Part 3 -
Prior to entering politics he was the Owner, Integrity Builders 1998–2011
He worked as a Proj. Manager, Ward Bros. Construction 2011–2018
and a Manager, Special Proj., Ward Bros. Construction 2016–2018.
According to LinkedIn he is a co-owner:
2006 - Present · 20 yrs 7 mos and Co-Owner Granite Rocks Limited
provides stonework for fireplaces, counter tops, etc.
2007 - Present · 19 yrs 7 mos Millwork Innovations 3
Commercial Cabinet Shop
The Alberta Government transferred Assisted Living from AHS to Social Services in 2024. The Minister of this portfolio, Jason Nixon - his family runs the Mustard Seed, which provides services for the homeless. (he receives a pension from them. So, allegedly, he benefits from any government grants they receive personally.)
From the link above re: needing to move patients out of acute care hospitals into community housing with supports, Danielle Smith and the UCP knew they needed to build more capacity in 2022.
Facebook: Danielle Smith comments on making Alberta more affordable (how’s that working out?) and on healthcare. at 2:48, her promises in 2022 to make Alberta more affordable for Albertans. At 3:25, her comments on healthcare.
Smith said the province needs to figure out how to free up acute care beds that are occupied by seniors destined for long-term care.
“It’s something like 60 per cent of the beds are filled with people who are awaiting long-term placement,” Smith stated.
“And I have to figure that there’s got to be a more comfortable place for them to go. I was thinking maybe a hotel may be a better environment.”
Smith continued her answer by stating that there is excess capacity in some continuing-care facilities, which could also be used by seniors in hospital beds.
NDP Health Critic David Shepherd focused his criticism of Smith on her hotel suggestion during an afternoon media conference outside of a west Edmonton hotel.
“Long-term care beds require a registered nurse to be on hand 24 hours a day with all of the equipment and supplies that might be needed to assist someone with significant medical challenges,” Shepherd said.
“The idea that a purpose-built medical care facility is interchangeable with a hotel is absurd. It’s not a solution…Hotel and motel staff are not health-care workers.”
Alberta to dismantle current patient-care model, create new health delivery system. The plan to dismantle AHS.
Contentment Social Services, the organization that took a stroke patient from an Edmonton hospital to a Leduc motel, told Global News it’s trying to provide home care services to people who need help and that it’s barely getting by financially.
Jenalee Green said she was shocked when she learned her father, Glen, who had been a patient at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, had been taken to a Travelodge in Leduc on March 1. Glen Green, who has high care needs, has bounced between the Royal Alexandra and various shelters.
The province has taken steps to help clients of Contentment Social Services (CSS) who were being housed in a Leduc hotel.
“Alberta Health and AHS arranged for a mobile health unit, which included a nurse practitioner and paramedic to offer on-site assessments to all clients currently at the hotel site,” said Adriana LaGrange, Alberta’s health minister. “This was done out of an abundance of caution,” she added.
Officials identified 27 people at the hotel who were clients of CSS; 10 of the individuals were receiving home care services.
It’s the latest development in the story of Contentment Social Services Foundation (CSSF), which made headlines in 2024 after families said their loved ones with complex needs were discharged from the hospital into hotel rooms with little support. After reporting from CBC News, the Alberta government stepped in to find new housing for 27 clients and launched several investigations.
Edmonton police also laid charges against Shum Yousouf, a CSSF program manager and housing worker, for incidents dating back to 2023.
CSSF was incorporated by Norton Smith, who was the sole director of the organization. Yousouf and Smith, according to the agreed statement of facts, are former romantic partners.
As of mid-2026, the number of newly built and opened assisted living / continuing care beds in Alberta since 2024 remains relatively limited. Most expansion activity is still in planning, funding, or construction phases.
Exact province-wide figures for completed and occupied new beds are not comprehensively published in a single recent report. However:
Under construction / recently funded: ~2,200 spaces are already under construction (as of April 2026). In addition, the government announced >$400 million in April 2026 for over 1,100 net-new continuing care spaces across 11 shovel-ready projects.
Alberta Continuing Care AssociationRecent smaller additions: Some individual projects (e.g., redevelopments and modular units) have added or will soon add dozens to low hundreds of beds, including supportive living / assisted living and long-term care spaces.
Since 2019 (broader context): The government has funded the development of more than 3,000 continuing care spaces overall.
One of the difficulties is the different levels of care required in Alberta, and ensuring there are enough beds so seniors can be moved out of hospital care into the community. They will charge you $70/day for staying in the hospital when you can be discharged.
Continuing Care Home Type A (formerly Long-Term Care / Nursing Homes) — Higher medical/nursing needs.
Continuing Care Home Type B (formerly Designated Supportive Living / Assisted Living) — Levels roughly equivalent to SL3, SL4, SL4D (dementia). These provide housing + personal care supports for semi-independent seniors.
