Tim Meech

Personally I am infuriated by the actions of these MLAs and senior staff members. How many of us sacrificed your Christmas’s to follow public health guidelines? Even more unfortunately there are many who have sacrificed so much more than that. While we were self isolated a Cabinet Minister flew to Hawaii. While we were self isolated his Chief of Staff was in London UK. London!!! While our business were closed. While we did what was asked of us. I am heart broken by these ac...tion. Further, I am so very angry over the ridiculous display put on by Jason Kenney today at his news conference. To try and justify the actions of his Cabinet Minister, MLAs, and senior staff is deplorable. These people have no business being in government. None. They have broken the trust we placed in them. I will continue my opposition to this government with renewed energy. Tim Meech

I’ve had a few people reach out to me for my reaction around our MLA taking a holiday in Hawaii. I ran against Tracy Allard in the provincial election as the A...lberta Party Candidate. I always found Tracy to be a delightful person. She is smart business person and involved in our city. It genuinely pains me to see the potential downfall of anyone, including someone I have a very different position politically from. I am also not calling for Tracy’s resignation. When I separate the person from the position, I would expect that person to resign their cabinet position without a call from the public. As a cabinet minister in a government that has implemented strict COVID measures, they need to set a strong example. I have zero doubt she needed a break, but so does each and every person reading this. 2020 was damn hard and the flip of the calendar does nothing to relieve the stresses we all feel. I can think of two funerals that can not happen, someone else I know battling cancer commented today that, under the restrictions, she cannot have her three sons come for Christmas supper without fear of significant fines from a law by these same exact people (Tracy is not alone) jetting off on tropical vacations. Every one of us in Alberta making huge sacrifices, with the aforementioned exceptions. From what I understand, as minister she is in charge of Alberta’s Emergency Management and is Vice Chair of the UCP COVID Cabinet Committee, part of that but not exclusively, it is within her portfolio to oversee the rollout of the vaccine. With the Kenney government having only 30% support in their handling of COVID and now news we are having the next to weakest rollout in Canada, with one of the ministers in charge of that roll out in Hawaii, lives hang in the balance. That is damn well disrespectful to not just the people here in her riding, but all Albertans. Jason Kenney is too insecure to admit a mistake by him or anyone on his team. The blame in Kenney’s world is cast on all of us. To be frank, this is the playbook of these types of politicians, look south of the border. This is what I had to stand up against when I ran, Kenney has been telling us who he is for decades. He is also counting on you to have a short memory, it’s worked in the past around the equalization formula he helped create but today blames Ottawa for it. Kenney is Ottawa but more than that, Kenney is Kenney and we are, to quote a non political friend, his peasants. With Tracy, she made a mistake, she is not a bad person despite the company she keeps. She made a mistake, a mistake in judgement, with lives in the balance. Bad judgement is a common theme from this government. Not taking responsibility is also a common theme in this government so honestly, when I heard Kenney called for a media conference, I did not expect action, rather that he would chastise Albertans as though we are bad 5 year olds. Deflection and cast guilt. I do expect Tracy to speak at some point and I do not envy her, I wish her well but from the outside looking in, this looks like a serious misjudgement of judgement and duty. As for Jason Kenney and the ECP, Entitled Conservative Party, you know how I feel. How long will your memory be? The window for the next campaign period opens in 761 days.

The Alberta Party calls on the provincial government to take tangible steps to solve the COVID crises in long-term care homes. Vulnerable Albertans are suffering from lack of action. As more Albertans are effected by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is increasingly obvious that more than slight increases to funding are needed to protect vulnerable seniors. To date, 351 of the 551 reported deaths have been in long-term care facilities or supportive/home living sites. ... The provincial government must immediately provide a sustained, clear pay increase program for those working in long-term care facilities to ensure an increase of their wages, attract new workers, and eliminate the need to work in multiple facilities. So far they have access to federal funding for this purpose and have not provided clarity on the program’s future. Inspections on HVAC systems must also start immediately, and a grant be provided to update systems as needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other viruses. Further, in order to prevent any future tragedy from occurring, the Alberta Party calls on the government to introduce an online professional development course to improve the training of long-term care workers, and grant a technical certificate, making the career more attractive, and provide a potential stepping stone for those looking to enter the health care field. To ensure that there is a more integrated and effective emergency response to future crises, Alberta should partner with the other provinces to lobby for the creation of a Federal Emergency Response Team. This would create an important group within the federal government to respond to a number of domestic emergencies, and take the strain off of the Army Reserve, usually used in these situations. Jacquie Fenske, Acting Leader of the Alberta Party: A society is only as strong as its most vulnerable, and right now we are failing seniors. With targeted measures we can increase the safety of long-term care homes and limit deaths caused by COVID-19. The number one job of government is to keep citizens safe. We are failing. By offering targeted supports, we can turn the tide until a vaccine is made available, and Alberta must use the lessons learned to create a more resilient and safe system.