Notley, AUPE respond to Kenney's cabinet shuffle

BY JOSH RITCHIE
Last Updated Sep 22, 2021 

CALGARY — It didn’t take long for reaction to roll in after Jason Kenney shuffled his cabinet on Tuesday.

The cabinet shuffle was quick and saw former Health Minister Tyler Shandro shifted to be the new minister of labour and immigration.

While the man who held that role for the last two years, Jason Copping, was sworn in as the new minister of health.

Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley says swapping two ministers doesn’t change the fact that Jason Kenney is still the premier.

“Even if Jason Kenney were to step down, it doesn’t change the fact that the UCP has proven fundamentally that they cannot provide a responsible government for Albertans in a life-threatening pandemic,” said Notley.

She adds that while she isn’t sure if Tyler Shandro actually resigned from his position or not, the current issues the government face go beyond the former health minister.

Meanwhile, the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) welcomed seeing someone new take on the role of health minister.

“Good riddance,” said AUPE Vice-President Susan Slade. “Tyler Shandro set fire to Alberta’s health care system and hung Albertans out to dry throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s past time for him to suffer some consequences for his actions.”

In a release, AUPE says members recently obtained more than 1,299 online signatures calling for Shandro to resign.

Slade says Kenney’s cabinet shuffle is an attempt for the premier to salvage his reputation and echoed Notley in saying that, this is still a government run by Kenney.

“This is still Kenney’s government,” she said. “This does not erase how he has mistreated and attacked health care workers. Doctors won’t forget. Nurses won’t forget. Support services won’t forget. Patients won’t forget.”

Slade added that there are still some blemishes on Copping’s record, which include “regressive changes to workers’ compensation and legislation that could shut down protests against the government.”

“AUPE members are ready to defend themselves and all Albertans, regardless of whomever Kenney appoints,” she said. “When workers are under attack we stand up and fight back.”

Tyler Shandro and Jason Copping swap cabinet positions

Labour and Immigration Minister Jason Copping will take over the health portfolio this afternoon

Author of the article: Ashley Joannou

Publishing date: Sep 21, 2021

Health Minister Tyler Shandro announces the province's new COVID restrictions at McDougall Centre as Dr. Deena Hinshaw joins the press conference from Edmonton on Friday, September 3, 2021

 PHOTO BY AZIN GHAFFARI /Postmedia

Tyler Shandro is no longer Alberta’s health minister after more than a year of heavy criticism over his handling of the portfolio.

Shandro was shuffled out at a short ceremony Tuesday afternoon, swapping roles with former labour and immigration minister Jason Copping who now takes over the health ministry.

Media was not invited to the ceremony, which was broadcast online. At a press conference later in the day, Premier Jason Kenney said Shandro offered his resignation from the health role and that both he and Shandro agreed it was time for a change.

“It is time for a fresh start, and a new pair of eyes on the largest department in the government, especially at a time such as this,” Kenney said, adding that it has been a “gruelling” file for Shandro.

Shandro had repeatedly faced calls to resign as health minister amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a protracted dispute between the government and doctors.

NDP Leader Rachel Notley — whose party had made those calls — said the news of Shandro’s shuffle was “welcome” but not a solution to the crisis going on in Alberta hospitals, which are overwhelmed by COVID-19.

“A cabinet shuffle will not ease the immense pressure on our hospitals from this severe fourth wave. It won’t reschedule the life-saving surgeries of thousands of Albertans. It won’t recover our economy. And it won’t help everyday families looking for leadership. Albertans deserve better.”

As newly-minted health minister, Copping said his focus will be on increasing hospital capacity, educating vaccine hesitant Albertans and preparing the health-care system for potential future waves of COVID-19.

“I stepped into this role, resolutely committed to building immediate capacity. However, we also know that COVID-19 is not likely to go anywhere, anytime soon,” he said.

Shandro’s departure comes as the province grapples with the fourth wave of COVID-19, which has put heavy pressure on the health-care system, particularly in intensive care units, leading to the cancellation of all surgeries that are considered non-essential and calls for other provinces and the federal government to help

.

Premier Jason Kenney standing in front of Jason Copping the newly appointed Minister of Health during a news conference in Edmonton, Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021. 

PHOTO BY ED KAISER /Postmedia

Kenney under fire

It also comes as Kenney faces internal conflict over the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, a senior member of the UCP called for his resignation, days after asking the UCP board to hold an emergency meeting to discuss an early leadership review.

Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt said Tuesday that he doesn’t think swapping Shandro for Copping will be enough to quell the discontent Kenney is facing.

“I don’t think he could have done anything to keep his job. I mean, Shandro is being removed why? Because he implemented exactly what the premier wanted him to do,” he said.

Ahead of a caucus meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Kenney said he believes he still has the support of the members of his party, caucus and party board.

“There have been a voices of opposition to public health policies from within my own party from day one of the pandemic. It’s not a secret. But my responsibility as premier is to listen to public health advice, look at the reality, not wish it away, not allow politics to pressure us from taking the necessary steps to save lives and protect the health-care system,” he said.

Bratt also said he believes moving Shandro off the health file has been in the works for some time but that Kenney held off until after Monday’s federal election to avoid doing more damage to the federal Conservatives.

When questioned multiple times by reporters about the timing of Shandro’s move, Kenney repeated that the pair decided that it was time for a “fresh set of eyes” and said the government is focused on getting through the fourth wave of the pandemic, not on politics.

‘Good riddance’: AUPE

Shandro was regularly at odds with the province’s health-care associations and doctors, leading to the multiple calls for his resignation.

In March, 2020, after Shandro took fire for confronting a Calgary doctor in his driveway over a social media post, Kenney rejected such calls, saying it was understandable Shandro became “passionate” in defending his spouse.

After doctors voted down a contract offer from the province in April 2021, Kenney rejected calls to fire him, saying he had his “full, 100 per cent confidence.”

Dr. Paul Boucher, president of the Alberta Medical Association, said that while there has been challenging times during negotiations, he appreciates Shandro’s “efforts to improve the relationship with physicians in recent months.”

