Calgary

I have been absolutely gobsmacked reading the statements from UCP MLAs and staffers defending their decisions to travel over the holidays. Tens of thousands and... millions of Albertans embraced the motto "we are all in this together" and made choices to protect their families and loved ones and help control the spread of Covid. They stayed home. They respected public health directives. They cancelled trips and modified family traditions. My brother and sister-in-law came to Lacombe Christmas Eve and stood at the end of the driveway and sung carols to mom and myself. Yet at least 10% of the UCP caucus decided that they could squeak by and travel to Hawaii, carry out "necessary property management" in Palm Springs, and others. Some have offered halfhearted apologies, and others, such as Red Deer's Jason Stephan, have been defiant. Look, I'm angry. I'm angry because our elected officials should hold themselves to a high standard. I'm angry because so many people I know have been isolating yet MLAs flew to Hawaii. I'm angry because Premier Kenney lied when he wasn't aware that MLAs had left the province. That's simply not how Caucus works. Albertans deserve better.

Our party leader Jacquie Fenske shared words yesturday to stressed Albertans regarding provincial leadership and COVID.

Ninety percent of Alberta’s youth move into the classroom this September with others having started this week. Connect Charter School opened their doors to stud...ents on Thursday. Administration were there for weeks, organizing and planning for Scenario 1 Re-Entry. Custodial staff were there for weeks, installing new sanitization stations, removing unnecessary furniture, and sanitizing everything from floor to ceiling. The office staff were there to re-organize lists of students, to communicate new policies and procedures to parents, and to coordinate complex bus routes and supply lists. And teachers were there to prepare classrooms built in the 60s for a 2020 pandemic, and to train to become wardens in an environment rife with rules. But do you know who weren’t there? Our provincial leaders. Our Ministry of Education, led by Adrianna LaGrange, didn’t bother to check on the first public school to open. The Ministry, which claims to be invested in the success of our school re-entry program didn’t even bother to check on the administration of their plan. Minister Adrianna LaGrange didn’t ask how the first day went, didn’t ask what struggles were faced, didn’t ask what resources could mitigate the obstacles faced by staff, students, and parents on that first day, and didn’t ask what policies and procedures could be best translated into the larger boards across the province. Instead, there was silence and ignorance. As a parent, a teacher, and the Alberta Party Education Critic, I would ask this of our leaders: Spend a day in a Covid-19 classroom. Every MLA, and certainly our Minister, should spend a day following a student in their constituency. From two metres away, follow that child onto the bus, wearing your mask. Take an assigned seat, by yourself, amongst a random collection of youth. Get off the bus, wearing your mask, and immediately move through an assigned door, to your homeroom. Do not loiter in hallways, go to the bathroom, get a drink, or go to lockers (we all keep our belongings with us). Now stand in line to wash your hands (this will take 15 minutes) and move to your assigned seat. Do not leave that desk. Sit; wait for class to start. Class starts and you sit, listen, and work at your desk. As an MLA, feel free to catch up on emails but don’t leave your desk, don’t go for a drink, and, if you need to go to the washroom, ask and then wait to ensure there aren’t more than four people already using the washroom designed to service 300 students. But don’t worry. The teacher is going to take advantage of the good weather (until October) and get the class outside. You can now follow the students outside to continue working on the grass. There is likely no internet outside, so you will have to forgo the emailing, but you will find something to do. Hopefully, the wind is mild, the temperature accommodating, the grass dry, and, with luck, you don’t have any seasonal allergies. Finally, after more than 90 minutes in a mask, you have made it outside and, as long as you sit away from all the kids, you can take off your mask. Follow protocol and place it in a bag, use a sanitizer before removing it, and prepare to use a new one as this one should be considered contaminated. If you would like to engage with your young constituents, just raise your voice a little and expect that there are no ‘private’ conversations. At some point you will return indoors to get further instructions, to switch teachers, and to get out of the sun. And to stand in line and wash your hands. You will get lunch and time again outside after another 60 to 90 minutes in the assigned seat and mask, though, if the weather changes, you will have to remain in your assigned desk for lunch and recess and for the next several hours of classes. Hopefully, you enjoy the company of the two students next to you. By the end of the day, if you maintained mask protocol for all 8 hours, if you remained in your assigned seat for all 5 hours, and if you followed all handwashing procedures, you should be able to get home safely. Congratulations on completing day one of the 2020/2021 school year. Ideally, this exercise will help our MLAs and Minister to understand the complexities of this re-entry plan. Ideally, this will help our leaders find solutions to some of the obvious struggles that our students will encounter. Ideally, this will help our province find solutions that respect the needs of our educators, students, and parents during a complex time. I am asking our leaders to complete the same task they have assigned to 8-year olds. I hope they can manage.

Let Kenney know: SHANDRO’S GOT TO GO! Sign the petition today. Albertans deserve quality medical care in their local communities. They shouldn’t have to drive t...o the city to deliver a baby, see their doctor, or visit the ER. But Tyler Shandro doesn’t understand or doesn’t care about the lives of rural Albertans. Let our Premier know: Alberta needs to keep its rural doctors. That means Alberta needs a new health Minister. Sign our petition to send a message that Tyler Shandro needs to be fired. https://www.albertaparty.ca/kenney_shandro_go

It's been an unfortunate use of $30 million a year when we "can't afford" extra sanitation, COVID proof supplies or barriers, or smaller class sizes in schools. What if instead of Jason Kenney suggesting to teachers that kids can help "tidy up", he and our MLA Sonya Savage suggested that the Energy Ministry tidy up their spending and share it with education and health care. #AbLeg

The leaders of our provincial government can give us a much more balanced, effective approach.