In many ways, these negotiations are going well, and we hope that all issues will be resolved in the very near future. But you may also have heard that Alberta doctors are prepared to take forceful action if these issues are not resolved, if health care funding is not restored to the level necessary to ensure world class medical services are once again readily available to all Albertans. This province is growing rapidly and, at the same time, the population is aging.
Many rural communities are short of doctors.
At the moment, Alberta's health care system is seriously under-funded. So much so, in fact, that we rank last of all Canadian provinces in per capita, public-sector spending on health care. Something had to give. And you've all heard and read the stories that chronicle the sad decline of a health care system we were once all so proud of. Enough is enough.