81,600 Albertans Waiting for Surgery, UCP Delays Plan Until Next Year

More than 81,000 Albertans are waiting for surgery today, according to UCP Health Minister Jason Copping, but he refused to say how many delayed surgeries are the result of UCP negligence in the fourth wave and he punted the plan to address the backlog, promised for this week, into sometime next year.

So many Albertans are going into the holidays waiting and worrying, often in pain, because they can’t get their critical surgery. Tens of thousands of them are waiting because Jason Kenney and the UCP failed to act when the danger of the fourth wave was obvious. Jason Kenney stood in the legislature on Monday and promised that Albertans would see a plan to address this by the end of the week. Only three days later, the health minister told Albertans they’ll have to wait until the new year. This is unacceptable. It’s more evidence that Albertans cannot trust the UCP.  -David Shepherd, NDP Health Critic

In the fall session of the Alberta Legislature, NDP Leader Rachel Notley asked Kenney 18 times to reveal the number of surgeries cancelled in the fourth wave, and 18 times he refused to answer or accept responsibility for his failure as premier.