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Alberta

Province overhauls Victim Services model, creating regional hubs and full access

Published

4 months ago

5 minute read

By Mike Ellis, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services

All victims of crime deserve support

Dealing with the aftermath of a crime can be challenging for victims, and everyone’s journey to recovery is different.

Alberta’s government is committed to making sure victims get the support they need, which is why we are changing how victim services currently operates to ensure every Albertan in every corner of the province will have access to the help they need when they need it.

Alberta’s government decision to overhaul the Victim Services Unit (VSU) model, with its 60 detachment-based and locally governed units, was made with careful consideration of the current challenges facing the system. A comprehensive review of the current system – one that included
discussions with 150 stakeholder groups – identified inconsistencies and gaps in services that had been developing over a long period of time and needed to be addressed.

Under the old model, 14 areas had no local victim services unit, which is why the new model being implemented by Alberta’s government ensures every RCMP detachment in the province will have access to consistent victim services.

That means if you were a victim of crime in a certain part of Alberta, you had no service. This was unacceptable.

Also, under the old model, each unit was operated by an independent society, which resulted in a lack of integration and resource-sharing. Under the new model, regional governance will ensure each community can draw on resources to keep their public services stable and consistent. To address these issues, we’re moving towards a regional governance model with four integrated Regional Victim Serving Societies.

These regional societies will help victims by increasing the reliability, of support across the province. This means that victims will have access to stable and consistent levels of care and assistance, regardless of their location. It’s a new approach that will allow for greater flexibility to deliver services at the community level where they are needed most.

With a renewed focus on the needs of victims, this approach will streamline operations, foster collaboration both within and across regions, and ensure all Albertans have fair access to critical victim services. As well, the changes mean that the total number of frontline employees will increase from 130 to 153, and both frontline employees and local volunteer advocates will have the resources and training necessary to better serve victims in their communities.

The regional societies are independent, and they make their own staffing decisions for the units in their regions.

The primary goal of these changes is to ensure that victims and survivors have access to the supports they need to recover and rebuild their lives in the aftermath of a crime or tragedy.

I have met with many municipalities and the Rural Municipalities of Alberta, and we have incorporated feedback into the redesign.

Airdrie Mayor Peter Brown supported the redesign and said, “We look forward to working with the new team, providing the same efficient, caring & compassionate service that supports our community at their most vulnerable times.”

Mayor Megan Hanson, from the Town of Sylvan Lake told me the redesign is a “Much-needed change.”

She said, “Under the previous Victims Services model, staff and volunteers in Sylvan Lake tried valiantly to provide and maintain supports for victims of crime but lacked adequate supports This shift to a new model is a positive and much-needed change for our community. A regional model helps to
pool resources and gives us confidence that victims in Sylvan Lake and across Alberta will receive the help they truly deserve.”

Alberta’s government is taking action so every community across our province will have access to the services and support.

To those who are victims of crime or tragedy, Alberta’s government will there regardless of where you live.

Related Topics:

This is a news release from the Government of Alberta.

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Alberta health ministry to ‘consider’ report calling for end to COVID shots for healthy kids

Published on January 28, 2025

By

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

The report recommended halting “the use of COVID-19 vaccines without full disclosure of their potential risks” as well as outright ending their use “for healthy children and teenagers as other jurisdictions have done,” mentioning countries like “Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and the U.K.”

Alberta’s health minister says she will “consider” the findings of a report published last week which recommends the immediate halt of the COVID shots for healthy children and teenagers. 

In a statement sent to the media, the office of Alberta’s Health Minister Adriana LaGrange said that the provincial government will “review and consider this report and its findings,” while at the same time noting that “no policy decisions have been made in relation to it at this time.” 

The statement came in reference to the Alberta COVID-19 Pandemic Data Review Task Force’s “COVID Pandemic Response” 269-page final report, which was released last Friday. The report, which was commissioned by Premier Danielle Smith, recommended the halting of “the use of COVID-19 vaccines without full disclosure of their potential risks” as well as outright ending their use “for healthy children and teenagers as other jurisdictions have done,” mentioning countries like “Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and the U.K.” 

