1. Big win for hospital support workers — The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees says its new collective agreement with Alberta Health Services and Lamont Health Care Centre was ratified late Friday (reported Feb. 7, 2026), covering more than 27,000 support staff and guaranteeing living wages by April 2027, with a 12% pay increase retroactive to April 2024 and a 2% long-service boost for staff with over 20 years. This means better pay and benefits for people in admin, food, laundry and housekeeping; union president Sandra Azocar and Finance Minister Nate Horner praised the deal, and the union plans to return to bargaining in 2028 (this follows a November deal reached just before a potential strike by over 16,000 nursing care staff).