The need for access to health ethics resources was first formally articulated in the Premier's Commission on Future Health Care for Albertans (the Rainbow Report, 1989), a Provincial Government Commission report that highlighted health care needs expressed by Albertans. Subsequently, the Alberta Health document, Partners in Care, underscored the need for enhanced health ethics resources. Following discussion of Partners in Care, it was decided that a 'network' would be more helpful to Albertans than a 'centre' or 'centres' since access to a network could thereby be available to all regions of the Province.

In November 1992, Alberta Health developed a discussion paper proposing a Provincial Health Ethics Network and invited several hundred individuals involved in health care ethics to form a core committee to develop a proposal for such a Network. To do so, the core committee sent a questionnaire to key stake holders in health care in Alberta, convened a stake holders' meeting for future input, and submitted a preliminary proposal for a Provincial Health Ethics Network to Alberta Health in spring 1993.

The government responded with the tabling of Alberta Health's Three Year Plan on February 24, 1994. This plan contained a strategy to: "Establish an ethics network to facilitate the examination of moral and ethical issues and to facilitate individual decision-making related to health, health care, and quality of life." Subsequently an enlarged committee developed a further proposal which was submitted to Alberta Health in January 1995.

This proposal led to the creation of the Provincial Health Ethics Network, with start-up funds provided by Alberta Health. On December 12, 1995, the Provincial Health Ethics Network was established as a Society in Alberta.

In 2005, PHEN celebrated the tenth anniversary of its founding as a society. For more information and to view a ten-year report on PHEN's programmes and services, please click here

A more detailed version of PHEN's history, as described by PHEN's founding Chair Dr. Jan Storch, is available here.