Smith government faces calls to create independent seniors' advocate

With the election over, there are renewed calls for Alberta to bring in an independent seniors' advocate.

The province briefly had a seniors' advocate, operating within the ministry, but the role was shelved and rolled into the health advocate's office in 2019.

But Public Interest Alberta and the Friends of Medicare say that's not good enough to address the wide-ranging concerns they're hearing from older Albertans.

"We shouldn't have seniors living in poverty, seniors who can't feed themselves on their budget, seniors who are cutting their drugs in order to survive in this province," said Chris Gallaway, executive director of the Friends of Medicare.

"That's not fair. That's not OK. We think seniors deserve a lot better than that."

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According to Public Interest Alberta, continuing care homes,which werethe epicentre of COVID-19 deaths earlyin the pandemic, are another area of concern.

"What we're seeing now in seniors'care is, quite frankly, quite concerning when it comes to under-staffing, quality of care, quality of foodand access to the right person at the right time " said Bradley Lafortune, the organization's executive director.

Independent office

The groups are calling for an independent office of the legislative assembly that would have the power to conduct independent investigations and reportto both the legislature and the public.

They point to Alberta's own Office of the Child and Youth Advocate and B.C.'s seniors' advocate as models.

"They have the freedom and the ability and the resources to report on the issues without political interference. That's what we have in B.C. That's what we need to see in Alberta," said Lafortune.

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The newly elected provincial government isn't commenting on policy issues until a new cabinet is in place.

"We aren't able to comment on any potential changes in policy until it can be reviewed by cabinet," said press secretaryScott Johnston.

Meanwhile, Gallaway said an independent advocate could allow for a more proactive approach and identify systemic problems, including issues in long-term care, more quickly.

And he said the officecould help older Albertans access programs and services that they need.

"I think of my grandmother who'sreally never used the internet she's not going to be able to navigate the system if she has an issue," he said.

"There's nowhere to call. There's nowhere to go."