AHS announced yesterday that Abby Road Housing Co-operative, Artspace Housing Co-operative and Creekside Support Services will be allowed to continue to run operations while the health authority continues down its misguided path to consolidate health services.

AHS CEO Chris Eagle said that one of the reasons for the reversal is that AHS, “should have paid more attention to the needs of some individual Albertans.”

Forsyth said that this shows that the willingness by the home care operators to speak out against and raise the concerns of patients in a public forum can make positive changes that directly benefit Alberta’s health care system.

“I encourage all Calgarians impacted by decisions to centralize home care services and reduce palliative care services to speak out and reach out to government MLAs, members of the opposition and the media to get their message out,” Forsyth said. “We’ve known from the beginning that reducing palliative care and centralizing home care services means taking away providers from patients and means less choice in the system and if we work together we can push AHS and the government to reverse changes for Calgarians too.”

Currently, three local home care agencies are losing contracts with AHS in Calgary, one of which is Calgary Family Services, which has been operating in the city for over 100 years.

With the government showing a willingness to back down from poor decision making, Forsyth said that home care providers should not have to feel worried about the repercussions of speaking out.

“We are beginning to chip away at a tired and out-of-touch government and starting to get results,” Forsyth said. “Together, we can ensure that decisions by AHS and the PC government no longer need to have the final say.”

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Heather Forsyth Calgary-Fish Creek Heather Forsyth was first elected on June 15, 1993 as the MLA for Calgary-Fish Creek, and acts as the Wildrose Health critic.

After touring the province and meeting with seniors in February, Wildrose Seniors Critic Kerry Towle consistently pressured Health Minister Fred Horne to put an end to AHS’ 100 km policy, which resulted in divorce by nursing home for many seniors.

The policy was initially implemented in November 2009 as an “interim measure” in response to the H1N1 pandemic; four years later Horne called the policy a, “very necessary response to a temporary situation.”

“This is a big win for seniors and their families today after having to endure the cruel 100 km policy that often tore seniors from their loved ones.  We’re pleased the government finally reversed their decision, disappointed that it took them four years to do so,” Towle said.  “Albertans deserve a government that will make the right decisions the first time, not only when it becomes a matter of political calculation and damage control.”

Wildrose Health Critic Heather Forsyth, who raised the issue of changes in home care earlier this month, said the reversal on palliative and home care services is a good first step to ensure the quality of care for patients won’t be immediately impacted.

“Ultimately, the decision to centralize home care providers means less choice and less quality of care for patients who have a very personal relationship with their caregivers,” Forsyth said. “This should be a message for those throughout the health care community that if we come together as Albertans we can push the government to reverse decisions that will harm patient care.”

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Kerry Towle Innisfail-Sylvan Lake Kerry Towle was elected on April 23, 2012 as the MLA for Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, and acts as the Wildrose Seniors’ critic and Caucus Whip.

Heather Forsyth Calgary-Fish Creek Heather Forsyth was first elected on June 15, 1993 as the MLA for Calgary-Fish Creek, and acts as the Wildrose Health critic.

Last year alone, AHS hired 350 additional middle managers. That’s almost one every day!

The three previous consultations on the FOIP Act Review were done by all-party committees, a report where all recommendations to the committee and debates to amendments are made public, in 1998-99, 2001-02 and most recently in 2010.  The 2010 review included 24 recommendations to amend the FOIP Act and was commissioned in April 2010 and tabled in November 2010.  To date, only seven amendments have been implemented since the report.

Fox charged that the government is falling well short of being open and transparent in updating the legislation by shutting out an all-party committee review and rushing its consultations over a short-period of time during the summer, a period where Albertans are looking to spend time with families, with final submissions due by July 31st.

“We would like to give Associate Minister Don Scott the benefit of the doubt, but so far he has claimed he wants to conduct the most comprehensive review of the legislation in Alberta’s history but has left out the opposition and even the privacy commissioner for direct input,” Fox said.  “This is not how you do proper consultation and given this government’s history in battling the opposition, media and members of the public over FOIP requests, it’s simply unacceptable.”

At a consultation in Red Deer last night, Fox said a common complaint for those attending was a lack of public notice for the meeting.

Fox also raised concerns over the government’s position on the current costs taken by members of the public to file FOIP requests.

Recently, Deputy Premier Thomas Lukaszuk charged that the opposition and the public are costing taxpayers too much money by putting forward too many FOIP requests.

“The reality is, in today’s Alberta, FOIP requests are the only way to get any real information from the government and the minister needs to make it clear if he is considering raising the costs for FOIP requests in an effort to create more barriers for the public,” Fox said.

