Saturday, September 25, 2021

Inaccurate, unfair for Sask. premier to single out northern First Nations on vaccination, say critics

Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Marc Miller calls

Premier Scott Moe's comments "alarming and

 unproductive"

Jason Warick · CBC News · 
Saskatchewan's COVID-19 vaccination rates are among the lowest in Canada. Premier Scott Moe singled out northern First Nations for their low uptake, but critics say this divisive attitude is both unfair and inaccurate. (Matt Duguid/CBC Saskatchewan)

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is wrong to single out northern First Nations for low COVID-19 vaccination rates, say critics.

They say Moe's comments, which were made on Tuesday and then posted to social media Thursday—as well as similar to statements he made last week—are both unfair and inaccurate.

Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Marc Miller called Moe's comments "alarming and unproductive." In an online reply, Miller said Moe has a "misunderstanding of his own health care system and the role it plays" in northern Saskatchewan.

Saskatchewan Opposition leader Ryan Meili said the premier is desperate to deflect blame for the province's rapidly deteriorating COVID-19 situation.

"This is gross, just dog-whistle politics, trying to blame one part of the province. He's trying to shift attention away from his own errors," Meili said Thursday.

"He should be apologizing for his inaction, which is resulting in people dying."

Record numbers of COVID-19 patients, most of them unvaccinated, are filling the province's hospitals and intensive care units. Elective procedures have been slowed down or paused altogether, but the surge in COVID-19 cases is also halting organ transplants as well as certain brain, heart and eye procedures.

On Thursday, Moe posted a video on social media saying Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was practising "divisiveness" by singling out Saskatchewan for its low vaccination rate.

Moe then went on to single out parts of Saskatchewan on the same issue.

"Our far north and Indigenous communities are running at a vaccination rate of less than 50 per cent — an area of exclusive federal jurisdiction," Moe tweeted. "I hope … [Trudeau] will work with Saskatchewan to increase the vaccination rate in these critical communities right away."

Some places only have 12% uptake

The premier also singled out northern First Nations during a news conference last week.

While it appears some non-First Nations communities have much lower vaccination rates than the provincial average, Moe didn't criticize those areas for their vaccination rates.

At a presentation to Swift Current city council last week, posted on social media, a delegation of local doctors talked about the low vaccine uptake in certain towns.

"In places in southwest Saskatchewan, we only have 12 per cent uptake of the vaccine. Twelve per cent. That's it. We need the numbers of immunizations to increase," Dr. Tara Lee told councillors.

As of Thursday, 81.4 per cent of eligible people province-wide had a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 72.7 per cent had two, according to CBC's vaccine tracker.

That's currently the lowest rate in Canada.

'Southwest needs to ramp it up': physician

The Ministry of Health declined to provide vaccination rates for individual towns or cities in central and southern Saskatchewan. It is reported only by zone, which typically contains a mix of city, town and rural areas.

"We do not report by community," stated a Ministry of Health email.

Gull Lake family physician Dr. Clare Kozroski, who was part of the delegation that spoke in Swift Current, says the situation is urgent.

There are individual high schools in the region with student vaccination rates of just 20 per cent, she said in a Thursday interview.

"There is no other way to deal with this fourth wave. All of our beds in ICU in this area are full, so people with other illnesses can't be cared for. The southwest needs to ramp it up," said Kozroski, who also represents Saskatchewan on the board of the Canadian Medical Association.

'No idea why he'd be singling us out'

While Moe referred to the Far North as "an area of exclusive federal jurisdiction," Meili said the premier is either confused or is being dishonest. The northern jurisdiction is in fact a mix of First Nations, federal and provincial staff working together.

Longtime Lac la Ronge Indian Band Chief Tammy Cook-Searson agreed. She says her staff has worked closely with the Saskatchewan Health Authority and federal officials throughout the pandemic.

Chief Tammy Cook-Searson says the Lac La Ronge Indian Band is working hard to contain COVID-19, but it's not accurate or helpful when the premier singles out northern communities on the vaccine issue. (Liam Richards/The Canadian Press)

She said she saw Moe's social media posts and video and said while everyone in Saskatchewan should redouble vaccination efforts, the premier's comments are not helpful.

"I think it's very unfair, especially since non-First Nation communities in the south have lower [vaccination] rates," Cook-Searson said.

"I have no idea why he'd be singling us out. He can pick up the phone any time and call us. It's not fair to be blaming. We should find a way to work together and get past this pandemic."

