“[Albertans] they have a right to governance that is based on principles, respects decency and inspires confidence in its citizens,” Tony Dagnone said in the letter released Friday. He was one of 11 Alberta Health Services board members recently fired by Ms. Smith. “The current premier is flouting all of those aspirations as she lobs wild accusations at Alberta Health Services and its precious workforce,” he wrote. The Prime Minister chose to “play with her delusional followers who are agitating against science and academic medicine under the veiled guise of freedom,” Mr Dagnone said in the letter. “Her twisted stance on COVID, which I remind the Prime Minister 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,” wrote Mr. 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?” Mr. Dagnone could not immediately be reached for comment. He and other AHS board members were fired on Thursday by Ms Smith, fulfilling a promise she made in her successful summer campaign to win the leadership of the United Conservative Party and become prime minister. The board’s 12th member, Deborah Apps, resigned after Ms Smith won the UCP leadership race in early October, citing concern about the disruption Ms 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. Ms. Smith accused both AHS and Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the chief medical officer of health, for poor advice and execution in the pandemic, leading to hospital congestion and forcing the province to impose vaccine mandates and freedom-restricting passports. Dr Hinshaw was removed from her job earlier this week. The board of directors has been replaced by Dr.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. Mr. 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 defend AHS staff. “I have witnessed the extraordinary collective will of our healthcare providers facing the unimaginable COVID,” he wrote. “They all deserve our respect and gratitude, yet the premier chooses instead to vilify those who saved Albertans.” Ms. Smith spoke Friday at a meeting of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce but declined to speak to reporters. Her office, in a statement, said the province needed to take steps to address pressing issues in the health system. “This decision [to fire the board] it was not personal, this is about better outcomes for Albertans and we are grateful for the work done by the AHS board,” the statement said. Ms Smith said there would 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. Ms Smith has publicly embraced alternative approaches to COVID-19, including herd immunity and the debunked COVID-19 treatment, ivermectin. 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.” “Prime Minister takes her nonsense to a new level by inviting a former Trump adviser [Mr. Alexander] who has been universally scorned for promoting medical quackery,” Mr. Dagnone wrote. “If [she] persists in making false, conspiratorial and baseless claims, it will be liable to unnecessarily harm health care providers and Albertans. “Her loose and corrosive words seem to satisfy her need for strange thoughts that can and will eventually affect people’s lives.” NDP health critic David Shepherd, responding to Mr. Dagnone’s letter, echoed the concerns. “[Ms. Smith] will continue to blame healthcare workers for the current state of care while taking no responsibility for the impact of the dangerous misinformation and conspiracy theories it promotes,” Mr Shepherd said. “Her reckless politicization of the public health care system will make it harder to recruit and retain health professionals and make it harder for Albertans to access care.” This content appears as provided to The Globe by the original wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.