Statement on new provincial continuing care regulations in Alberta
Canada’s nurses echo the concerns raised by the United Nurses of Alberta on new provincial continuing care regulations.
“As many jurisdictions are moving towards models of nurse-patient ratios aimed at improving patient care and retaining nurses, what we seem to be seeing in Alberta is a move in the opposite direction”, said Linda Silas, President of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU). Set to come into effect on April 1, these new regulations will eliminate the minimum number of hours of nursing care required for patients in continuing care in Alberta.
Alberta does not have a minimum # of hours in legislation, and they have reduced the # of nurses required/patients.
The main point is that Assisted Living is struggling because there are not enough beds in the community, Emergency Rooms are backed up, and people are not able to get the care they need. Before attempting to model a European system, long-term care beds should have been in place. If your family member can be moved out into the community, you are responsible for finding an appropriate space for them; if not, you are now charged $70/day for their stay in the hospital.
Premier Smith went to Sweden in the winter of 2026 to see their healthcare model - they have ensured there are enough beds in the community for the elderly, so they are not getting stuck in hospitals. The Municipalities are responsible for ensuring this based on their population needs, not the State government. The funding would come from the government. It works because they have made sure they have enough beds for each level of care.
Budget 2023 highlights: strengthening health care, $18 billion
In 2026/27, Alberta Health has a budget of $32.1 billion, which is $14.1 billion more than in 2023/24 - in fact almost double the amount…
https://www.alberta.ca/expense $32.1 Billion ~$14.1 Billion more - Where is it going?
CareWest and Capital Care are two public Assisted Living organizations that HSS administers. The government then moved on to hospitals and community care. When they were splitting the system, they forgot some major parts for each one, so they added them in and created Corporations for them. Read on to find out how that worked out.
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Service Providers: Alberta Health Services, Covenant Health - Catholic, Lamont Health Center- affiliation with The United Church of Canada, Cancer Care Alberta, Give Life Alberta (Organ and Tissue Donation), Emergency Health Services (former EMS), and Precision Laboratory Services/also in Primary Care (formerly it was Dynalife here)
Here is a list of registered doctors in Alberta (by specialty also included)
Give Life Alberta: Give Life Alberta
Cancer Care and other services to move under Acute Care
Cancer care, other services, to move under Acute Care umbrella - Medicine Hat News
They have moved all the hospitals in Alberta under Infrastructure. They keep talking about building 100-bed towers at the Grey Nuns and Misericordia (both Covenant Health) as well as a tower in Calgary - for a total of 1000 beds. This started in 2024 - nothing has been built yet, and no people have been hired to staff these beds. In fact, healthcare is extremely short-staffed.
They are replacing hospitals with health centres (including those that are private, so we are paying for private healthcare with public dollars)
Cancelling EHS (formerly EMS) Fire and EHS units. They have backed off this initiative.
They have also cancelled the Rebranding of EHS to ALTA Paramedic Health.
EHS rebranding halted as province orders restoration of old name, logo
Acute care in Alberta faces ongoing pressures but sees reform and investment as of mid-2026.
In emergencies, surgeries, or specialized treatments, we provide critical care when you need it most.
Working directly with service providers, the network of hospitals, urgent care centres, and EMS ensures fast access to essential services across Alberta.
The Goal is shorter wait times at emergency departments and for surgeries.
Current status: Emergency departments experience long wait times (often hours for physician assessment; 90th percentile around 7 hours recently), with hospital occupancy frequently exceeding 100% in major sites, leading to hallway care and occasional adverse events. Overcrowding remains the key driver of delays.
The goal is a faster EMS response time:
Challenges persist: Rural and remote areas often face longer response times due to geography and resource strain. Urban centres (e.g., Calgary/Edmonton) deal with high utilization, occasional “red alerts” (resource shortages), and staffing pressures. Lower-priority calls experience significantly longer waits due to prioritization.
Current performance (as of 2026): Response times for high-priority (life-threatening) calls have seen some improvements through initiatives like the EMS Return to Service program (targeting 45-minute handoff to ED staff), which increased ambulance availability by ~28% in some areas and cut response times by several minutes in communities. Offload delays at hospitals remain a key bottleneck affecting overall system performance. Rural areas often have their ambulances called into urban centers to help with answering calls; as a result, you may have difficulty getting a timely ambulance in a rural area.
Dispatch centres: Three main AHS-operated centres (Calgary, Edmonton, and Peace River) handle province-wide EMS dispatching after consolidation (completed around 2021).
How it works: When you dial 911, the initial call may go to a municipal Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for police/fire/ambulance triage. Medical calls are then transferred to the provincial EHS/EMS dispatch for evaluation and ambulance deployment.