“I wish him well. We look forward to continuing with his successor our current efforts to solidify the relationship between government and the medical profession,” he said in a statement Tuesday.

In 2020, the government said it would be cutting 11,000 Alberta Health Services jobs mostly by outsourcing positions in laboratories, housekeeping, food services and laundry. The change is estimated to save $600 million annually.

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), which has raised the alarm about the outsourcing, welcomed the news of Shandro’s departure.
“Good riddance,” said Susan Slade, AUPE vice-president, in a statement. “Tyler Shandro set fire to Alberta’s health-care system and hung Albertans out to dry throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s past time for him to suffer some consequences for his actions.”

Kenney, meanwhile, thanked Shandro for his service and called him “one of the hardest working people I’ve ever known.”

The AUPE and Friends of Medicare criticized Copping for a piece of legislation he tabled last year limiting presumptive coverage for psychological injuries to only firefighters, police officers, peace officers, paramedics, corrections officers and emergency dispatchers.

Friends of Medicare also condemned a call his local constituency association made for the government to “support the option of a privately-funded and privately-managed health-care system” during the UCP’s 2020 convention.

Slade claimed moving Shandro is Kenney’s attempt to salvage his reputation by giving the impression of a fresh start for his government’s management of the health-care file.

“This is still Kenney’s government,” she said. “This does not erase how he has mistreated and attacked health-care workers. Doctors won’t forget. Nurses won’t forget. Support services won’t forget. Patients won’t forget.”

– With files from Lisa Johnson

ENDLESS NIGHT OF THE LONG KNIVES

Jason Kenney has asked UCP for leadership review at party’s Spring convention

The issue of Kenney’s leadership came up at a meeting of the UCP caucus on Wednesday, but members did not proceed with a no confidence vote

Author of the article:

Tyler Dawson
Publishing date:Sep 22, 2021 • 

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney during a news conference regarding the surging COVID cases in the province on Sept. 15. PHOTO BY AL CHAREST / POSTMEDIA
Article content

EDMONTON – Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has requested that a review of his leadership take place at the party’s Spring convention, according to an email viewed by the National Post.

“I have spoken with the Premier who specifically asked that we make this change so that we could deal with any leadership issues well in advance of the next election,” says the letter, sent from Ryan Becker, president of the UCP, to the party’s constituency association presidents. “We are all aware that recent government decisions on responding to the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic have caused anger and frustration among some party members and there is a growing desire to hold a leadership review.”

The news comes on the heels of a meeting of the United Conservative caucus, held Wednesday in Calgary, where the issue of Kenney’s leadership came up, but members did not proceed with a no confidence vote against the premier.

Kenney has faced increasing pressure within his party in recent weeks as case counts climbed; 20,000 Albertans currently have COVID, with more than 1,000 in hospital and 230 in intensive care.

Some critics in the party believe that the public health measures have gone on too long, while others have spoken out saying the government was too slow to act on the fourth wave.

There has been much speculation in political circles recently about whether or not caucus would have attempted to force Kenney out on Wednesday. Several prior Alberta premiers, including Ralph Klein, Ed Stelmach and Alison Redford, were hounded by caucus infighting.

Outside of the caucus, party grassroots have also been agitating, calling for a review of Kenney’s leadership, including the party’s Vice President of policy, Joel Mullan, in a piece in the Western Standard magazine.

“Until last week, I was one of Jason Kenney’s most vocal supporters. I campaigned for him in both leadership races and the Wildrose-PC unity vote. In light of the choices he has made last week I can no longer support him, and indeed believe he must resign,” he wrote, referring to the premier’s implementation of COVID-19 measures and a vaccine passport.

Speaking to the Edmonton Journal, Mullan said “I do admire Jason Kenney – I think he’s brilliant. I just don’t think this is the job for him anymore.”

That review of Kenney’s leadership, according to the Wednesday letter, will happen at the party’s 2022 annual general meeting.

Becker’s letter says “the best way for members to be heard at this time and for our party to uphold our member-driven, grassroots tradition is for the 2022 AGM and leadership review to take place in the Spring.”

“Our board will work to secure the necessary date and venue to make this a reality.”

Kenney, asked on Tuesday night about his leadership, said he was focused on the pandemic response and not what he suggested was a “political sideshow.”

“I’ve invited a review, there’s a review that will take place, but … right now, 100 per cent of my attention and that of my team and the whole government, has to be focused on a life and death crisis that we are facing,” Kenney said

— Additional reporting by the Edmonton Journal

Jason Kenney's Job Is in Danger. So He's Firing People

The Alberta premier replaced his minister of health amid calls for Kenney, himself, to resign. It's all happening as the province sinks deeper into the fourth COVID wave.

By Anya Zoledziowski
TORONTO, CA
22.9.21

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is ignoring calls to step down following a federal election outcome that’s especially devastating for his United Conservative Party, all while the province suffers from a preventable fourth wave of COVID-19 driven by the Delta variant.

On Monday, Canadians reelected Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to lead a minority government—again—after Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole failed to secure more support for his party. For weeks leading up to voting day, many pundits speculated that Kenney’s COVID-19 track record would result in fewer votes for the federal Conservatives, and O’Toole even tried to distance himself from Kenney during his campaign’s final days.

Jason Kenney Sorta Admits His ‘Mistake’ Led to Alberta's Health System Falling Apart

ANYA ZOLEDZIOWSKI  16.9.21

In the end, the federal conservatives did lose votes in Alberta, and now, calls for Kenney’s resignation are growing.

“I can no longer support him, and indeed believe he must resign,” Joel Mullan, a United Conservative Party vice-president and former Kenney fan, wrote in an op-ed.

Alberta, typically a slam dunk for Conservatives, remains blue, but the federal Conservatives lost more than 14 percent of voters who voted for them during the last election in 2019. Across the province, at least three previous Conservative seats were forfeited to the Liberals and the left-leaning NDP, and there’s still a battle in Edmonton-Centre, where the Liberal and incumbent Conservative candidates are neck and neck. The far-right People’s Party of Canada also enjoyed a boost from Albertans after successfully courting the anti-lockdown and anti-vax crowd. (Alberta has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Canada.)

