A group of health-care advocates is on Parliament Hill lobbying lawmakers and calling on the federal government to take a stance on Alberta’s latest moves to expand privatization of health care.
Premier Danielle Smith’s government has passed legislation that allows doctors to work in both the public and private health systems.
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The health coalition’s chair Jason MacLean says that law violates the Canada Health Act and amounts to an attack on Canada’s health-care system.
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MacLean says the federal government should withhold funding to provinces to enforce the law.
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Chris Galloway, executive director of Friends of Medicare Alberta, says federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel needs to speak up in support of public health care but she’s avoided taking a stance on the Alberta law.
The group says it has meetings set up with 100 MPs and senators this week but Michel has not agreed to meet.
Residents of Ville-Marie are being asked to boil water until advised otherwise, according to an advisory put in place Sunday afternoon.
According to the City of Montreal, the preventative boil water advisory affects the areas of Ile Sainte-Hélène, Ile Notre-Dame and the Habitat 67 site.
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The City says residents of all areas covered by the advisory must boil tap water for at least one minute before consuming it or using it to brush their teeth.
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However, unboiled tap water can be used for personal hygiene and household purposes.
The advisory will remain in effect until further notice.
The city did not provide further information on what caused the advisory or when it was expected to end.
Officials are urging anyone who attended Ag Days or visited hotels and shops in Brandon, Man., last month to monitor for measles symptoms.
The agency says there was a suspected exposure during the event.
According to Manitoba Health, those who visited the event at Keystone Centre between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Jan. 20, 21 and 22 are asked to monitor themselves. Those who visited Jan. 20 are asked to monitor until Wednesday, while visitors on Jan. 21 monitor until Thursday and those at the event on Jan. 22 monitor until Friday.
Those who visited Ag Days’ Agriculture in the Classroom event at the Provincial Exhibition of the Manitoba Dome Building between Jan. 20 and 22, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., are asked to monitor themselves until later this week.
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Exposure notices have also been issued for those who visited the town of Winkler, Man.
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Those notices involve anyone who visited the Stacked Pancake and Breakfast House on Feb. 1 from 9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., as well as the Boundary Trails Health Centre public health office on Feb. 2 from 10:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. Anyone who visited the Boundary Trails Health Centre emergency department on Feb. 3 from 7 p.m. until 1:10 a.m. the next morning is also asked to monitor.
Manitoba Health says those who believe they may have been exposed should ensure they’re up to date on their measles vaccinations.
People who were born in 1970 or later and never received a measles vaccination and never had an infection are also asked to reduce exposure with others, especially anyone who has a weakened immune system, from the fifth day of exposure to the 21st day after their latest exposure.
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Initial symptoms of measles can include a fever, runny nose, cough, drowsiness, irritability, and red eyes. Small white spots may also develop on the inside of the mouth or throat.
“Several days after the initial symptoms, a red blotchy rash appears on the face and progresses down the body,” Manitoba Health says in a release.
The symptoms typically present themselves within seven to 21 days after being exposed to the virus.
If symptoms develop, people who may have been exposed are asked to isolate at home and contact their health-care provider and advise them of the potential exposure.
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The disease spreads through droplets in the air formed when coughing or sneezing, Manitoba Health adds.
Health Canada is warning Canadians to check their medication after two lots of MAR-Amlodipine 5 mg tablets were recalled, as some bottles may contain the wrong drug.
Marcan Pharmaceuticals Inc. says certain bottles labelled as MAR-Amlodipine may contain midodrine 2.5 mg tablets, a medication used to treat low blood pressure.
Meanwhile, MAR-Amlodipine, the actual medication that is meant for the bottles, is prescribed to treat high blood pressure and chest pain.
Health Canada says taking midodrine instead of amlodipine could lead to serious health risks, including dangerously high blood pressure, dizziness, fainting, slow heartbeats and potential organ damage.
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Children may face a higher risk of harm if they take the incorrect medication.
The affected product is MAR-Amlodipine 5 mg, DIN 02371715, from lots 2472021 and 2472021A, with an expiry date of July 2027, according to the public advisory.
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The correct amlodipine tablets are white to off-white, flat and eight-sided, with a line across the middle. One side is marked “210” and “5,” while the other side is blank.
The incorrect midodrine tablets are white, round and marked with “M2” on one side.
Health Canada is urging patients to immediately check their bottles and return them to a pharmacy if they contain any round tablets or if there is uncertainty about the contents.
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Patients are advised not to take the round tablets.
Those experiencing symptoms such as dizziness, unusually high blood pressure or slow heartbeats are advised to contact a health-care professional or call 911.
Immediate medical attention is recommended for chest pain, sudden headaches, trouble speaking, or numbness or weakness.
Health Canada says it is monitoring the recall and the company’s investigation and will notify the public if additional risks are identified.
Consumers with questions can contact Marcan Pharmaceuticals Inc. directly, and health-care professionals are being asked to carefully check bottles before dispensing and report any issues.
The union representing thousands of front-line hospital workers in Alberta says its new collective agreement with the province has been ratified.
