Smith and Neudorf talk healthcare, renewables pause during Whoop-Up Days

Reforms at AHS

Smith said people across Alberta are seeing first-hand why significant reforms are needed at Alberta Health Services (AHS).

Some examples she pointed out include the frequent temporary closures of the emergency departments at the Milk River and Pincher Creek Health Centres, as well as the recent announcement of the permanent closure of the ambulatory care clinic in Picture Butte.

“[AHS] has not been responsive to local needs, they’ve not been able to address the issues of closures, and we find it unacceptable as the entity that’s paying the bills,” explained Smith. “We’re charged with the task of making sure that people get the healthcare they want and need when they need it.”

That is why Smith reaffirmed her commitment to decentralizing AHS.

“One of the reasons we’ve embarked on a major change in Alberta Health Services is to decentralize decision-making, get decisions made closer to home, empower site managers to do that kind of recruitment,” said Smith. “What we’ve been doing hasn’t been working, and it’s not just Lethbridge, it’s Milk River, it’s other smaller communities, and it’s unacceptable.”

Giving DynaLife the axe

The Government of Alberta announced earlier this month that it will be transitioning community laboratory testing work away from DynaLife.

The private firm took over services from the AHS-ran Alberta Precision Labs in July 2022. A little over one year later, the province will give community lab services back to Alberta Precision Labs.

Smith said DynaLife was not fulfilling their end of the deal.

“It was by mutual agreement that DynaLife asked to be released from their contract, and so we’re working through a transition to be able to bring back the assets, bring back the equipment and make sure there’s seamless service,” said Smith. “That’s been our number-one objective is that they simply weren’t living up to their terms of the agreement, which had performance expectations.”

Smith said the transition away from DynaLife is a staged process and is not able to say just yet how much it will cost. She assured that, by the end of 2023, more detailed numbers will be provided.

Building recovery communities

Smith said Alberta is far ahead of the rest of Canada when it comes to addressing mental health and addictions, particularly in building recovery centres.

Of the 11 planned recovery communities in the province, the one in Red Deer was the first to open. Construction is underway for several of the other communities, including ones just outside of Lethbridge and on the Blood Tribe.

Smith told media that she believes recovery communities will be vital in supporting people who are faced with substance addiction.

“It takes a person and builds their capacity to get clean for life,” said Smith. “Whether it takes a month or six months or a year, we’ll be making sure they’re clean from their addiction and they have training so they can take care of themselves, training so they can get a job. We believe this is the only way to be able to support people is to give everybody an opportunity to get a chance at recovery.”

@lethbridgenewsnow Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was asked about a variety of healthcare topics, including reforms to Alberta Health Services, the decision to cancel DynaLife’s contract to provide community lab services, and building recovery communities. Learn more at LethbridgeNewsNow.com #YQL #LNN #Alberta #Lethbridge ♬ original sound – Lethbridge News Now

Energy

Renewable power pause

Smith and Neudorf both spoke at length about the provincial government’s decision to implement a six month pause on approving new wind and solar energy projects.

When asked to respond to the Alberta NDP’s accusation that the pause is “irresponsible,” Neudorf stated his belief that the opposite is true.

“We think it’s actually responsible government to make sure that we fully address the entire system, the market, and how we generate power to make sure that we answer these questions, not just for today, but for generations to come so we can have affordable, dependable, and reliable energy.”

@lethbridgenewsnow Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Affordability & Utilities Minister Nathan Neudorf provide more details about why the province has enacted a six-month pause on approving new renewable energy projects. Learn more at LethbridgeNewsNow.com #YQL #LNN #Lethbridge #Alberta #UCP #NDP ♬ original sound – Lethbridge News Now

Neudorf blamed the previous NDP government for the pause being necessary in the first place due to Rachel Notley’s phase-out of coal-generated electricity.

Smith also pointed the finger at the federal government and its plan to have a net-zero electricity grid by 2035.

“The reason why we have to have a pause is because [the federal government], they’ve created so much uncertainty to bringing on natural gas that nobody’s bringing that on. The reason we’ve been able to bring on wind and solar is we have natural gas as a backup – they’re essentially making that illegal now.”

“I stay up at night worrying about how we’re going to provide electrical power to people in the middle of winter,” adds Smith. “We almost had our power grid fail seven times this past winter and we’re being told by our regulators, we’re being told by our generators that we need to have baseload power being brought on.”

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by David Opinko

Smith and Neudorf talk healthcare, renewables pause during Whoop-Up Days

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