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Rod Fox Lacombe-Ponoka Rod Fox was elected on April 23, 2012 as the MLA for Lacombe-Ponoka, and acts as the Wildrose Service Alberta critic.

Both recent pipeline spills in northern Alberta have been followed by a delay of reporting and a lack of transparency, Wildrose Energy Critic Jason Hale said.

“These recent spills highlight the need to improve Alberta’s energy regulatory framework,” Hale said. “By further delaying the release of the report and the implementation of its recommendations, the minister is hurting the image of our industry and the message we are sending to our international partners as we attempt to grow market access, there simply is no excuse in delaying the report any longer.”

Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation Board finished its analysis of the pipeline report in March.  To date, Hughes has only committed to release the report sometime during the summer, failing to nail down a specific deadline for industry and the Alberta public.

Wildrose Environment Critic Joe Anglin said that there is no immediate reason to be concerned about the overall performance of Alberta’s pipeline system, but the PC government is sending the wrong message about its commitment to environmental safety by delaying the report.

“This is symptomatic of a greater problem given this government’s poor performance in enforcing its own environment rules and regulations,” Anglin said.  “The government lacks consistency when it comes to the environment. In a time when they need to be showing leadership they have been missing in action and this inconsistency is what is hurting Alberta’s image, our industry and Albertans as a whole.”

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Jason Hale Strathmore-Brooks Jason Hale was elected on April 23, 2012 as the MLA for Strathmore-Brooks, and acts as the Wildrose Energy critic.

Joe Anglin Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre Joe Anglin was elected on April 23, 2012 as the MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre, and acts as the Wildrose Environment critic.

“Both myself and my colleagues in the Wildrose Official Opposition would like to join with Albertans and people around the world to recognize World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

“With over 1,000 confirmed cases of elderly and disabled Albertans being abused in provincial facilities over the past seven years alone, there are many important steps for the Alberta Government to take in ensuring the safety and protection of our seniors.

“We in the Wildrose believe seniors deserve a truly independent voice and advocate that is free from the bureaucracy, can protect individuals for the system and can improve quality of care and provide the certainty of well-being for the seniors who built this great province.  Recently, I introduced Bill 208 the Seniors Advocate Act and will continue to urge all members of the Legislative Assembly to support this important piece of legislation so we can guarantee the protection of our seniors.

“On this day, I’d like to encourage all Albertans to learn more on the serious issue of elder abuse so we can help ensure that as people age they continue to live with the dignity, security and autonomy they deserve.”

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Kerry Towle Innisfail-Sylvan Lake Kerry Towle was elected on April 23, 2012 as the MLA for Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, and acts as the Wildrose Seniors’ critic and Caucus Whip.

At a news conference earlier today, Horne said incoming AHS administrator Janet Davidson will be in charge of rescinding the bonuses but also said doing so is a “legal quagmire.” Horne also said the board has already authorized the payments and indicated there was nothing more that could be done.

“Minister Horne told Albertans the reason he fired the AHS board was because they wouldn’t rescind undeserved bonuses for executives and now he’s indicating the bonuses will go ahead,” Wildrose Official Opposition Leader Danielle Smith said. “This is a slap in the face to taxpayers – who believed Minister Horne was doing the right thing for the right reasons. If he knew the bonuses would be paid all along, then he simply misled Albertans by firing the board.”

Wildrose Health Critic Heather Forsyth said Albertans deserve better than the ongoing fiasco over health bonuses.

“Albertans were led to believe these bonuses wouldn’t be paid out and they were happy to hear it – but it was all a sham,” Forsyth said. “The fact is, we raised the issue of senior executive bonuses in March with the Minister, yet these executives are still lining their pockets while closing down facilities, laying off front-line workers and failing their own performance measures. It makes absolutely no sense.”

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Despite pouring billions into the health system every year, outcomes for patients continue to deteriorate as performance targets are consistently missed.

“The Minister of Human Services has not added any clarity since stepping into this boondoggle and continues to allow regional boards to confuse this situation.  The PDD boards are giving service providers, families and clients mixed messages depending on which region they are in.  This minister needs to come clean.

“The Minister has so far been unwilling to commit in writing to service providers how the cuts are going to impact Albertans with disabilities, and has instead left PDD clients, families and caregivers guessing as to how the changes will affect their quality of life.

“If the government has nothing to hide and is truly being transparent, it shouldn’t have a problem communicating with stakeholders in writing, but instead stakeholders are getting the runaround. It’s time this government was honest, admitted their mistake, and consulted with stakeholders.”

Jeff Wilson Calgary-Shaw Jeff Wilson was elected on April 23, 2012 as the MLA for Calgary-Shaw, and acts as the Wildrose Human Services critic.