The Goal for Hospitals: higher-quality care across the province and enhanced access to care in rural areas.
Urban ERs are consistently crowded with high wait times. Rural ERs are frequently closed overnight, including those in major centers like Edson and Hinton (a major stroke center), due to no coverage. The province has some nurses on staff for evaluation and a telecom doctor available for some ERs. Frequently closed OB Gyn departments mean there are no doctors available to do C-sections, and women have to go to larger centers to have their babies.
Positive steps: Budget 2026 invests $13.8 billion (up $1.7B) in acute care, including an Acute Care Action Plan for 50,000+ additional surgeries (these are the easier low-acuity surgeries - those more complicated have to wait). Record surgeries occurred in 2024-25.
Some more Positives: As pointed out above, the province is investing $14.1 billion more in healthcare than it did in 2023/24 - almost double the entire healthcare budget for 2023/24 for AHS.
Currently, they have OR’s in public hospitals sitting empty while paying 2 to 3x as much for surgeries in private clinics. Not just knees, hips, and shoulders, but also eyes, gynecological conditions, etc. You can find the businesses here.
Canada Day Week/weekend
Midweek
Danielle Smith speaks after UCP victory | ALBERTA ELECTION 2023
Alberta Premier discusses opposition to just transition, health care, sovereignty | FULL 2023
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith provides update on health-care action plan – February 27, 2023
Danielle Smith’s plan to rip up health care 2024
Justin Wright became the Minister of Primary Care and Preventative Medicine in May of 2026. His work before becoming an MLA Wright is a businessman and owns a food truck and catering company.[1] He is originally from London, Ontario.
From the UNA document the transition from AHS to Primary Care is explained 1
“With the passage into law of Bill 22, the Health Statutes Amendment Act on May 29, 2024, the provincial government plans to restructure the public health care system administered by Alberta Health Services (AHS) into four sector-based provincial health agencies: primary care, acute care, continuing care and mental health and addiction.
The sector-based provincial health agency covering primary care and preventative services is Primary Care Alberta (PCA), which became a legal entity on November 18, 2024. Recovery Alberta, which covers mental health and addictions, was created earlier this year, and the other two agencies are expected to be created in 2025. Despite previously informing UNA that the primary care, acute care, and continuing care agencies would be responsible for governance and policy but not be Employers, that appears to have changed in the case of Primary Care Alberta, which will now be an Employer.”1
health care or wellness advice and programs
non-emergent treatment of a health issue or injury
to diagnose and manage a health condition
There are often many family doctors in urban areas, but rural areas have difficulty attracting family doctors. The province has put in place nurse practitioners to take up the slack.
They have also given more powers to pharmacists to diagnose and treat some diseases and conditions:
They have now arranged for your healthcare number to go on your Driver’s license or ID card, so you will have to renew it every 5 years.
Alberta has a plan for Rural and Remote Healthcare, but it is not meeting the demand for care. The reason several ERs are closed in rural areas is that family doctors practicing in those communities also cover the ER. This means that when they need a break, a locum will come in and cover - if there is no one available, the ER is closed. Often, residents in the area are unaware and will waste valuable time going to their local ER for treatment.
The other problem is that ambulances are often sent to other areas to cover, so their area does not have an available ambulance for emergencies.
Rural and remote health care | Alberta.ca
_________________________________Healthcare journey in Alberta - One Family’s experience
Trina (not her real name) has frequent bouts of illness, and she goes to see her doctor. She has been getting constant throat infections for 3 - 4 years - has been bedridden, unable to move, and running a high fever for 5 - 8 days at a time. This happens 4 to 5 times/year. Her husband has to take time off work to take her to appointments and to look after their son because she cannot drive when she gets sick.
She has a home business and works from home. Because of her illness, she misses shipping dates, and people do not re-order, which results in a loss of income.
In Alberta, it is difficult to hold down a family doctor. Her last family doctor became a specialist and is now consulting with Albertans who have specific symptoms and conditions.
The family found a new family doctor - from the UK. He is learning about healthcare in Alberta, but since AHS has been broken up, he is struggling to navigate the bureaucracy of the Alberta healthcare system. The paperwork is complicated, and not knowing how it works means a delay in care for some patients. He is doing his best.
She hasn’t wanted to go to the doctor every time she is sick, and Alberta has authorized pharmacists to provide tests and medication in some circumstances. The family has taken advantage of this because one, it is convenient, and second, it allows her to get the medication she needs to clear up the condition.
She has done the rapid Strep tests at the pharmacy - several times and gotten medication to help clear up the infection. (This is important, and you will find out later on in the story.)
She has been hospitalized 3 times for this condition. Her family doctor finally got her a referral to an ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist). She waited for 2 months to see him.
