Bill 30
Bill 30, also known as the Health Statutes Amendment Act, is an omnibus bill passed by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney on July 28th, 2020. With the alterations to 9 pieces of health legislation, the bill proposes to cut approval times for private surgical facilities and allow private companies to take over administrative functions of physician clinics, resulting in a more Americanized healthcare system. According to the Government of Alberta’s press release, the act will strengthen public health care to allow all Albertans to have access to high-quality person-centred health services by reducing surgical wait times and modernizing the system. However, this is likely a lie.
Jason Kenney originally promised to leave frontline healthcare alone. In addition, it has been proven that Jason Kenney has lied on countless occasions about his plans for Alberta. As a result, Albertans find it difficult to believe that the new bills will improve the healthcare system, despite Kenney’s reassurance.
Kenney said in a statement that more privatization will be facilitated by “enabling the government to contract with a range of organizations to operate medical clinics so physicians can focus on providing patient care, rather than administration.”
This means a variety of private clinics that offer both medical services listed for coverage under health insurance and a variety of non-direct medical wellness services ranging from ‘unneeded’ medical tests to dietary and lifestyle advice. The clinics [which will no longer need to be owned by a physician who is a CMPA member] are able to charge whatever they wish for these ‘non-medical services’ meaning that 30% of Canada’s healthcare is no longer free.
Although Kenney promises the bill will improve healthcare, doctors predict that it will in fact have the opposite effect.
Edmonton pediatrician, Dr. Christopher Ewing, says he has been researching Bill 30 and is worried about what it contains and how it will affect the medical world. "The first reaction from me is that this is the start of further privatization of the health-care system, which we've been advocating against for many months now," he said.
Not only will these changes affect public citizens, but it will also affect doctors and physicians as well as their pay. These changes concerning physicians' pay is due to the termination of the master agreement with the Alberta Medical Association in February. At the time, the Alberta Health Minister, Tyler Shandro, claimed that ending the master agreement was necessary since the province was at an impasse with doctors about how to effectively reduce costs and improve the public’s service in the $20.6 billion health care system. He announced that when Bill 30 is passed, doctors could begin to bill for each patient visit instead of being paid salaries, therefore, in theory, increasing their wages.
Shandro told the press, “Doctors can focus on providing care instead of focusing on administration. Physicians will then have more flexibility to spend time with their patients, especially with those who have more complex issues.”
Despite these claims, now that Alberta is now on top of deep cuts, Jason Kenney’s new budget is pushing forward with a more Americanized-style privatized healthcare system, cutting $135 million from hospitals all across Alberta and forcing 750 nurses out of work.
Although it was promised that salaries would increase for Alberta doctors and physicians, it is likely that the increase is due to the lay off of nurses, and so although some doctors will be making more money, hundreds of nurses will be out of work. This is what experts call one step forward, one step back.
This is proved in a statement from the president of the Alberta Medical Association [AMA], Dr. Christine Molnar, who said that these plans can be a great option for physicians, depending on the type of practice since the Bill 21 passed last fall remains an issue for any physician who signs a contract. This bill, therefore, gave the Alberta Government the power to unilaterally end its agreement with AMA last February 2020. Molnar discussed that “Contracts have an expiration date. They may have terms but none of it really matters with that bill in force.”
One change proposed in Bill 30 that has sparked significant controversy is that the bill would alter the importance of professional colleges, complaint reviews, and disciplinary hearings that discipline health professionals when necessary. This allows the opportunity for doctors, nurses, and physicians to bend the rules and potentially break their sworn oaths, depending on what they can directly get away with now that they can bypass the AMA.
The Alberta Government told the press that their objective is to have 30% of surgeries undergone in private facilities to reduce wait times in the public system. In reality, due to the recent layoff of nurses, without the influx of health professionals, these private facilities will instead treat the simpler cases and leave the more complex cases to wait longer for care in the public health system.
The government also claims that the implementation of Bill 30 will help to make the medical boards more diverse since the new public members will be appointed by the government. However, this is not a definite claim since not all members of the government are unbiased. For example, out of the 12 members of Alberta’s Economic Recovery Council, only two of them are women and the Alberta Government paid no attention. It can therefore be assumed that if the biased situation occurs where only white men are chosen as members of Alberta’s medical boards, there is a high chance it will be ignored by Jason Kenney.
Health Critic for the Official Opposition NDP in Edmonton City Centre David Shepherd said that he is skeptical about the government's claims that the bill will make boards more diverse, claiming that “They [the government] are not, indeed, about providing transparency and openness and opportunity for the average Albertan to participate. They are about grasping more power for themselves and partisan appointments.”
Shepherd claims that the NDP will propose an amendment in response to Bill 30 in the hope of setting out a requirement for diversity of appointments within the legislation concerning race and gender.
He said that “If that is truly what the minister is trying to address, then we will help him to do so by providing that accountability and we’ll see if he’s willing to accept it.”
Bill 32
Bill 32 was passed by Jason Kenney’s conservative government in Alberta on July 29th. Fully known as the Restoring Balance in Alberta’s Workplaces Act, Bill 32 claims to “support economic recovery, restore balance in the workplace and get Albertans back to work.”
