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January update from MLA Rick Wilson

An update to Alberta's response to the California wildfires, the 2024-25 Senior Service Awards and health care developments
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MLA Rick Wilson. (Photography by Chris Schwarz/Government of Alberta)

You’ve likely heard about the dry conditions and powerful winds that are fuelling the relentless wildfires in the state of California. It is devastating to consider the lives lost in these wildfires and heartbreaking to think about the 12,000 homes and other buildings already reported as destroyed in the disaster.  

Alberta is no stranger to wildfire devastation. When the request came through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre for help in assisting California, Alberta Wildfire answered the call by sending two fully-equipped wildfire crews, including 40 highly skilled and experienced wildland firefighters and two agency representatives. 

If requested, additional Type 1 firefighters, incident Command personnel, and qualified support staff are also ready to go. As well, Alberta Wildfire is preparing water bombers, pilots, and contracted night vision helicopters to assist in California, should they be needed.

You may remember that during Alberta’s record-breaking wildfire season in 2023, 115 firefighters and support staff from California came to help Alberta’s wildfire response.  

Alberta is committed to providing support and expertise to help protect the lives, property, and communities of our friends and partners in the United States. I’m forever grateful to brave people everywhere who are willing to share their skills – and face extraordinary and dangerous circumstances – to keep others safe.

There are, of course, outstanding people who make valuable contributions in many different areas of life. Take, for example, those exceptional Albertans who dedicate their time and energy uplifting the lives of seniors across the province. The Government of Alberta is so appreciative of such people that for 26 years now, the Minister’s Senior Service Awards have recognized and celebrated outstanding individuals and organizations for their service to Alberta’s seniors. Nominations are now open for 2024-25 and Albertans are encouraged to nominate individuals, businesses, and non-profit organizations who showed kindness, compassion, and dedication for Alberta’s seniors in 2024 and 2025. 

Up to 13 awards will be presented this time around. This includes the Alice Modin Award, which recognizes a senior individual or couple for exceptional commitment to their community and the province through long-term volunteer service. This award is given in honour of Alice Modin, who campaigned for a Seniors’ Day and paved the way for the provincewide Seniors’ Week that is celebrated annually.

Two special service awards are also being featured this year. The first is the Bridging Generations Award, which honours individuals, groups or organizations that excel in uniting generations through shared experiences and backgrounds. The second is the Community Philanthropy in Action Award, which recognizes Albertans who mobilize community resources through philanthropic efforts to support seniors.

The deadline for nominations is April 30, 2025. 

Did you know that the government of Alberta just launched a digital, interactive web map that allows people to learn about the origins of the names of almost 9,000 rivers, mountains, towns and more across Alberta? It’s called the Alberta Geographical Names Web Map, and is a terrific tool to help Albertans learn about the rich cultures, people, and history that have shaped our province. This is just another way that Alberta’s government is strengthening our province’s heritage by expanding resources, promoting preservation, and celebrating Alberta’s unique cultural heritage and identity.

The minister of Arts, Culture and the Status of Women is responsible for naming geographical places in Alberta. If you’d like to make a suggestion for a new place name or for a change to an existing place name, there’s a program set up for that. The Alberta Geographical Names Program provides an application on their website for such proposals.

I have mentioned before the success of the first round of public engagements set up by the Ministry of Health to gather feedback and input from Albertans and health care providers on the new, refocused health care system. Between January and June of 2024, 65 in-person public sessions were held across the province.  Almost 3,000 Albertans, health care workers, patients, and caregivers participated. More than 18,000 people also shared their feedback through online tools and almost 10,000 people participated in virtual town halls.

The findings from the first round have been summarized in a report called What We Heard, and have helped guide the design and implementation of the refocused health care system.

The Ministry of Health has announced that they will continue the conversation with Albertans about building a health care system that works for all Albertans, and will hold a second round of engagements, including in-person public sessions, beginning Jan. 21. These sessions will update Albertans on the latest refocusing work, will gather perspectives on access to health care and the current experiences of the health care workforce, and identify opportunities to improve local decision-making. There’s a session scheduled in Wetaskiwin on Friday, April 11, 2025 from 12 to 2 p.m.

Also on the health care front, I am pleased to share the very good news that on Dec. 19, the province announced a new compensation model for primary care physicians with a panel size of 500 or more patients. This new model comes as a result of extensive discussions and collaboration with the Alberta Medical Association; it will improve access to family physicians and stabilize hospital services across Alberta. 

I hope the first few weeks of this new year have been good for you and that you have plenty to look forward to in the weeks ahead!

Hon. Rick Wilson is the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Maskwacis-Wetaskiwin. His constituency office can be reached by calling 780-360-8003 or by emailing maskwacis.wetaskiwin@assembly.ab.ca.