Tories must come clean over allegations of queue-jumping

June 07, 2011

Alberta’s NDP Opposition leader Brian Mason is calling for investigation and the release of a memo to do with MLAs using their influence to put people close to them ahead in health service queues.

 “This practice was so widespread that former Alberta Health Services CEO Stephen Duckett had to issue a memo early in his tenure instructing his staff to stop allowing queue jumping. AHS must immediately release that memo and explain who was enabling this preferred access for MLAs,” says Brian Mason.

 “No politician should be able to bump their family and friends ahead of other Albertans. Given this government’s record of patronage, intimidation and secrecy, there’s good reason to believe they’ve hidden this queue jumping for years.”

 The public inquiry called for by Alberta’s NDP would be a good way to get to the bottom of these new allegations, says Mason.

 “It’s clear now that we must examine all corners of the health care system for signs of PC interference,” Mason says. “They’ve made a mess of our health system, and Albertans deserve to know how and why. Albertans cannot trust the PCs to manage our health care system.”

 Mason invited anyone with first-hand knowledge of queue jumping to come forward in confidence to Alberta’s NDP Opposition by calling 780-644-8669.