Dozens of people with family members in the Michener care centre in Red Deer rallied outside city hall on Wednesday, protesting plans to shut it down.
The province recently announced up to 125 residents will be moved to community homes in about a year.
All of them have developmental disabilities and some have lived at the centre for years.
“The government made a promise it would not force anyone out of Michener in 2008 after 90 per cent of residents and families chose to stay at their Michener home,” says Guy Smith, the president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees. “That promise has been broken and Premier Redford and her government have taken that choice away from them. It’s not right.”
The president of the Alberta Association of Community Living, Barb MacIntyre, has praised the government’s decision to close Michener, saying residents will do better in community homes.
But many families are distraught over the closure, saying Michener is the only home their loved ones have known.
“This decision was done without consulting residents, families or staff. It has distressed a vulnerable population and has activated an entire community,” says Smith.
The union says 400 of its members will lose their jobs, be redeployed or retrained.
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