Alberta
Doubling surgical capacity in Rocky Mountain House
Rural Albertans will be able to access surgeries quicker and closer to home now that the expansion and renovation of the Rocky Mountain House Health Centre is complete.
The Rocky Mountain House Health Centre has been providing residents with health care since 1971, including surgical services. Alberta Infrastructure has completed an addition to the facility, which includes a new operating room. This will enable approximately 120 Albertans per month to receive surgery, doubling the number of monthly surgeries. This additional, brand-new operating room is also expected to decrease the wait lists for surgeries.
The expanded Rocky Mountain House Health Centre provides an additional 440 square metres (4,736 square feet) and includes:
- a new operating room,
- 6 additional recovery beds,
- a patient support area, and
- an updated medical device reprocessing department.
The new spaces can be accessed from the existing site thanks to the addition of an upgraded hallway that connects the two buildings.
“Completing the expansion and renovation of the Rocky Mountain House Health Centre is a significant step forward in delivering Alberta Surgical Initiative projects province wide. This investment into health care infrastructure will increase surgical capacity, helping Albertans get treatment when and where they need it.”
The Rocky Mountain House Health Centre upgrade is part of the Alberta Surgical Initiative (ASI), which aims to enhance surgical capacity across the province by expanding and maximizing existing health care space. Over the next three years, the 2024 Capital Plan is providing $313 million for ASI projects throughout the province.
Alberta Infrastructure and Alberta Health Services share the responsibility for delivering ASI projects. Alberta Health Services leads the delivery of smaller projects, while Alberta Infrastructure delivers capital projects over $5 million.
“Albertans deserve timely access to surgeries, and they should be able to get them close to home. The expansion and renovation of the Rocky Mountain House Health Centre will increase its capacity so more Albertans can get the surgeries they need when they need them. Through the Alberta Surgical Initiative, we are improving access to surgical care and funding projects across the province, including in rural communities like Rocky Mountain House.”
Alberta Infrastructure is working on 20 ASI projects in communities across Alberta, including Brooks, Calgary, Camrose, Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan, Innisfail, Lethbridge, Olds, Ponoka, St. Albert and Stettler. Lethbridge will be the next community to benefit from a completed ASI project. The expansion of two operating rooms and more surgical inpatient rooms at the Chinook Regional Hospital is anticipated to be completed later this fall.
“The expanded Rocky Mountain House Health Centre will help ensure more residents can access surgeries and receive the care they need in a timely manner. Investments like these in rural Alberta matter and I’d like to thank Minister Guthrie and Minister LaGrange for delivering on this project that will double our surgical capacity in Rocky Mountain House.”
Quick facts
- The total budget for the Rocky Mountain House Health Centre ASI project was $15 million.
- This Alberta Infrastructure project was completed on time and on budget. Approximately 85 construction-related jobs were created during the project.
- In addition to the new building, other renovations include new mechanical and electrical building systems.
- Alberta Infrastructure is managing other ASI projects at the following locations:
- Brooks Health Centre
- Calgary
- Alberta Children’s Hospital
- Foothills Medical Centre
- South Health Campus
- Camrose – St. Mary’s Hospital
- Edmonton
- Grey Nuns Community Hospital
- Misericordia Community Hospital
- Royal Alexandra Hospital
- Walter C. Mackenzie Centre (University of Alberta Hospital)
- Fort Saskatchewan Community Hospital
- Innisfail Health Centre
- Lethbridge – Chinook Regional Hospital
- Olds Hospital and Care Centre
- Ponoka Hospital and Care Centre
- St. Albert – Sturgeon Community Hospital
- Stettler Hospital and Care Centre
- Other ASI projects completed by Alberta Infrastructure:
- Grande Prairie Regional Health Centre (completed in July 2022)
- University of Alberta (completed September 2023)
Alberta
Fortis et Liber: Alberta’s Future in the Canadian Federation
From the C2C Journal
By Barry Cooper, professor of political science, University of Calgary
Canada’s western lands, wrote one prominent academic, became provinces “in the Roman sense” – acquired possessions that, once vanquished, were there to be exploited. Laurentian Canada regarded the hinterlands as existing primarily to serve the interests of the heartland. And the current holders of office in Ottawa often behave as if the Constitution’s federal-provincial distribution of powers is at best advisory, if it needs to be acknowledged at all. Reviewing this history, Barry Cooper places Alberta’s widely criticized Sovereignty Act in the context of the Prairie provinces’ long struggle for due constitutional recognition and the political equality of their citizens. Canada is a federation, notes Cooper. Provinces do have rights. Constitutions do mean something. And when they are no longer working, they can be changed.
