Health care tops list of election issues

Health care continues to be top of mind for many Albertans heading into the provincial election and it's no different for St. Albert residents.

A recent Ipsos poll questioned 890 voters between March 20 to 25 – ending just one day before the writ was dropped on Monday – asking respondents to select one or two issues they felt deserved the greatest attention from leaders.

Health care topped the list in every age, gender, education and salary category, with 51 per cent of overall respondents ranking it as one of their top priorities – something many locals echoed.

"Health care is very important to me," said 85-year-old Gilbert McCannel. "I suppose that's why I admire Raj Sherman for taking a stand when he did."

McCannel said he will vote Liberal on April 23. He recently suffered a heart attack and spent two weeks at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton.

"I got my eyes opened up from being in the hospital," he said. "I'm very proud of our system, even though it has its problems."

His wife, 76-year-old Willy McCannel, said health care is a top priority for her as well, but she said she worries about wait times.

"We were lucky. When (Gilbert) had a heart attack, everything just went quick, quick, quick, but there are people who have to wait a long time and you have to be so critical to get in," she said.

Wait times are something St. Albert senior Jean Emo said she worries about most. She waited roughly two years to undergo hip replacement surgery and said she has family members who are still waiting for procedures.

Myla Abila, 41, relocated from the Philippines to St. Albert in May 2011 with her two children, aged six and eight. She said wait times are a concern for her as well.

"I have two kids with me when I came here and they got sick so we had to go to the Tudor Glen Medicentre, but the line is too long," she said.

Abila said she tries to avoid medicentres and hospitals because of wait times, but has been forced to go there because up until last week, she could not find a family doctor. After 10 months of searching, she was finally able to find a family doctor in St. Albert.

Education

Education was the second priority for Albertans with 21 per cent of the vote. The highest priority was for those between 18 and 34 years of age.

Myriam Bigras, a 21-year-old second-year industrial design student at the University of Alberta, said although health care is her main concern, education also ranks high on the list.

"We all benefit from health care but I'm a student myself, so of course that's going to be a major thing in my life," she said.

Bigras said she worries about the cost of post-secondary education and would like to see it become more affordable, although she said she doubted this would happen under a Progressive Conservative government.

"There's good and bad in everything," she said. "Nothing's perfect — if we were to vote for a Liberal government, I'm sure there would be a lot of issues still. It's all about finding a balance."

Seniors' issues

Although health care and education ranked highest on the list, St. Albert residents had a wide range of concerns, from senior issues and child care to the environment and natural resources.

Emo said aside from health care, her priority is seniors' issues — an issue one per cent of respondents listed as a top priority. Emo said she worries particularly about long-term care and the cost of prescription drugs.

"There's not enough long-term care. It's very hard to get in there," she said, adding the cost of private care is unaffordable to most seniors on fixed income.

A fixed income also makes it difficult to afford pricey prescriptions, she said, which leaves seniors with few options. She said her family doctor prescribed her a drug with a price tag of $80 a month, which she simply couldn't afford.

Child care

Twenty-year-old Emily Peterson is a new mother who worries about the cost of child care.

"I find that (child care) is way, way, way too expensive," she said, adding it would cost $1,200 per month for her newborn daughter to attend child care.

Peterson works in child care and said most facilities have a waitlist of 50-plus, making it increasingly difficult for parents to gain access to the service.

"I just believe it's a really messed up system," she said. "You just don't get the time that you pay for."

Other issues

Money matters also ranked high in the poll, with 17 per cent of respondents listing the economy as a main issue and 14 per cent listing the deficit/budget.

Controversial health-care issues made the list as well, including physician intimidation with eight per cent of the vote and cue jumping getting three per cent.

Four per cent of respondents didn't know their main issues, much like St. Albert resident Sydney Fisher, 30.

"I'm just trying to decide right now which way I want to go," he said. "I'm just more in for a change right now than the status quo. The (Conservatives) have been in for a very long time now."

Survey respondents were able to choose two different issues, so the final tally equals more than 100 per cent.