LaGrange’s office noted that the report’s findings build on efforts it says the government has already made to “enhance Alberta’s ability to respond to future public emergencies.” 

Among the recommendations of the task force was the call to “[f]urther research to establish the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines is necessary before widespread use in adults and children,” the establishment of “a website and/or call-in center for the vaccine injured in Alberta” as well as establishing a “mechanism for opting out of federal health policy until provincial due process has been satisfied.” 

The report also noted that “[c]hildren and teenagers have a very low risk of serious illness from COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccines were not designed to halt transmission and there is a lack of reliable data showing that the vaccines protect children from severe COVID-19.”   

It is worth noting that Alberta Health Services (AHS) is still promoting the COVID shots for babies as young as six months old.  

LifeSiteNews has published an extensive amount of research on the dangers of the experimental COVID mRNA jabs, which include heart damage and blood clots.   

The mRNA shots have also been linked to a multitude of negative and often severe side effects in children and all have connections to cell lines derived from aborted babies.    

Danielle Smith still silent on report

At the time of publication, Premier Danielle Smith has still not commented on the bombshell report.

Smith’s lack of commentary on the issue comes despite the fact that she was the one who commissioned the report last year, giving the task force a sweeping mandate to investigation her predecessor’s COVID-era mandates and policies.

After assuming her role as premier in late 2022, Smith promptly fired the province’s top doctor, Deena Hinshaw, and the entire AHS board of directors, all of whom oversaw the implementation of COVID mandates.   

Under Smith’s predecessor Jason Kenney, thousands of nurses, doctors, and other healthcare and government workers lost their jobs for choosing to not get the jabs, leading Smith to say – only minutes after being sworn in – that over the past year the “unvaccinated” were the “most discriminated against” group of people in her lifetime.

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Alberta

UCP Calgary-Lougheed riding calls for response to the Dr. Gary Davidson COVID 19 Task Force Review

Published on January 27, 2025

By

From Sheldon Yakiwchuk

By Darrell Komick, President, UCP Calgary-Lougheed

 

The flood of questions regarding the UCP Calgary-Lougheed response to the Dr. Gary Davidson COVID 19 Task Force report is encouraging. To think that so many Canadians have risked so much speaking out about the COVID 19 mandates is astounding. Dr. Davidson’s report is the validation that Premier Smith needs to marshal support from cabinet. Our structure of government requires support from the Alberta Caucus and Cabinet.

It’s clear, Premier Smith has the knowledge, let’s support her will to lead with action.

Our community of curious minds and critical thinkers is working to educate and inform Albertans about the long term impacts of the COVID mandates. This is a war of persistence, attrition, and faith. Join us in supporting Premier Smith to call on the Alberta cabinet to activate the recommendations for the “healing of humanity”.

Here are four important talking points. Our friends in UCP Highwood CA led by Helen Holder, have created a quick to reference chart as to the major points and the associated recommendations. This chart is attached. I have also included the logo and details about An Injection of Truth: Healing Humanity.

Albertans need to thank the leadership of Premier Smith for calling commissioning the Dr. Gary Davidson Report, the findings and recommendations of the report are shocking. We call upon cabinet to follow the leadership of the Premier and immediately activate the Davidson recommendations starting with the halting of COVID mNRA vaccinations for children in Alberta.

Dr. Davidson’s report validates the data presented at the June 17 An Injection of Truth Town Hall by Canadian scientists like Dr. David Speicher, Dr. Jessica Rose, & Dr. Byram Bridle. These experts have been using government, industry and research data to sound a critical alarm to all Albertans hoping that cabinet will take leadership like has been done in the state of Florida.

Forward thinking Albertans have planned a second town hall on March 3, 2025 An Injection of Truth: Healing Humanity that calls upon experts to provide recommendations to heal individuals and society inflicted by the harms of the COVID mandates. (Get your tickets →HERE)

When do we acknowledge that there is a problem? How do we help Albertans understand the source of suffering? How can we provide emotional support for those living with the trauma of long COVID? How do we make society whole again? How long will it take the Alberta cabinet to act on the recommendations of the Davidson report?

Be Strong. Be Free. Be Bold.

Darrell Komick, President

UCP Calgary-Lougheed

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