Dear Alberta Snowbirds,
As you may have heard, the CSA has been successful in our most recent campaign in British Columbia related to increasing out-of-country stays. With legislative and regulatory changes now law, residents of British Columbia can now spend up to seven months out of their home province and still maintain their provincial health coverage. This is one month longer than previously permitted.
British Columbia is now the third province in Canada, along with Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador, to allow residents to spend over six months outside of their home province and still retain their health benefits.
In September of 2012, we distributed an online survey to CSA members in Alberta, inquiring if they would like the CSA to work on their behalf to increase out-of-country stays from six to seven months. With 98% of respondents answering in the affirmative, the CSA has made contact with various government officials and their staff in Alberta, with the goal of extending health coverage for residents of the province.
An integral part of our action plan is to mobilize our Alberta membership. We are asking you, as a member of the CSA, to write or email your local MLA, the Minister of Health (edmonton.rutherford@assembly.ab.ca), the Minister of Justice (calgary.acadia@assembly.ab.ca) and the Premier (premier@gov.ab.ca), requesting that the Alberta Government extend health coverage from six to seven months. In your correspondence, we advise that you highlight the recent change in British Columbia and ask that you please copy the association on the emails and letters you send off. Contact information for Alberta MLAs can be accessed online at www.assembly.ab.ca. Simply click on “Members of the Legislative Assembly” located on the top right-hand side of the webpage.
We will keep you up-to-date on our progress. If you have specific questions or would like more information on this advocacy initiative, please contact Evan Rachkovsky, Research Officer at csastaff@snowbirds.org or toll-free at 1-800-265-3200.
Thank you for your participation in this call to action!
Sincerely,
Bob Slack
President
Rick Thorpe
Director – Western Canada
Canadian Snowbird Association
The Voice of Travelling Canadians
www.snowbirds.org
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