Alberta
Alberta’s bureaucratic shuffle bears little resemblance to necessary health-care reforms
From the Fraser Institute
Sometime soon, the Smith government will begin a major shift in the administrative structure of the province’s health-care system, switching from a single overarching health authority (Alberta Health Services) to multiple authorities each tasked with overseeing one area of the health-care system. Unsurprisingly, the usual defenders of the status quo were quick to decry the reform as unnecessary or problematic. To other critics, this seems a lot like a distraction tactic from the old playbook where the deck chairs on the Titanic are shuffled to make it appear as if the government is finally doing something about the province’s failing health-care system while nothing will really change.
Then again, it’s also possible that the provincial government is building the structure for some very positive reforms that will meaningfully benefit Alberta’s patients in the future. Alberta’s health-care system is not known for being efficient, effective or timely—and reforms are badly needed.
Among the provinces, Alberta’s provincial health spending ranked second-highest (after adjusting for age and sex) in 2021, the latest year of available data, while Albertans endure health-care wait times that are longer than the national average. Nationally, Canada is a relatively high spender among universal health-care countries, yet ranks near the bottom for the availability of medical professionals, medical technologies and hospital resources. And Canadian patients suffer some of the longest delays for access to care in the developed world.
Put simply, Albertans spend more and get less than their counterparts in other developed countries when it comes to universal health care. The solution to this problem is to learn from countries such as Switzerland, Australia and Germany, which all deliver more timely universal care with comparable health spending to our own.
So what do these countries do differently? They all have private competitive providers delivering universally accessible services within the public system, and payment for such care is based on actual delivery of services, known as “activity-based” funding. Alberta’s new bureaucratic shuffle appears to bear little resemblance to these higher-performing approaches pursued elsewhere. And if the bureaucratic shuffle is the entire goal, then this reform will likely generate little to no improvement.
But again, perhaps the Smith government is setting the stage for meaningful reform. Before moving from a government-dominated health-care system (like we have in Alberta and every other province) to a higher-performing model with competitive patient-focused delivery, governments must first separate and clearly define the roles of the purchaser of health care and the providers of that care. The Alberta Health Services, which the Smith government will soon begin to dissect, directly provides, oversees and pays for health-care services (e.g. surgeries) in the province. This leads to a lack of transparency and the politicization of health-care decision-making.
A shift to multiple health authorities focused on the delivery of care, accountable to other authorities and the provincial government, has hints of the more transparent and contractual relationships between payers and providers that have reduced wait times and enhanced health system efficiency in a number of European countries. If that’s indeed the government’s goal, Albertans could soon benefit from an improved health-care system.
In other words, if this reform, to move from one large health authority to multiple authorities, is really about more clearly defining government’s role as the purchaser and oversight authority for universal health care, with authorities and providers being transparently accountable for delivering timely quality care to patients, then Albertans may well be on the road to shorter wait times and a higher-quality health-care system.
However, if this is the provincial government working from the same old playbook, with another administrative shuffle to distract Albertans from the real problems in the health-care system, then nothing will really change and patients will pay the price.
Author:
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.
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