Kenney decided to keep his job and instead replaced his government’s Minister of Health on Tuesday. The post, previously held by Tyler Shandro, a man known for evading questions from reporters and berating a physician at his family home, will now be held by Jason Copping, the former minister of labour and immigration.

“It is time for a fresh start, and a new set of eyes on the largest department in the government, especially at a time such as this,” Kenney told reporters.

It’s unclear, however, whether the move will improve Kenney’s tenure as party leader. Two UCP MLAs told the Globe and Mail that Kenney may face a vote of confidence on Wednesday. UCP constituency groups are also thinking about pushing for an early UCP leadership review.

To understand why, turn to Alberta's frightening COVID-19 backdrop: As of Tuesday there were nearly 21,000 active cases in Alberta—nearly half of all total cases in Canada—and 2,574 deaths. (Since vaccines become more accessible, most deaths are among the unvaccinated.) The situation is so bad hundreds of surgeries, including cancer-related surgeries, have been cancelled, and Alberta’s ICUs have a record-breaking number of patients. Ontario has said it will step in and take some of Alberta’s ICU patients, if needed.

The fourth wave could have been mitigated with a more proactive approach to the pandemic and vaccines. But Kenney had declared the pandemic over at the start of the summer and announced the end to all COVID-related restrictions. Mask and physical distancing mandates were gone, and Kenney repeatedly promised the “best summer ever.” He also promised to not implement vaccine passports, something the anti-vax and anti-lockdown chunk of his base eschews.

Unsurprisingly, in the face of Alberta’s health care system collapsing, Kenney has had to walk back those promises and bring back masks and other strict public health measures. As of Monday, Albertans need to show proof of vaccination to frequent many businesses. It’s a decision that likely harmed O’Toole, who had previously praised Alberta’s pandemic response.

“Kenney’s communications has been disastrous. His planning in the pandemic is without a clear vision or flexibility. Time and again he appears unwilling to plan for more than one possibility with the virus… Instead he has chosen to paint himself into a corner on several occasions where the only way out is to make a liar out of himself,” Mullan wrote.

Oops. Canadian Province That Acted Like COVID Was Over Just Realized It Isn’t
ANYA ZOLEDZIOWSKI  13.8.21

Kenney is a career politician who was serving as a high-profile federal MP until 2016, when he decided to return to Alberta and unite the province’s fragmented Conservative parties. Today, internal division within his party is as strong as ever, with some representatives mad over Kenney’s reluctance to do whatever it takes to combat COVID-19, while others are angry he ultimately implemented vaccine passports and other COVID rules after saying he wouldn’t.

University of Calgary political science professor Lisa Young told CBC News she doesn’t see things getting better for Kenney.

"I think the damage is too great… I think that his personal brand is ruined. The current situation is really quite disastrous and it's going to get worse before it gets better," Young said.

Follow Anya Zoledziowski on Twitter.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney faces down restive UCP caucus over COVID-19 crisis

By Alanna Smith The Canadian Press
Posted September 22, 2021


WATCH ABOVE: As COVID-19 rages through Alberta, intensive care units there are filling up with patients like never before, fuelling more calls for Premier Jason Kenney to step down over how he handled the crisis. As Heather Yourex-West explains, there are concerns a political shakeup would only make things worse.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney faced down a restive and divided United Conservative Party caucus Wednesday, focusing on COVID-19 while managing to avoid a straw vote on his leadership.

UCP backbencher Searle Turton said it was a wide-ranging caucus meeting, but there was no vote of confidence on Kenney’s leadership.

He said the focus of the debate was the pandemic.

“There was discussion about the party, about unity, about how we got here, about COVID.

“Caucus is a robust place to do discussion in a confidential setting,” said Turton, who represents Spruce Grove-Stony Plain.

“There were no votes by caucus. There was lots of robust discussion about the pandemic.”

A look at the political challenges facing Premier Jason Kenney


READ MORE: Alberta health-care workers desperate for COVID-19 help: ‘We are treading water as furiously as we can’

Kenney has been challenged by some of his legislature members for decisions on COVID, which has escalated into a crisis that has overwhelmed the provincial health system and forced Alberta to seek outside help.

Some of Kenney’s caucus members have criticized his health measures as being too little too late, while others say he has gone too far and violated individual rights by imposing a form of voluntary vaccine passports.

3:56 Political scientist says Kenney played ‘politics with Alberta’s COVID response’Political scientist says Kenney played ‘politics with Alberta’s COVID response’

Joel Mullan, the party’s vice-president of policy, has already called for Kenney to resign and says enough constituency associations have signed on to force an early party review and vote on Kenney’s leadership.

Kenney isn’t slated to face a mandatory leadership review until late next year.

But Mullan has said 30 constituency associations have promised to pass resolutions to call for an earlier review. If that happens, Kenney could face a vote by the membership in about three months and would lose the top job unless he wins at least a simple majority.

1:34 Premier Jason Kenney shuffles cabinet as calls for his resignation grow louderPremier Jason Kenney shuffles cabinet as calls for his resignation grow louder

Kenney has dismissed accusations of party infighting and calls to resign, saying Tuesday he’s focused on the COVID crisis.

Alberta has more than 20,000 active cases of COVID-19 and its critical care facilities have already been pushed well past normal capacity.

There were 1,040 people in hospital Wednesday with the illness, including 230 in intensive care. There were 20 more deaths reported, for a total of 2,594. The province also announced its first COVID-19 death of a person under 20.

Kenney’s government is looking to other provinces for critical care staff, particularly intensive care nurses and respiratory therapists. It is also working with the federal government to potentially have the military airlift some patients to other provinces.

