Alberta government suspends spring sitting; NDP calls decision ‘cowardly’
Slav Kornik
Government House Leader Jason Nixon has announced the suspension of the spring session of the legislative assembly for at least two weeks due to rising COVID-19 cases in the province.
Slav Kornik
GLOBAL NEWS
2/5/20
Government House Leader Jason Nixon has announced the suspension of the spring session of the legislative assembly for at least two weeks due to rising COVID-19 cases in the province.
© Eric Beck/Global News The Alberta legislature on Aug. 26, 2020.
In a statement released Sunday, Nixon's office said the suspension is an effort to prevent further spread of the virus, not due to confirmed cases among MLAs or staff.
"With COVID-19 continuing to spread across Alberta, the government has determined that having MLAs return to Edmonton from all over the province after constituency week is no longer prudent," Nixon said in the statement. "Suspending proceedings is the right thing to do as case counts increase."
READ MORE: Alberta passes legislation allowing for 3-hour paid leave so workers can get COVID-19 vaccine
The office said the decision was made after consultation with the official opposition Sunday. But in a statement, the NDP called the decision "cowardly" and accused Premier Jason Kenney of "fleeing" the legislature while public health measures such as paid sick leave have not been enacted.
"The first item on the agenda for Monday must be an emergency debate on Jason Kenney's failing pandemic response," NDP Leader Rachel Notley said.
"Alberta workers need paid sick leave, families need a Learn From Home Fund to support students online, our variant testing system needs immediate improvement, and our existing public health measures must be enforced. All this work is being left undone because Jason Kenney is afraid of public scrutiny."
The NDP also noted that legislature members are now being kept home for their safety while some students must still go to school. Front-line staff at restaurant patios and stores, the official opposition added, also have to report for duty as those businesses are not shuttered.
"Alberta needs real leadership at this moment of crisis, but instead Jason Kenney is abandoning his post," Notley said in the statement.
"I can't help but remember his boastful rhetoric this time last year, invoking the memories of the British parliament remaining in session through the (German bombing) Blitz,'' she added.
"The suggestion that the legislature cannot sit while servers are still working on patios and people are still crowding into malls is absurd. Now more than ever, Jason Kenney needs to show up to work."
The tentative return date is May 17, and Nixon said the house can be reconvened earlier if an emergency arises.
READ MORE: Alberta Health reports single-day high of 2,433 new COVID-19 cases
Video: What to expect during Alberta legislature’s spring session
The decision to suspend the spring sitting comes as Alberta struggles to manage the pandemic. On Saturday, the province reported the highest single-day total of COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, at 2,433. It was the third consecutive day the province reported more than 2,000 cases.
Alberta's active case count was at 22,504 as of Saturday, and there were 646 people in hospital with the virus, with 152 of those individuals in intensive care. Doctors are also being briefed on patient triage protocols should they be required.
READ MORE: An in-depth look at climbing cases and spread in Alberta schools
For the last 14 months, Kenney has toggled health restrictions on public gatherings and businesses, trying to save lives and keep people's livelihoods intact.
He was criticized for waiting too long to bring in new rules during the second wave at Christmas, and is now facing similar critiques during the third.
Kenney dismissed bringing in new restrictions on Monday, saying people likely wouldn't follow them anyway, but by Thursday introduced new rules on so-called COVID hot spots. He said the measures were critical to bending the curve.
Kenney dismissed criticism he was pursuing inconsistent, confusing policy, instead characterizing it as a nimble, flexible response.
Kenney's government has also been criticized for failing to enforce public health rules, particularly allowing packed congregations to meet for months at the Grace Life Church near Edmonton before shutting it down in March.
Kenney has said his government has no say in how health rules are enforced.
READ MORE: Alberta introduces targeted restrictions in ‘hot spots’ as active COVID-19 cases reach all-time high
Kenney says recent increase in COVID-19 cases in Alberta are related to socialization
On Saturday, hundreds of people flocked to a "No More Lockdowns" rodeo outside the central Alberta community of Bowden, in full defiance of the province's health regulations and with no apparent pushback from authorities
Alberta currently doesn't allow indoor social gatherings and outdoor gatherings are limited to 10 people. Stores remain open at sharply reduced capacity and restaurants can keep their patios open.
On Thursday Kenney announced new rules for high-case zones — encompassing most of Alberta's urban areas — shuttering gyms and sending home Grade 7-12 students who weren't already learning on-line.
In a statement released Sunday, Nixon's office said the suspension is an effort to prevent further spread of the virus, not due to confirmed cases among MLAs or staff.
"With COVID-19 continuing to spread across Alberta, the government has determined that having MLAs return to Edmonton from all over the province after constituency week is no longer prudent," Nixon said in the statement. "Suspending proceedings is the right thing to do as case counts increase."
READ MORE: Alberta passes legislation allowing for 3-hour paid leave so workers can get COVID-19 vaccine
The office said the decision was made after consultation with the official opposition Sunday. But in a statement, the NDP called the decision "cowardly" and accused Premier Jason Kenney of "fleeing" the legislature while public health measures such as paid sick leave have not been enacted.
