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'We reaffirm our longstanding position that supports the principles of the Canada Health Act.'
Edmonton (13 July 2010) - The Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA/NUPGE) has made a formal presentation to the Minister's Advisory Committee on Health, currently touring the province as it gathers information for the creation of a new Alberta Health Act.
"The concerns of (HSAA) in relation to a new Alberta Health Act are that the principles and concepts articulated are general and unclear," the brief concludes.
"Until these are clarified, the experience of the past two decades, of an increasing shift of services for profit provision, leads us to the troubling conclusion that the exercise is a thinly veiled initiative to further devolution of publicly provided health care to this for profit sector, and the further shift of the cost of health care to individuals and employers, whether through direct payment or private insurance," the union adds.
"We reaffirm our longstanding position that supports the principles of the Canada Health Act. However we would clearly state that these principles include not only publicly funded, but also publicly provided health care.
The full text of the submission is available on the HSAA website at the link below.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE
More information:
HSAA Views on Minister’s Advisory Committee on Health Report - pdf