Province dissolves AHS board; health care agency to be run by Alberta Health deputy minister

By Lethbridge Herald on February 1, 2025.

For the second time in less than two years, the Alberta Health Services board of directors has been dismissed by the provincial government.
Health Minister Adriana LaGrange announced Friday that the board, which replaced the previous AHS board that was ousted by Premier Danielle Smith in 2022, was itself being replaced by one person, Andre Tremblay. Tremblay, the Deputy Minister of Health, will also act as interim president and CEO of AHS until a permanent CEO is appointed by the Ministry of Health.
“Tremblay will take on an official administrator role in place of the board of directors to oversee all remaining activities to transition AHS to its role as a service delivery provider,” the province said in a release to media.
“Alberta Health Services will continue to play an important part in the delivery of health care to Albertans across the province,” said LaGrange. “As we continue to advance this important work, I look forward to working with the leadership team and staff across the organization as AHS transitions to a service delivery provider.”
As official administrator, Tremblay will oversee the changes to AHS as it transforms into four separate agencies in charge of acute care, primary care, long-term and continuing care, and addiction and mental health.
The move was met with derision by the opposition NDP. Sarah Hoffman, Shadow Minister for Health, called it “déjà vu” and accused Premier Danielle Smith of incompetence for firing a board that she herself appointed.
“(This) shows just how chaotic…this government is,” said Hoffman in a statement. “Danielle Smith acknowledged that conservatives were failing on public health care and promised to fix it in 90 days. (Now), 834 days later, Albertans are still waiting for her to make good on that promise, but things are getting worse.”
She said the new health agencies have yet to deliver any substantive benefits to Albertans. Meanwhile, the situation is deteriorating for many people while Smith plays at politics.
“Nearly a million people still don’t have a family doctor,” said Hoffman. “Cancer patients are dying waiting for treatment, seniors aren’t getting the support they need and deserve, and too many are left immobile while enduring devastatingly long waits for critical surgeries.
“No one is asking for dismantling, mass firings, chaos, and new logos,” she added. “We all deserve public health care that is there when and where we need it. It’s time for the government to invest in making things better for us all.” 
In a statement to media, Alberta Health said the move was part of the ministry’s overall plan to re-focus AHS into an agency that focuses on acute care.
“This is a critical time in our refocusing efforts as AHS continues to transition to a hospital-based service delivery provider,” said a statement by Alberta Health, “so it is essential that we remain extremely nimble in addressing any issues that arise. We believe this is best achieved by increasing government oversight and involvement in the winding up of AHS as a regional health authority and overseeing its final transition to a service provider.”
In fact, AHS is the opposite of a regional health authority. It was created in 2008 by the Progressive Conservative government amalgamating a dozen former regional health authorities around the province into a single health-care system under the Regional Health Authorities Act.

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