Three individuals disrupted a news conference being held as part of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s reelection campaign, with one man storming the stage.
At a press conference at a south Calgary hotel on May 11, Pamela Rath, a UCP candidate for Calgary Mountain View, was speaking when a group of protesters started shouting, saying, among other chants, “Hospitals are not for sale.”
A man with a sign pushed past staffers and rushed on the stage. He then refused to leave, standing beside the podium with a sign that said, “SHC, like new, modern appliances for sale.”
“We will not sell our arms and legs for hospitals. Hospitals should be public,” the man can be heard saying.
Security escorted the premier from the room, while Rath and Rajan Sawney, a UCP candidate for Calgary North West, remained to the side of the podium. The protesters remained on the stage, while Smith waited in the adjacent room, telling staff that the press conference would resume once the disruption is finished.
The protesters eventually left the area after repeated requests by staff, after which Rath completed her speech on new affordability measures for seniors.
Smith said the protesters and the opposition party were misrepresenting the UCP’s position on health care to “terrify people,” and reiterated her previous UCP campaign pledges that “no one will ever pay out of pocket for a family doctor or for hospital services.”
In a statement issued following the press conference, the UCP alleged that two of the “radical activists” had been identified as a former federal NDP candidate and a labour union activist.
“Elections are about ideas, not physical intimidation and violence,” said Joseph Schow, UCP candidate for Cardston-Siksika. “We call on the NDP and their union activists to ensure a safe and orderly campaign, so nobody gets hurt.”
Health Care
The UCP and NDP have been campaigning on their health care policies as the province deals with issues of timely availability of care.The NDP released a video on March 10 showing Smith speaking of ideas to reform the health care system at a conference in October 2021, before she was leader of the UCP. Sharing the video, NDP Leader Rachel Notley said Smith wanted to “sell off our hospitals.”
Under the Canada Health Act, Canadians cannot be charged for “medically necessary” services that are provided by a doctor or in a hospital. However, governments can contract with private corporations or nonprofit entities to deliver health care.
Smith suggested that if AHS were to fail to meet metrics or underperform, a request for proposal could go out for the province to consider contracting a different group of doctors or entity to manage and operate publicly funded hospitals that would remain government-funded. Smith also suggested a provincial agency could serve as an auditor to determine if services were being provided adequately by AHS.
