Alberta releases report on info that informed COVID-19 response

The Alberta legislature in downtown Edmonton is seen in this Dec. 9, 2024, aerial photo. (Cam Wiebe / CTV News Edmonton)

The Alberta government has released its final report on the information that informed the province’s COVID-19 response.

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The 269 page document concluded that in order to prepare for future pandemics, Alberta’s right to care and informed consent and the right for health care professionals to provide treatments that are in the patient’s best interest must be preserved.

Among the recommendations of the report were that:

• the regulations and codes of conduct around the use of medications and off-label drugs; amending the Alberta Human Rights act to protect Albertans rights to access natural health products;
• forcing regulatory bodies to halt disciplinary or prosecution actions against health care workers for using, promoting or publicly discussing the benefits of medications for off-label treatment of illnesses;
• amend the Alberta Human Rights Act to protect public discussion of alternative medical treatments;
• requiring media to disclose dollar values of their public health and pharmaceutical contracts when reporting on health-related matters;
• enacting “whistleblower” legislation to protect a physician’s right to voice concerns about policies enacted by regulatory bodies; and
• creating an avenue to expedite clinical trials of off-label or other treatments, among others.

The report was prepared by a panel of physicians and other experts and was commissioned by Danielle Smith’s United Conservative government.

In a statement to CTV News Edmonton on Sunday, a spokesperson from the health ministry said the province “will review and consider this report and its findings, (but) no policy decisions have been made in relation to it at this time.”

Smith took over as premier after the height of the pandemic, when Jason Kenny was premier of Alberta and leader of the UCP.