PrintDon’t forget political activism in the fight to support health care, Children’s Services Minister Danielle Larivee tells UNA AGM
Roughly 1,000 nurses and their supporters started the final day of the United Nurses of Alberta’s 40th Anniversary Annual General Meeting this morning with a call from Alberta Children’s Services Minister Danielle Larivee to stand up for their patients in the political realm as well as at the bedside.
“Every one of the people you take care of is affected by the policies of government,” said Larivee, a former president of Local 315, community health in Slave Lake. “You realize how important it is, as nurses, to take on that role of political advocacy as well.”
“And 2019 is coming,” said Larivee, who was elected as MLA for Lesser Slave Lake in the NDP sweep of May 2015. “It’s only 18 months away. It’s going to be a pretty stark choice. … So think about what you want for your patients, and your colleagues, after 2019.”
Reminding members of the impact on the health care system and the nurses who work in it of the devastating cuts by Ralph Klein’s Conservative government in the mid-1990s, Larivee told the AGM, “I don’t want you to look around (after 2019) and see many of your colleagues are missing because they were laid off because the price of oil went down.”
Governments can make choices, she said, and the government of Premier Rachel Notley has chosen to respond to the recession by not cutting front-line health care and other important public services.
The government has reduced the impact of the recession and worked to build a better future for Alberta because “we can do things like finally build the cancer centre in Calgary that’s been needed for so long,” Larivee said.
“I think nurses are pretty darned good at raising a little hell,” Larivee said as she ended her remarks. “I will call on you to continue to raise a little hell!”
The UNA AGM also heard greetings this morning from nurses’ unions in Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, and from spokespeople for organizations like the Friends of Medicare, the Alberta Workers' Health Centre, the Parkland Institute, and Public Interest Alberta.
Linda Haslam-Stroud, president of the Ontario Nurses Association, reinforced Larivee’s message: “I am sick and tired of hearing that we are balancing the budget on the backs of Registered Nurses in Canada,” she said. “It’s time to get loud about it!”
