Health professionals not included in any provincial workforce committee

By ZOE MASON on December 10, 2025.

It is unclear which, if any, health sector partners are represented on the committee the Alberta government says steers the province’s health workforce plan.

In a statement to the News last week, the Ministry of Preventative and Primary Health Services said the Alberta Health workforce Oversight Committee is responsible for implementing the province’s Health Workforce Strategy.

Maddison McKee, a spokesperson for Minister Adriana LaGrange, said the committee collaborates with the relevant ministries and service providers to identify workforce gaps and ensure service continuity.

McKee said the committee is made up of multiple ministries and sector partners.

The province announced its intention to create a workforce planning committee in the 2023 Health Workforce Strategy. The document said the province would bring together key organizations including “government, AHS, Covenant Health and other employers, as well as unions, colleges and post-secondary institutions” to develop long-term strategies and work through urgent issues as they arise.

The commitment was reiterated in an updated version of the strategy in 2024.

Representatives from the types of partners identified in the strategy say the province has not engaged them about workforce planning, nor offered them a place on this committee.

President of the Alberta Medical Association Brian Wirzba said he had heard of the committee, but according to his understanding, it was essentially in disuse.

“It’s not a major committee that we have physicians on,” he said. “My understanding is that it was one of the committees that we wanted to bring back to life a little bit, because my understanding is it’s been stagnant.”

An AMA spokesperson confirmed to the News that the AMA does not sit on the committee.

“There have been numerous tables and committees over the years. We believe this is really important work,” wrote Shan Rupnarain, executive vice-president of advocacy and engagement for the AMA.

“The AMA is not, however, currently involved in any government led-committees regarding health workforce or physician resources.”

Alberta Union of Provincial Employees president Sandra Azocar said in a statement to the News that her union has not been invited to join the Oversight Committee, and is not one of the sector partners with whom the government is referring to.

“AUPE represents more than 62,000 health-care workers. The government should be using our expertise as a resource with its overhaul of health care and to create an effective workforce strategy,” she said.

“Unfortunately, the Alberta government has never been keen on inclusive solutions built from the bottom up. The government’s approach is to dictate change from the top without effective consultation. That’s why our health-care system is in a constant state of chaos.”

Danielle Larivee, first vice-president of the United Nurses of Alberta, says she has never heard of the committee.

“We’ve been calling for some approach to workforce management and planning for years. There’s been chronic staff shortages. It’s resulted in unsafe delays and what can often be an unsafe place to work,” said Larivee, whose union represents more than 30,000 registered nurses and other health-care workers.

“They’re not working on this,” she said. “They keep saying that breaking Alberta Health Services into multiple silos is the solution. But it’s obvious that reorganizing into silos makes it more confusing and challenging for everyone involved.”

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, the body responsible for regulating the medical profession in the province, also told the News they are not a member of any such committee.

The Ministry of Preventative and Primary Health Services did not respond to a request for comment on this story.