Edmonton- As tourism employers and communities begin to hire and prepare for the summer season, the UCP Government is keeping them in the dark about how long their review of health care coverage for tourism workers will take, and whether the coverage could be permanently cut. Public Interest Alberta (PIA) issued a call for the UCP Government to cancel its “review” and commit not to cancel the coverage for visiting workers under the IEC Type 58 permits.

“The original decision for the UCP government to cut health coverage for tourism workers without communicating this change to employers or potential employees is incompetent at best,” said Bradley Lafortune, Executive Director of Public Interest Alberta. “Alberta’s tourism industry accounted for $14.4 billion in visitor spending in 2024, over 100,000 jobs and many visiting workers from other countries who make up for the labour crunch. Not providing employers and employees with healthcare coverage for these visiting workers creates chaos and uncertainty across the sector at a time when they need stability.”

Public Interest Alberta is demanding the ministers for Primary and Preventative Health Science and Tourism announce the cancellation of any review, and instead commit to providing ongoing coverage to all workers within this program and every type of permitted visiting worker. Within its public statement and retraction yesterday, the Ministry has only said the decision was “premature”, but not that it was a mistake and that it would not be revisited.

“Employers and employees are fairly wondering whether coverage will exist this tourist season in the summer, or not. So far, the UCP government has provided no information about the timeline of its so-called ‘review’,” said Lafortune. “My strong sense is that what is really going on is the government didn’t understand how important this health coverage is and the resulting backlash they would face from tourist communities and employers.”

“At the end of the day, everyone coming here to work as a visiting employee should have access to healthcare,” said Lafortune. “Secretly cutting coverage hurts employees, employers, and the tourism industry.”

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