Other medical procedures have virtually ground to a halt, with non-urgent surgeries cancelled to free up staff for COVID care. Doctors are being briefed on the criteria to use if resources run short and they must decide which critically ill patients get help and which do not.

The province has pinned its hopes on getting vaccination numbers up. Those numbers have improved since last Wednesday, when Kenney introduced a vaccine passport for non-essential businesses.

More than 81 per cent of eligible Albertans, those over age 12, are now fully vaccinated and almost 73 per cent of those eligible have had at least one shot.

Businesses that stick to the new passport can operate with almost no restrictions but must make sure patrons are double vaccinated.

Kenney’s government has been criticized for leaving that decision up to businesses because it causes confusion and forces compliant businesses to face the wrath of anti-vaccination customers.

Other provinces have made it mandatory.

3:23 Calgary city council makes Alberta vaccine passport program mandatory at eligible businesses 

Calgary city council took matters into its own hands Wednesday, voting to make the passport — known in Alberta as a “restrictions exemption” — binding on non-essential businesses, with fines for violators. That new rule begins Thursday.

Elsewhere in Alberta, the passport is voluntary but non-essential businesses that do not comply face other restrictions, such as maximum one-third customer occupancy or, in the case of restaurants, outdoor seating only.

Also Wednesday, Alberta’s Opposition NDP called for the reinstatement of contact tracing in schools and an early warning system for potential school closures.

NDP education critic Sarah Hoffman says action is needed immediately given that there are nearly 5,000 active cases among students, staff and families.

— With files from Dean Bennett in Edmonton

© 2021 The Canadian Press

 Calgary

Jason Kenney survives caucus meeting with leadership review to come

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Alberta premier is facing down caucus revolt as fourth wave of COVID-19 pandemic batters province

Drew Anderson, Elise von Scheel · CBC News · Posted: Sep 22, 2021 

CBC News understands from sources with knowledge of the meeting that government MLAs introduced a motion challenging Alberta Premier Jason Kenney's leadership at some point in Wednesday's meeting, but later withdrew it. (Todd Korol/The Canadian Press)

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney faced down a caucus revolt on Wednesday, as factions within his United Conservative Party coalesced in opposition to his leadership — but a reckoning has been put off to another day. 

There had been some expectations of a confidence vote. MLA Searle Turton says there was no such vote at the meeting.

Dave Prisco, UCP director of communications, said Kenney requested that the 2022 UCP AGM take place in the spring and that the scheduled leadership review occur at that time. Prisco said the party is working to confirm a date and venue.

Ryan Becker, UCP president, said in a letter to the party's constituency association presidents that he spoke with Kenney and the premier asked for the change to deal with any leadership issues well in advance of the next election.

"We are all aware that recent government decisions on responding to the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic have caused anger and frustration among some party members and there is a growing desire to hold a leadership review," Becker wrote. 

CBC News understands from sources with knowledge of the meeting that government MLAs introduced a motion challenging Kenney's leadership at some point in the meeting, but later withdrew it.

Turton said the focus of the discussion was on the government's handling of the COVID-19 crisis.

"I mean, obviously it's a brute and bashing group of MLAs, but that's what caucus is for, having those frank conversations, and I'm thankful that we had that ability," he said. 

"Most of caucus spoke up and, like I said, our focus is on the province, COVID-19, making sure that families and communities are protected."

He said caucus is more united than when they entered the room earlier Wednesday. 

Calls for resignation

Kenney is facing open threats to his leadership within the UCP, with MLAs and the vice-president of policy, Joel Mullan, openly calling for his resignation.

Some in the caucus are angry that Kenney introduced vaccine passports in an effort to stem the tide of the crushing fourth wave of COVID-19, while others say the government waited too long to take action. 

The province has the highest active case counts in the country by a wide margin, with hospitals and intensive care units (ICUs) straining under the pressure. 

• 'Kenney effect' hurt federal Conservatives on Alberta election night, experts say

• OPINION
  The biggest loser in Monday's federal election might just be Jason Kenney

Alberta Health Services said on Wednesday that the province's ICUs are at 87 per cent of capacity, including added surge beds. Triage of care kicks in at 90 per cent of capacity. 

Wednesday's meeting comes the day after Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro resigned and swapped his portfolio with Jason Copping to become the minister of labour and immigration. 

Critics said the swap was an attempt by the premier to deflect criticism as threats mounted against him. 

• Cabinet shuffle won't save Jason Kenney from COVID-19 crisis in Alberta, critics say

Constituencies consider moving up leadership review

Before the caucus meeting Wednesday, some UCP constituency associations were considering passing motions to move up the date, according to media reports. 

Speaking on the Calgary Eyeopener Wednesday morning, Mullan said the UCP remained a grassroots party and he hoped any decisions on a leadership review would be left to the constituencies rather than have it handed down from caucus.

Despite the controversies and conflict, Turton said the caucus meeting was productive. 

"I think there's always going to be differences of opinion, and when it comes to many of the issues before us, that's what makes for healthy, robust debates."

Corbella: UCP members are already trying to

 find a replacement for Premier Kenney

According to government insiders who spoke on the

 condition of anonymity, Kenney is beginning to realize

 that he cannot hold onto his job as premier

Author of the article: Licia Corbella
Publishing date:Sep 22, 2021 • 

Premier Jason Kenney answering questions on the cabinet shuffle appointing Jason Copping as the new Minister of Health during a news conference in Edmonton, September 21, 2021. 

PHOTO BY ED KAISER/POSTMEDIA

Already, speculation is swirling about who will replace Jason Kenney as premier of Alberta.

Government MLAs are being approached by party officials to test their appetite to lead a fractious United Conservative Party that is splitting not so much into left or right divisions — red or blue teams — but into maskers and anti-maskers, those in favour of vaccine passports and those who are militant against them. Never has the urban-rural divide been more stark, and many of the rural MLAs who are in favour of vaccines and vaccine passports are not in line with their own constituents regarding their antipathy against vaccine passports.
According to government insiders who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Kenney is beginning to realize that he cannot hold onto his job as premier, but wants to hold off making any political moves that leads to an expedited leadership review for fear of who will gain control of the party he worked so hard to form and lead.

