Dear Premier Danielle Smith, Honourable Health Minister Justin Wright, and Alberta Health Leadership,

 

Petition Summary

 

This petition calls on the Government of Alberta to urgently review and improve the Out-of-Country Health Services (OOCHSC) process following two unrelated cases where patients were denied access to medically recommended care outside Canada.

 

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Case 1: Tamara Polo

 

Tamara Polo is an Alberta mother of three who sustained catastrophic cervical spine injuries after being struck by a vehicle as a pedestrian in a parking lot.

Following extensive assessment in Canada and internationally, multiple independent specialists diagnosed severe cervical instability and recommended complex cervical spine reconstruction surgery.

Despite this medical consensus, Ms. Polo’s application and appeal for out-of-country funding were denied, leaving her without an accessible treatment pathway within Canada.

She is now facing the difficult reality of trying to privately fund medically recommended surgery abroad. 
Find out more about Tamara’s story here: 

https://globalnews.ca/news/11841289/questions-raised-alberta-out-of-country-health-care-funding/

Case 2: Myla

Myla is a two-year-old little girl who was born with an extremely rare vascular malformation called a CM-AVM. In simple terms, the blood vessels in Myla’s face, including areas around her cheek, mouth, nose, eye, and ear, did not form correctly because of a genetic mutation called RASA1. Because of this, blood does not flow normally through these areas, which causes serious complications and ongoing risks.

Myla’s condition is complex and life-threatening. She experiences daily bleeds of varying severity, along with swelling, discomfort, and changes to parts of her face, including her ear, nose, and mouth. It affects basic parts of daily life like eating, breathing, sleeping, hearing, and comfort. Her family lives in a constant state of alert, watching for bleeding, new swelling, increased pain, or changes that could mean her condition is progressing.

After exploring and exhausting available Canadian resources, and after seeking second opinions in the United States, the only remaining treatment option for Myla was specialized care with Dr. Colletti in Italy. Myla has already travelled to Italy for one treatment, and her family has seen why this care is so urgently needed. Despite the severity of her condition and significant support from her medical team in Calgary, Myla’s application for Alberta out-of-country funding was denied, forcing her family to publicly fight and crowdfund for the next treatment their daughter urgently needs.

 

Find out more about Myla’s story here:

https://globalnews.ca/news/11812425/alberta-family-fights-for-life-saving-treatment-for-their-toddler/

 

Why This Matters

 

These are two separate cases, but they highlight a shared concern: how the system responds when patients with rare, complex, or catastrophic conditions fall outside standard treatment pathways.

Many Albertans and Canadians are now asking what happens when medically recommended care exists but cannot be accessed within Canada, and there is no clear or accessible pathway for funding or treatment abroad.

 

A healthcare system is ultimately judged not only by how it serves routine cases, but by how it responds when patients fall outside conventional pathways.

 

Albertans believe in our healthcare system with the expectation that when tragedy strikes, people will not be left without options simply because their circumstances fall outside administrative frameworks.

 

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What We Are Asking For

 

We respectfully call on the Government of Alberta and Alberta Health to:

 

Urgently review both cases with compassion and reconsideration where possible

Ensure there is a clear, fair, and accessible pathway for patients requiring out-of-country care in exceptional circumstances

Review and modernize the OOCHSC framework to reflect modern medical realities and complex patient needs

 

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Government Responsibility

 

We believe it is the responsibility of government to ensure that publicly funded healthcare systems include fair, transparent, and compassionate mechanisms for patients who fall outside standard treatment pathways, particularly in cases involving catastrophic or rare medical conditions.

 

When medically recommended care exists but is not accessible within Canada, there must be a clear and workable process to ensure patients are not left without options due to administrative or procedural limitations.

 

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Closing

 

This petition is not only about two families. It is about ensuring that Alberta’s healthcare system has the flexibility to respond to rare and catastrophic cases with compassion, fairness, and clarity.

 

We believe no Albertan should be left without a medically reasonable pathway to care when specialist consensus supports treatment that is not available in Canada.

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Please sign this petition to support review and reform of Alberta’s out-of-country healthcare process.

Yours Respectfully, 
Concerned Calgary and Alberta Citizens

 

Dear Premier Smith, Minister Wright and Alberta Health Leadership,

 

My name is Carmine.  I am 13 years old. I started this petition because I believe that the healthcare system we inherit as the next generation should be one that never gives up on people when their medical situation is complicated or rare.

 

I am delivering this petition because I want you to hear directly from  Albertans.

 

Tamara Polo and her family are my families friends. I have seen how much her family has been through. Myla is just two years old and her family is also fighting to get her the care she needs. These are two different situations but they have something important in common: both families needed care that was outside the usual pathway and were denied.

 

 

 

As young people we are growing up believing that Alberta is a place where people look after one another. We want to believe that when someone faces something extraordinary, our healthcare system will find a way to help—not leave families to fight alone.

 

I understand that healthcare decisions are complicated and that governments have difficult choices to make. I also believe that when a patient has a rare or catastrophic condition and specialized treatment is not available in Canada there should be a fair and compassionate way to consider their situation.

 

The decisions made today will shape the healthcare system that my generation will one day depend on.

 

we respectfully ask Alberta Health to reopen, review, and approve Tamara Polo’s case. We ask that her circumstances be reconsidered in light of this development and that she be given the same opportunity for a fair and compassionate assessment. We recognize that every case is different. We believe Tamara deserves a renewed review of her medical needs and the specialized treatment she needs and deserves.

 

I started this petition because I believe that no family should feel like they have run out of options when they are fighting for someone they love.

 

I may be only 13 years old; however,  I am one voice among many Albertans who believe our healthcare system can do better for families facing rare, complex, and life-threatening medical conditions.

 

The signatures on this petition represent people across Alberta who share this concern and want to see a healthcare system that is compassionate, fair, and willing to find a pathway when the usual ones do not work.

 

I hope you will listen—not only to my voice as a young Albertan, but to the many Albertans standing behind me.

 

Thank you for listening to our voices and for considering the change we are asking for.

 

Respectfully,

 

Carmine Groberman 

13-year-old Albertan

On behalf of concerned Alberta citizens