Some highlights of Alberta’s COVID-19 panel report

By: The Canadian Press Posted:

Advertisement

Advertise with us

EDMONTON - A panel looking into Alberta's response to the COVID-19 pandemic has put forth more than 90 recommendations for how to deal with future emergencies.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/11/2023 (1060 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDMONTON – A panel looking into Alberta’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has put forth more than 90 recommendations for how to deal with future emergencies.

Here are some of the recommendations from the Public Health emergencies Governance Review Panel, chaired by former Reform Party leader Preston Manning:

— Ensure that premier and cabinet co-ordinate and manage the response to public emergencies through the Alberta Emergency Management Agency.

A panel looking into Alberta's response to the COVID-19 pandemic has put forth more than 90 recommendations for how to deal with future emergencies. Albertans line up for a COVID-19 vaccination at an mass immunization clinic in downtown Calgary on Monday, May 17, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
A panel looking into Alberta's response to the COVID-19 pandemic has put forth more than 90 recommendations for how to deal with future emergencies. Albertans line up for a COVID-19 vaccination at an mass immunization clinic in downtown Calgary on Monday, May 17, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

— Support the premier with a roster of scientific advisers from multiple disciplines through the AEMA.

— Strengthen the protection of Albertans’ rights and freedoms, particularly with amendments to the Alberta Bill of Rights.

— Treat children’s education as an essential service during a public emergency and avoid school closures to prevent harms to students’ socialization and learning skills.

— Amend the Alberta Bill of Rights to include the right for people to not be deprived of the means of earning a living, caring for their family or functioning in society.

— Amend the Employment Standards Code to not allow permanent dismissals of non-compliant employees during a temporary public emergency and to provide for leaves of absences in such cases.

— Amend the Health Professions Act to require all colleges to recognize and protect the rights of members to freedom of expression, including opinions relating to public health emergencies.

— Make the hospital funding model more flexible so facilities can better access resources as caseloads surge.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2023

Related Articles

Pandemic report with troublesome elements
Sean Kilpatrick / Canadian Press Files Preston Manning’s role in the taxpayer-funded panel reviewing Alberta’s COVID-19 response might tarnish the report even more.

Advertisement Advertise With Us

Report Error Submit a Tip

Advertisement

Learn more about Winnipeg Free Press Advertising solutions

More Stories

SUPPLIED Mason and Kenzie Beaudet, ages 14 and nine, appear frightened in video of a robbery they experienced in Winnipeg’s North End on Sept. 26, 2026. Their mother, Brittany Beaudet, said she’s proud of her son, who kept his cool and protected his little sister during the incident. The Winnipeg Police Service said they are aware of the video and will be reaching out to the victims.

Police looking into robbery of children captured on video

Morgan Modjeski 3 minute read Preview

Police looking into robbery of children captured on video

Morgan Modjeski 3 minute read Yesterday at 3:08 PM CDT

The Winnipeg Police Service said it is aware of a video circulating online that appears to show two children robbed while walking home from the library.

The mother of the siblings said the Sept. 26 incident, which happened in the area of Andrews Street and Magnus Avenue at around 7:30 p.m., has left her children afraid and her feeling guilty.

“I should have been there with them. I felt horrible,” said Brittany Beaudet. “I would have been out the door if I knew any sooner to help them out.”

In the 40-second video, the two children, 14-year-old Mason and nine-year-old Kenzie, are approached by a man wearing a black shirt, black pants and white shoes.

Read
Yesterday at 3:08 PM CDT

Kinew, Canadian ambassador to U.S. discuss trade

Free Press staff 2 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

Canada’s ambassador to the United States met Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and local business leaders during a visit to Winnipeg this week.

Mark Wiseman and Kinew spoke about trade uncertainty with the United States and opportunities for Manitoba businesses, a government news release says.

The provincial U.S. Trade Council, the Business Council of Manitoba and part of the Premier’s Business and Jobs Council spoke to Wiseman about the impacts of trade uncertainty.

Province down 4,400 jobs

Russell Wangersky photo The sun breaks through the clouds in Gusset’s Cove.

