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Alberta

Alberta activates contingency mail delivery plan

Published

5 months ago

11 minute read

Alberta’s government has a plan to ensure critical government mail continues to be delivered during the service interruption at Canada Post.

In response to the service disruption at Canada Post, Alberta’s government is taking steps to ensure critical mail between Albertans and the government continues to flow.

Starting Tuesday, Nov. 19, mail can be accepted from Albertans at designated Alberta government offices across the province to ensure it reaches the proper destination. No stamps are required. The full list of designated buildings is available on Alberta.ca.

Albertans who receive mail from the provincial government will receive a notification by email or phone indicating where and when they can pick-up/drop-off their mail. Alberta’s government will never ask for personal information over the phone or for anyone to click on a link in an email. Non-critical mail will be held by the originating department until Canada Post mail service resumes.

Some departments are participating in a Canada Post program to deliver social-economic cheques once a month during the disruption. Many departments that issue cheques also offer direct deposit. For more information, or to inquire about signing up for direct deposit, Albertans should contact the government department that issues the payment.

Additional information will be posted online as it becomes available.

Quick facts

  • Only critical mail can be delivered to the general public during a work interruption. Non-critical or promotional mail should not be sent during this time.
  • Ministries must arrange for staff serving the public to accept and forward critical mail from Albertans to the appropriate government recipients.
  • Critical mail is material that must reach its intended recipient to avoid health, safety, financial or other significant harm to Albertans, significant risk or loss to government, or legislative non-compliance and that cannot be delivered expediently by courier, fax, electronic or other means.
  • Canada Post employees will deliver federal and provincial government socio-economic cheques one day per month during a work interruption.
  • Additional information will be posted on Alberta.ca as it becomes available.

Related information

 

