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Volume XV-Issue 810
www.vermilionvoice.com
February 18, 2020
vermilionvoice@gmail.com
United Nurses Of Alberta - Information Rally
Participants of the Information Rally in Vermilion on February 13. Photo Angela Mouly
Angela Mouly Reporter
Approximately 60 people attended an Information Rally held by the local 55 United Nurses of Alberta in front of the Vermilion Health Centre and Midtown Medical Clinic on February 13. Members of unions present included the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA), the Alberta Provincial Union of Employees (AUPE), Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA), Alberta Teacher’s Association (ATA), EMS attendants, fire department members, and community members. According to Megan Steiner, the rally was held to raise concerns about the Alberta Government’s decision to lay off hundreds of nurses across Alberta and the impact that it would have on safe patient care. She feels that eliminating nursing jobs contradicts all evidence of the best way to run a safe and effective health care system. Megan Steiner, Vermilion/Mannville area president of the 55 United Nurses of Alberta said, “We support public health care, public education, and all of the public services we currently benefit from. Privatization has been shown to result in sub-par patient care due to the profit-
driven motives of upper management. • Alberta public servants are not overplace. Privatization will not decrease wait times paid. • UCP took the cap off some Auto Insurbut only leech workers from the public • Public sector wages are not higher ances. system and create a two-tier system. than private sector wages. • UCP took the Cap off Dental costs. Our concerns lie within the patient outcomes • UCP says the deficit was caused by • UCP cut budgets to Municipalities of the Vermilion Hospital. If our ER departoverspending however it was caused downloading services. ment became an ‘urgent care’ center that by a structural over reliance on natural • UCP froze AISH funding. was no longer open 24 hours a day, how resource revenue. • UCP eliminated classroom grants and would this affect our community? A five• Alberta is currently the lowest tax provfroze the Education budget. year-old child with an acute asthma attack ince in Canada. • UCP laid off highly trained Forest Fire may not have as positive an outcome with Please look up these facts and wake up fighters. an extra 45 minutes tacked onto their travel to what really is going on. The UCP has • UCP removed the regulated rate option time. If patient-staff ratios were to change currently made the following changes: price cap for gas and electricity. or the complement of staffing changes, • The UCP changed the management of • The UCP is bringing in performance this has been shown to increase patient LAPP to AIMCo. UCP mandated that based funding (this type of funding fails mortality and increase the length of hospiAlberta Pensions Services Corporato take in many socioeconomic factors). tal stays, both which increase healthcare tion cannot replace AIMCo. if circum• UCP fired the Elections Commissioner spending, not decrease.” stances warrant it. (to save money) but is now raising the Healthcare workers weren’t the only ones • With budget cuts to higher education I salary of the elections CEO. raising concerns. Community member Jan question why four out of the five ChrisNow UCP are aiming for Health Care Scott said, “I want Albertans to wake up and tian universities were not cut but 26 cuts. As Albertans enough is enough; understand what is really happening in our universities budgets were slashed. we must stand together and not allow province: • The UCP sac ked public board this unreasonable austerity program to • The Alberta public sector is the lowest members before their terms were continue.” in the country as a proportion of our finished and replaced them mostly with Overall, rally participants were happy economy. Oil and Gas executives. Before board to inform passersby of their concerns and • Alberta has the lowest levels of debt in members’ positions were replaced increase awareness about what they feel the country even with the collapse in when their term was finished an active will be detrimental changes to the health the oil prices. recruitment process should have taken care system.
DATE: FEBRUARY 18, 2020 AT 7:00 P.M. Banner space provided by (Creech’s Crematorium Ltd.)
AT ST. JEROME’S SCHOOL FATHER CORDEAU CENTRE.