“(Albertans) have a right to a government that is based on principles, respects decency and inspires confidence in its citizens. The current premier is flouting all of those aspirations as she lobs egregious accusations at Alberta Health Services and its valuable workforce,” Tony Dagnone, one of Alberta Health Services’ 11 board members, said in the letter issued Friday.
Read more: Smith removes Alberta Health Services board, installs official administrator
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Smith abolishes Alberta Health Services board, installs official administrator
He said the Prime Minister had chosen to “play with her misguided followers who are agitating against science and academic medicine under the guise of freedom”. Story continues below ad “Her twisted position on COVID, which I remind the premier was and is a public health issue and not a political punching bag, is nothing short of borderline abandonment when the lives of AHS staff and Albertans are at stake,” he wrote Dagnone. “In light of her unabashed public pronouncements, the Prime Minister represents the grimmest role model for women who aspire to be accepted into positions of influence and leadership. “Why would any self-respecting graduate pursue their health career in a province led by an anti-science prime minister?” Dagnone could not immediately be reached for comment. 1:21 PM Smith says she doesn’t want her or the health minister to get in the way of health decisions He and other AHS board members were fired on Thursday by Smith, fulfilling a promise she made in her successful summer campaign to win the leadership of the Unionist Conservative Party and become prime minister. Story continues below ad The board’s 12th member, Deborah Apps, resigned after Smith won the UCP leadership race in early October, citing concern over the disruption Smith promised to impose on a fragile health system. Alberta Health Services is the agency of more than 100,000 employees charged with providing front-line care to the province. Current trend
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Smith blamed both AHS and Dr. Dina Hinshaw, the chief medical officer, for poor advice and execution in the pandemic, leading to blocked hospital wards and forcing the province to impose vaccine mandates and freedom-restricting passports. Hinshaw was removed from her job earlier this week.
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The board of directors has been replaced by Dr. John Cowell, who is charged with fixing several pressure points in the system, including surgical wait times, ambulance bottlenecks, doctor shortages and overcrowded emergency rooms. Dagnone, an Order of Canada winner with four decades of work in hospital and health administration, said he has no political affiliation and felt compelled to stand up for AHS staff. “I have witnessed the extraordinary collective will of our healthcare providers in the face of unimaginable COVID,” he wrote. “All deserve our respect and gratitude, yet the premier chooses instead to vilify those who saved Albertans.” Story continues below ad
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The prime minister’s office did not respond to a request for comment. Smith spoke at a Calgary Chamber of Commerce meeting Thursday and declined to speak to reporters afterward. Smith said there will be no health restrictions or vaccine mandates during future waves of COVID-19. And he said there would be no mask mandates in schools currently grappling with viral respiratory illnesses that are driving up absenteeism rates and filling children’s hospitals. Smith has publicly embraced alternative approaches to COVID-19, including herd immunity and the debunked COVID-19 treatment ivermectin. 1:47 Alberta replaces chief medical officer of health Dina Hinshaw with Mark Joffe Earlier this month, he announced that he wanted to hear from Paul Alexander, a controversial science critic who has labeled COVID-19 vaccines as “bioweapons.” Story continues below ad “The prime minister takes her nonsense to a new level by inviting a former Trump adviser (Alexander) who is universally despised for promoting medical quackery,” Dagnone wrote. “If (she) persists in making false, conspiratorial and baseless claims, she will be responsible for needlessly putting health care providers and Albertans at risk. “Her loose and corrosive words seem to satisfy her need for strange thoughts that can and will eventually affect people’s lives.”
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NDP health critic David Shepherd, responding to Dagnone’s letter, echoed the concerns. “(Smith) will continue to blame health care workers for the current state of care while taking no responsibility for the impact of the dangerous misinformation and conspiracy theories she promotes,” Shepherd said. “Her reckless politicization of our public health care system will make it harder to recruit and retain health professionals and make it harder for Albertans to access care.”
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