Juno News - Can Smith solve Alberta’s healthcare crisis？

00:00:00.160 Hey everyone, welcome back to the Alberta Roundup. I'm your host Rachel Emanuel.

00:00:04.220 I hope that you guys are having a good weekend so far and maybe just staying inside.

00:00:09.000 I'm pretty much all knocked down, my vehicle is not working, it is not starting,

00:00:13.400 so I probably won't be going anywhere for a couple days, maybe even a couple weeks at this rate.

00:00:18.300 Taking a look at what we're going to be talking about on today's show.

00:00:21.040 Does Alberta Premier Daniel Smith actually want to be the health minister?

00:00:24.660 Edmonton police are warning of gang activity in homeless encampments

00:00:28.060 and Alberta is preparing for a possible drought this spring.

00:00:31.940 All that and more happening now on the Alberta Roundup.

00:00:43.800 Taking a look at our first story here, the policies of the federal government have

00:00:47.840 put the dream of a good life in Canada and Alberta at risk.

00:00:51.380 At least that's what Alberta Premier Daniel Smith thinks.

00:00:54.640 Take a listen to her comments.

00:00:55.720 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Environment Minister Stephen Gibault.

00:01:00.640 At a time when Albertans and Canadians are still struggling with an affordability crisis,

00:01:04.900 they are pursuing policies that will increase costs and put paychecks at risk.

00:01:09.520 At the beginning of 2024, when we should be looking forward with optimism,

00:01:14.180 we're talking about imploding our economy, banning cars, registering plastics, 0.95

00:01:18.180 and paying into the carbon tax instead.

00:01:20.680 Well, not all of us.

00:01:22.100 Alberta is fighting back, and we need to fight back,

00:01:25.700 all because of the dangerous ideas of Minister Stephen Gibault.

00:01:29.260 Premier Smith said that Ottawa and Alberta could have a collaborative relationship,

00:01:33.860 but not with the policies that Ottawa is currently enacting, like its carbon tax,

00:01:38.720 and not so long as Environment Minister Stephen Gibault remains in place.

00:01:42.880 She said that Alberta will continue to fight against these policies.

00:01:46.580 Moving into our next story here,

00:01:48.120 does Alberta Premier Daniel Smith actually want to be the health minister?

00:01:52.140 Take a listen for yourself.

00:01:53.380 I always worry when I make a joke,

00:01:55.080 because people take me so seriously when I joke around,

00:01:57.640 but I have joked in the past that the job I really wanted to have was health minister,

00:02:02.020 because there's so many reasons for it.

00:02:04.440 Number one is, it is the core business of a provincial government

00:02:09.620 to deliver health care and to deliver it well.

00:02:13.540 Under our constitution, it falls to the provinces.

00:02:17.240 Under the way that we've structured our finances,

00:02:19.300 we've got the federal government being a major player,

00:02:21.420 and it is the biggest budget item.

00:02:23.940 And if it's not working well, it touches every one of us.

00:02:26.320 If you can't get the care you need, or your loved one can't,

00:02:28.880 or your aging parents can't, it affects so much of your life.

00:02:32.660 So it is the one thing that we have to do well.

00:02:34.400 The Premier was, of course, joking.

00:02:35.740 She made those comments in an interview with Bruce McAllister,

00:02:39.180 as they looked ahead to her government's plans for 2024.

00:02:43.180 We know that the UCP has been taking health care very seriously,

00:02:46.540 as we are all plagued with long wait times for surgeries, ambulances, and emergency rooms.

00:02:52.380 But Danielle Smith says the answer likely isn't throwing more money at the health care system. 0.99

00:02:57.360 She said if the government continues to throw more money at it,

00:03:00.600 and wait times are not reduced, then money likely isn't the issue.

00:03:04.500 It's a restructuring problem.

00:03:06.720 And she said that as long as the government continues to throw money at health care,

00:03:10.340 that money has to be taken from something else.

00:03:12.560 So she is looking for more innovative ideas.

