Alberta
Province providing 250 modular homes to help ease housing crisis in Jasper
Supporting Jasper residents’ return home |
Alberta’s government continues to support recovery efforts in Jasper and is helping residents return to the community with $112 million in funding for interim housing.
Alberta’s government continues to support recovery efforts in Jasper and is helping residents return to the community with $112 million in funding for interim housing.
Alberta’s government is committed to ensuring Jasper residents are supported as the community recovers from the summer’s wildfire. To support rebuilding efforts in Jasper, government is committing $112 million to build interim housing for displaced Jasper residents and residents of Pine Grove Senior Citizens Manor.
Work on the sites in Jasper has already begun, and the first residents are expected to begin moving in as early as January 2025. Homes in Jasper will be available for essential service workers and support service workers, and other eligible Jasper residents who lost their homes and are employed in the area. Alberta’s government will ensure that interim homes are ready for eligible residents as quickly and efficiently as possible.
“Our entire country grieved when wildfire ravaged Jasper this past summer. We know the rebuilding process takes time, and we’re doing all we can to support Jasper’s recovery. Most of all, people want to return home, and the funding we have approved will speed up that process so folks can rebuild their lives and move forward sooner.”
“We know that Jasper residents are eager to get back home and Alberta’s government is committed to ensuring they have the supports they need throughout this rebuilding effort. When ready, these interim homes will address the immediate housing need in Jasper and provide a short-term housing option for those who are working in the town doing the critical work needed to support this rebuild.”
To support the interim housing needs of Jasperites, the government is supporting the construction of modular homes. It is estimated that this portion of the provincial funding will build 250 modular homes for eligible displaced Jasper residents. Modular homes are constructed off-site, in a controlled environment, to allow for all-season construction and accelerated schedules. They are installed using permanent foundations that ensure the safety and comfort of the occupants.
Interim housing units in Jasper will be provided at market rent, and applications and eligibility details will be released in the future. Units in Jasper will be sold at market value when they are no longer required for interim housing for Jasper recovery.
“This interim housing is a much-needed step forward in getting the community of Jasper back on track and getting people into homes. Alberta’s government will continue to work with the town and our partners to restore Jasper as quickly as possible.”
“On behalf of the people of Jasper, I extend our sincere gratitude to the Government of Alberta for their critical support in funding interim housing as we work to rebuild Jasper. This housing isn’t just about the buildings, it’s directly linked to our social and economic recovery including the mental well-being of the community as a whole.”
Alberta’s government is also supporting the residents of Pine Grove Manor with interim housing in Hinton. Pine Grove Manor was destroyed by the fire and this interim housing will keep residents close to their community while the seniors home is rebuilt. Up to 25 units of modular housing will be built for seniors in Hinton on a site that was given to the project by the Town of Hinton. These units in Hinton will later be used as affordable housing for the community. Work on these sites is expected to begin in January and the first seniors are expected to begin moving in as early as April 2025.
“The Evergreens Foundation is proud to work together with the province to move forward on this project with haste. We continue to keep the needs of the seniors who built our province in the forefront as we work through the Jasper recovery.”
A request for proposals will be released on both of these projects as the next steps in this process. Funding from Alberta’s government will be contributed to these projects over two fiscal years.
Quick facts
- The 2024 Jasper wildfire complex destroyed or damaged around 30 per cent of structures in Jasper, including the Pine Grove Seniors Citizens Manor, a government-owned building.
- Wildfire is an insurable event and insurance can cover costs for interim housing for insured individuals.
From LifeSiteNews
Alberta announced it ‘is reviewing how MAID is regulated to ensure there is a consistent process as well as oversight that protects vulnerable Albertans, specifically those living with disabilities or suffering from mental health challenges.’
The Conservative provincial government of Alberta is pushing back against the Canadian federal government’s continued desire to expand euthanasia in the nation, saying it will launch a review of the legislation and policies surrounding the grim practice, including a period of public engagement.
The United Conservative Party (UCP) government under Premier Danielle Smith in a press release said the province needs to make sure that robust safeguards and procedures are in place to protect vulnerable people from being coerced into getting euthanatized under the MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying) program.
“Alberta’s government is reviewing how MAID is regulated to ensure there is a consistent process as well as oversight that protects vulnerable Albertans, specifically those living with disabilities or suffering from mental health challenges,” said the government Monday.
The government said a online survey regarding MAiD open to all Albertans who have opinions about the deadly practice will be available until December 20.
“We recognize that medical assistance in dying is a very complex and often personal issue and is an important, sensitive and emotional matter for patients and their families,” said Alberta’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General Mickey Amery.
Amery said it is important to ensure this process has the “necessary supports to protect the most vulnerable.”
The government said that it will also be engaging with academics, medical associations, public bodies, as well as religious organizations and “regulatory bodies, advocacy groups” regarding MAiD
The government said all information gathered through this consultation will “help inform the Alberta government’s planning and policy decision making, including potential legislative changes regarding MAID in Alberta.”
When it comes to MAiD, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government sought to expand it from the chronically and terminally ill to those suffering solely from mental illness.
However, in February, after pushback from pro-life, medical, and mental health groups as well as most of Canada’s provinces, the federal government delayed the mental illness expansion until 2027.
Alberta’s Minister of Mental Health and Addiction Dan Williams said that the UCP government has been “clear” that it does not “support the provision of medically assisted suicide for vulnerable Albertans facing mental illness as their primary purpose for seeking their own death.”
“Instead, our goal is to build a continuum of care where vulnerable Albertans can live in long-term health and fulfilment. We look forward to the feedback of Albertans as we proceed with this important issue,” he noted.
The Alberta government said that as MAiD is “federally legislated and regulated” it is main job will be to try and make sure that it protects “vulnerable individuals” as much as possible.
Alberta’s Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange reaffirmed that the Alberta government “does not support expanding MAID eligibility to include those facing depression or mental illness and continues to call on the federal government to end this policy altogether.”
The number of Canadians killed by lethal injection under the nation’s MAiD program since 2016 stands at close to 65,000, with an estimated 16,000 deaths in 2023 alone. Many fear that because the official statistics are manipulated the number may be even higher.
To combat Canadians being coerced into MAiD, which LifeSiteNews has covered, the combat pro-life Delta Hospice Society (DHS) is offering a free “Do Not Euthanize Defense Kit” to help vulnerable people “protect themselves” from any healthcare workers who might push euthanasia on the defenseless.
Nurse practitioners expand primary care access |
The Alberta government’s Nurse Practitioner Primary Care program is showing early signs of success, with 33 nurse practitioners already practising independently in communities across the province.
Alberta’s government is committed to strengthening Alberta’s primary health care system, recognizing that innovative approaches are essential to improving access. To further this commitment, the Nurse Practitioner Primary Care Program was launched in April, allowing nurse practitioners to practise comprehensive patient care autonomously, either by operating their own practices or working independently within existing primary care settings.
Since being announced, the program has garnered a promising response. A total of 67 applications have been submitted, with 56 approved. Of those, 33 nurse practitioners are now practising autonomously in communities throughout Alberta, including in rural locations such as Beaverlodge, Coaldale, Cold Lake, Consort, Morley, Picture Butte, Three Hills, Two Hills, Vegreville and Vermilion.
“I am thrilled about the interest in this program, as nurse practitioners are a key part of the solution to provide Albertans with greater access to the primary health care services they need.”
To participate in the program, nurse practitioners are required to commit to providing a set number of hours of medically necessary primary care services, maintain a panel size of at least 900 patients, offer after-hours access on weekends, evenings or holidays, and accept walk-in appointments until a panel size reaches 900 patients.
With 33 nurse practitioners practising independently, about 30,000 more Albertans will have access to the primary health care they need. Once the remaining 23 approved applicants begin practising, primary health care access will expand to almost 21,000 more Albertans.
“Enabling nurse practitioners to practise independently is great news for rural Alberta. This is one more way our government is ensuring communities will have access to the care they need, closer to home.”
“Nurse practitioners are highly skilled health care professionals and an invaluable part of our health care system. The Nurse Practitioner Primary Care Program is the right step to ensuring all Albertans can receive care where and when they need it.”
“The NPAA wishes to thank the Alberta government for recognizing the vital role NPs play in the health care system. Nurse practitioners have long advocated to operate their own practices and are ready to meet the growing health care needs of Albertans. This initiative will ensure that more people receive the timely and comprehensive care they deserve.”
The Nurse Practitioner Primary Care program not only expands access to primary care services across the province but also enables nurse practitioners to practise to their full scope, providing another vital access point for Albertans to receive timely, high-quality care when and where they need it most.
Quick facts
- Through the Nurse Practitioner Primary Care Program, nurse practitioners receive about 80 per cent of the compensation that fee-for-service family physicians earn for providing comprehensive primary care.
- Compensation for nurse practitioners is determined based on panel size (the number of patients under their care) and the number of patient care hours provided.
- Nurse practitioners have completed graduate studies and are regulated by the College of Registered Nurses of Alberta.
- For the second consecutive year, a record number of registrants renewed their permits with the College of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CRNA) to continue practising nursing in Alberta.
- There were more than 44,798 registrants and a 15 per cent increase in nurse practitioners.
- Data from the Nurse Practitioner Primary Care Program show:
- Nine applicants plan to work on First Nations reserves or Metis Settlements.
- Parts of the province where nurse practitioners are practising: Calgary (12), Edmonton (five), central (six), north (three) and south (seven).
- Participating nurse practitioners who practise in eligible communities for the Rural, Remote and Northern Program will be provided funding as an incentive to practise in rural or remote areas.
- Participating nurse practitioners are also eligible for the Panel Management Support Program, which helps offset costs for physicians and nurse practitioners to provide comprehensive care as their patient panels grow.
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