Alberta has introduced a bill to give legal protection to health workers and long-term care-home operators facing lawsuits over COVID-19.
Richard Gotfried, a United Conservative backbencher, says Bill 70 offers protection but is not a free pass in the courts to those who have been demonstrably derelict.
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The bill exempts a range of workers, including doctors, pharmacists, and care-home operators, from being sued over COVID-19 unless it is for gross negligence.
Gross negligence is a higher bar to reach in law, as it involves flagrant failure to implement or follow the accepted standards of care.
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The proposed law would be retroactive to March 1, 2020, and any existing lawsuits would have to be amended to meet the threshold of gross negligence.
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Gotfried introduced the bill in a rarely used political procedure, given that backbenchers are not technically part of the government and normally can’t sponsor government bills.
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