Tracy Powell

COVID-19 drove recent leap in preventable respiratory hospitalizations, report says theglobeandmail.com/canada/article…

The “Alberta model” in action: 4,700+ substance-related calls in Calgary this year. A 60% spike. Shut down supervised consumption sites… and now people are using drugs outside in alleys, in parks, and alone. More overdoses, more 911 calls, and more pressure on first responders... Bad policy! Why can't Alberta do both harm reduction and recovery? If they truly care about people struggling with addiction they would. Link to story: cbc.ca/news/canada/ca…

Charlie Angus gets choked up recalling hearing Stephen Lewis speak about mining widows as a boy: “That was the moment that I realized politics has to be about serving people who have no voice. And that was Stephen Lewis.”

x.com/thebreakdownab… It would be a good time to remind ABs that I was there when the Premier flippantly said she could easily replace Family Doctors with NPs. 1/5

"McPherson said the government has no right to tell a person they "haven't suffered enough." Watching her son live in pain helped her understand his decision to end his life on his terms, and she said his death was peaceful." cbc.ca/news/canada/ed… #Alberta #Canada #abpoli

New episode! Danielle Smith is citing multiple examples to justify her attack on MAID, but on closer scrutiny the stories she using aren't at all what she claims... Including misrepresenting Veterans care. #abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli

Over two dozen Edmonton and area medical professionals say they're concerned new Alberta limits on medical assistance in dying would cause needless suffering and put clinicians in "ethically untenable" positions. globalnews.ca/news/11749400/…

MUST READ LONG TWEET on #TurkeyTylenol Please repost if you agree. Let’s put this into human terms, the impact on Alberta’s children in fall and winter 2022. A new Premier rejected key public health advice on vaccination and viral spread, and removed the Chief Medical Officer of Health (Dr. Deena Hinshaw) on Nov 14, 2022, during a “tridemic,” when multiple respiratory viruses were circulating at the same time. Many Alberta children became ill. Most had typical viral infections. But many became very sick. Not minor illness, but serious complications. They were dehydrated. They were struggling to breathe. Some were septic. They filled hospital and ER beds across Alberta. During this period, a ~$70 million children’s acetaminophen procurement was announced as part of the response to this crisis by Premier @ABDanielleSmith This human story has been lost, while key facts have emerged through reporting by: 1. City news: @jsjamato edmonton.citynews.ca/video/2026/03/… 2. Cindy Tran: Postmedia @kccindytran edmontonjournal.com/news/local-new… 3. Globe & Mail team: @CarrieTait, @Tom_Cardoso & @alanna_smithh theglobeandmail.com/canada/article… There is now an Auditor General investigation, a judicial review and addendum, and RCMP involvement. How did we get here? Policy decisions were made in a fast-moving crisis. The question is, were they evidence-based and well governed? …the answer is…NO. As an ER physician, former Associate Health Minister, HQCA Board Chair: Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is not life-saving. It treats fever and pain, not the illness. 1. FACTS: • Fever rarely harms; the underlying infection does • Treating fever improves comfort, not outcomes • Frontline clinicians were not calling for $70m and large stockpiles of children’s acetaminophen or anti-inflammatories 2. MORE FACTS: • There was a real shortage across Canada, driven by demand • The U.S. faced similar pressure without declaring a national shortage • Health Canada ensures safety and access • Provinces decide what to buy, how much, and from whom Emergency importation was allowed, not full approval. • Alberta committed ~$70M for ~5 million bottles • ~1.47 million bottles (~$20M) were received Public reporting indicates: • ~1% of product was used • Large quantities expired and were destroyed • Some product was donated • Significant funds were paid for product not delivered This raises serious questions about value, decision making, planning, and oversight. 3. WHAT WENT WRONG: • Large-volume procurement under uncertainty • Limited transparency • Delivery gaps • Overstock → expiry and disposal • Storage (~$478K) and disposal (~$718K) costs • Ongoing investigations, including reported RCMP activity This does not appear to be a clinical failure. It raises concerns about procurement and political governance failure. 4. THE QUESTIONS THAT MATTER: • Why ~$70M on a non-life-saving medication? • Why elevate it to a Premier-level response? • What procurement process was used? • Were established suppliers (Apotex, J&J) considered? • Who approved volume, pricing, and payment terms? • What due diligence was done on supply and shelf life? • Were risks (expiry, non-delivery) assessed? • Where does accountability sit: AHS, Alberta Health, the Minister/Premier’s office, or all three? 5. MOST IMPORTANTLY, WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO ALBERTA’S CHILDREN: ERs were not full of kids needing acetaminophen, Tylenol & anti-inflammatories. They were full of children and adults with serious complications from infections requiring: • Oxygen • Monitoring • IV fluids • IV antibiotics • Hospital and ICU care Pediatric hospital beds were full. Admitted patients, including children, stayed in ERs for prolonged periods. Waiting rooms backed up. This was a capacity and flow crisis that exists today. 6. THE REAL PROBLEM: The “Tridemic,” multiple infections at once: • RSV • Influenza • COVID-19 7. WHY IT WORSENED: • Less consistent public health messaging (no Chief Medical Officer of Health) • Suboptimal vaccination uptake (new gov't policy) • Variable masking and mitigation (new gov't policy) • Limited clear guidance (new gov't policy) • A predictable winter surge 8. THE REAL EMERGENCY, STILL PRESENT TODAY: • Insufficient hospital capacity • Workforce shortages • Limited primary care access • Gaps in home and long-term care • Ongoing system flow challenges 9. WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN PRIORITIZED: • Medical leadership to inform elected officials • Measures to reduce transmission • Vaccination and public education • Procurement aligned with clinical need • Multiple reliable supply sources • Strong primary and community care • Planning ahead, not reactive purchasing 10. BOTTOM LINE: This was not about fever. It was about serious infections overwhelming an understaffed, under-built, and strained health system. You don’t fix that with Tylenol. You fix the underlying cause and repair the system. A wise old man once told me that to fix healthcare, we need 3 things: 1. Money - accountable investment 2. Manpower - trained staff 3. Materials - beds, infrastructure, and medical equipment 11. SOLUTIONS: • Strengthen governance and oversight by separating policy-making from front-line operational decisions • Improve transparency and accountability • Align political messaging with clinical reality • Invest in human and capital infrastructure where patients need care Public reporting and ongoing investigations have raised serious questions about decision-making. Those processes are ongoing. 12. MEANWHILE: Albertans continue to experience delays in care, including cases of deterioration and deaths in ER waiting rooms while waiting, as highlighted by Dr. @pfparks and Alberta’s emergency physicians. 13. My question: If one high-profile procurement shows these gaps, what does that mean for the rest of healthcare and government spending and contracting? Albertans deserve answers. Albertans deserve transparency. Albertans deserve better leadership. 14. FINAL THOUGHT & QUESTION: Have we as a society and our government learned anything? #ABleg #ABpoli #AHS #ABHealth @Alberta_UCP @RachelNotley @albertaNDP @djclimenhaga @cspotweet @ryanjespersen @TheBreakdownAB @ShayeGanam

