United Conservative leadership candidates promise health-care reform

EDMONTON – Two of the leadership candidates for Alberta’s United Conservatives say they will pursue more private-care options to fix a broken health-care system.

Jason Kenney says his father died waiting for care, adding that access to a long waiting list is not access to care.

Kenney, speaking at a leadership debate, says the province needs to pursue more private-care options along with reorganizing the system to get more resources to the front lines.

Doug Schweitzer says the current system needs to decentralize authority, adding that hip and knee surgeries can be provided better at private clinics that would still be under the public-health funding system.