In a statement late Friday, the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees says the deal with Alberta Health Services and Lamont Health Care Centre ensures more than 27,000 hospital support staff earn living wages by April 2027.
Highlights include a 12 per cent pay increase retroactive to April 2024, and a two per cent long service wage increase for staff with more than 20 years of service.
“General Support Services workers in Alberta’s hospitals finally have the new contract they deserve,” said union president Sandra Azocar in the statement.
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“They won these significant wage increases because of their strength and solidarity.”
The deal covers people working in administrative support, addictions and social workers, as well as food, laundry and housekeeping.
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Azocar said the contract recognizes the vital work that members do.
“While this collective agreement takes a significant step for our members, we look forward to making further improvements when we begin bargaining again in 2028,” she said.
Finance Minister Nate Horner, in a statement, said he was pleased by the deal.
“This new collective agreement provides fair compensation increases in line with the other public sector deals and improved benefits for GSS members,” said Horner.
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He also said the deal’s ratification means an end to collective bargaining with Alberta’s major health sectors for this round of negotiations.
In November, a deal reached one minute before more than 16,000 nursing care staff, which includes licensed practical nurses and health-care aides, were set to strike was approved.
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The former CEO of the IWK Health Centre has been sentenced to nine months in jail for defrauding the children’s hospital during her time in charge.
Tracy Kitch was convicted last year after the court found she spent more than $30,000 on her corporate credit card to pay for personal expenses, including flights and limo services.
Kitch, who is now unemployed, had pleaded not guilty to fraud over $5,000.
During her sentencing hearing last month, she told the court she failed to properly prioritize oversight of her expense claims.
Sentencing hearing underway for former IWK CEO found guilty of defrauding hospital
On Wednesday, Judge Ronda van der Hoek sentenced Kitch to nine months behind bars. She will also be on probation for 24 months after her jail time.
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Kitch left the courtroom in handcuffs following the judge’s decision.
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The defence was seeking 12 months of house arrest, but the judge ultimately sided with the Crown.
“We’re of the view of something of this seriousness with this degree of breach of trust requires no sentence less than a period of incarceration in a provincial institution,” said Crown attorney Peter Dostal outside the courtroom.
Kitch is appealing her conviction, with a court date set for Thursday.
Found guilty twice
Kitch was first charged in 2018 and subsequently convicted of fraud in February 2022.
That decision was overturned by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal before a new trial began in 2024, where she was convicted again.
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Judge van der Hoek said Ktich was motivated by “greed and a sense of entitlement” and betrayed the public with her actions.
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The judge said while Kitch made repayments, she demonstrated little insight into her wrongdoing, which the judge said doesn’t bode well for rehabilitation.
“In order for the public to trust our government, to trust our hard-working civil services, we have to make it clear if anyone’s going to start self-serving before they serve the public, there’s going to be serious consequences and I think that decision today makes that very clear,” said Dostal.
During the retrial, the judge also said Kitch’s decisions deprived the hospital of money needed to provide health care for mothers and children.
Kitch began her role as CEO in 2014 with a starting salary of $280,000. She resigned in 2017 after an independent review of the hospital’s credit card transactions and claims identified $47,273 of potentially personal expenses, of which $25,009 had been reimbursed.
Those personal expenses included air fare tickets, flight passes, meals, hotel rooms, mobile data overages, and iTunes charges.
“Hotel costs include a hotel stay by a family member of the CEO during a visit to Halifax, as well as hotel charges related to a personal trip to the U.S. that were charged to the corporate credit card,” the report found.
The Saskatoon Paramedic Association says job action is now on the table, with its members voting unanimously to give the union a strike mandate.
Association president, Russell Grant, says years of recruitment and retainment challenges among both paramedics and dispatchers have left EMS staff overwhelmed.
“We are losing staff members to allied services that be like Saskatoon Police Service, Saskatoon Fire Protective Services, nursing. We also have a significant number of staff that just leave the industry entirely. And a lot of that is within the first couple years of their career, which is kind of alarming,” Grant said.
“We want to see working conditions be to the point where people actually want to stay here.”
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Grant says losing skilled staff hurts everybody, and exhaustion is driving numbers down. “This is just increasing fatigue, burnout,” he said.
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“The amount of staff that are off on mental health leaves, physical health leaves is alarmingly high and it needs to be properly addressed now before public safety is negatively impacted.”
The union has been without a contract since March of 2024 and bargaining and mediation have ended in an impasse. As of now, the association has no timeline on what job action could look like, but day-to-day operations will remain largely unchanged, and any steps would come with advanced notice.
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Grant hopes the possibility of a strike may lead to a deal getting done through the public’s support.
“I hope it sparks conversation amongst the public and public can then talk to their MLAs, talk to Medavie Health Services West directly, put the pressure where it needs to go to get this resolved in a timely fashion,” Grant said.
In a statement to Global News, the SHA says no job action has been taken at this time, and they will continue to work with Medavie to ensure continuity of services. Medavie added that there are no changes to 9-1-1 and residents should call as usual.
Watch above for more on why paramedics voted for a strike mandate and what’s next.
