Date: 2010
Location: Edmonton
Profile: Dr. Jason Foster worked for several non-profits before becoming Director of Policy Analysis for the Alberta Federation of Labour for 11 years. When ALHI interviewed him, he had begun his career as a professor and prolific author of labour relations books and articles. In 1995, Foster, a contract employee of the Edmonton Social Planning Council, was assigned to be part-time staff coordinator to Friends of Medicare. He continued working with FOM when he began working for the NDP caucus in 1997.
Foster describes relentless efforts of the Klein government to destroy public healthcare despite grassroots organizing of FOM and others that stalled but did not stop their plans. There was a mass campaign against Bill 11, which allowed surgical clinics performing daytime operations to keep patients overnight. But the subsequent Bill 37 granted the HRG Corporation full-operation facilities. The Copeman Clinics, which charged a hefty membership fee, permitted wealthy Albertans to jump health queues. For-profit surgery clinics performed easy procedures, leaving complex cases to the public hospitals. Regionalization led to increased privatization. Foster advocates multi-disciplinary clinics, a fully public long-term care system, and pharmacare.
Dr. Foster was interviewed together with fellow FOM activist Dr. Hubert Kammerer.
Keywords: Bills 11 and 37; Copeman Clinics; Edmonton Social Planning Council; HRG Corporation; Long-term care; Non-profits; Pharmacare; Policy Analysis; Professor of Labour Relations; Ralph Klein.
Transcript: Download PDF
See also: Alberta Federation of Labour; Friends of Medicare