"The individuals at the centre of this debate are rarely acknowledged. People with treatment-refractory mental illness who are being denied the option of a dignified and controlled end to their suffering represent a uniquely disenfranchised group." edmontonjournal.com/opinion/column…

Experts across Alberta have now weighed in on the Alberta government’s CoRE study on the impact of closing an overdose prevention site. (Hate to break it to you but no matter how many times they write the same things on the same topics, National Post opinion writers/conservative lap dogs @AdamZivo and @DerekFinkle are not leading lights in this space.) In a new op-ed, the scientists clearly explain the many, many ways the study was flawed, including that it didn’t account for new services stood up to mitigate the loss of the OPS. As they say: “If you take away a safety net, like an OPS, and replace it with more people standing below to catch the fallout, you haven’t proven the net was useless, only how hard you have to work to compensate for its absence.” The study’s nonsensical findings attempt (poorly) to counter two decades of peer-reviewed research. Yet it’s this one limited, inadequate and politically driven study that Zivo, Finkle, and the Alberta and Ontario governments are using to justify the closure of life-saving health services. Kinda makes you wonder who the real sinners are: people struggling with addiction, or the morally righteous who demand abstinence or force them to risk death. Read the op-ed here 🔗:edmontonjournal.com/opinion/column…

⬇️ And now Albertans know more about how the UCP wants to restrict and create barriers to the legal option of MAiD. It amounts to legislating suffering under the guise of ‘protecting citizens’ calgaryherald.com/opinion/column…

Alberta’s Bill 18, which seeks to drastically restrict access to medical assistance in dying, has sparked fierce reaction. As Sean Amato reports, some in the disability community are applauding it while others are considering court challenges. #ableg edmonton.citynews.ca/video/2026/03/…

Imagine the gall it takes to think you have the ultimate power when it comes to end of life decisions what's next advanced directives? People scream less govt interference yet don't have an issue with her taking away their bodily autonomy 1 piece at a time cbc.ca/news/canada/ed…

“Dog whistle to the pro-life base"—@KristinRaworth says the new MAID restrictions go against UCP's promise to respect personal medical decisions. She adds the bill could’ve forced her stepmother to suffer, instead of passing peacefully. Thoughts? LISTEN traffic.megaphone.fm/CORU2500827731…

@KristinRaworth If you’re going to suffer for *less* than a year, that’s inhumane and you have options. If you’re going to suffer for *more* than a year, you’re going to need to continue to suffer until your suffering will only last another year.

I am not from a family who has experienced MAID, rather one that wished we had MAID. My Dad died a horrible death from metastatic cancer. When he knew that he was beyond any hope of recovery, he begged us to ask the doctors to give him something to stop the pain, they couldn’t 😢

Catholic-run healthcare facilities receive billions of dollars in Alberta, but refuse to provide public health services like MAiD and abortion. Is it time to tie funding to full access? 👀 FULL: rtrj.info/031926MAiD 🎧 FULL: rtrj.info/031926 #MAiD #abpoli #ableg

Linda Silas, President of the Cdn Federation of Nurses' Unions, @CFNU on Alberta's two-tier Bill 11 and the urgent need for the federal government to uphold the Canada Health Act. #cdnpoli #abpoli ipolitics.ca/2026/03/19/car…

Anyone find it odd that a self professed “Libertarian” Premier is meddling so much in personal Autonomy? This govt is in between the doctor and the pt/family on: Addictions care Transgender care End of life care And soon reproductive care…