Tuesday’s mini cabinet shuffle — basically a job swap — moved Tyler Shandro out of Alberta’s troubled health portfolio into Labour and Immigration. Calgary Varsity MLA, Jason Copping, who was viewed as a competent labour and immigration minister, has been moved into the health portfolio, “because he doesn’t have any leadership hopes going forward. It’s recognized,” said the source, “that whoever moves into the health portfolio in Alberta is really a sacrificial lamb,” said a government source.

“People with future political ambitions don’t want to touch the health portfolio because they see the divisions in the caucus and the province and how fraught it all is,” said the source. “It’s a minefield.”

Mount Royal University political science professor Duane Bratt says this job swap — that occurred in Edmonton in a low-key ceremony in which Alberta Lt.-Gov. Salma Lakhani oversaw the new ministers’ oaths of office — will not quell the anger against Kenney, who is viewed as being responsible for the dire situation facing our hospitals. Had the province not increased the number of ICU beds in the province, Kenney said Tuesday our hospitals would be at 169 per cent of capacity. The province is also making contingency arrangements to airlift sick patients out of province in the days and weeks to come.

Another government source said that ironically, a couple of UCP riding officials are in hospital battling for their lives over COVID-19 — a disease that they had denied even existed — though he refused to say who they are.

“If they weren’t in hospital fighting for their lives, they’d be calling on Jason to step down for bringing in vaccine passports,” said the source.

Currently, Alberta’s expanded ICUs are at 87 per cent of capacity and most non-urgent surgeries in the province have been cancelled.

“It’s a cliche, but this is rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic,” said Bratt of the cabinet shuffle.

“This is a power move by Kenney. It’s clear, he was waiting until after the federal election to make this announcement and it’s not going to save him,” said Bratt.

“I think we’re sitting with a situation where the caucus is so divided and the cabinet is so divided, but the one thing that they all do agree on is that the premier has to go,” said Bratt. “But don’t underestimate the political infighting skills of Jason Kenney.”

Premier Jason Kenney standing in front of Jason Copping, the newly appointed Minister of Health, during a news conference in Edmonton, September 21, 2021.

 PHOTO BY ED KAISER/POSTMEDIA

Brian Jean, who along with Kenney, worked to unite the Wildrose and the Progressive Conservative parties to form the UCP, bizarrely asked his Twitter followers in a string of 23 tweets, whether a new political party fashioned after the Saskatchewan Party should be formed.

Various names of possible contenders were bandied about but they couldn’t be reached so their names will not be mentioned here.

Another government source said Kenney is holding his cards close to his vest but did confide that if there was a leadership contest during this fourth wave, it would revolve around whether someone was pro-mask or anti-mask, pro-vaccine or anti-vaccine, and that would destroy the party’s chances going forward in a general election.

“Timing, as they say in politics, is everything,” added yet another source. “(Kenney) is doing everything he can to protect this party to ensure the economic future of this province and to ensure that an anti-vax crazy doesn’t have a mobilized base that sells more memberships than anyone else and takes down the party.”

The premier says he accepted Shandro’s resignation, mutually recognizing it was time for “a fresh start and new set of eyes” on the largest department in the government.

“When I asked Tyler to serve as health minister in April of 2019, nobody, nobody could have predicted the crisis that he would be tasked with taking on,” Kenney said Tuesday at a 5 p.m. media conference.

Another government insider who asked to remain anonymous says Shandro had had enough of “being public enemy No. 1, where his wife and children are even sometimes accosted because of government decisions.”

Shandro famously tore up the contract for Alberta physicians in February 2020, just one month before Alberta and the rest of the country entered into its first COVID-19 lockdown. It’s acknowledged and recognized that his move came at the behest of Kenney, who was following the recommendations made by the panel led by former Saskatchewan finance minister Janice MacKinnon. Many rural physicians left or considered leaving the province for greener pastures, and bitterness still remains.

Kenney says Shandro offered his resignation and they both came to the same conclusion that the time was right for a change. “It has been a gruelling two-plus years for Tyler. I was there myself and saw he and his family being chased and assaulted by anti-vaccine protesters, and all of that has taken a real toll on Minister Shandro,” said Kenney, referring to the Canada Day event when Shandro, his wife and their young children were accosted by supporters of fringe mayoral candidate Kevin J. Johnston, who was in jail at the time for uttering threats to health officials.

Another government source, who only spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he has already been approached to consider running for the leadership of the party, something he is going to discuss with his family.

The leadership train is leaving a station that just two years ago looked like it was going to be parked for a very long time.

Licia Corbella is a Postmedia columnist in Calgary.

Braid: Kenney heads off caucus revolt but agrees to leadership review

In the caucus meeting, MLAs were asked what they planned to do if they actually managed to unseat the premier. Nobody had a good answer for that one

Author of the article: Don Braid • Calgary Herald

Publishing date: Sep 22, 2021 • 

The party revolt against Premier Jason Kenney fizzled Wednesday, after UCP members of the legislature first presented a motion of non-confidence in his leadership, then dropped it like a hot brick.

The rebel move at the private caucus meeting came from Highwood member R.J. Sigurdson, who had considerable backing, or seemed to.

The response from the pro-Kenney side was a classic bluff.

Let’s vote, they said — right now, on the spot — and the ballot will not be secret.

The resolution was pulled, the revolution postponed. Nobody gets a statue or the premier’s job.

“People tend to forget that Kenney is a tough guy,” says one insider, who was not present at this meeting. “He’s experienced, knows all the angles and he isn’t afraid of a fight.”

And so, Canada’s most beleaguered premier of the COVID-19 era wins this round.

There is an olive branch, though — his agreement to have a party leadership review early next year.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Kenney spoke to party president Ryan Becker, asking for a spring annual general meeting and leadership review. An email went out to all riding presidents immediately.

