Why? I keep asking myself that same question: Why are hundreds of public health inspectors and support staff from Alberta Health Services (AHS) being transferred to become direct employees of the Government of Alberta?
It makes no sense. Their work is a vital part of our health-care system. They’re responsible for protecting all of us from exposure to diseases and infections at the places where we gather, including restaurants, swimming pools, childcare centres, and continuing-care homes. If Ebola or hantavirus threaten us, they’ll be there. Their job is to enforce the Alberta Public Health Act. It couldn’t be any more health-related. The 336 inspectors and 76 support staff are good at their jobs. There have been no complaints about the quality of their work.
We asked the government: Why? The government refused to provide any reasons. You could best sum up their attitude as: Because we say so. They simply said that these workers would be transitioned by the end of July. In the absence of transparency, as is so often the case with this government, we can only look at the evidence.
The government has clearly shown that when it thinks about health care, it sees dollar signs. It sees potential profits for corporations as more important than health outcomes for Albertans. Removing inspectors from the health-care sector, where they operate at arm’s length from the government, to become direct government employees means they will be more exposed to pressure to put business interests first.
Do we really need to shut down that restaurant? Or that childcare centre where salmonella has appeared? Can’t we just ask them to clean up a little better and keep them open? The truth is that this foolish move puts us all at risk. It is no exaggeration to say that these can be life-and-death issues.
Remember the E. coli outbreak that hit 11 Calgary day cares in 2023? It affected 448 people, mostly children. Of those, 21 were diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which can lead to kidney failure. Clearly, this work is serious and important.
What makes matters even worse is the malicious and punitive way the transfer is being handled. The workers will be laid off by the end of July. They will be offered new jobs, but it might be at less pay. It might mean they have to move to a different city, they might lose their seniority, they might lose vacation times they have earned for years of loyal service.
The risk, of course, is that some of them, perhaps many of them, will be forced to quit because they can’t relocate or will choose to quit because they can get better jobs outside the government. This will create a shortage of staff that will add to the chaos and confusion this government appears determined to inflict on Albertans.
Who can blame them if they quit? Who wants to work for an employer that clearly doesn’t give a damn about you or the work you do?
