Alberta
Alberta goes back to Step 1 Lockdown Restrictions
From the Province of Alberta
Alberta is returning to Step 1 of the four-step framework to protect the health system and reduce the rising spread of COVID-19 provincewide.
Effective at 11:59 p.m. on April 6, updated mandatory health measures go into effect for retail, fitness and performance activities. Effective at noon on Friday, April 9, restaurants will be restricted to providing only takeout, delivery and patio service.
Alberta will remain in Step 1 with restaurant restrictions until further notice. Health officials will continue to closely monitor the spread of COVID-19 to assess whether additional action is needed to reduce transmission.
“We are taking strong action to stop the third wave from threatening our health system and the health of thousands of Albertans. The rapid rise in cases, especially variants of concern, makes this a critical time to stop the spread. These measures will buy us some time for additional COVID-19 vaccines to arrive and take effect so we can once again start safely easing restrictions as quickly as possible.”
“The rising spread of variants means that we must take stricter measures in order to protect capacity in our health system and save lives. These mandatory new health measures will only be needed for a short while as we vaccinate Albertans as quickly as possible.”
“I am extremely concerned by the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in Alberta. All Albertans must take these additional measures very seriously; this virus is highly contagious. Only by working together can we protect each other, reduce the spread and protect our health system.”
Step 1 restrictions
The following mandatory public health measures come into effect at 11:59 p.m. on April 6:
Retail
- Retail services must reduce customer capacity to 15 per cent of fire code occupancy, with a minimum of five customers permitted.
- Curbside pickup, delivery and online services are encouraged.
- Shopping malls will be limited to 15 per cent of fire code occupancy.
Indoor fitness
- Only one-on-one training with an individual or household is permitted for indoor fitness activities (e.g., fitness in dance studios, training figure skating on ice, one-on-one lessons).
- No drop-in activities or unsupervised individual fitness.
- Group fitness, high or low intensity, is not allowed.
- Outdoor physical activity is allowed with up to 10 people, provided physical distancing is maintained between households.
Adult performance activities
- Adult performance activities are not permitted. Performance activities include dancing, singing, acting, playing a musical instrument and any rehearsal or theatrical performances.
The following mandatory public health measures come into effect at noon on Friday, April 9:
Restaurants, pubs, bars, lounges and cafés
- Indoor in-person service is no longer permitted
- Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery services are permitted.
- Outdoor patio dining is also allowed. Tables and dining parties must be two metres apart or separated by an impermeable barrier that will prevent droplet transmission.
- Household members only, or two close contacts of someone who lives alone.
- Contact information must be collected from one person of the dining party.
The following mandatory public health measures remain in effect unchanged:
Places of worship
- All places of worship will continue to be limited to 15 per cent of fire code occupancy for in-person attendance.
- Virtual or online services are strongly encouraged.
- Drive-in services where individuals do not leave their vehicles and adhere to guidance will be permissible and are not subject to capacity restrictions.
Social gatherings
- Indoor social gatherings continue to be prohibited.
- Outdoor social gatherings are limited to 10 participants, provided physical distancing and other measures continue to be followed.
Personal and wellness services
- Personal and wellness services can be open for appointment only. This includes hair salons, nail salons, massage, tattoos and piercing.
- Health services, including physiotherapy or acupuncture, social or protective services, shelters for vulnerable persons, emergency services, child care, and not-for-profit community kitchens or charitable kitchens can remain open for in-person attendance.
Indoor and outdoor children’s sport and performance
- K-12 schools and post-secondary children’s sport and performance activities, such as physical education classes, can now use off-site facilities to support curriculum-related educational activities.
- Lessons, practices and conditioning activities, but not games, may occur for indoor team-based minor sports/activities and school athletics.
- All participants must be 18 years old or younger, excluding coaches or trainers.
- Maximum of 10 individuals, including all coaches, trainers and participants.
- Participants must stay physically distanced from each other at all times.
Metrics based on cases and growth, including COVID-19 variants, are being monitored and will also be used to guide any decisions around the need to pause further steps or potentially increase restrictions.
Alberta’s government is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by protecting lives and livelihoods with precise measures to bend the curve, sustain small businesses and protect Alberta’s health-care system.
Competitive compensation for resident physicians
A new compensation agreement for resident physicians has been reached, which will help to retain and recruit more physicians throughout Alberta.
Alberta’s government, in partnership with Alberta Health Services (AHS), the University of Alberta, University of Calgary and the Professional Association of Resident Physicians of Alberta has reached a four-year agreement that provides competitive and fair-market compensation for physicians in training.
The negotiated agreement provides wage increases of three per cent in each of the first two years, and two per cent in each of the last two years. It also includes market adjustments that put Alberta on par with other western Canadian medical schools.
Ensuring resident physicians receive competitive, fair-market compensation while they train and provide services across the province will help stabilize and strengthen acute health care today while bringing medical students and ultimately more physicians to the province to support the province’s future health needs.
“Alberta’s government is grateful for all the hard work resident physicians put in as they complete their training. We are pleased to see that a new agreement has been reached and look forward to more physicians calling Alberta home.”
“We are extremely grateful to all of our resident physicians, who play a vital role in caring for Albertans and supporting our front-line physicians and health care teams. This agreement will help us recruit medical students and encourage them to practise in this province.”
Rural and Remote Family Medicine Resident Physician Bursary Pilot Program
The agreement builds on actions Alberta’s government is taking to make the province a more attractive place for medical students and resident physicians to study and practise. On Oct. 3, Alberta’s government announced measures to improve health care in rural and remote communities through the new Rural and Remote Family Medicine Resident Physician Bursary Pilot Program. The bursary program is part of the province’s Rural Health Action Plan.