Hatchet Lake Denesuline First Nation Chief Bart Tsannie said his community is working around the clock to help people get vaccinated. After suffering a severe outbreak in June, there is now only one active case in the community of 1,300 people.

"Don't target us. Come talk to us," Tsannie said.

Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron said Moe should focus on keeping people safe rather than finding others to blame.

"It's not a respectful thing to do," Cameron said.


Federal minister says Saskatchewan premier misunderstands his health-care system

Author of the article:
The Canadian Press
Mickey Djuric
Sep 24, 2021 • 

REGINA — Federal Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller says Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe misunderstands his own health-care system.

Miller made the comment on Twitter after Moe blamed Ottawa for Saskatchewan’s low COVID-19 vaccination rate in its far north, which has a predominately Indigenous population.

“Our Far North and Indigenous communities are running at a vaccination rate of less than 50 per cent, an area of exclusive federal jurisdiction,” Moe tweeted Thursday after making similar comments earlier that week during a media scrum.

While mentioning rates in the north, the premier did not include communities in the south, which in some cases have vaccination rates as low as 12 per cent.

Miller said Moe’s comments are alarming and unproductive.

“Stating that all this work is ‘exclusive’ federal jurisdiction is not only inaccurate, but undermines the spirit of Indigenous self-determination that has guided our co-operative approach and must continue in order to overcome this current wave,” Miller tweeted. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ottawa and Saskatchewan have worked together throughout the pandemic to provide vaccinations in the province’s far north and in remote Indigenous communities, but health-care services are off reserves, which is within provincial jurisdiction.

“The whole idea that First Nations in the north are outside of Saskatchewan jurisdiction — and by jurisdiction I mean their responsibility — is this myth that we are often told in Canadian politics that leads to the continuation of the inequity Indigenous Peoples have had for generations,” said Dr. Alika Lafontaine, president-elect of the Canadian Medical Association.

Lafontaine said Moe’s comments make it difficult for health-care workers to do their jobs.

“If you don’t have your leadership pointing to the tools we know work, and emphasizing the need to provide care and take responsibility for the care of everyone within your province, that creates a very challenging situation to actually create any of this effectively,” he said.

Indigenous communities face a unique challenge because of mistrust in a health-care system due to forced sterilization of Indigenous women and medical experimentation on children in residential schools, Lafontaine added.

Moe’s comments about jurisdiction don’t help increase vaccination rates, he said.

“You have to have your leader saying things that are factually true, and actually focus on the solutions of the problem, instead of pushing that responsibility somewhere else.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2021.
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 North

N.W.T. father, son travel 2,000 km for cancelled surgery in Edmonton

Tyrone Raddi says son now on 'emergency cancellation list'

 due to high COVID-19 cases in Alberta


Mackenzie Scott · CBC News · 
Tyrone Raddi and his 17-year-old son travelled from Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T., to Edmonton for surgery, only for it to be cancelled on the day it was scheduled to take place. (Submitted by Tyrone Raddi)

Jacob Lafferty travelled 2,000 kilometres with his father from their home in Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T., to Edmonton to get surgery on his elbow.

But it never happened.

"We flew down Sunday, went for our appointment Monday only to be told that everything is cancelled," said Lafferty's father, Tyrone Raddi.

Lafferty, 17, is one of several residents in the Northwest Territories currently in this predicament as surgeries across Alberta are being cancelled due to record numbers of COVID-19 hospitalizations that are seeing patients transported to other provinces. 

Raddi said it was nerve-wracking enough travelling from a small community that has never had a case of COVID-19, to a hotspot like Edmonton.

He had to book two days off work for the surgery, and his son, who is about to graduate in January, had to take time off school. Now, they'll have to do it all over again, possibly on short notice.

Raddi said they've been put on an "emergency cancellation list with no guarantee that we are going to get in due to the high number of cases in Alberta."

"I am lucky that I did have the time to take off."

Raddi poses for a photo after getting his COVID-19 vaccine at the Kitti Hall community centre in Tuktoyaktuk. The hamlet has so far not seen a single case of the novel coronavirus. (Submitted by Tyrone Raddi)

Record numbers of patients in Alberta ICUs

Alberta is facing soaring numbers of COVID-19 patients. As of Thursday, 226 of the 310 patients in the province's intensive care units (ICUs) had COVID-19.

Hospitals buckling under the load have had to cancel surgeries for Alberta patients as well as those in the N.W.T. who rely on the province for specialized care. 

"Having your surgery delayed can be extremely traumatising, particularly if you've been waiting a long time," said Dr. Verna Yiu, president and CEO of Alberta Health Services, at a Thursday news conference. 

"Delaying surgeries is something that we never want to do."

CBC News reached out to the government of the Northwest Territories' Department of Health and Social Services to get a better understanding of how many residents' medical travel and surgeries have been postponed, but didn't receive a response before this story was published.

Raddi and his son drove to Inuvik, then flew to Edmonton on a flight that made stops in Norman Wells and Yellowknife. (CBC)

Data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information shows that in 2019-20, N.W.T. residents were admitted to hospital overnight 955 times in the Edmonton area. The previous year, that number was 1,004. 

In addition, N.W.T. patients received 522 day surgeries in the Edmonton area in 2019-20, and 721 the previous year. 

Postponed surgeries and medical travel for N.W.T. patients in Alberta are happening at a time when the territory is facing its worst COVID-19 outbreak since the start of the pandemic.

As of Thursday, the territory's chief public health officer said 26 people have been hospitalized related to the current delta variant-driven outbreak. Twelve have been admitted to the ICU in Yellowknife since the pandemic began. 

Better communication needed

Raddi said his son is still experiencing discomfort with his elbow and would like the surgery done right away.

He said he understands why it was cancelled, but feels the situation could've been communicated better. If he'd known about the possibility of a cancellation, he said he may have made a different decision about whether to risk travelling to Edmonton. 

According to Raddi, the territorial government "needs to look after its residents instead of sending them down on trips where they know nothing is going to happen." 

"I really do think it was a waste of my time and my son's time with them knowing nothing was going to happen … I think it has to be a little bit better planned out from both sides."

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'You should be ashamed of yourself': Nenshi sounds off against rural reeve on COVID-19 misinformation

Author of the article:Jason Herring
Publishing date:Sep 25, 2021 

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi speaks with media on Monday, July 5, 2021. 
PHOTO BY GAVIN YOUNG/POSTMEDIA

A recent meeting of Calgary-area municipalities turned heated after a rural reeve shared misinformation on COVID-19 vaccines, leading to a sharp rebuke from Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi.

The confrontation took place during the Sept. 17 Calgary Metropolitan Region Board (CMRB) meeting, when Foothills County Reeve Suzanne Oel called into question the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.

She said her statements reflected the views of her constituents, many of whom are opposed to the vaccines and province’s then-newly announced vaccine passport system.

“While some people believe the vaccine will protect them, others disagree. A note is that the experimental vaccine does not prevent infection or transmission. The safety trials have not been completed,” Oel said.

Those statements are false. Vaccines have been shown in clinical trials to reduce COVID-19 illness, a fact which is reflected in Alberta data, which has found vaccines are more than 90 per cent effective at preventing symptomatic illness due to COVID-19.

It’s also inaccurate to call the vaccines experimental, as both mRNA COVID vaccines approved for use in Canada — manufactured by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna — went through rigorous safety testing and use technology developed over the course of decades.

Nenshi jumped into the fray after Oel falsely claimed the vaccine was only tested on animals before being made available.

“What she has just said is 1,000 per cent false, and this is not a place for us to abide by those extremist views that are putting people in danger,” Nenshi said in the exchange, which was first reported by LiveWire Calgary.

“I was with an ICU nurse yesterday. People are dying every day. Yes, we have to have a diversity of views. We don’t have diversity of BS like that. That is completely untrue and saying things like that puts people at risk and you should be ashamed of yourself, Reeve Oel.”

The terse exchange continued when Oel said she had taken a risk in sharing the views in the forum, before Nenshi interrupted her, saying, “Lies are not opinions, Reeve Oel, and that is a lie. Stop educating yourself from YouTube videos, read the science.”

The CMRB consists of 10 Calgary-area municipalities, with a mandate to support the long-term sustainability of the region.

Elsewhere in the meeting, officials discussed confusion over the province’s vaccine passport plan as well as the acrimonious public climate around vaccines and mask use.

jherring@postmedia.com
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Alberta ICU staff say they're strained by rising demand for care, increasing backlash from patients


EDMONTON -

With Alberta’s health-care system now the focus of a military mission, the people who work within it say they're reaching a breaking point as stress compounds with negative patient interactions.

Dr. Erika MacIntyre, a critical care physician working in Edmonton’s Misericordia hospital ICU shared with CTV News Edmonton how some patients – who usually are not vaccinated – are verbally abusing health-care staff.

“There has been some individuals who have accused us of giving them COVID,” MacIntyre said. “That’s always a bit of an added stress because that is not the case.”


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She recalled another time where one ICU patient, whose condition had improved enough to be able to leave the ICU, offered harmful remarks to the very staff helping them recover.

“On the way out of the ICU, this individual called us killers,” MacIntyre said.

“Despite people’s vaccination status, despite their health, we do the best that we can to treat the individual,” MacIntyre added.

She said the worst stress on health-care workers, however, is the fact that no one knows when the situation in hospitals will improve.

“No day seems to be the same as the one before,” she added. “Everything is changing.

“It’s so much change. It’s hard to even know what form of change to talk about at this present time; the changes to staffing, to where we are.

“We don’t know when this is going to end. We all expect it to get worse before it gets better. So we’ve anticipated that.”

THE DEAD MAKE WAY FOR THE DYING

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) told CTV News in a statement that after being called upon earlier this week, up to eight ICU nurses and aeromedical transport for critical care patients – both in and out-of-province – are ready to be deployable “within 24 hours.”

Surge capacity in hospitals continues to be added in ICUs, with occupancy 89 per cent yesterday to 83 per cent Friday.

That reduction is not necessarily good news, however.

According to Alberta Health Services (AHS), that six per cent decrease occurred as 18 surge spaces opened in the past 24 hours and some patients either recovered or died.

“It’s tragic that we are only able to keep pace with these sort of numbers because in part some of our ICU patients have passed away,” AHS CEO and president Dr. Verna Yiu said on Thursday. “This reality has a deep and lasting impact on our ICU teams.

“We are facing a fragile balance,” she added.

'A critical time': Alberta's top doctor calls out individuals trying to use fake COVID-19 vaccine cards

As of 12:15 p.m. Friday, there were 368 ICU beds open in Alberta, including 195 additional spaces – representing a 113 per cent increase over the baseline of 173 normal spaces, AHS said.

There were 304 total patients in ICU, the vast majority who are COVID-19 positive.

On Friday, the Central zone operated at more than 100 per cent of current capacity, with 26 ICU beds.

The South and North zones were operating at 89 and 87 per cent, respectively. The South zone has 36 beds while the North zone has 15.

The Edmonton zone, with 158 beds, had 84 per cent of current capacity filled while Calgary, with 133 ICU beds, had 75 per cent filled.

Dr. Paul Parks, Alberta Medical Association president, told CTV News that adding surge beds or capacity in one area means taking away from others.

“It’s a bit of a 'rob Peter to pay Paul,' every time we add a couple of beds, we impact the system somewhere else,” Parks said. “The whole point is that it’s not infinite.”

Opposition leader Rachel Notley said the CAF assistance requested by the province is helpful but the premier needs to go beyond medical evacuation assistance.

“I think that’s helpful but I think that’s a fraction of what we need,” Notley said.

“What’s really sad is that we are having to call on the Canadian Armed Forces, that we are having to call on the federal government and other provinces,” the Alberta NDP leader added. “We’ve allowed it (our system) to collapse to a scandalous level of incompetence. That needs to stop.”

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 Manitoba

Anishinaabe woman wonders why the Bay is selling orange shirts for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Hudson's Bay Co. says proceeds from sale of orange shirts

 will go to non-profit

Stephanie Cram · CBC News · 
Dani Lanouette was surprised to see the Hudson's Bay Co. is selling orange shirts ahead of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. (Submitted by Dani Louette, Hudsonsbay/Instagram)

With the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation coming up, many Canadians are trying to get their hands on an orange shirt, to commemorate what was previously known as Orange Shirt Day.

But recent social media posts led to some Indigenous people asking whether one major retailer was trying to profit off of the painful legacy of residential schools. 

In an Instagram post earlier this week, The Hudson's Bay Co. said it is selling orange shirts with the slogan "Every Child Matters."

Dani Lanouette, who is Anishinaabe from Neyaashiinigmiing and Algonquins of Barriere Lake, says she had posts from the retailer blocked on Twitter for years.

"But I saw a tweet … of a screenshot of the post, [and] I was like, 'oh man, I got to unblock them," she said.

"To see a company that has a very colonial history — a history of colonial violence within so-called Canada — to see that they were now selling orange shirts actually made me nauseous. It was so gross to me."

An Instagram story posted on the Hudson's Bay account says that Phyllis Webstad's orange shirt was 'lost.' (Hudsonsbay/Instagram)

A Hudson's Bay spokesperson told CBC the company did not mean to cause any confusion about the sale of the shirts, and said they were made available for purchase in collaboration with the Orange Shirt Society, a B.C.-based non-profit that works to create awareness of the effects of residential schools.

All of the proceeds from the sale of the orange shirts will go to the non-profit "to support their work to commemorate the residential school experience, to witness and honour the healing journey of the survivors and their families, and to the ongoing process of reconciliation," the spokesperson said in a statement sent to CBC on Saturday.

Role in colonization

The Hudson's Bay Co. is one of the oldest companies in Canada, and in fact existed long before Canada even became a country in 1867. Prior to then, the company actually served as a de facto government in parts of North America. 

"If we look at the area where the Hudson's Bay Co. kind of took over and set up all their trading posts and stuff, it's all Indigenous land," said Lanouette, who became interested in the history of the company as a teen.

In 1868, a huge chunk of land owned by the company was sold to the Dominion of Canada under The Rupert's Land Act, which resulted in a large part of the Prairies — including Manitoba — joining Canada.

The HBC spokesperson's statement said the company "recognizes the role it played in the colonization of Canada," and is proud to work with the Orange Shirt Society "as part of our commitment to truth and reconciliation."

But for Lanouette, the Bay's more recent history is problematic.

"When we look at their history, even within the past 100 or so years, [Hudson's Bay had a] role with Inuit [and] the high Arctic relocation program where families were taken from … northern Quebec to Nunavut," she said.

In 1953 and 1955, a group of 87 Inuit were persuaded by the Canadian government to leave their homes in Quebec, with promises of better hunting and the option to return in two years — promises that were broken.

"There was only a Hudson's Bay trading post up there," Lanouette says, and "they really [played] a role in the starvation of Indigenous peoples and in food insecurity today."

For her, the main issue with the Bay now selling orange shirts is the perception the company is profiting from the experiences of Indigenous survivors who were forced to attend residential schools, many of whom suffered horrific abuse.

"I think they should actually just be giving reparations without needing to sell anything or … rely on consumers to make that donation for them through purchasing a shirt," said Lanouette. 

She also questions how the Bay represented the personal story of Phyllis Webstad, which inspired the Sept. 30 Orange Shirt Day observances that came before the newly established National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

In 1973, on Webstad's first day at the St. Joseph Mission Residential School in B.C., the then six-year-old's favourite orange shirt — which had been given to her by her grandmother — was taken from her as soon as she arrived at the school. 

The orange shirt has since become a symbol of remembrance for those who were forced to attend the residential schools.

In an HBC Instagram story, the retailer stated Orange Shirt Day "grew out of Phyllis's account of losing her new orange shirt on her first day of school." 

That's not right, says Lanouette. 

"In reality, it was stolen from her."

With files from Erin Brohman

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Calgarians gather downtown for Orange Shirt walk to support residential school survivors

By Radana Williams Global News
Posted September 25, 2021
The third annual Orange Shirt Day walk was held in downtown Calgary Sept. 25, 2021. Global News

As Canadians get set to observe the first Truth and Reconciliation Day on Sept. 30, a Calgary group held a walk and afternoon of community programming Saturday.


The Colouring It Forward Reconciliation Society started the day with the third annual Orange Shirt Day Walk along Stephen Avenue to honour and remember the victims of Canada’s residential school system.

Organizers say it’s a way to show solidarity with survivors.

“I think the biggest takeaway is to see both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people walking together to honour survivors of residential school, survivors of the ’60s Scoop, and the families who are supporting those survivors and who are trying to deal with intergenerational trauma,” said the society’s CEO Diana Frost.

“Just to see all the people who come out to show their support, show their love and their support for positive change.”

Frost said with the first instance of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on the horizon, this and other Orange Shirt events are more poignant than ever.

She wants to eventually move the annual event to fall in line with the statutory holiday so more people can take part.

“The only reason that we kept it on the weekend was because I want to wait a little longer until more organizations are observing the stat. Because this is so important for survivors to be able to come out with their families,” Frost said.

Frost adds she hopes people continue their support for survivors year-round, not just on Sept. 30.
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Meet Blake Desjarlais, the Métis NDP candidate who just ended a Conservative stronghold in Edmonton Griesbach

NDP candidate bested Conservative incumbent by 1,468 votes

Michelle Bellefontaine · CBC News · 
Blake Desjarlais says he will be the first two-spirit MP in the House of Commons. The NDP candidate unseated Conservative incumbent Kerry Diotte in Edmonton Griesbach in Monday's vote. (Nathan Gross/CBC)

Blake Desjarlais had already won Monday night but the victory wasn't real for him right away. 

The 27-year-old NDP candidate had unseated Conservative Kerry Diotte in the riding of Edmonton Griesbach, the first time someone who wasn't Conservative had won the riding. 

But on Wednesday, after all mail-in and special ballots were counted, it became official. 

After reserving comment until the official results were in, Desjarlais sat down for back-to-back, one-on-one media interviews on Thursday in his campaign office on 118th Avenue in Edmonton. 

"I just kept thinking in the back of my head, 'We're so close,'" Desjarlais said of the hours of waiting, where he thought about the people he met during weeks of door-knocking. 

"And throughout that time, I had an opportunity to reflect and think, 'How did they vote after that?'… It was a unique kind of torture, but we survived it and we're here and I'm excited."

Desjarlais is Métis, fluent in Cree and will be the first two-spirit member of parliament.

Prejudice sparked interest in social justice issues

His birth mother, Brenda, was a victim of the Sixties Scoop, a time the Canadian government took Indigenous children away from their parents and placed them in the homes of white families. Brenda ended up in multiple foster homes, Desjarlais said. 

As an adult, Brenda struggled with substance use. Desjarlais said she supported herself by working as a sex worker on the 118th Avenue strip, where his campaign office is located today. 

Brenda became pregnant so she reached out to her sister Grace for help, an act Desjarlais described as "very hard and courageous." 

Grace travelled to Edmonton by bus and was there when Desjarlais was born at the University of Alberta Hospital. She adopted him after winning a legal battle with the child welfare system. She brought Desjarlais back to Fishing Lake Métis Settlement, about 278 kilometres northeast of Edmonton. 

"Something rare happened, something that most Indigenous children [don't] ever have the opportunity, which is to survive and to go back home, to have their language, to have onto them their inheritance, the cultural one, spiritual one," Desjarlais said. 

Desjarlais returned to Edmonton at 16 to attend high school, where he says he faced prejudice and saw the structural biases within the education system. 

WATCH | Meet Canada's first two-spirit MP:

Canada's first two-spirit MP

2 days ago
1:07
Edmonton Griesbach MP-elect Blake Desjarlais speaks about his background and upbringing and how it led to his interest in social justice. 1:07

"Death threats, teachers telling you you have the history wrong, people telling you your language is dead, that you're a conquered people," he said. 

"It hurts. And it's what sparked my interest for social justice, sparked my interest for seeing people where they're at the most vulnerable, trying to make sure that we have dialogue between often difference of opinion." 

After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science, Political Science and Government from the University of Victoria, Desjarlais worked as a project co-ordinator in the institution's office of Indigenous Affairs. His current position is director of public affairs and national operations with the Métis Settlements General Council. 

Ground game

The federal riding of Edmonton Griesbach is a puzzle the federal NDP has tried to solve. The riding has the counterintuitive voting patterns of many Edmonton electoral districts. Voters choose NDP MLAs for the provincial legislature, but steadfastly elect Conservative members of Parliament. 

Janis Irwin, now the MLA for Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood, finished second to Diotte in 2015 by 2,800 votes. Mark Cherrington, the 2019 nominee, fell about 12,000 votes short.  

Irwin, now a campaign veteran, helped Desjarlais with the door-to-door canvassing for the 2021 effort. 

Desjarlais was joined on the campaign trail by Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley (second from left) and Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood MLA Janis Irwin (second from right). (Blake Desjarlais/Instagram)

Desjarlais said the ground game is what put his campaign over the top. They focused on the areas north of Yellowhead Trail, which includes neighbourhoods like Calder, Rosslyn and Delwood that are home to many new Canadians. 

"We knocked on thousands of doors. We made tens of thousands of phone calls," he said. "We met with hundreds and hundreds of organizations."

Desjarlais is excited to join Edmonton Strathcona's Heather MacPherson as one of the NDP's two Alberta MPs. 

He feels both a sense of pride and humility that Edmonton Griesbach voters chose him to represent them in Ottawa. 

"It feels like a tremendous honour and gift that I will never take for granted," he said. "And I hope folks can trust that. "

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