News
AHS Looking For Your Thoughts On The Future Of Health Care Delivery

By Sheldon Spackman
So what should the delivery of health care services throughout Central and Southern Alberta look like in 15 years? That’s the question officials with Alberta Health Services are hoping to answer, with a little help from you.
AHS, in partnership with Alberta Health are inviting Albertans living in the Central Zone and Calgary Zone to share those thoughts through a public blog http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/Blogs/longrangeplanning/Default.aspx on the AHS website.
Officials say the blog site builds upon in-person meetings that have taken place across both zones through late November and early December. These included visioning sessions, smaller group workshops and meetings that involved community members, health partners and stakeholders. They were asked to examine ways to co-design and co-deliver a sustainable, quality health system that promotes healthy communities and provides appropriate access to services, programs and facilities across Alberta.
In a release, Sandy Doze, Chair of the David Thompson Health Advisory Council says, “In the healthcare system of the future, the emphasis might be preventative and proactive measures that keep Albertans healthier, which will help our children and grandchildren. It’s also expected that health services will be more community-based.” Projections of health service delivery in 15 years show an increase in older demographics and more chronic health conditions.
Officials add that opportunities for community member input will continue throughout the year-long planning process. The feedback and ideas will contribute to informing a high-level health system strategy proposal, which will be further developed in 2017.
AHS is currently focusing long-range planning efforts on Central and Calgary Zones, with similar planning in the Edmonton Zone ongoing. Long-range planning for the North and South Zones will follow.
Alberta
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says conservatives must learn to win in ‘big cities’

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks at the Canada Strong and Free Network in Ottawa on Thursday, March 23, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Ottawa (CP) – Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says conservatives must learn how to win in “big cities.”
Smith made the comment to a room of conservatives gathered in Ottawa for the annual conference of the Canada Strong and Free Network, formerly called the Manning Centre.
With Albertans set to go the polls in a provincial election this year, Smith says the United Conservative Party has more ground to gain in the province’s two largest cities: Calgary and Edmonton.
Smith replaced Jason Kenney as party leader and premier last fall, after he resigned following a leadership review where he received only 51 per cent support.
Kenney faced considerable backlash leading up to that vote for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Smith told today’s crowd that the party had lost “a lot” of its base.
Smith’s belief that conservatives must make inroads in large cities is shared by the federal Conservatives, with Leader Pierre Poilievre spending many of his weekends in Metro Vancouver and the Greater Toronto Area — areas where his party has struggled to gain ground in the past several elections.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 23, 2023.
National
Stand for the ‘common person’ Pierre Poilievre tells faithful gathered in Ottawa

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre speaks at a conference in Ottawa, Thursday, March 23, 2023. Pierre Poilievre rallied a room conservative faithful gathered in Ottawa Thursday by calling on them to become “champions” of ordinary people. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
By Stephanie Taylor in Ottawa
Pierre Poilievre rallied a room of conservative faithful gathered in Ottawa Thursday by calling on them to become “champions” of ordinary people.
It’s a picture the Conservative leader has painted before to his party’s caucus: one in which the “everyday common person” is under attack by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Throughout his address at the Canada Strong and Free Network event, Poilievre evoked images of the single mother, police officer, farmer and general worker whose interests, he said, are not represented in Ottawa.
“More and more, I see them rising up because they feel like they’re losing control over their lives.”
Poilievre’s refrain — a message he believes will open the party up to a coalition of voters needed to defeat the Liberals — was delivered hours after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said conservatives across the country have another challenge to overcome: winning in cities.
With Albertans set to go the polls in a provincial election this year, Smith said her United Conservative Party has more ground to gain in the province’s two largest cities: Calgary and Edmonton. Insiders predict a competitive race with the Alberta NDP.
Smith replaced Jason Kenney as party leader and premier last fall when he resigned after getting only 51 per cent support in a leadership review.
Kenney, who also attended the conference in Ottawa, faced considerable backlash leading up to that vote for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Smith told Thursday’s crowd that the party lost “a lot” of its base.
She ran for its leadership promising to bolster provincial sovereignty and appealing to party members and others who opposed public-health measures like vaccine mandates as an infringement of personal freedoms.
“The good news is that we’re finally united as a conservative movement,” she told Thursday’s crowd. “Now, we just need to gain a little bit more ground in Calgary and in Edmonton.”
She added: “This is a challenge for all conservatives. We have to figure out how to win in big cities because increasingly, people are moving to big cities.”
That belief is shared by the federal Conservatives, with Poilievre spending many of his weekends in Metro Vancouver and the Greater Toronto Area — areas where the party has struggled to gain ground in the past several elections.
Since becoming party leader last September, Poilievre — who has long talked about inflation, food prices and cost-of-living issues — has increased his focus on crime, an issue that affects many who live in cities and suburbs.
He has adopted what some say is a controversial policy on drugs, opposing the practice of providing drug users with a safe supply of certain illicit substances, despite a broad consensus from experts who say that is necessary to prevent accidental overdoses arising from an increasingly toxic drug supply.
Pointing to regions such as Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Poilievre recently slammed safe supply as a “failed experiment,” saying he would instead focusing on increasing access to recovery and treatment spaces.
On Thursday, Smith said she believes her government’s drug policy — which Poilievre has touted as a model to follow — is supported by people living in cities like Edmonton.
Poilievre is also looking to grow the party’s support in urban ridings by getting more immigrant and visible minority communities to consider voting Conservative.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 23, 2023.
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