00:03:15.200 Another story that has been bubbling up in Alberta in recent months,

00:03:18.820 Edmonton Chief of Police Dale McPhee said that

00:03:21.840 one of the reasons homeless encampments are so unsafe

00:03:24.400 is that there's a lot of gang activity going on at these sites.

00:03:28.620 McPhee said, quote,

00:03:29.440 The chief said gangs are taking advantage of the city's most vulnerable.

00:03:46.300 And at times when homeless encampments have been burned out and left emptied,

00:03:50.480 police come in to find gang symbols still there.

00:03:53.300 McPhee also said the police have heard reports of gangs controlling city-operated water fountains

00:03:58.840 and charging homeless people to use them.

00:04:00.980 But police haven't caught anyone doing that yet.

00:04:03.340 Meanwhile, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said that

00:04:05.320 as long as there's space in city shelters for the city's most vulnerable,

00:04:10.240 the police are allowed to clear the homeless encampments.

00:04:12.840 So we've increased shelter space in Edmonton.

00:04:16.260 So that gives somebody a starting point to get off the street

00:04:19.720 into an environment where they can then get connected to their options.

00:04:23.160 The second option is building our recovery communities.

00:04:27.580 And we've built two of them.

00:04:29.060 We opened the one in Red Deer and in Lethbridge last year.

00:04:34.120 While we're on this topic, Alberta Seniors Community and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon

00:04:39.120 said that there's still room at shelters across the city for the city's most vulnerable

00:04:44.060 during this cold snap.

00:04:45.820 And he chastised Edmonton Mayor Anne-Marie Sohe for suggesting otherwise.

00:04:50.380 In a statement, Nixon said, quote,

00:04:51.720 We have more than enough room for every homeless person in the city of Edmonton

00:04:56.280 to have a warm, safe place to stay.

00:04:58.920 It is completely inappropriate and dangerous for the mayor

00:05:01.660 or anyone to suggest Edmonton is out of capacity in our social services sector

00:05:05.940 or our emergency shelter systems.

00:05:08.980 Anyone needing shelter space will be kept care of.

00:05:11.860 Nixon wasn't the only Alberta minister on defense this week.

00:05:15.740 Health Minister Adriana LaGrange took issue with a column by Don Braid of the Calgary Herald

00:05:20.700 saying his interpretation of the state of Alberta's health care system was misleading.

00:05:25.720 In the column, Braid reminded Albertans that Premier Smith

00:05:28.900 and Alberta Health Services Administrator Dr. John Cowell

00:05:32.260 had promised that surgical wait times would be within clinically acceptable standards within a year.

00:05:38.760 Braid wrote, quote,

00:05:40.040 Cowell's promise about surgery wait times always seemed extravagant. 0.75

00:05:43.720 Ten months on, it looks ridiculous.

00:05:45.640 He said that a month after the promise was made,

00:05:47.740 the provincial average wait time for a new knee was 99.6 weeks

00:05:52.560 and now the most recent figures from October show an average wait time of 101.8 weeks.

00:05:58.860 LaGrange shot back saying the column and its headline were misleading

00:06:01.920 and relied on an incorrect use of data.

00:06:05.640 She said, quote,

00:06:06.240 It makes the critical error of interpreting data representing the 90th percentile of surgical wait times as the median.

00:06:12.880 She said the wait times are as follows.

00:06:15.460 The provincial-wide knee replacement wait time is at a median 26.3 weeks,

00:06:20.080 down from 44.4 weeks in October.

00:06:23.300 LaGrange also said that EMS response times have improved since 2022.

00:06:27.600 They've improved 29% in metro and urban areas,

00:06:31.080 18% in small communities,

00:06:32.740 and 11% in rural communities.

00:06:35.240 Moving into our controversy of the week,

00:06:37.320 Alberta's use of acetaminophen imported from Turkey

00:06:39.820 increased the risk of life-threatening illness in neonatal patients.

00:06:44.200 According to provincial government documents,

00:06:46.180 which detailed some of the issues that plagued Alberta Premier Daniel Smith's

00:06:50.360 $75 million deal for children's medication last winter while there was a shortage.

