Who decides public health in Alberta?

As the province looks to desegregate Alberta health services with new legislation introduced earlier this week, public health experts in Alberta say they still have questions about how public health will work when AHS is broken up and whether patients are falling through the cracks.

“Although there is a mental health and addictions agency, mental health and addictions are delivered in acute care settings and primary care settings, so there are many uncertainties about what fits where,” explained Lorian Hardcastle, professor of health law. at the Cummings School of Medicine.

RELATED: Alberta schedules bill to split AHS into different agencies

While Alberta's health minister says all agencies will ultimately report to him, Hardcastle says there are questions about who is in charge of what, even when it comes to day-to-day public health.

“Restaurants, daycares, apartment buildings, these are all places where health issues can arise and it's not clear whether the government will centralize that or how much Alberta health services will be involved with some of them. these actions,” Hardcastle said.

CityNews has reached out to the province's public health department to find out where the email is, and they say, “Discussions on this important file are ongoing, and the Minister of Health will have more to say next week.”

Last year, the province passed a law giving cabinet powers during a public health emergency. Hardcastle said the reasons are partly due to the province's push for centralized power and partly because of the pandemic.

“I think it was partly in response to the pandemic that the prime minister blamed on AHS and some of its leaders.”