A t a recent public forum in Red Deer, Alberta, Premier Danielle Smith fielded questions about everything from the degree to which the World Economic Forum controls Alberta politicians to an alleged Alberta Health Service “pedophilia problem.” She answered most of these conspiracy theory–tinged inquiries with a vague “I hear you” kind of confirmation, seeming to both agree with and validate the asker’s concerns but avoiding a concrete affirmation.
At the event, Smith was also asked whether Alberta would provide funding for homeopathy. Here, her response was more definitive. “I love what you’re saying. Absolutely,” she said. And then she seemed to suggest homeopathy could be part of a strategy to deal with health in a “preventive way” that would stop ailments from becoming acute and, as Smith put it, “then you end up in the hospital.” Soon after this event, Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange mused about the provincial system covering homeopathy, noting that “a lot of Albertans value the services that they get from homeopaths”—homeopathy, despite the government’s enthusiasm, remains a fringe practice in Alberta. And at the federal level, the Conservatives are suggesting weakening the already weak regulation on natural health products, like “supplements and homeopathic medicines.”