Kenney’s party executive had earlier ruled that the review would be held in fall, about six months before the next election in spring of 2023. The people who oppose him wanted a vote much earlier.

Kenney’s agreement now seems to spike a motion circulating among the ridings, requiring a review vote no later than March 1, 2022.

In the caucus meeting, MLAs were asked what they planned to do if they actually managed to unseat the premier.

Nobody had a good answer for that one. The UCP bench is decidedly devoid of obvious contenders for the job, although a couple of ministers are quietly forming campaigns.

There’s a far more important question for the vast majority of Albertans who believe in vaccination and reasonable measures to contain the province’s raging wave of COVID-19, by far the worst in Canada.

What happens if Kenney is kicked out and his successor comes from the wing of caucus that is opposed to measures, and even to vaccination?

Some of these people think their premier is crushing their freedoms. A like-minded premier could turn Alberta into Florida overnight.

Kenney, after taking their views into account for far too long (that’s how we got into this mess after the infamous Open for Summer campaign), now places himself squarely on the side of current measures, including a vaccination passport.

He has a reprieve. But his deft handling of the caucus showdown does not get him out of trouble with the public.



The reaction to Kenney’s summer holiday, and the sneering dismissal of the looming fourth wave, is still causing widespread public fury.

The whole health system is in genuine crisis, with 1,040 people hospitalized, 230 in ICUs, hospital wings and wards shut down, surgeries cancelled — even in a children’s hospital — and Kenney’s government begging other provinces and Ottawa for help.

The latest Leger Research poll on premiers’ approval, completed just before the uproar over new Alberta measures, shows Kenney with only 23 per cent support for his handling of the pandemic. Seventy-two per cent are dissatisfied.

The next least popular premier on this issue, Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe, is far ahead of Kenney at 39 per cent.

Surely galling to Kenney is the 75 per cent rating of the NDP premier next door, John Horgan of B.C. In Quebec, Francois Legault is at 76 per cent.

Those premiers have had their own severe COVID-19 crises, but they have usually been consistent. Kenney, eternally plagued by his implacable freedom caucus, has not.

And as a result, his biggest problem is not the fractious caucus. It’s the voters.

Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Herald

U.S. must prepare now to replace International Space Station, experts urge


Astronaut Thomas Pesquet took this photo of Hurricane Ida from the International Space Station on August 29. 

Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo

Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Policymakers warned Tuesday that Congress must move quickly to extend the life of the International Space Station to 2030 and develop new space stations or risk a costly gap in space exploration.

Abandoning the space station, which is to be decommissioned in 2028, without replacements would only serve the interests of China, which has a new space station in orbit, U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, said during a congressional hearing held virtually Tuesday morning.

"If they [China] are the only game in town, other nations will seek to partner with them to gain access to space. This would erode America's strategic leadership," Babin said.

NASA and space industry experts delivered the testimony to the House Space and Science Subcommittee, chaired by U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va.

RELATED NASA mulls how to dispose of International Space Station

The committee made no formal budget or policy recommendations, but Beyer said it was important to approach the space station's role and upcoming funding needs "with eyes wide open."

NASA has solicited proposals and received more than 10 from U.S. companies that want to build and launch new orbiting habitats, said Robyn Gatens, NASA's director of the space station.

NASA alone spends $3 billion to $4 billion per year on the International Space Station, and expects to save up to $1 billion per year if it can rely on private space stations instead, Gatens said.

RELATED NASA moves ahead with plan to support private space stations

"Extending the operation of the ISS could give us private industry time to develop the capabilities and experience to operate in [low-Earth orbit] and to deploy the platforms that will meet the needs of NASA and other users there," Gatens said.

"NASA envisions a transition period of roughly two years, during which both ISS and commercial ... destinations are operational."

But space industry representatives said Congress must adequately fund NASA to stimulate the growth of commercial activity in orbit.

RELATED NASA's new $23 million space commode system is more than just a toilet

If not, the U.S. space program would risk a gap like the nine-year delay between the space shuttle's retirement in 2011 and SpaceX's astronaut launch to the space station in 2020, said Jeffrey Manber, CEO of Houston-based space firm Nanoracks.

"The challenge to ensure a seamless transition is more urgent today than with the shuttle, as our reliance on space assets is far greater today," Manber said.

"I don't fear cooperation and competition with China, but we cannot allow even the perception that we will cede 20-plus years of humans working [in orbit] to others."

Cooperation with Russia's space program will be vital to keep the International Space Station operating, especially given recent problems like air leaks and the growing threat of space debris, former astronaut William Shepherd testified.

"I think the answer to this is to reestablish a much more intimate working relationship with our Russian counterparts," Shepherd said, adding that more discussion with Russia "would have been very common 20 years ago."

Russia is a major partner in the international coalition of nations that operate and use the space station, having launched the first section in 1998. Other partners are Europe, Japan and Canada.

Astronaut Kate Rubins said research aboard the space station is crucial to any deep space missions NASA intends to tackle because science still has much to learn about how humans deal with long-term space exposure -- including the effects of radiation and weightlessness.

NASA intends to turn over research and human occupation in low-Earth orbit of space to private companies after 2030, but the agency also must finalize plans to bring down the space station after it is retired.

The agency's proposal for such disposal envisions using a Russian Progress spacecraft, modified so it could direct the space station into a fiery re-entry through the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.

NASA told UPI recently that the disposal plan is subject to ongoing international negotiations. Beyer said at the close of Tuesday's hearing that he intends to seek more information about NASA's disposal plan in a future hearing.

20 years aboard the International Space Station


The International Space Station is photographed by Expedition 56 crew members from a Soyuz spacecraft after undocking on October 4, 2018. NASA astronauts Andrew Feustel and Ricky Arnold and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev executed a fly-around of the orbiting laboratory to take pictures of the space station before returning home after spending 197 days in space. Photo courtesy of NASA/Roscosmos

RACIST FOR PROFIT MEDICINE USA
Study: Cancer risk higher among Hispanic people compared to White people


The risk for many cancers remains higher among Hispanic people compared to White people, the American Cancer Society said. Photo by Rhoda Baer/Wikimedia Commons


Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Hispanic people in the United States are up to 30% less likely to develop cancer and die from the disease compared with White people, according to an analysis published Tuesday by CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

However, Hispanic people still have a two-fold higher risk than White people for being afflicted by potentially preventable, infection-related cancers, including liver and stomach cancers, the data showed.

In addition, Hispanic women are more than 30% more likely to suffer from cervical cancer, which is almost completely preventable through screening and vaccination, compared to White women.

The risk for cervical cancer is 78% higher for Hispanic women in Puerto Rico compared to White women nationally.

Much of the high burden of cancer in the Hispanic population could be reduced by increasing access to high-quality prevention, early detection and treatment services, the researchers said.

"Addressing this critical gap ... is going to be essential for mitigating the predicted growth in the cancer burden," study co-author Kimberly Miller, a scientist at the American Cancer Society, said in a press release.

At least part of this reduced access to key screening and treatment services is due to shortfalls in health insurance coverage among Hispanic people, research suggests.

The society publishes its report on the risk for cancer among Hispanic people every three years.

The Hispanic/Latino population is the second-largest racial or ethnic group in the United States, accounting for 19% of the total population, or more than 62 million people, in 2020, based on census figures.

However, it also has the highest percentage of people without health insurance of any major racial or ethnic group -- nearly triple that of White people, at 26% versus 9%, among adults ages 18 to 64 years, a recent study found.

RELATED Cancer patients less likely to face 'catastrophic' care costs under ACA, study finds

In Puerto Rico, nearly one-half of the 3 million Hispanic people living there receive health insurance through Medicaid, according to a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Medicaid, the federal government-run program for low-income individuals and families, is substantially underfunded in the territory, Miller and her colleagues said.

In addition, variations in cancer risk between Hispanic people and White people, as well as within the Hispanic community, are driven by differences in exposure to cancer-causing infectious agents and behavioral risk factors, the researchers said.

For example, the prevalence of cigarette smoking in 2019 was 16% among White people compared to 9% among Hispanic people residing in the continental United States, a recent analysis found.

However, within the Hispanic population, smoking prevalence ranged from 6% among those with roots in Central or South America to 17% among those from Puerto Rico who now live in the continental United States.

Hispanic people also have among the highest prevalence of excess body weight, the second-most important modifiable cancer risk factor, Miller and her colleagues said.

Cancer still is the leading cause of death among Hispanic people, reflecting the younger age of the population.

An estimated 46,500 cancer deaths will occur among Hispanic individuals in the continental United States and Hawaii in 2021, the researchers said.

The most common causes of cancer death among Hispanic men are lung cancer, at 13% of diagnoses, and colorectal cancer and liver cancer, each at 11%.

Among Hispanic women, the most common cancers are breast cancer, at 14% of diagnoses, and lung cancer, at 10%.

Fewer than half of Hispanic people age 45 and older were up-to-date with colorectal screening -- colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy -- in 2018 compared with 58% of White people, with a lower percentage even among those who were uninsured, according to a recent study.

"More research is needed to assess not only the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the utilization of cancer care, but also the impact on cancer incidence and mortality trends as COVID-19 has disproportionately affected minority populations in the U.S.," Miller said.

Myanmar leads global plunge in digital freedom after military coup, report says


Myanmar saw a massive decline in Internet freedom after a February military coup, the Freedom on the Net report said, headlining a year that saw a global erosion in digital rights.

 File Photo by Xiao Long/UPI | License Photo

Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Myanmar saw its Internet freedom plummet in the wake of a military coup, a report released Tuesday by U.S. think tank Freedom House said, headlining a year that saw an erosion of digital rights around the world.

The 2021 Freedom on the Net report found a global decline in Internet freedom for the 11th consecutive year, as governments censored and arrested users for online speech and weakened data and privacy protections.

Myanmar's overall score dropped by 14 points on the report's scale of 100, marking the most severe decline ever documented.

"As part of its attempt to crush dissent and maintain power, the military junta shut down Internet service, blocked social media platforms and websites, seized control of the telecommunications infrastructure and ramped up intrusive surveillance," the report said.

The Southeast Asian state, which remains embroiled in a violent internal conflict after its military coup in February, fell to the third-lowest position in a ranking of 70 countries, ahead of only Iran and China in a bleak year for online freedom.

"Free expression is under unprecedented strain around the world," the report said. "In 56 countries, a record 80% of those covered by Freedom on the Net, people were arrested or convicted for their online speech."

The report found that at least 20 countries shut off the Internet at some point during the year, while users in 41 countries faced physical attacks as retribution for online activities, another record high.

Among the year's disturbing trends was rising government use of spyware and extraction technology developed by private companies such as Israel's NSO Group.

"A booming commercial market for surveillance technology has given governments more capacity than ever before to flout the rule of law and monitor private communications at their discretion," the report said.

After Myanmar, Belarus and Uganda saw the next-largest drops in their rankings as both countries cut off digital access and arrested online critics during election seasons.


Belarusian incumbent President Alyaksandr Lukashenka claimed victory in a fraudulent August 2020 election and followed up with a brutal campaign of repression against pro-democracy protesters and online journalists and activists.

In Uganda, longtime President Yoweri Museveni's government shut down the Internet, flooded social media with misinformation and harassed journalists amid a January 2020 election that opponents have called rigged.

However, it was an increasingly authoritarian China that remained "the world's worst abuser of Internet freedom," the report said, with Beijing imposing "profoundly oppressive" restrictions on digital users.

Over the past year, online journalists and citizens were sentenced to long prison terms for criticizing the government or simply sharing news stories, while information on topics such as the COVID-19 pandemic was heavily censored. China has also tightened its controls over the country's tech giants in a move that consolidates even more power in Beijing's hands.

On the opposite side of the ledger, Iceland was ranked as the best environment for Internet freedom for the third year in a row, scoring 96 out of 100 points for its near-universal connectivity, minimal restrictions and strong rights protections.

