Excerpt from Edmonton Journal, November 4, 2021 (Ashley Joannou)
November 4, 2021
Other legislation that will get amended under the bill include the Alberta Health Care Insurance Act. The government was originally planning to give the health minister power to dictate where doctors could work by setting a maximum number of physicians needed by geographic area or speciality.
Alberta backed away from that plan while it negotiates a new contract with doctors. Thursday’s bill would officially remove the April 2022 implementation date, replacing it with “on proclamation,” giving the government more flexibility to decide if or when that change would take effect.
Toews said there are “constructive” discussions going on between the government and doctors working towards a new contract but he couldn’t provide a timeline for when a deal might be reached.