"The first item on the agenda for Monday must be an emergency debate on Jason Kenney's failing pandemic response," NDP Leader Rachel Notley said.
"Alberta workers need paid sick leave, families need a Learn From Home Fund to support students online, our variant testing system needs immediate improvement, and our existing public health measures must be enforced. All this work is being left undone because Jason Kenney is afraid of public scrutiny."
The NDP also noted that legislature members are now being kept home for their safety while some students must still go to school. Front-line staff at restaurant patios and stores, the official opposition added, also have to report for duty as those businesses are not shuttered.
"Alberta needs real leadership at this moment of crisis, but instead Jason Kenney is abandoning his post," Notley said in the statement.
"I can't help but remember his boastful rhetoric this time last year, invoking the memories of the British parliament remaining in session through the (German bombing) Blitz,'' she added.
"The suggestion that the legislature cannot sit while servers are still working on patios and people are still crowding into malls is absurd. Now more than ever, Jason Kenney needs to show up to work."
The tentative return date is May 17, and Nixon said the house can be reconvened earlier if an emergency arises.
READ MORE: Alberta Health reports single-day high of 2,433 new COVID-19 cases
Video: What to expect during Alberta legislature’s spring session
The decision to suspend the spring sitting comes as Alberta struggles to manage the pandemic. On Saturday, the province reported the highest single-day total of COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, at 2,433. It was the third consecutive day the province reported more than 2,000 cases.
Alberta's active case count was at 22,504 as of Saturday, and there were 646 people in hospital with the virus, with 152 of those individuals in intensive care. Doctors are also being briefed on patient triage protocols should they be required.
READ MORE: An in-depth look at climbing cases and spread in Alberta schools
For the last 14 months, Kenney has toggled health restrictions on public gatherings and businesses, trying to save lives and keep people's livelihoods intact.
He was criticized for waiting too long to bring in new rules during the second wave at Christmas, and is now facing similar critiques during the third.
Kenney dismissed bringing in new restrictions on Monday, saying people likely wouldn't follow them anyway, but by Thursday introduced new rules on so-called COVID hot spots. He said the measures were critical to bending the curve.
Kenney dismissed criticism he was pursuing inconsistent, confusing policy, instead characterizing it as a nimble, flexible response.
Kenney's government has also been criticized for failing to enforce public health rules, particularly allowing packed congregations to meet for months at the Grace Life Church near Edmonton before shutting it down in March.
Kenney has said his government has no say in how health rules are enforced.
READ MORE: Alberta introduces targeted restrictions in ‘hot spots’ as active COVID-19 cases reach all-time high
Kenney says recent increase in COVID-19 cases in Alberta are related to socialization
On Saturday, hundreds of people flocked to a "No More Lockdowns" rodeo outside the central Alberta community of Bowden, in full defiance of the province's health regulations and with no apparent pushback from authorities
Alberta currently doesn't allow indoor social gatherings and outdoor gatherings are limited to 10 people. Stores remain open at sharply reduced capacity and restaurants can keep their patios open.
On Thursday Kenney announced new rules for high-case zones — encompassing most of Alberta's urban areas — shuttering gyms and sending home Grade 7-12 students who weren't already learning on-line.
UCP GAVE A PROVINCE WIDE NOTICE OF HOT SPOTS IN ALBERTA, PRACTICALLY EVERY CITY AND TOWN. BUT UNLIKE ONTARIO KENNEY CAN STILL SAY ALBERTA IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS
— With files from The Canadian Press
— With files from The Canadian Press
Don Braid, Calgary Herald
MAY 2,2021
There are many things a government with a severe crisis on its hands probably shouldn’t do. Leaving town is one of them.
There are many things a government with a severe crisis on its hands probably shouldn’t do. Leaving town is one of them.
© Provided by Calgary Herald Alberta Premier Jason Kenney leaves the Alberta Legislature on April 8, 2021.
In a Sunday move with no compelling logic behind it, the UCP unilaterally suspended two weeks of the legislature session , arguing that there’s a health risk.
“Having MLAs return to Edmonton from all over the province after constituency week is no longer prudent,” government house leader Jason Nixon said in a statement.
“Suspending proceedings is the right thing to do as case counts increase.”
NDP Leader Rachel Notley said the government has “gone into hiding.” She branded Premier Jason Kenney personally as “a coward.”
Perhaps the shutdown is meant to signal more severe COVID-19 measures across society, coming soon.
But only last week Kenney’s secret cabinet committee voted down a recommendation to close restaurants and patios. Would they overturn that just a few days later?
Notley also said Kenney isn’t crazy about being in the same room with his MLAs.
There may be something to that. These days, the premier seems to face two opposition legislature parties — the NDP and half of his own caucus.
But the shutdown may be pretty much what it seems, a symbolic gesture to show Albertans the seriousness of the COVID crisis.
The province has now moved into top spot in all of Canada and the U.S. for infections per 100,000 people.
Sunday’s count of new cases — 1,731 — was down from more than 2,400 the day before . But weekends are almost always lower because testing slows.
