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Alberta Minister of Health Tyler Shandro holds a news conference in Calgary on Friday, May 29, 2020.
Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
An overwhelming majority of Alberta doctors have no confidence in provincial Health Minister Tyler Shandro, according to a poll released on July 29 by the Alberta Medical Association.
The association, which represents more than 13,000 doctors in the province, said nearly 98 per cent of 8,900 members who cast ballots this week expressed a lack of confidence in Shandro.
Association president Dr. Christina Molnar said the message from physicians “couldn’t be clearer,” and the vote should dispel any doubts about the unity of the profession in opposition to the health minister. “They don’t have confidence in the minister of health and his ability to do what’s right for the public health-care system, and they do not trust him,” Molnar said at a news conference. “Over the past year, Minister Shandro’s words and actions have created a chaotic state in our health-care system and have alienated most of the people who are actually responsible for delivering care in Alberta.”
Molnar said she will now write to Premier Jason Kenney to ask for a meeting. If doctors lack confidence in the minister, the association will turn to the premier for help to negotiate a new provincial agreement with physicians, she said.
“It’s a toxic situation and physicians have had enough,” Molnar said.