By Jim Selby, AFL Staff

The broadly-based citizens’ action group, the Friends of Medicare, on February 3rd unveiled a province-wide campaign to save Medicare from the Klein government’s assault.

The campaign will involve mass distribution of an information booklet, public forums on health care in the nine largest Alberta urban centers (see schedule below), a new healthcare website, and a media campaign involving television, radio, and billboard advertising designed to stimulate public participation in the debate over the future of health care in Alberta.

According to Friends of Medicare spokesperson Christine Burdett, the campaign will ensure that the Klein government will be under full public scrutiny when they unveil their latest tampering with the integrity of the public health care system in the spring sitting of the Legislature.

"We know that the great majority of Albertans support public healthcare and oppose the Klein government’s efforts to introduce more and more for-profit medicine in the province," said Burdett.

"Our campaign is designed to inform Albertans about what is really happening in health care and what the inevitable consequences of the Klein agenda will be. We will be encouraging Albertans to make their views known to the government in an immediate, unmistakable way."

Burdett is convinced that a massive rejection of the Klein ‘reforms’ will force the government to abandon its course of action.

Alberta Federation of Labour President Audrey Cormack agrees. "The labour movement is fully in support of the Friends of Medicare campaign," said Cormack. "We will be encouraging trade unionists to be actively involved in the campaign, by helping distribute information, attending the Forums, and letting the government hear our voices."