We could know by the end of this week whether COVID in Alberta is peaking or still surging. The politicians and health officials are surprised by its current power — and very nervous.
Kenney went on a Twitter tear Sunday against the people who staged an anti-masking rodeo event in Bowden.
“Not only are gatherings like this a threat to public health, they are a slap in the face to everyone who is observing the rules to keep themselves and their fellow Albertans safe,” he said.
The reason for the high COVID-19 numbers, the premier added, “is precisely because too many Albertans are ignoring the rules we currently have in place.”
Kenney was instantly reminded that patios are still open, thousand are jamming into malls, and people who openly flout the rules are scolded but seldom punished.
Whatever the reasons for the legislature shutdown, public health in the building itself can’t be a major one.
Nixon said there are no cases among legislature staff or MLAs. Chamber meetings are held with masking rules and plenty of space between MLAs.
Many meetings were already being done remotely without cancelling sittings in the legislature itself. Cabinet and committee meetings will be entirely virtual as well.
Normally, a decision like this would require an adjournment motion and a vote in the house. But the UCP earlier brought in changes to standing orders to allow a unilateral, vote-free shutdown
In a Sunday move with no compelling logic behind it, the UCP unilaterally suspended two weeks of the legislature session , arguing that there’s a health risk.
“Having MLAs return to Edmonton from all over the province after constituency week is no longer prudent,” government house leader Jason Nixon said in a statement.
“Suspending proceedings is the right thing to do as case counts increase.”
NDP Leader Rachel Notley said the government has “gone into hiding.” She branded Premier Jason Kenney personally as “a coward.”
Perhaps the shutdown is meant to signal more severe COVID-19 measures across society, coming soon.
But only last week Kenney’s secret cabinet committee voted down a recommendation to close restaurants and patios. Would they overturn that just a few days later?
Notley also said Kenney isn’t crazy about being in the same room with his MLAs.
There may be something to that. These days, the premier seems to face two opposition legislature parties — the NDP and half of his own caucus.
But the shutdown may be pretty much what it seems, a symbolic gesture to show Albertans the seriousness of the COVID crisis.
The province has now moved into top spot in all of Canada and the U.S. for infections per 100,000 people.
Sunday’s count of new cases — 1,731 — was down from more than 2,400 the day before . But weekends are almost always lower because testing slows.
We could know by the end of this week whether COVID in Alberta is peaking or still surging. The politicians and health officials are surprised by its current power — and very nervous.
Kenney went on a Twitter tear Sunday against the people who staged an anti-masking rodeo event in Bowden.
“Not only are gatherings like this a threat to public health, they are a slap in the face to everyone who is observing the rules to keep themselves and their fellow Albertans safe,” he said.
The reason for the high COVID-19 numbers, the premier added, “is precisely because too many Albertans are ignoring the rules we currently have in place.”
Kenney was instantly reminded that patios are still open, thousand are jamming into malls, and people who openly flout the rules are scolded but seldom punished.
Whatever the reasons for the legislature shutdown, public health in the building itself can’t be a major one.
Nixon said there are no cases among legislature staff or MLAs. Chamber meetings are held with masking rules and plenty of space between MLAs.
Many meetings were already being done remotely without cancelling sittings in the legislature itself. Cabinet and committee meetings will be entirely virtual as well.
Normally, a decision like this would require an adjournment motion and a vote in the house. But the UCP earlier brought in changes to standing orders to allow a unilateral, vote-free shutdown
.
© Ian Kucerak/Postmedia The Alberta Legislature in Edmonton on Nov. 5, 2020.
Responding to the shutdown, the Opposition laid on rhetoric that’s extreme even for these divisive times.
Notley said “the NDP adamantly opposes Jason Kenney’s cowardly decision to flee the legislature while critical public health measures such as paid sick leave have not been enacted, and the government’s larger response flounders.
“The premier has now run and gone into hiding. He’s a coward.
“He’s running from his own caucus. This is a government in complete meltdown — you can’t have them in the same room together.”
Now, they won’t even be in the same legislature together.
But will Albertans in general be upset because the daily shouting match ceases for two weeks?
Maybe not. Solutions are what matter today.
The UCP is scrambling to find some, with striking lack of success.
Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Herald
dbraid@postmedia.com
Twitter: @DonBraid
Facebook: Don Braid Politics
Responding to the shutdown, the Opposition laid on rhetoric that’s extreme even for these divisive times.
Notley said “the NDP adamantly opposes Jason Kenney’s cowardly decision to flee the legislature while critical public health measures such as paid sick leave have not been enacted, and the government’s larger response flounders.
“The premier has now run and gone into hiding. He’s a coward.
“He’s running from his own caucus. This is a government in complete meltdown — you can’t have them in the same room together.”
Now, they won’t even be in the same legislature together.
But will Albertans in general be upset because the daily shouting match ceases for two weeks?
Maybe not. Solutions are what matter today.
The UCP is scrambling to find some, with striking lack of success.
Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Herald
dbraid@postmedia.com
Twitter: @DonBraid
Facebook: Don Braid Politics
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