Media releases

EDMONTON—Public Interest Alberta has released documents obtained through a freedom of information request that raise a number of serious issues and questions about the Conservative government’s policy of funding corporations to provide seniors care. The documents provide an insight into the very close relationship between the corporate seniors-care industry and the Alberta government and their development of a new continuing care policy that has not yet been released. The government and key industry leaders held meetings for over a year to make "longer-term system renewal and an overarching provincial framework for the future of continuing care.”(p 132) Unfortunately, the minutes and even the agendas of these meeting were redacted from the FOIPP document, so it is not possible to know what policy changes the industry reps were proposing."

EDMONTON—Representatives of Public Interest Alberta (PIA) today released a report summarizing what the organization heard about unacceptable classroom and school conditions around Alberta in a recent online survey. The survey was conducted in November and December of 2014, and asked teachers, parents, educational staff and students to describe the situation in their classroom and school.

EDMONTON&mdashPublic Interest Alberta launched the first of five animated commercials today to build public pressure on Premier Prentice to fix Alberta’s flawed and unfair tax system so that we can invest in public services like full-day kindergarten in the future.

“If we don’t challenge the Premier to establish a progressive income tax and fair corporate taxes today, then in future years we not be able to invest in important services that matter to Albertans,” says Bill Moore-Kilgannon, Executive Director of Public Interest Alberta.

EDMONTON—Public Interest Alberta’s Seniors Task Force released a Long-Term Care position paper today that calls on the Prentice government to fix the growing crisis in seniors care. The sixteen organizations are deeply concerned that the Prentice government will not change the government policy that caps the number of long-term care beds and continues to fund seniors care 19% below the national average.

EDMONTON—A rally was held in front of MP Peter Goldring’s office today, International Human Rights Day, to demand answers to why the Conservative government is pushing through legislation that will allow provinces to deny refugee claimants access to social services. “Historically, Canada has had a reputation of helping vulnerable populations get back on their feet, so we were shocked when Peter Goldring asked why the families could not just go to a homeless shelter,” said Bill Moore-Kilgannon, Executive Director of Public Interest Alberta. “Given refugee claimants must already demonstrate great need in order to qualify for provincial income assistance and that it takes months for refugee claimants to get work permits, it is cruel to deny them the support they need to survive when they first arrive in Canada.”

EDMONTON—The Edmonton Social Planning Council, the Alberta College of Social Workers and Public Interest Alberta released a new report, “No Change: After 25 years of Promises it is Time to Eliminate Child Poverty” on the 25^th anniversary of the all party House of Commons vote to eliminate child poverty by the year 2000. The report shows that 143,200 children in Alberta lived below the low-income measure (LIM After Tax) in 2012.  This represents 16.2% of all children, practically ‘no change’ from 1989 (16.4%). In fact, with Alberta’s population growth, there are 28,670 more children in poverty in Alberta than in 1989.

EDMONTON—Families with infants, children with special needs and low-incomes hit hardest by lack of childcare funding. In recognition of National Child Day, Public Interest Alberta released the results of a new province-wide survey of childcare centres, day homes and after school care that reveals how Alberta’s underfunded childcare system is failing too many families.

EDMONTON—Immigrant and refugee serving agencies started an advocacy campaign today across Alberta to convince the Harper government to stop their plan to allow provinces to deny refugee claimants access to social services.

EDMONTON—Today representatives of five North Saskatchewan River Valley stakeholder groups called on the City of Edmonton to release the more than 1,500 redacted pages in the Request for Proposals on the $1.8 billion Southeast LRT project.“The LRT planners have not met their own commitment, and City Council’s direction, to conduct the procurement process in a manner that is ‘as open and transparent as possible’,” said Paul Bunner, Cloverdale Community League Civics Director.

EDMONTON—“It is disappointing that the Auditor General makes no reference to the increasing need for long-term care spaces, which is causing so many seniors, many occupying acute care beds, while they await placement” says Noel Somerville, Chairperson of Public Interest Alberta’s Seniors Task Force. “The report notes that there are around 14,000 long-term care beds in Alberta, fewer in fact, than the number back in 2005, despite a significant increase in the number of seniors.”