Alberta Liberals court outspoken MLA Sherman

Alberta Liberal Leader David Swann is not giving up his attempt to woo ousted Tory MLA Raj Sherman.

On Saturday, Swann and Sherman both spoke in Calgaryat a town hall meeting on health carehosted by Friends of Medicare.

"Raj Sherman has been a lightning rod for people to start facing the truth about our health-care system," Swann said.

"It continues in chaos, professionals are demoralized, people are continuing to struggle with the quality of care because of the disorganization that has been so disruptive to the system, and he's continuing to say there are some basic things that need to be done to fix that health-care system."

Swann said the governingConservativesare not doing enough to address the problems.

"They have thrown money at the issues," he said. "They don't have a clear sense of where they're going in the health-care system. They're toying with privatization on a number of fronts. It's clear that they are simply trying to do damage control and don't have a longer-term plan."

He encouraged Sherman to join the Alberta Liberals to help solve the health-care crisis.

"I think it's important for him to continue to advocate on the health-care system and to, ultimately, join a party that can move that agenda forward," Swann said.

"The Alberta Liberals are the party most likely to promote that agenda and achieve that agenda in Alberta."

'No rush to make a decision'

Sherman, an emergency-room doctor who once sat as the government's parliamentary assistant to the minister of health and wellness, was ousted from the Conservative caucus last fall after criticizing his own party's handling of emergency-room wait times in Alberta.

Speaking at the town hall, Sherman said he will enter the upcoming legislative session as an independent but acknowledged several parties are courting him.

"They've expressed their interest and I've expressed my interest in listening to what they have to say and to see what their policies are, but I'm in no rush to make a decision."

David Eggen with Friends of Medicare doesn't think Sherman should join any political party.

"I think he's most effective as an independent right now,"Eggen said.

"To have a clear voice that is unimpeded by other issues, as an independent MLA, I think he can really serve the cause of public health care very well right now."

The town hall was the first of a five-city tourby Friends of Medicare. The tour will be in Red Deer on Feb. 8, followed by stops in Grande Prairie, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat.