Red Deer South MLA Jason Stephan recently pointed the finger at AHS for their failure to provide and sustain sufficient ICU beds for Albertans, and then proceeded to compare American hospital’s ICU capacity and the costs that AHS incur to support what we do have. Stephan’s attempt to direct our attention to these differences is simply an act of gaslighting Albertans into thinking the problem solely lies with AHS as an institution – and has nothing whatsoever to do with the demands of COVID-19 and our province’s failure to take reasonable steps to protect each other.
Stephan’s failure to see the irony and hypocrisy in his misguided criticism is simply stunning in its arrogance and cynicism. Let us remember that Stephan is part of the UCP and some of the others on the right. In my opinion, some of these people don’t believe in protecting their fellow community members by voluntarily participating in the use of masks and vaccines in the fight against COVID-19.
Perhaps if these people could get vaccinated for the benefit of their family, friends and neighbours – perhaps then our ICU capacity wouldn’t be in excess of 100 per cent due to the number of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients overwhelming Alberta’s intensive care facilities.
Stephan’s critique should be interpreted as nothing more than a shrewd political strategy to provide the appearance of his advocating for his constituents and our chronically under-financed hospital in Red Deer. In my opinion, his criticisms really serve as a calculated political manoeuvre to deflect where (and upon whom) the responsibility lies for the situation in our province’s intensive care units.
Kevin Beattie, Red Deer