Alberta’s provincial opposition parties are calling for change, after the deaths of five former residents of the Michener Centre.
The Red Deer based facility was home to 125 individuals with developmental disabilities, but last March, the province announced that the facility, which had been in operation since 1923, would be closed, and all of the residents moved to community based care.
In the year and a half since the announcement, 41 of the residents have been moved, and there has been an onslaught of protests and demonstrations from Albertans, pleading with the government to keep the facility open.
On Thursday, the New Democrats announced that they have obtained information that five of the 41 individuals who have been transferred from the Michener Centre have died. In a written release, NDP Health Critic David Eggen called for the government to halt the closure of the centre.
“This PC government is well aware of the immense strain that a move like this could put on a long-time resident of Michener, and yet they continue to push the Michener Transition Team to clear the facility out by the end of the year.”
The Alberta Liberal Party also addressed the situation at Michener Centre on Thursday, calling reports of deaths of former residents of the facility “disturbing”.
“If it is determined that the transfers are either the sole cause or a major cause of these deaths, then these transfers must be halted permanently and the Michener Centre kept open.” Liberal Human Services Critic David Swann said in a written release. “We must remember that most Michener residents are elderly and Michener is the only home they have known for decades. The stress of being moved out of their home and separated from the caregivers with whom they have formed powerful bonds of attachment may simply be too stressful for many of them to endure.”
The Wildrose is also calling for a halt to the closure of the Michener Centre.
“Residents and their families have literally had their lives torn up around them for over the past year and continue to live in anxiety waiting in limbo to find out if they can stay in their homes or not,” Wildrose Human Services Critic Kerry Towle said in a written release on Thursday. “Premier Hancock was at the helm of Human Services when the government first announced the closure of Michener, he, along with Human Services Minister Manmeet Bhullar, owes it to these families to halt the movement of residents and commit to keeping the facility open.”
The N.D.P is calling for a review of the deaths to ensure that the transfer of the residents from Michener Centre was not a contributing factor. The facility is scheduled to close for good in December.