Estonia came in second, while Costa Rica, included in the report for the first time in 2021, ranked third as one of the first countries in the world to recognize Internet access as a fundamental right.

Taiwan was another new entry this year and ranked fifth due to a "vibrant online landscape" that is supported by an independent judiciary and affordable access.

The United States landed at 12th place following a decline for the fifth year in a row, thanks in a part to the growing proliferation of false, misleading and manipulated information online. The report also cited the enhanced online surveillance of racial justice protesters and the secret collection of phone and email records by the Justice Department during a leak investigation.


Authorities in at least 48 countries pursued new regulations on tech companies such as Facebook, Google and Twitter over the past year, the report noted.

In some cases, the rules were meant to rein in the unchecked power of the tech giants. More frequently, however, countries such as India and Turkey exploited new laws to remove online content critical of the government and access user data, the report said.

WHITE JUNKIES
Opioid addiction kills as many people in U.S. as heart attack, study says

By HealthDay News


People who have been hospitalized with opioid addiction-related issues in the United States die at rates similar to those for heart attack, according to new research. File Photo by chuck stock/Shutterstock

Hospitalized opioid addicts die at a rate similar to people who have a heart attack after leaving the hospital.

Nearly 8% of patients addicted to opioids died within 12 months of hospital discharge, according to researchers from Oregon Health & Science University.

"We need systems that can address comprehensive needs of people with substance use disorder and serious medical illness," said study co-author Dr. Honora Englander. She is an associate professor of medicine at OHSU in Portland.

"That means trauma-informed systems that destigmatize addiction to make health care systems more trustworthy and more effective for our patients," Englander explained in a university news release.

RELATED Rising number of U.S. cardiac arrests linked to opioid abuse, study says

The study looked at data on more than 6,600 Medicaid patients treated in Oregon hospitals between April 2015 and December 2017.

Drug-related causes, including overdoses, accounted for 58% of the 522 deaths that occurred within a year of leaving the hospital.

The other deaths were from diseases of the circulatory, respiratory and endocrine systems, the researchers found.

RELATED Study: Some seniors at increased risk for opioid misuse after hip surgery

According to study co-author Caroline King of OHSU's department of biomedical engineering, "A lot of the research has focused on overdose deaths.

We found that overdoses are really just the tip of the iceberg for these patients, representing 13% of deaths in the year after discharge."

A one-year death rate of 8% is similar to that from conditions like a heart attack.

Englander pointed out that, "for heart attacks, hospital systems across the U.S. have universally accepted standards, metrics, and quality reporting that drives performance. The same should be true for opioid use disorder, where death rates are similar."

King said health systems need to do a better job of integrating and removing the stigma from the medical care these patients need.

And, Englander stressed, "It should be easier to access methadone than heroin. Right now, that is not the case -- systems are such that people have to work so hard just to get life-saving treatment."

The findings were published online recently in the Journal of Addiction Medicine.

More information

There's more about opioid addiction at the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Copyright © 2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Animal sedative driving rise in fatal drug overdoses, CDC says

The animal sedative xylazine is increasingly being seen as a driver behind drug overdose deaths in the United States, the CDC said in a recent report.

An animal tranquilizer, xylazine, is increasingly linked to drug overdose deaths across the United States, health officials say.

According to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, xylazine has turned up in overdose deaths in 25 of 38 states examined.

In 2019, xylazine contributed to death in 64% of cases and almost always also involved fentanyl.

The drug is mixed with opioids, such as fentanyl or heroin, to enhance their effects, but this cocktail can increase sedation and respiratory depression.

RELATEDAnimal tranquilizer driving deadly rise in opioid ODs in Philadelphia

That, in turn, increases the risk of a fatal overdose, CDC researchers explained.

"The detection of xylazine in multiple jurisdictions is concerning and warrants continued surveillance to inform overdose response and prevention efforts given that naloxone administration may not be as effective when xylazine is mixed with opioids," wrote Mbabazi Kariisa, from CDC's division of overdose prevention at the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, and colleagues.

The drug naloxone can reverse effects of an opioid overdose, but xylazine is not an opioid, so naloxone may not work well in these users.

RELATEDDrug overdose deaths up nearly 30% in U.S. during pandemic-scarred 2020

Still, since xylazine is usually paired with opioids, it should always be given, Kariisa said.

"As there is no pharmaceutical antidote for xylazine, immediate supportive care such as respiratory and cardiovascular support is especially critical," Kariisa said.

Xylazine is used in veterinary medicine to sedate animals and is not meant for use in humans.

Another report in Friday's issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, highlighted the increase of xylazine overdose deaths in Connecticut.

Between 2019 and July 2020, deaths from the combination of fentanyl with xylazine rose from 6% to 11%, the researchers reported.

Pat Aussem is associate vice president at the Partnership to End Addiction. She said, "People who use xylazine may unknowingly consume it, as it can be added to the drug supply either to enhance drug effects or as a cutting agent to increase volume and reduce costs."

Combined with opioids, xylazine's sedating effects, especially at bedtime, seem to be part of the appeal for people who seek it out, hence the slang name "sleep cut" or "tranq," she noted.

"The combination of opioids and xylazine increases the risk of an overdose, as both drugs are central nervous system depressants. It can depress breathing, blood pressure and heart rate to dangerous levels or result in a fatality," Aussem said.

Special care may be needed if xylazine is involved in an overdose, she added, since naloxone's effectiveness may be diminished.

"Calling 911 is always important when a suspected overdose occurs, but maybe more so for supportive respiratory and cardiovascular care related to xylazine," Aussem said.

"Xylazine also appears to cause painful skin ulcers, so keeping wounds clean and/or getting professional treatment may be needed," Aussem said.

People using substances and the health care providers who work with them need to be educated on additives and their harmful effects, Aussem said.

"Further, when an overdose occurs, offering quality care is needed rather than merely stabilizing the person and discharging them to the street," she added

.More information

For more on drug dangers, head to the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Copyright © 2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.