Dr. Sherman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week you rightly corrected me when you said that a review of MLA pay came after you received a request from the Premier. The Members’ Services Committee met and just two weeks later appointed a retired Supreme Court judge to investigate MLA pay. Why won’t the Premier take out a pen and write a letter requesting a public inquiry into critical problems, many life-threatening critical problems, in our public health care system?

Ms Redford: Mr. Speaker, I think we’ve had a very successful session of the Legislature this fall, where we’ve introduced legislation that’s mattered to Albertans. One of those pieces of legislation will do exactly what the hon. member has asked for.

Dr. Sherman: Mr. Speaker, it may accomplish what we want after a nice, long delay tactic.
Given that the Premier returned $107 million in education dollars, which we all support in this House, and given that the Premier also suspended two huge transmission lines, is the Premier honestly telling Albertans that she can do all of that with the stroke of her pen, but she’s unable to keep her main campaign promise to Albertans to immediately call a public inquiry under the Public Inquiries Act?

Ms Redford: Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments of the hon. Leader of the Opposition because what he has illustrated is that this government, since this party assumed new leadership, is keeping its commitment to Albertans. We will continue to do that. I hope that the opposition, in the spirit of that, will ensure that this legislation passes because we want to keep those commitments, and we will.

The Speaker: The hon. leader.

Dr. Sherman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The only thing that’s changed is that they’ve become better at stonewalling.
Given that absolutely nothing can change the fact that health care workers just don’t trust the government to run a fair review process – the same government that brought in the code of conduct, the same government that was firing nurses when we needed them, the same government that wrecked the system, and the same government that created a culture of fear and intimidation – and that the Premier promised a process Albertans and these health care workers would trust, what is she trying to protect her government from by breaking this promise?

Ms Redford: Mr. Speaker, it is important for Albertans to be able to trust the health care system. One of the reasons they’re going to be able to do that is because we are going to have an independent public inquiry that’s going to ensure that information that Albertans want will be available. At the end of the day what Albertans want to know is that this is a system that they can rely on. I have confidence that through this process we will have kept our commitment to Albertans, we will find out what Albertans want to know about the health care system, and we’ll be able to move on and trust and respect the professionals running the system.

The Speaker: Second Official Opposition main question. The hon. Leader of the Official Opposition.

Dr. Sherman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Premier is correct in that you can absolutely rely on front-line health care workers to care for you, but you can’t rely on the government.

PC Party Benefit Plan Trust

Dr. Sherman: A change of pace. The game of he said, she said playing out between the Premier and the PC Party president last week regarding the PC Party top-up to the Premier’s $300,000 salary and benefit plan has Albertans confused. When asked about the salary top-up scheme, the PC Party president said that there’s a lump sum and that if there’s any excess, it has to be accounted for by the leader. Will the Premier stop ducking the issue and tell . . .

The Speaker: The hon. Premier.

Ms Redford: Mr. Speaker, I think the leader is confused because where we are is that there were comments made last week, as I understand it, with respect to what previous arrangements may have been. I was very clear on Friday that I believe there are certain expenses related to the work of the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party that it would be inappropriate for government to pay for. That is for party donors to pay for. I have not received any funds. If I do, I will publicly disclose them.

Dr. Sherman: Given that the Premier will receive a salary top-up, as confirmed by the PC Party president, will the Premier tell us what the party paid the previous Premier as his top-up?

Ms Redford: Mr. Speaker, the hon. Leader of the Opposition is making a suggestion as to what I will or won’t do. I think I’ve been very clear that if I receive any funds with respect to the party, they will be disclosed, and it hasn’t happened.

The Speaker: The hon. leader.

Dr. Sherman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Given that Alberta’s Premier is already the highest paid in the land and given that many Albertans on AISH and many seniors on fixed incomes are struggling just to put food on their table this Christmas, can the Premier please tell Albertans on AISH why they still have to wait for those $400 benefits that she promised them when she’s getting so rich on her own plan? It’s sort of like the Grinch who stole Christmas.

Ms Redford: Mr. Speaker, this is a situation where what the hon. leader is trying to connect are a number of issues that are going to raise fear and uncertainty in people’s minds. This is a province that cares about vulnerable people. When I ran to be leader of this party and to become Premier of this province, I was committed to ensuring that we are able to deal with those AISH issues. We are going to deal with those, and these unconnected situations aren’t fair for public policy discussions.

Emergency Medical Service Delays
Dr. Sherman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The barometer of our health system is our emergency rooms. The Health Quality Council says that ERs throughout Alberta are at their breaking point. In fact, things are so bad that the length of stay numbers on the AHS website were at 22 per cent at the Royal Alex and the Grey Nuns hospital just last week. In the face of all this evidence the Minister of Health and Wellness still claims that the number of people waiting on the ER stretchers is the lowest it’s been in years. Will the minister stop treating this issue as a PR problem and acknowledge that he played a major role in causing the crisis when he helped close down the Villa Caritas long-term care facility?

Mr. Horne: Mr. Speaker, well, there are a number of things to respond to in that question. First of all, I have made no such claim that ER wait times are the best they’ve been in years. We’re in fact working very hard on the basis of some very ambitious targets to improve the flow of patients, particularly for those who are admitted to hospital and have to wait in the emergency room. The target for that is an eight-hour target. With respect to the system overall, we are moving aggressively on continuing care, the expansion of home care, and other measures to improve patient flow.

The Speaker: The hon. member.

Dr. Sherman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. An eight-hour target that after billions of dollars spent on the system we’re meeting only 22 per cent of the time.
Given that the decision to close beds at Alberta Hospital Edmonton and to deport complex mental health patients to a long-term care facility like Villa Caritas caused the ER crisis and delays in care and a few potential catastrophes, why has the Minister of Justice not called a public fatality review into the death at Villa Caritas and that of Shayne Hay, people who lost hope after waiting for care?

Mr. Olson: Mr. Speaker, there is a clear procedure for fatality inquiries. The chief medical officer makes a recommendation to the fatality inquiries board. They make a recommendation to me. I’ve received no such recommendation.

The Speaker: The hon. member.

Dr. Sherman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The chief medical officer works in the Ministry of Health and Wellness. Will the Minister of Health and Wellness ask the chief medical officer to make a recommendation to the Justice minister to do a public fatality inquiry into the deaths that happened to Shayne Hay and the patient in the Villa Caritas, patients who were already in care? Untimely and unnatural deaths.

Mr. Horne: Mr. Speaker, I have no way to verify the information that the hon. member is presenting with respect to those two fatalities. What I can tell the hon. member and what I’m sure he knows is that Villa Caritas is, in fact, part of the continuing care system in the Edmonton zone. It provides continuing care for hard-to-serve patients with advanced mental illness such as Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia and plays a major role in stabilizing those patients so that they can return to an appropriate community placement.

Alberta Hansard, December 5, 2011

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