He came into the room and looked at her for 5 minutes, then said, “This isn’t my department.” The husband asked about the possibility of a tonsillectomy and was told that Trina did not meet the requirements. He then said there is nothing I can do and left. He told them that going to the pharmacist for tests and treatments did not meet the requirements for diagnosis of Trina’s condition. It sounded like there wasn’t enough documentation, so he would have trouble billing for the appointment.
To recap: They were told there was not enough documentation even though they had recorded all the visits to the pharmacist, and it is recorded on MY Health chart -
**** Strep throat rapid tests don’t count as part of the diagnosis for specialists with Alberta Health. (Remember, AHS is now only a hospital provider - no longer in charge of the healthcare system in Alberta.)
Every time she gets sick, they will go to the family doctor for treatment through him. Strep test/blood test every time and recorded prescription for medication.
She has had this condition flare up for the 6th time in this calendar year. They now have to start the process over again to find the right specialist to treat her. This is what they have to do.
3 series throat infections/3 years straight with fever
5 infections a year for two years
7 infections a year and all of this verified by your family doctor.
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The Fifth Pillar
After they split this all up, they realized a coordination piece was missing (AHS had that all baked in). They created HSS - Health Shared Services, a new Crown Corporation to oversee the Alberta Health Agencies, so now, instead of one organization that is streamlined and coordinated, we have five. Five times the cost in administration fees. Maybe that’s where the $14.1 billion went?
We work alongside provincial healthcare agencies and corporations, providing expertise, systems, and resources related to:
Finance, contracting, procurement, supply management, and capital management.
Data and analytics, information technology, clinical informatics, and health information management.
Human resources, workplace health and safety, health professions, and medical affairs.
Privacy, legal, ethics, compliance, and internal audit.
In 2019, the Government ended the master agreement with doctors, affecting many areas they work in - they claimed new rules would be in place in the spring. They lied, and doctors left.
Alberta Health, under Shandro, tore up contracts with doctors in 2020
They did not sign new contracts until 2022, and those were interim contracts; they didn’t answer what the doctors’ concerns were.
COVID-19 and Doctors not being respected or recognized for the hard work they did.
As we push to get the Physician Comprehensive Care Model over the finish line and continue to call for immediate stabilization of our collapsing acute care system, we know that investment in health care matters. It not only matters, but it’s critical.
In 2024, the Alberta Government lied about family doctors’ pay.
In January 2024 (just before the CEO, Athana Mentzalopolous, of AHS was let go), there was a policy implemented that tightened the hiring of staff under AHS. Many saw it as a hiring freeze.
Alberta falls behind the rest of Canada in Key Healthcare fields.
A PowerPoint showing the State of Nursing in Alberta - 2024. Half the health workforce in AB are RNs and RPNs. • Regulated nurses (including LPNs and NPs) constitute 71% of Alberta’s professional health workforce.
What the Job Market is saying about Nursing in Alberta.
They created a whole new group of Deputy Ministers and levels of administration.
New Legal Structure in place for Alberta Healthcare. Dec. 31, 2025
Some background on restructuring Alberta’s healthcare system - what you need to know - from the Law Offices of Carebert Waite.
Health System in Chaos - 5 health zones replaced by 7 corridors. AHS was replaced by 5 main corporations. Corporations - mean business - with dual care systems, is this where we are heading, chipping away at it one small blow at a time?
An excellent Substack article by Jon Auger re: the Healthcare Bills changing Alberta’s healthcare system.
We need to be vigilant. They have passed these bills for a purpose. The government wants to privatize healthcare. They have consulted with at least two private health insurance companies on how to do this: Manulife and Sunlife.
The Dual healthcare system will have private (for-profit) health insurance companies step in to offer private insurance for the dual healthcare system.
The Alberta Government will transfer the operation of one or two public hospitals from AHS to Covenant Health, citing overcrowded ERs, poor performance, etc.
Once Albertans are comfortable with that, private operators with hospital admin experience will show up to take over a few more. Most likely from the US. Now remember, Private is a code word for a “For Profit” hospital. (Remember the government moved all the hospitals under Alberta Infrastructure)
The legislation is in place for this to happen - and a plan for how to transfer the operation of hospitals.
Alberta premier says the province plans to transfer some hospitals away from AHS
Alberta took a northern hospital away from AHS and gave it to Covenant.
Hospital-based decision-making leads to fears of privatization.
Annual Health Reports: It includes the compensation for Board Members and upper-level management. There are lots of numbers for those interested in checking out where the money in Healthcare is going. Andre Tremblay is the CEO of Alberta Health as well as AHS - no conflict of interest there…
2017-2018 NDP
2018-2019 NDP/UCP transition
2019-2020 UCP
2020-2021 UCP
2021-2022 UCP
2022-2023 UCP
2023-2024 UCP
2024 - 2025 UCP (This one has changed the Org chart at the beginning of the report)
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