Smith Says She'll End Alberta Health Services’ Partnership With World Economic Forum

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith holds her first press conference in Edmonton, on Oct. 11, 2022. Jason Franson/The Canadian Press

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she will end the partnership her province’s health authority has with the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Her remarks came during a livestream on Western Standard’s “Question Period with Premier Danielle Smith” program on Oct. 21, where she said she holds the Alberta Health Services (AHS) accountable for its COVID-19 advice to the government of Alberta over the last two years, and that its ties with the WEF serve no purpose to the province.

“I believe that Alberta Health Services is the source of a lot of problems that we’ve had,” Smith said.

“They signed some kind of partnership with the World Economic Forum right in the middle of the pandemic; we’ve got to address that. Why in the world do we have anything to do with the World Economic Forum? That’s got to end.”

‘Caught the Eye’

On July 2, 2020, the AHS published an article sharing that it has “caught the eye” of the WEF, which invited AHS to join its “Global Coalition for Value in Healthcare” to play a role in “shaping future health care on the international stage.”

“The coalition’s goals align with those of AHS when it comes to recognizing the rights of individuals and introducing more of a social responsibility into health care,” the article said.

According to the WEF’s website, the coalition was launched in 2019 and is part of its “Platform for Shaping the Future of Health and Healthcare.”

“The Platform curates international organizations, academic institutions, pharmaceutical and biomedical companies, health care NGOs, hospitals, health care providers, infrastructure, and insurance organizations to shape the global health agenda,” the WEF said.

“Organizations partnering with the Forum, whether governments, cities, civil society, or private-sector participants, are invited to join the coalition—to drive the overall efforts as members of the Executive Board, exchange knowledge and submit their initiatives as innovation hubs of the coalition, or learn best practices as digital members.”

In a 2019 video, the WEF said the coalition will drive health care change by “disseminating best practices,” “building a global network of practitioners,” and “champion global informatics standards for health data,” among its initiatives.

‘Whole Broad Science’

During the livestream, Smith criticized the scientific committee at the AHS, saying that the members didn’t look at the “whole broad science.”

“They want to make themselves permanent,” she said. “I don’t want to have a scientific committee that isn’t prepared to look at therapeutic options in the middle of the pandemic and throw out the pandemic planning plan.”

In addition, she said she will terminate the entire AHS board.

Smith had promised to overhaul the AHS and to change management within the department during her leadership race. She had also pledged to amend and strengthen legislation so Albertans can’t be “discriminated-against” on the basis of medical decisions.

Rachel Emmanuel contributed to this report.