Nature doesn’t waste its time

Russell Wangersky 7 minute read Preview

Nature doesn’t waste its time

Russell Wangersky 7 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

Sixteen months in and the black burn from a forest fire somehow transitions from the foreground to the background. I’m not sure if it actually softens, if it really changes, or if is just that your eyes, now used to the background, start seeing less of it.

One thing’s for certain: nature doesn’t waste any time taking its opportunities. In the sheltered ground behind where the shed over our Newfoundland root cellar used to be, a forest of sorrel has arisen, its dark-green leaves with their distinctive double horns at their base crowding in tight amongst each other.

It’s no surprise: sorrel is new beginnings, often the first plant I see recultivating abandoned gardens or disturbed ground and I’m happy to have it around always. Its distinctive lemony bite is a fine addition to salads, though we’re not likely to choose it from that particular root cellar patch. Not with the way the asphalt roof shingles burned right around there. I shovelled up the heavy pats of congealed black tar last spring, right after the fire, bringing them up from inside the cellar in big plastic buckets to send to safe disposal. But there’s probably plenty of tar still in the ground and out of sight — hardly an appetizing thought.

From other areas, maybe we will eventually sample sorrel: it depends on how close they were to the house or shed or anything else that burned. And so very much burned. The province has said gardens are safe from contamination by fire-retardant chemicals as nothing has shown up in tests. But we know what way the wind was blowing — what burned, and where, is always part of the equation. It’s a strange calculation to make: I’m just glad our house wasn’t heated with fuel oil, was too old to contain asbestos, and didn’t have indoor plumbing for decades.

Read
2:01 AM CDT
The New York Times Elon Musk

Musk’s meddlesome trolling

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Musk’s meddlesome trolling

Editorial 4 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

It seems obvious the world’s first trillionaire thought he was helping separatists within the Canadian federation when he encouraged three provinces — Alberta, Saskatchewan and Quebec — to leave Canada.

Unfortunately for Elon Musk, a man suffering from a profound deficit of self-awareness, his comments may only help those who want to keep the country together.

Musk entered the national unity debate on Wednesday, two days after the pro-independence Parti Quebecois was returned to power in Quebec with a minority mandate. The PQ has promised to hold a third referendum on separation at some point in its current term.

Musk — who has a Canadian mother and attended university in Ontario — took to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter (which he owns) and encouraged Quebec to forge ahead with plans to separate. He said Alberta — which will hold a vote this fall on whether to hold a binding referendum on separation — and Saskatchewan should follow suit.

Read
2:01 AM CDT
DARRYL DYCK /THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Chickens at a poultry farm in Abbotsford, B.C. Canadian per capita consumption of chicken has increased to one kilogram per person.

Protein crests current appetite wave

Laura Rance-Unger 5 minute read Preview

Protein crests current appetite wave

Laura Rance-Unger 5 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

Holiday feasts often reflect the latest fads and trends influencing how we eat.

This Thanksgiving’s table is likely to feature more Canadian content than it might otherwise as a point of national pride.

In the recent past, the carb-free craze has made cauliflower a substitute for the mashed potatoes on some family spreads. Some have gone meatless, while others have added more. Still others offer gluten-free, dairy-free or fat-free alternatives.

Nowadays, it seems consumers can’t get enough protein. Desmond Sobool, deputy chief economist Farm Credit Canada, told a recent economic update for the agri-food sector there are two converging influences in play.

Read
2:01 AM CDT

Puppies, stocks — ‘zoomies’ abound

Andrew Froese 4 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

This spring, I adopted a three-month-old rescued German Shepherd mix. To say she is easily excitable is an understatement.

It is not really her fault. A puppy’s frontal cortex, the part of the brain that helps with decision-making and impulse control, is still developing. When an older dog, or a human, gets tired, we generally understand we should rest. Puppies have not quite figured that out. They often interpret tiredness as a signal something is wrong, which makes them more alert, more reactive and harder to settle.

That creates a feedback loop. The puppy gets tired, which makes her frantic, which makes her more tired, which makes her even more frantic. Eventually, this becomes what people call the “zoomies”: frantic sprinting, biting, jumping and general chaos.

From the outside, it looks like the puppy has too much energy. In reality, the opposite is true. The zoomies are not a sign of excess energy. They are a sign the puppy is overtired and does not know it yet.