Alberta
30 million contraband cigarettes valued at $25 million dollars seized in Alberta
New release from Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC)
Record setting contraband tobacco seizures result from AGLC investigations
Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) recently concluded several investigations which netted two of the largest contraband tobacco seizures in Alberta history. The combined total of the contraband tobacco seized was 154,800 cartons of contraband cigarettes (30.7 million individual cigarettes). These seizures are a result of the work conducted by AGLC’s Tobacco Enforcement Unit with the assistance of provincial law enforcement agencies.
- In a January 2024 investigation, approximately 43,500 cartons (8.7 million individual cigarettes) were seized. This equates to $7 million in retail value with a provincial tax avoidance of $2.4 million. This included the seizure of 15,000 grams of contraband shisha.
- In April of 2024, 60 wrapped pallets were seized from a warehouse setting netting a total of 111,300 cartons of contraband cigarettes (22 million individual cigarettes) which equates to over $18 million in retail value with a provincial tax avoidance of $6.6 million.
- Criminal Charges are pending in both cases.
“These are significant contraband tobacco investigations involving individuals that are part of organized networks whose proceeds defraud Albertans millions of dollars in tax revenue. AGLC will continue to work with our partners to investigate and disrupt the individuals and organizations involved in these illegal activities as part our commitment to a strong contraband tobacco enforcement program in Alberta.”
- Gary Peck, Vice President, Regulatory Services, AGLC
“Contraband tobacco hurts law abiding businesses that follow the rules, and it costs Albertans millions each year from lost tax revenue. Our government is committed to keeping illegal tobacco off the streets and ensuring that the sale of tobacco products comply with the law.”
- Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction
Over the last nine months, AGLC’s Tobacco Enforcement unit has seized an estimated 35 million contraband cigarettes and 115,000 grams of contraband shisha from across the province. The total potential lost tax revenue is estimated to be more than $10.1 million.
Contraband tobacco:
- is any tobacco product that does not comply with federal and provincial laws related to importation, marking, manufacturing, stamping and payment of duties and taxes;
- comes from four main sources: illegal manufacturers, counterfeits, tax-exempt diversions and resale of stolen legal tobacco; and
- can be recognized by the absence of a red (Alberta) or peach/light tan (Canada) stamp bearing the “DUTY PAID CANADA DROIT ACQUITTÉ” on packages of cigarettes and cigars or pouches of tobacco.
In addition to lost revenues that may otherwise benefit Albertans, illegally manufactured products also pose public health and safety risks as they lack regulatory controls and inspections oversight.
Albertans who suspect illegal tobacco production, packaging and/or trafficking are encouraged to contact AGLC’s Tobacco Enforcement Unit at 1-800-577-2522 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
Under a Memorandum of Understanding with Alberta Treasury Board and Finance, AGLC enforces the Tobacco Tax Act and conducts criminal investigations related to the possession, distribution and trafficking of contraband tobacco products. In 2022-23, provincial revenue from tobacco taxes was approximately $522 million.
-
COVID-192 days ago
Japan’s most senior cancer doctor: COVID shots are ‘essentially murder’
-
Alberta2 days ago
Province announces next step to revamped health care system
-
Automotive1 day ago
Governments in Canada accelerate EV ‘investments’ as automakers reverse course
-
COVID-192 days ago
Trudeau government only sought legal advice after Emergencies Act was invoked, records indicate
-
Economy1 day ago
Biden signs suicidal ‘No Coal’ pact, while rest of world builds 1,000 new plants
-
Automotive1 day ago
Red States Sue California and the Biden Administration to Halt Electric Truck Mandates
-
Alberta1 day ago
Pharmacist-led clinics improve access to health care: Lessons from Alberta
-
National1 day ago
Trudeau again blames ‘climate change’ for mostly man-made wildfires