00:06:56.520 This story is an exclusive from The Globe and Mail,

00:06:59.000 who received the documents through an access to information request.

00:07:02.040 Those documents contain emails with health officials from Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services.

00:07:08.720 The documents show that the imported medication was thicker than medication typically used by Alberta Health Services,

00:07:15.300 and in some cases, clogged tubes.

00:07:18.020 Those tubes then had to be flushed with water.

00:07:20.840 Officials determined that because more water was being used,

00:07:23.860 it increased the risk of a complication called necrotizing enterocolitis,

00:07:28.140 which inflames the intestines of an infant.

00:07:30.300 Staff were subsequently ordered to stop using the product in neonatal intensive care units,

00:07:35.820 according to a spokesperson at Alberta Health Services.

00:07:38.760 It's unclear exactly how long the medication was being used in neonatal care.

00:07:43.820 In an October 23 email to the health minister's chief of staff,

00:07:47.720 Isaac Van Dyne, an executive associate with AHS, said,

00:07:50.740 Neonatal patients with very low body weight have fragile and incompletely developed intestines,

00:07:56.020 which cannot accommodate large boluses of fluid administration for medication.

00:07:59.780 The volume issues from the adobe acetaminophen was determined to possibly increase the risk of necrotizing enterocolitis,

00:08:08.060 a potentially fatal injury to the intestines, in these tiny patients.

00:08:12.420 Alberta Health declined The Globe and Mail's request for comment.

00:08:15.020 A spokesperson for Alberta Health Services said that no patient fell ill or developed

00:08:20.300 necrotizing enterocolitis as a result of taking the adobe medication.

00:08:25.180 The Globe also found that children often refused to take the medication because they would gag while attempting to take it

00:08:31.000 and because it had a more bitter taste than medicine typically used in North America.

00:08:35.740 The deal between adobe pharmaceuticals and the United Conservative Party government

00:08:39.060 has been quite the source of criticism because of its large cost and also because it was plagued with delays.

00:08:45.740 The province initially procured 5 million bottles of children's acetaminophen and ibuprofen

00:08:50.980 and only after the crisis had subsided, 1.5 million bottles touched down on Alberta soil.

00:08:56.920 And finally, moving into what we're watching in the weeks to come,

00:08:59.640 Alberta is preparing for a possible drought this spring.

00:09:02.200 In a letter sent to municipalities last month,

00:09:05.020 Environment and Protected Areas Minister Rebecca Schultz advised municipalities that a drought was possible

00:09:10.380 and that they need to take precautions now.

00:09:13.140 Those actions include monitoring water levels, developing a water shortage plan,

00:09:18.080 and reviewing their municipal water license so they are aware of any conditions

00:09:21.740 that could limit their ability to withdraw water.

00:09:24.560 She also made a video to inform Alberta residents what was going on.

00:09:28.160 Take a listen to that now.

00:09:29.080 With not enough snow and rain, many reservoirs in southern Alberta are below capacity

00:09:33.460 and some communities are already facing challenges.

00:09:36.940 Across Canada, more than 72% of the country is experiencing drought conditions.

00:09:41.700 That includes 81% of Canada's agricultural landscapes.

00:09:45.620 And with El Nino occurring worldwide, we're seeing a very warm and dry winter across our country.

00:09:50.580 Unfortunately, there's a high risk that conditions could worsen this year.

00:09:54.360 In order to be fully prepared, Alberta is taking action.

00:09:57.120 We have stood up a drought command team and a first draft of a 2024 drought emergency plan

00:10:02.220 has been completed and is now being refined.

00:10:05.100 The province is meeting with water license holders, major water users, municipalities, and other partners

00:10:09.940 to develop water conservation plans and water sharing agreements.

00:10:13.860 In the coming weeks, we will also be awarding a contract for drought modelling

00:10:17.380 to help us maximize the province's water supply.

00:10:20.440 And Alberta is striking a drought advisory committee that will be announced shortly.

