United Nurses of Alberta calls on the provincial government to launch a full public inquiry into the lab-confirmed E. coli poisonings of more than 350 children at 11 day care facilities in Calgary last month.

UNA believes a panel led by a former Conservative candidate no matter how well intentioned is not sufficient to ensure public confidence in either the conclusions drawn about how this tragedy came to occur or any solutions proposed.

Accordingly, as the representative of Registered Nurses, Registered Psychiatric Nurses and other health care professionals throughout Alberta, UNA urges the provincial government to call a formal public inquiry, led by an impartial judge, under the terms of the Public Inquiries Act.

With a properly constituted public inquiry, the public can be confident that the findings of the inquiry have not been drafted with political considerations in mind, and that the inquiry has the ability to compel sworn testimony by witnesses.

Following the E. coli poisonings that began on the Labour Day weekend, an investigation by public health officials reviewed the food histories of more than 1,000 children and 250 staff members at the day care facilities who had received food from a centralized kitchen business that was operating without a license.

Close to 40 people, almost all of them children, were hospitalized, and at least six required dialysis as a result of the outbreak.

The government announced on September 27 it had formed a “Food Safety and Licensed Facility-based Childcare Review Panel” to be led by former Progressive Conservative candidate and Calgary police chief Rick Hanson.

An investigation by public health officials reviewed the food histories of more than 1,000 children and 250 staff members, the government said at that time.