Government mail drop locations – Effective November 19

City / Town Drop Point Address
Airdrie Agricultural Centre 97 East Lake Ramp NE, Airdrie, AB T4A 0C3
Athabasca Jewell Building #2, 3603 – 53 St., Athabasca, AB T9S 1A9
Barrhead AFSC 4924 50 Ave, Barrhead, AB T7N 1A4
Blairmore Provincial Building 12501 – Crowsnest Pass Provincial Building, Blairmore, AB T0K 1E0
Bonnyville Provincial Building P.O. Box 5244, 4904 – 50 Ave., Bonnyville, AB T9N 2G4
Brooks Provincial Building 220 – 4 Ave. W, Brooks, AB T1R 1C6
Calgary West Direct Express Bay 30, 333 28 Street NE, Calgary, AB T2A 7P4
Camrose AFSC P.O. Box 5000, 4910 – 52 St., Camrose, AB T4V 2V4
Canmore Provincial Building 3rd Floor, 800 – Railway Ave., Canmore, AB T1W 1P1
Cardston Provincial Building 576 – Main St., Cardston, AB T0K 0K0
Caroline Alberta Highway Services Yard P.O. Box 160, Caroline, AB T0M 0M0
Castor Alberta Health Services 4911 – 50 Avenue Castor, AB T0C 0X0
Claresholm Provincial Building P.O. Box 1650, 109 – 46 Ave. W, Claresholm, AB T0L 0T0
Coaldale RCMP Detachment 705 – 19A Avenue, Coaldale, AB T1M 1A7
Cochrane Provincial Building 2nd Floor, 213 – 1 St. W, Cochrane, AB T4C 1A5
Cold Lake AB Supports #408 6501B – 51 Street, Cold Lake, AB T9M 1P2
Consort Provincial Building 4916 – 50 St., Consort, AB T0C 1B0
Drayton Valley Provincial Building 5136 – 51 Ave., Drayton Valley, AB T7A 1S4
Drumheller Riverside Centre 180 – Riverside Centre, Drumheller, AB T0J 0Y4
Edmonton MSV Building 12360 – 142 Street NW, Edmonton, AB T5L 2H1
Edson Provincial Building 111 – 54 St., Edson, AB T7E 1T2
Evansburg Health Centre 5525 – 50 St., Evansburg, AB T0E 0T0
Fairview AARD #213, 10209 – 109 St., Fairview, AB T0H 1L0
Falher AFSC 701 – Main St., Falher, AB T0H 1M0
Foremost Provincial Building 218 – Main St., Foremost, AB T0K 0X0
Fort MacLeod Fort MacLeod Healthcare Centre P.O. Box 520, 744 – 26 St., Fort MacLeod, AB T0L 0Z0
Fort McMurray Provincial Building 9915 – Franklin Ave., Fort McMurray, AB T9H 2K4
Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre Bag 10, 7802 – 101 St., Fort Saskatchewan, AB T8L 2P3
Fort Vermilion Ranger Station 5001 46 Ave Fort Vermilion, AB T0H 1N0
Fox Creek Ranger Station 201 Kaybob Drive, Fox Creek, AB T0H 1P0
Grande Prairie Provincial Building 10320 – 99 St., Grande Prairie, AB T8V 6J4
Grimshaw AFSC 5306 – 50 Street, Grimshaw, AB T0H 1W0
Hanna Provinical Building 401 – Centre St., Hanna, AB T0J 1P0
High Level Provincial Building 10106 – 100 Ave., High Level, AB T0H 1Z0
High Prairie Provincial Building 5226 – 53 Ave., High Prairie, AB T0G 1E0
High River Spitzee Crossing Building 124 – 4 Avenue SW, High River, AB T1V 1M3
Hinton Hinton Training Centre 1176 – Switzer Dr., Hinton, AB T7V 1V3
Innisfail Eastgate Mall Bay 11, 4804 – 42 Ave., Innisfail, AB T4G 1V2
Killam Killam Mental Health Clinic 4811 – 49 Ave., Killam, AB T0B 2L0
Lac La Biche Health Centre 9503 – Beaver Hill Rd., Lac La Biche, AB T0A 2C0
Lacombe AFSC 5718 – 56 Ave., Lacombe, AB T4L 1B1
Lamont AFSC 5014 – 50 Ave., Lamont, AB T0B 2R0
Leduc Provincial Courthouse 4612 – 50 St., Leduc, AB T9E 6L1
Lethbridge Provincial Building 200 – 5 Ave. S, Lethbridge, AB T1J 4L1
Lloydminster Provincial Building 5124 – 50 St., Lloydminster, AB T9V 0M3
Manning Environment and Parks #400, 2nd Street SW, Manning, AB T0H 2M0
McLennan Kirkland Building P.O. Box 326, 205 – 1 St. E, McLennan, AB T0H 2L0
Medicine Hat Provincial Building #1-106, 346 – 3 St. SE, Medicine Hat, AB T1A 0G7
Morniville Provincial Building 10008 – 107 St., Morinville, AB T8R 1L3
Olds Provincial Building 5030 – 50 St., Olds, AB T4H 1S1
Peace River Provincial Building Bag 900, 9621 – 96 Ave., Peace River, AB T8S 1T4
Pincher Creek Provincial Building 782 – Main St., Pincher Creek, AB T0K 1W0
Ponoka Provincial Building P.O. Box 4426, 5110 – 49 Ave., Ponoka, AB T4J 1S1
Provost Provincial Building 5419 – 44 Ave., Provost, AB T0B 3S0
Red Deer Provincial Building 4920 – 51 St., Red Deer, AB T4N 6K8
Rimbey Provincial Building 2nd Floor, 5025 – 55 St., Rimbey, AB T0C 2J0
Rocky Mountain House Provincial Building 2nd Floor, 4919 – 51 St., Rocky Mountain House, AB T4T 1B3
St. Albert Provincial Building 30 – Sir Winston Churchill Ave., St. Albert, AB T8N 3A3
St. Paul Provincial Building 5025 – 49 Ave., St. Paul, AB T0A 3A4
Sedgewick Flagstaff Building 4701 – 48 Ave., Sedgewick, AB T0B 4C0
Sherwood Park Centre Plaza 190 Chippewa Road, Sherwood Park, AB T8A 4H5
Slave Lake Government Centre 101- 3rd Street SW, Slave Lake, AB T0G 2A4
Smoky Lake Provincial Building 2nd Floor, 108 – Wheatland Ave., Smoky Lake, AB T0A 3C0
AB Tree Improvement P.O. Box 750, 59162 – R.R. 155, Smoky Lake, AB T0A 3C0
Spirit River AFSC 4202 – 50 Street, Spirit River, AB T0H 3G0
Spruce Grove Provincial Building #1, 250 – Diamond Ave., Spruce Grove, AB T7X 4C7
Stettler Provincial Building 4705 – 49 Ave., Stettler, AB T0C 2L0
Stony Plain Provincial Building 4709 – 44 Ave., Stony Plain, AB T7Z 1N4
Strathmore AFSC 325 – 3 Ave., Strathmore, AB T1P 1B4
Sundre Ranger Station P.O. Box 519, 127 – 1 St. NW, Sundre, AB T0M 1X0
Taber Provincial Building 5011 – 49 Ave., Taber, AB T1G 1V9
Three Hills AFSC 128 – 3 Avenue, Tofield, AB T0M 2A0
Tofield Provincial Building 5024 51 Ave , Tofield, AB T0B 4J0
Ukrainian Village Ukrainian Village c/o 8820 – 112 St., Edmonton, AB T6G 2P8
Valleyview Provincial Building 5102 – 50 Ave., Valleyview, AB T0H 3N0
Vegreville Haverhill Building 5121 – 49 Street E, Vegreville, AB T9C 1S7
Vermilion Provincial Building P.O. Box 30, 4701 – 52 St., Vermilion, AB T9X 1J9
Vulcan AFSC 104 Centre Street E, Vulcan, AB T0L 2B0
Wainwright Provincial Building #4, 810 – 14 Ave., Wainwright, AB T9W 1R2
Westlock Provincial Building 2nd Floor, 10003 – 100 St., Westlock, AB T7P 2E8
Wetaskiwin Provincial Building 5201 – 50 Ave., Wetaskiwin, AB T9A 0S7
Whitecourt Provincial Building 5020 – 52 Ave., Whitecourt, AB T7S 1N2
Youngstown Special Areas 404 – 2 Ave , Youngstown, AB T0J 3P0
Related Topics:

This is a news release from the Government of Alberta.

