Media releases

EDMONTON - In response to today’s announcement by the province that they had reached a new agreement regarding child care funding, Public Interest Alberta Executive Director, Bradley Lafortune, released the following statement, clarifying the matter and demanding the provincial government negotiate a real new deal on child care for Alberta families:

EDMONTON - Public Interest Alberta has launched a campaign for $10-a-day child care after the federal government announced a $30 billion dollar investment over the next 5 years, and both British Columbia and Nova Scotia have signed on.

EDMONTON - Friends of Medicare and Public Interest Alberta join organizations from civil society, labour, and senior citizens representing hundreds of thousands of Albertans speaking out against Bill 70: COVID Related Measures Act, which is expected to be voted on by the Legislative Assembly today. Twenty-four (24) organizations have signed an open letter to demand that this legislation not be passed into law because of the dangers it poses to Alberta seniors and their families. The letter was emailed to Premier Kenney, Minister of Health, Tyler Shandro and UCP MLA Richard Gotfried, the sponsor of this bill. The open letter will be tabled today in the Alberta Legislature by MLA Christina Grey, Critic for Labour and Immigration & Official Opposition House Leader.

EDMONTON - In response to the news that Edmonton City Council is moving ahead with plans to privatize bus cleaning, Public Interest Alberta’s Executive Director Bradley Lafortune issued the following statement:

As we mourn the loss of the lives of 215 children whose remains were recently located at the former Kamloops Residential School in Tk’emlups, we have come face-to-face with the real legacy of Canada’s genocide of Indigenous peoples. In response to this discovery, we commit to seeking truth and reconciliation through solidarity action with First Nations, Inuit, and Metis across Alberta and Canada.

As news broke that child care centres in Fort McMurray are facing an uncertain future as they were forced to close down operations to ensure the health and safety of their staff and the children they serve, Public Interest Alberta’s Executive Director Bradley Lafortune issued the following statement:

EDMONTON - The provincial government has released the Alberta 2030: Skills for Jobs report as the UCP roadmap for the post-secondary education sector for the next 10 years. This report purports to be a transformative document, but is light on the details of how exactly these fundamental changes will be achieved. Furthermore, the plan further entrenches corporate and private sector funding as a fundamental part of our universities' and colleges; operational funding. The report was also released in the context of a total of nearly $609 million in public funding cuts to post-secondary education over the last three budget cycles. 

Today, Public Interest Alberta Executive Director Brad Lafortune made the following statement in response to the UCP Government’s sudden decision to suspend the legislative sitting as of Monday, May 3:

EDMONTON - Yesterday, the federal government announced a historic investment into child care, proposing to spend an additional $30 billion over the next 5 years, with the goal of establishing a nation-wide $10 per day child care system. Today, Public Interest Alberta is demanding that the provincial government commit to the rollout of the federal program by upholding a 50-50 agreement to match half of the federal investment and ensure that every family in Alberta has access to high-quality, accessible, and affordable child care.

EDMONTON - March 11, 2021 marks the one year anniversary of the declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic, and seniors groups, labour groups, and advocacy groups are gathering outside of the Federal Building at the Legislature to install an visual representation of the lives we have lost to COVID-19, especially those of Alberta’s seniors who have been disproportionately affected. The visual will be a collection of roses, made by Erin Alyward, each one colour coded to show the age of the person we lost. The advocates and activists will also be joined by members of Alberta Arts Action Group, a group which blends arts and activism, who will sing and recite poetry as we mark this solemn occasion.