Health Minister Tyler Shandro lays off 11,000 public health care workers
David Climenhaga reported what was going on behind the scenes as a massive announcement of a layoff for health care workers had news sources scrambling to scoop each other for the best story. The UCP was feverishly trying to rush out a story ahead of the CBC about the lay-off, and they were feeding Postmedia sources so their scoop could be ahead of the CBC. They offered a ridiculous story that a copy of the announcement had been leaked, before the latest updates had been applied.
The CBC reported the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) is already planning strike action. They represent the Alberta Health Services (AHS) provincial employees. This includes various positions and up to 60,000 employees.
“It is an absolutely and utterly stupid move,” opposition leader Rachel Notley said. If nothing else it's a perfect example of the incompetence we've come to expect from the United Conservative Party of Alberta led by Premier Jason Kenney.