The western Canadian province is often called "the Texas of the
North" for its oil and gas wealth, cowboy culture and conservative,
independent mindset.
As in Texas, COVID-19 has run rife in Alberta, which has the highest
rate of active infections among Canada's 10 provinces, at nearly
four times the national average. It and neighboring Saskatchewan
also have the country's lowest vaccination rates.
The fourth wave of the coronavirus has left Alberta's healthcare
system teetering on the brink of collapse, with little respite in
sight.
Intensive care units in Alberta are 84% full, according to the
latest update, even with nearly 200 "surge" beds added, close to the
90% level at which critical care triage protocols kick in, forcing
doctors to ration patient care and prioritize those with the best
chance of survival.
"Our job is to save lives, not choose who gets to live and die,"
said Shazma Mithani, an emergency doctor at Edmonton's Royal
Alexandra Hospital and the Stollery Children's Hospital.
"We are in the absolute worst situation we have ever been in, and it
was entirely preventable, all of it."
The only reason intensive care units have room for new patients each
day is because people already there are dying, said Verna Yiu, chief
executive of Alberta Health Services.
Kenney apologized on Sept. 15 for mishandling the pandemic and
imposed a requirement for proof of vaccination to enter certain
businesses. He got Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a frequent
political foe, to agree to provide military help to airlift patients
to other provinces.
POPULIST SENTIMENT
Kenney, 53, tapped into Alberta's populist streak when after years
as a Cabinet minister in Ottawa, he returned west to lead the newly
created United Conservative Party (UCP) and win the 2019 provincial
election.
In July, the province lifted nearly all restrictions in time for the
Calgary Stampede rodeo, one of Canada's most popular tourist draws.
The following month, the UCP printed "Best Summer Ever" ball caps,
even as cases spiked and Kenney disappeared on vacation.
He returned in September to offer unvaccinated Albertans a C$100
cash incentive to get inoculated and unveil a vaccine passport
system, despite previously promising that would never happen.
Kenney replaced his health minister, but many Albertans remain
furious.
Some political commentators blamed a dip in Conservative support in
last week's federal election on frustrations with Kenney, once
tipped as a potential federal leader of the party.
[to top of second column] |
"I think the only way for the
UCP to survive is for Jason Kenney to go," said
Drew Barnes, an independent member of Alberta's
legislative assembly, who was kicked out of the
UCP caucus in May after calling for the
premier's resignation.
Last week, a number of UCP lawmakers publicly
criticized Kenney. Facing a caucus revolt, he
agreed to a leadership review in the spring,
bringing it forward from next autumn. The next
provincial election is in 2023, but many voters
want Kenney gone before then.
Kenney did not respond to a request for comment but told a radio
show on Sunday: "We have been hit hard with this fourth wave
primarily because we went into this with the lowest vaccination rate
in Canada." He also rejected calls for a "hard lockdown" to stem the
rise in cases.
"Kenney has bought himself some time but he's now operating with a
sword over his head," said Tom McIntosh, professor of political
science at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan.
SASKATCHEWAN ALSO STRUGGLING
Alberta and Saskatchewan fueled skepticism about the seriousness of
the pandemic from the start, with mixed messages that sometimes
urged people to stay home and at other times urged them to go out
and support local business, said McIntosh.
Saskatchewan, whose right-leaning premier, Scott Moe, has mirrored
Kenney's approach to the pandemic, is also buckling under a fourth
wave as intensive care beds filled up and its only children's
hospital began admitting adult COVID-19 patients.
But Moe is not facing similar backlash within his party. His
Saskatchewan Party formed 24 years ago, unlike the UCP, which is
only 4 years old and prone to conflicts between its center-right
moderates and far-right rural members.
Moe has blamed unvaccinated people for driving up infections.
During the spring wave, Alberta and Saskatchewan pulled out all the
stops to manage patients, recalling retired medical staff and
double-shifting others, before vaccines were expected to end the
pandemic.
Now staff are burned out, said Alexander Wong, an infectious disease
physician at Regina General Hospital.
"That is just soul-crushing for a lot of people," said Wong, who is
calling for a lockdown. "We're basically right up to our chins now."
(Reporting by Nia Williams in Calgary, Alberta, and Rod Nickel in
Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by Peter Cooney)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content |