This Bill is divided into four key changes: changes for employees, changes for employees in a union, changes for employers, and changes for employers with employees in a union. The changes for employees include vacation and general holiday pay will now be taken from either the “total wages averaged over the number of days they worked in the: 4 weeks immediately before the general holiday, or 4 weeks ending on the last day of the pay period that occurred just before the general holiday.” Employers will also now not need the written consent of their employees to deduct payment in the case of an accidental overpayment.
Bill 32 has also modified the rules for terminations so that there is the same rule for any termination of 50 or more people within a 4-week period. This means that now employees with either “get all of their final pay: 10 consecutive days after the end of the pay period in which they were terminated, or 31 consecutive days after the last day of employment,” and that “Employees can be laid off for a longer period of time (90 days within a 120 day period) without losing their job.” There are different rules that apply to COVID-19 layoffs that say employees can be laid off for up to 180 consecutive days. There were also changes intended to facilitate work scheduling and make it easier, but the government was very vague about it, so if you want the details, contact them at https://www.alberta.ca/contact-employment-standards.aspx. The Bill also states that workers must have 30 minutes of break for every 5 hours worked and that 13-14-year-olds will not need certifications in order to do certain jobs such as janitorial work, coaching, and tutoring.
Employees in a union can expect changes as well, such as changes to remedial certification, so that it only takes place when there are no other ways to counteract the employer’s misconduct. Employers and unions can now come up with mutual agreements on the standards for hours of work, overtime, days of rest, a notice of work times, etc. The Labour Relations Board will oversee the process of renewing union/employer agreements as well as the changing of unions. The Board will also have extra criteria to determine whether picketing is lawful, and the Board can ask employees to stop paying union dues if their picketing or strikes are illegal. Union dues that go towards political issues or campaigns are optional for employees. If construction workers change unions, the previous agreements still apply until they expire. There will also be more flexibility for industrial construction and maintenance unions with the intent of facilitating competition within the industry. Agreements can only be changed if the employees agree. Unions will now need to provide financial statements to their members. Union employees need permission to picket anywhere but their own workplace. Nurse practitioners are now included in the labour relations code.
Employers can also expect changes. When laying off an employee, employers must either; “10 consecutive days after the end of the pay period in which they were terminated or 31 consecutive days after the last day of employment.” Employers also do not need to include vacation and general holiday pay in their average daily wage calculation. When arranging work hours, employers no longer need the employee’s consent - however, they must give their employee a two-weeks notice. Arrangements could have an average length of 52 weeks, but no longer need to have an end date. If there is a schedule change, employees must get an 8-hour rest period between shifts if there is a change in schedule. Employers must no longer provide their employees with daily overtime unless it is a part of a premeditated agreement, however, they must still provide their employees with weekly overtime. If employers break any rules, they will have more time to pay the fines, and punishments will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Some of the largest changes Bill 32 made, affect employers that have employees in a union. Union applications are much quicker to be processed now - needing to be processed within a six-month period - with less legislation around them. If a complaint is made against an employer, they are responsible for proving their innocence. In the case that they are found guilty, the modified legislation will specify when remedial union certification can be used for employers. Bill 32 has also made a bunch of changes to legislation involving the construction sector, that states “Employers may have less administrative work related to unionized employees in industrial construction and maintenance, [and] employers will have more clarity and certainty on major construction projects, encouraging investment.”
Now that we have gone through all these changes, what are people thinking about it? Some individuals find that this legislation is completely fine. They believe that because there is still a choice left to the employees on whether they want to unionize, strike, or if they like the union or their job. Other individuals find Bill 32 deeply problematic. They argue that the averaging of payment over work hours could rob employees of their overtime pay and that fewer breaks (30min per every 5 hours) are unhealthy for workers and could lead to less safety in the workplace. The people against the Bill also believe that less notice for shift changes and layoffs can make it easier for employers to take advantage of employees, as well as increasing uncertainty for workers.
Thankfully, we will not be left in the dust of a hastily passed bill without time to adjust. The changes made in Bill 32 will be enacted in stages - having started immediately after the passing of the Bill on July 29th. The changes in rules around layoffs and variance flexibility begin on August 15th, while the remaining changes to the Employment Standards Code will begin on November 1st.
The Alberta Conservative Government has made many changes since they were sworn in in the past year, and there will most likely be many more. Some will be as controversial as these, while others will not affect the general population. Regardless of who you support, remember that the government is supposed to represent all citizens - not just those who voted for them. It’s our responsibility as citizens to stay educated on these topics and keep the government accountable.
Sources:
Bill 30:
Bill 32:
Alberta Government "Restoring Balance in Alberta's Workplaces" https://www.alberta.ca/restoring-balance-in-albertas-workplaces.aspx
Field Law "Highlights of Bill 32: Restoring Balance in Alberta's Workplaces Act" https://www.fieldlaw.com/News-Views-Events/172403/Highlights-of-Bill-32-Restoring-Balance-in-Albertas-Workplaces-Act
Reddit "Rant About Bill 32" https://www.reddit.com/r/alberta/comments/huf44w/rant_about_bill_32/
Alberta Federation of Labour "No 'Balance' Here: Bill 32 tips the scales against working Albertans" https://www.afl.org/no_balance_here_bill_32_tips_the_scales_against_working_albertans
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