THE COURAGEOUS LIVES OF MENTAL HEALTH SUFFERS

Assembly Lines: mental health people and treatments, wildland firefighter pay, benefits and hiring, and the effects of red tape reduction

By George Lee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Albertans dealing with mental health issues are the personification of courage, the member for Taber-Warner told the legislative assembly May 13.

To drive his message home, the UCP’s Grant Hunter held up the struggles of an unnamed young woman he knows.

“When her boss doesn’t understand the great anxiety that this young lady feels, she still puts forward one foot in front of the other, she shows courage. When every thought going through her mind is telling her to put an end to her life, using unknown reserves of strength, she says that she will still try to fight another day. That is courage,” Hunter said in a member statement.

“When she wants desperately to share how she is feeling but no one seems to understand, she is showing courage. When she uses song and poetry to try and help others feel what she is feeling, she is showing courage.”

Those dealing with mental health issues are “unsung heroes” – but they are not as alone as they might think, Hunter said. The phoneline 2-1-1 is available 24/7 for immediate support and connection to local services. 

“With all my heart I want those who are struggling with mental health to know that we see you, we care about you and we love you, and we will do everything we can to help you get back to recovery.”

SPENDING TARGETS MENTAL HEALTH CARE FOR YOUNG ALBERTANS

Provincial dollars are going towards new live-in treatment centres to address the mental health of young people in Fort McMurray and an unnamed southern Alberta community, a UCP member said May 13.

In a member statement to the legislature, Myles McDougall said $98 million of $148 million in spending over two years is going towards three new stand-alone treatment sites.

McDougall, the member for Calgary-Fish Creek, said the centres will refect “historic, record-breaking investment in the mental health and well-being of Alberta’s children and youth.”

Calgary is eyed for the third of the three residential care facilities.

Also on the horizon is a tripling of in-house classrooms for mental health support, through a partnership with CASA Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health. Each of the 60 new classrooms, slated to be in place by September 2026, will be armed with a teacher, a mental health therapy aide and other professionals, McDougall said.

“Mental illness can affect anyone, no matter their age, and as a parent I wholeheartedly advocate for ensuring all children receive the support necessary for their well-being during their adolescent years,” McDougall told legislature colleagues.

“As each one of us knows, these years can be challenging, and unfortunately they have not gotten any easier. When a child struggles with their mental health, it’s not just the child who suffers but the entire family. Parents worry and wonder: how can they help their children?”

All told, the spending means “vital mental health care services” for 2,000 children and youth each year, said McDougal.

“These initiatives will not only transform the lives of countless families for years to come but also build a culture of recovery that will shape the future of our province.”

 ALBERTA UNDERPAYS WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS, SAYS OPPOSITION LEADER

Better pay elsewhere draws wildland firefighters away from the provincial payroll, NDP Leader Rachel Notley charged in the legislature May 13.

Notley said wildland firefighters earn 22 per cent more with B.C. and 33 per cent more with Parks Canada than they do with the Alberta government.

But Premier Danielle Smith said much of the turnover is because university students fight fires as seasonal, part-time work. Year to year, they go on to careers or other jobs, and that’s built into hiring practices.

At the time of the exchange between the two leaders, the province had hired about 92 per cent of its seasonal wildfire fighters, said Smith.

Notley, the member for Edmonton-Strathcona, said the province is making matters worse by not extending presumptive cancer coverage to wildfire fighters. The coverage would allow quick access to benefits because a firefighter’s cancer is presumed to be related to their work.

“We are competing with the federal government, with Ontario, with B.C.: all of these jurisdictions compensate better and provide presumptive coverage. When will the Premier bring Alberta in line with other provinces?”

Smith said the minister of jobs, economy and trade is investigating the issue. Matt Jones is “in regular communication with his counterparts in other provinces, examining the information and examining the details and making a decision on whether or not we should be modifying the direction that we give to Workers’ Compensation Board.”

Smith, the member for Brooks-Medicine Hat, gave kudos to the minister of forestry and parks, saying that Todd Loewen is “doing an amazing job” managing and overseeing the fight against wildfires this season.

“We’re doing things differently than any other jurisdiction, using night-vision helicopters, using drones, doing 24-hour firefighting, doing fighting in the evenings. As a matter of fact, we’re continuing to work on building in fireguards,” said the premier.

“We have the resources that we need,” she said, noting that Alberta collaborates with other local firefighting teams and other provinces.

“I would say that we’re in good shape. We’re certainly not out of the woods yet, but we’re doing well.”

 UCP TOUTS PATHS OF LEAST RED-TAPE

The province continues to slice through red tape to create pathways for investment and services, the UCP told the legislature during a question period exchange May 13.

Dale Nally, the minister of Service Alberta and red tape reduction, said his government has cut red tape by 33 per cent and saved job creators $2.75 billion.

“People are flooding to this province at unprecedented rates, and the investment is flowing,” said Nally, the member for Morinville-St. Albert.

 Bill 16, the Red Tape Reduction Statutes Amendment Act, 2024, will “continue in that same tradition” and do even more, Nally predicted. The act will cut 200 unnecessary regulations and save Albertans $1.5 million, he said.

“We were elected on a platform of fiscal restraint and efficiency; now, we’re just delivering on it.”

Martin Long, the UCP member for West Yellowhead, noted that the province received an A-grade on the annual report card of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

But red tape reduction is about more than supporting business and investment, Long said, pointing to things like better access to shelters for vulnerable Albertans escaping family violence.

Nally responded: “We are staying true to our core value of being compassionate conservatives. By eliminating separate rules for those in family violence shelters, we are enabling higher core benefits for families that reside in violence shelters.

“We said that we would take care of our most vulnerable, and that’s what we’re doing.”