Alberta Government data contradicts the assertion of Premier Jason Kenney
Alberta Government data contradicts the assertion of Premier Jason Kenney that further restrictions on
Charter freedoms of association and peaceful assembly, and the shutdown of personal wellness, bars, restaurants and small businesses, are necessary to protect Alberta’s health-care system from being “
overwhelmed.” On Tuesday, May 4, 2021 Jason Kenney
announced a fourth wave of extreme lockdown measures including closing hair salons, tattoo shops, personal wellness services, schools, post-secondary institutions and outdoor patios, among other closures.
Evidence uncovered by the Justice Centre through
Freedom of Information (FOI) requests reveal that regular hospital beds as well as Intensive Care Units were in
significantly less demand and
usage during 2020 and 2021 than in any year as far back as 2015. In fact,
2020 ICU admissionswere at their lowest level since 2015.(
FOI Request)
In January 2021, bed utilization was 90.12%, compared to 95.21% bed utilization in January 2020. The same pattern is repeated for February 2021, when Alberta was eleven months into lockdown restrictions.
View the dataset.
In March through May 2020, bed utilization plummeted, likely as a result of lockdown cancellations of more than 22,000 scheduled surgeries, which resulted in the death of Gerry Dunham in Medicine Hat. In early 2021, the 93% utilization rate was below the 96% level recorded in the years 2015 through 2019.