The pilot program will provide up to $8 million annually for the next two years to medical students in their final year of an undergraduate medical program when they are matched with a family medicine residency program at the University of Alberta or University of Calgary, or to residents currently completing a family medicine residency at either university regardless of their year of study. In return, bursary recipients will commit to delivering comprehensive patient care in eligible communities for three years after completing their residency.
“With this agreement, Alberta strengthens its position as an attractive destination for resident physicians across Canada. By enhancing compensation, training and working conditions, we ensure Alberta recruits and retains the brightest medical talent to serve our communities and shape the future of health care.”
“The University of Alberta is pleased collaborations with our partners have resulted in an agreement that reflects the critical impact resident physicians make in our health care system so all Albertans receive the care they need.”
“Remuneration, respect, retention and recruitment of rural generalists are key to elevating rural hospitals to becoming rural centres of excellence. With this agreement and bursary pilot program, the Alberta government is recognizing rural health as being different, requiring separate and unique solutions for our communities that are mutually beneficial in enhancing the health of rural Albertans.”
Quick facts
- Resident physicians have graduated medical school but are completing post-graduate training in a residency program to obtain their licence to practise. With residency programs requiring an additional two to seven years of post-graduate training, most resident physicians spend more than 10 years training to become fully licensed physicians and surgeons.
- The Professional Association of Resident Physicians of Alberta represents more than 1,660 resident physicians in Alberta.
- The current agreement between AHS, the University of Alberta, University of Calgary and the association ended on June 30, 2024.
- The resident physician agreement is funded by Alberta Health through a grant to AHS and the universities.
Related information
Related news
- Improving health care in rural and remote Alberta (Oct. 3, 2024)
Alberta
“It’s Canada’s Time to Shine” – CNRL’s $6.5 Billion Chevron Deal Extends Oil Sands Buying Spree
From Energy Now
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.’s $6.5 billion acquisition from Chevron Corp. marks the latest in a string of deals that has helped make it the country’s largest oil producer and brought Alberta’s massive oil sands deposits almost entirely under local control.
CNRL has feasted on the oil sands assets of foreign energy producers over the past decade, snapping up stakes and operations from Devon Energy Corp. and Shell Plc as they shifted away from the higher-cost, higher-emissions oil sands business. Investors have applauded the strategy, which allows CNRL to boost output and make the operations more efficient.
That trend continued on Monday, with CNRL shares climbing more than 4% after the deal with Chevron raised its stake in a key oil sands mine and a connected upgrading facility, while also adding natural gas assets in the Duvernay formation.
“These assets build on the robustness of Canadian Natural’s assets,” said CNRL President Scott Stauth said on a conference call Monday. The deal boosts CNRL’s stake in the Athabasca oil sands project, which it first bought from Shell in 2017, to 90% from 70%.
The acquisition was largely expected and boosts CNRL’s oil and gas output by roughly 9%, adding the equivalent of 122,500 barrels of oil production per day.
“It’s just been a matter of time,” Eight Capital analyst Phil Skolnick said by phone, noting that CNRL had been seen as the logical buyer for Chevron’s oil sands business.
While CNRL also boosted its dividend by 7% on Monday, Desjardins analyst Chris MacCulloch cautioned the company’s additional debt to finance the acquisition “may disappoint some investors” given it plans to temporarily slow capital returns.
Still, MacCulloch said the deal is positive overall for CNRL as it further consolidates assets in the region. “There’s no place like home,” he wrote in a note.
Chevron, for its part, is the latest in a long line of US and international oil producers — such as BP Plc, TotalEnergies SE and Equinor ASA — that have shifted away from the oil sands after spending billions to build facilities in the heavy-oil formation. That has left the oil sands largely in the control of Canadian firms including CNRL, Suncor Energy Inc. and Cenovus Energy Inc.
“There’s no remaining, obvious assets available,” Ninepoint Partners partner and senior portfolio manager Eric Nuttall said after Monday’s deal. Ninepoint owns 3.1 million shares in CNRL, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Many of those oil sands deals have been struck at prices that favor the Canadian buyers, which have consolidated land, reduced costs and boosted returns in recent years.
“It’s Canada’s time to shine,” Nuttall said, adding that he expects foreign investors will return to the country’s oil producers in the future.
Hillary Clinton Calls for Stricter Online Censorship as Establishment Fears Losing “Total Control”
Retired judge slams Trudeau gov’t for promoting ‘false’ accusation about residential school deaths
Is the Senate in Violation of the 2006 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, and Hindering Reconciliation?
Cost of Ottawa’s gun ban fiasco may reach $6 billion
-
National2 days ago
Retired judge slams Trudeau gov’t for promoting ‘false’ accusation about residential school deaths
-
Economy1 day agoFederal mismanagement to blame for Canada’s immigration backlash
-
Bruce Dowbiggin2 days agoRose & His Thorns: A Failure Of All Parties
-
Business2 days agoToyota to scrap DEI policies following social media exposé
-
Canadian Energy Centre1 day agoOil and gas companies are once again the top performers on the TSX. Why do people still listen to the divestment movement?
-
Frontier Centre for Public Policy1 day agoDid the CBC prove in 1962 that no children are buried at Kamloops?
-
National5 hours agoJudge slams Trudeau, media for false claims about deaths, ‘secret burials’ at residential schools
-
Daily Caller1 day agoMusk Reveals To Tucker Why He Thinks 2024 Will Be Last Election If Dems Win