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Alberta

Alberta takes big step towards shorter wait times and higher quality health care

Published on April 9, 2025

By

From the Fraser Institute

By Nadeem Esmail

On Monday, the Smith government announced that beginning next year it will change the way it funds surgeries in Alberta. This is a big step towards unlocking the ability of Alberta’s health-care system to provide more, better and faster services for the same or possibly fewer dollars.

To understand the significance of this change, you must understand the consequences of the current (and outdated) approach.

Currently, the Alberta government pays a lump sum of money to hospitals each year. Consequently, hospitals perceive patients as a drain on their budgets. From the hospital’s perspective, there’s little financial incentive to serve more patients, operate more efficiently and provide superior quality services.

Consider what would happen if your local grocery store received a giant bag of money each year to feed people. The number of items would quickly decline to whatever was most convenient for the store to provide. (Have a favourite cereal? Too bad.) Store hours would become less convenient for customers, alongside a general decline in overall service. This type of grocery store, like an Alberta hospital, is actually financially better off (that is, it saves money) if you go elsewhere.

The Smith government plans to flip this entire system on its head, to the benefit of patients and taxpayers. Instead of handing out bags of money each year to providers, the new system—known as “activity-based funding”—will pay health-care providers for each patient they treat, based on the patient’s particular condition and important factors that may add complexity or cost to their care.

This turns patients from a drain on budgets into a source of additional revenue. The result, as has been demonstrated in other universal health-care systems worldwide, is more services delivered using existing health-care infrastructure, lower wait times, improved quality of care, improved access to medical technologies, and less waste.

In other words, Albertans will receive far better value from their health-care system, which is currently among the most expensive in the world. And relief can’t come soon enough—for example, last year in Alberta the median wait time for orthopedic surgeries including hip and knee replacements was 66.8 weeks.

The naysayers argue this approach will undermine the province’s universal system and hurt patients. But by allowing a spectrum of providers to compete for the delivery of quality care, Alberta will follow the lead of other more successful universal health-care systems in countries such as Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland and create greater accountability for hospitals and other health-care providers. Taxpayers will get a much better picture of what they’re paying for and how much they pay.

Again, Alberta is not exploring an untested policy. Almost every other developed country with universal health care uses some form of “activity-based funding” for hospital and surgical care. And remember, we already spend more on health care than our counterparts in nearly all of these countries yet endure longer wait times and poorer access to services generally, in part because of how we pay for surgical care.

While the devil is always in the details, and while it’s still possible for the Alberta government to get this wrong, Monday’s announcement is a big step in the right direction. A funding model that puts patients first will get Albertans more of the high-quality health care they already pay for in a timelier fashion. And provide to other provinces an example of bold health-care reform.

Nadeem Esmail

Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute
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Alberta

Alberta’s embrace of activity-based funding is great news for patients

Published on April 9, 2025

By

From the Montreal Economic Institute

Alberta’s move to fund acute care services through activity-based funding follows best practices internationally, points out an MEI researcher following an announcement made by Premier Danielle Smith earlier today.

“For too long, the way hospitals were funded in Alberta incentivized treating fewer patients, contributing to our long wait times,” explains Krystle Wittevrongel, director of research at the MEI. “International experience has shown that, with the proper funding models in place, health systems become more efficient to the benefit of patients.”

Currently, Alberta’s hospitals are financed under a system called “global budgeting.” This involves allocating a pre-set amount of funding to pay for a specific number of services based on previous years’ budgets.

Under the government’s newly proposed funding system, hospitals receive a fixed payment for each treatment delivered.

An Economic Note published by the MEI last year showed that Quebec’s gradual adoption of activity-based funding led to higher productivity and lower costs in the province’s health system.

Notably, the province observed that the per-procedure cost of MRIs fell by four per cent as the number of procedures performed increased by 22 per cent.

In the radiology and oncology sector, it observed productivity increases of 26 per cent while procedure costs decreased by seven per cent.

“Being able to perform more surgeries, at lower costs, and within shorter timelines is exactly what Alberta’s patients need, and Premier Smith understands that,” continued Mrs. Wittevrongel. “Today’s announcement is a good first step, and we look forward to seeing a successful roll-out once appropriate funding levels per procedure are set.”

The governments expects to roll-out this new funding model for select procedures starting in 2026.

* * *

The MEI is an independent public policy think tank with offices in Montreal, Ottawa, and Calgary. Through its publications, media appearances, and advisory services to policymakers, the MEI stimulates public policy debate and reforms based on sound economics and entrepreneurship.

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