any parameters in to say that they will be publicly operated hospitals if they actually want to say that this isn't about privatization,' she said. 'I've got amendments that I'll be putting forward to say that this is about making sure that they are still publicly operated and publicly accountable.' Speaking to reporters inside the legislature Thursday, Health Minister Adriana LaGrange said Hoffman is mischaracterizing the bill. 'The Health Facility Act stipulates very clearly that no person shall operate a private hospital in Alberta. So I find it very, very disingenuous of them to fear-monger,' she said. The bill began Thursday in second reading and was scheduled to be further debated into the early evening. Government house leader Joseph Schow gave oral notice that the government intends to limit further debate at second reading to one hour. Hoffman said she plans to propose amendments to the bill intended to underscore the public funding, ownership and operation of hospitals in Alberta. 'When you or someone you love goes to the ER or needs life saving surgery or has cancer, the people making decisions about you and your care should be focused on the patient, not the profit.' In response to reporter questions, LaGrange said such an amendment would be unnecessary. 'There's no need to make an amendment,' she said. 'This bill does not do what they're saying.' Hoffman had earlier raised concerns about the bill during Tuesday night's sitting of the legislature, noting Premier Danielle Smith had raised the idea of taking away ownership of hospitals at a town hall last year. Hoffman said the bill gives too much say over patient care to hospital operators who she said could order collection of unpaid bills, and have patients discharged or relocated to other facilities under the threat of trespassing. 'This is absolutely allowing hospitals like the Stollery to be run by corporations,' she said. In a statement, Alberta Health said that's not the case and that the bill is focused on improving accountability, co-ordination, and outcomes. 'The concept of a hospital 'operator' simply ensures clear governance and accountability,' it said in a statement. 'Alberta Health Services, a provincial health agency, or a provincial health corporation may serve as an operator — none of which are private entities.' The spring sitting of the legislature is scheduled to conclude May 15. mblack@ Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.