00:10:24.140 This phenomenon, referred to as El Nino, brings with it less precipitation and warmer temperatures all around.

00:10:30.660 It is, of course, a bit ironic that I'm delivering this news to you guys this weekend.

00:10:33.940 Probably the coldest of the year, at least I'm hoping so.

00:10:37.040 And before we sign off for the day, taking a look at some of your comments from previous episodes.

00:10:41.200 All these comments are from my episode posted two weeks ago, my interview with Jeff Park,

00:10:47.080 the director of the Alberta Parents Union, in which we talked about a medicine high school,

00:10:52.360 which was teaching students how to smoke crack safely, if that's even possible.

00:10:57.400 Of course it's not.

00:10:58.140 And you guys called that out.

00:11:00.000 User Puckhard said, thank you for covering this story.

00:11:03.300 This should be a national news story.

00:11:05.560 I completely agree.

00:11:06.640 I'm not surprised that it isn't.

00:11:08.180 Mainstream media doesn't seem to pick up on these types of stories too often.

00:11:12.680 There's also just so many crazy headlines nowadays.

00:11:15.040 I feel like we've all kind of become numb to them.

00:11:17.820 Like you'll read something so crazy in the news and you'll just keep scrolling

00:11:21.340 and you won't even think twice about it nowadays.

00:11:23.280 Because in a world where men can be women and women can be men,

00:11:27.480 nothing is really that surprising anymore.

00:11:29.940 User TheOriginalJP said,

00:11:31.780 I feel like there is an obvious joke about the safest way to smoke rock.

00:11:35.320 It's having a dad in the Oval Office.

00:11:38.160 But drug addiction is not a joke.

00:11:40.360 Very clever.

00:11:41.020 I enjoyed that one quite a bit.

00:11:42.940 But I also love American politics.

00:11:45.060 So I appreciate that reference.

00:11:46.920 And finally, user Daryl Coat said,

00:11:49.340 no surprise, kids are performing subpar these days.

00:11:52.600 Homeschooling is the way to go if you care about your children's future, that is.

00:11:56.240 Otherwise, carry on.

00:11:57.740 I just want to push back on this comment a teeny bit.

00:11:59.540 I agree homeschooling is a great option.

00:12:02.800 And I know a lot of families that do it.

00:12:04.360 But there is some other great options.

00:12:05.880 I myself attended a private Christian school.

00:12:08.660 It was a much costlier option than homeschooling, I would say.

00:12:12.240 I know that not every family can afford it.

00:12:14.980 But I think I will look to do something similar for my kids if I can.

00:12:19.100 Just because I had a really great experience.

00:12:20.800 And I still have so many close friends from grade school.

00:12:23.560 I don't know how common that is.

00:12:24.540 But I have like 15 really good friends from elementary school.

00:12:27.620 We're just lifelong friends.

00:12:29.100 I enjoy seeing them every time I visit Ontario.

00:12:31.940 So I just want to push back on that comment a little bit because I do think there are some other good options.

00:12:36.400 And you know, I think I turned out okay.

00:12:38.040 The jury might still be out on that one.

00:12:39.960 But that's what I'm going to look to do one day for my kids.

00:12:42.500 All right, guys.

00:12:43.000 That's all we have time for today.

00:12:44.380 I would suggest maybe just, you know, staying in this weekend.

00:12:46.620 Stay warm.

00:12:47.200 I don't know if it's normal for Albertans to go out in like negative 30 weather.

00:12:50.460 It's not normal for me.

00:12:51.460 I'm going to stay home.

00:12:52.580 If you have nothing to do, there's probably an Alberta Roundup episode or two that you've missed.

00:12:56.260 You can go back and watch those or watch some of our other great content.

00:13:00.060 And if you have time and you think of it, you can always support our work over at donate.tnc.news.

00:13:04.920 Have a great weekend.

00:13:06.120 God bless.

00:13:06.660 And I'll see you guys next week.

Juno News - January 13, 2024

Can Smith solve Alberta’s healthcare crisis？

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