Recent Research
Failing to Deliver
The Alberta Surgical Initiative and Declining Surgical Capacity
Through Freedom of Information requests, statistical analysis, and a review of the research literature, this report evaluates claims made by the Alberta government about the effectiveness of the Alberta Surgical Initiative in reducing wait times and the role of for-profit surgical outsourcing. Based on the research evidence, the report recommends that the provincial government shift away from for-profit surgical delivery and fully commit to public system improvement.
Lights and Sirens
The Critical Condition of EMS in Alberta
This report explores the current state of affairs of prehospital emergency medical services in Alberta from the standpoint of those who live it, experience it, and breathe it on a daily basis — the paramedics. More specifically, it outlines findings from a study that explored how COVID-19, the overdose crisis, and other factors have impacted EMS in the province of Alberta. The report aims to give voice to those who work on the front lines of emergency medical services, a voice that has been absent from how policy in Alberta is informed and developed.
Recent Blog Posts
Selling Fiction as Fact
Alberta Pension Plan report built on invented numbers and a false premise
When launching its report on an Alberta Pension Plan (APP), the government asked Albertans to “look at the facts” and engage in the discussion. But “facts” are sorely missing in the report—and the invitation to discuss the APP excludes the most important question: do Albertans really want out of the CPP?
Six Worries for Workers This Labour Day
What can we expect from the re-elected UCP government?
What can Alberta workers expect from this United Conservative Party government? The UCP’s first term cheapened labour costs for employers, while its 2023 election platform contained few promises related to labour and employment matters. This post presents six labour-related issues that should be on every worker’s radar over the next four years.
Right Thing, Wrong Reasons
De-privatizing community laboratory services in Alberta
AHS is ending its contract with DynaLIFE and transferring it to Alberta Precision Labs, the public provider of medical laboratory services. The move to bring community lab testing back in-house under APL is a necessary step in the right direction, one that advocates and workers have been calling for from the beginning. But it is merely delivering first aid for a hemorrhaging patient. This blog post discusses a series of critical questions that need to be answered if we want to understand what the next step for Alberta’s laboratory services should be.