Brace yourselves, Alberta, for a hard, circuit-breaker lockdown to rein in the province’s surging, out-of-control COVID-19 infection rate.
We can be reasonably certain this is coming soon to Alberta’s error-riddled pandemic response because Jason Kenney informed us yesterday there’s no way it’s going to happen.
The Alberta premier had taken to the airwaves to respond to calls for a “fire-break” lockdown to counter the collapse of the province’s health care system, including an open letter yesterday from the province’s former chief medical officer of health and a critical care physician.
In the letter, James Talbot and Noel Gibney urged newly appointed Alberta Health Minister Jason Copping to close bars, gyms, casinos, indoor dining, and sports facilities for at least four weeks.
And as University of Alberta economist Andrew Leach tweeted yesterday evening, Alberta’s premier “rejected the possibility of a 4th wave, and previously rejected calls for more stringent measures during the 2nd and 3rd waves. He rejected calls for a vaccine passport. He rejected calls to replace Shandro” – that is, his former health minister Tyler Shandro, who is now the labour minister.
So, Dr. Leach concluded, “Kenney rejecting something is a sure sign that it’s coming.”
Mostly AWOL nowadays, Mr. Kenney nevertheless joined a sympathetic right-wing Montreal talk radio host yesterday to defend his government’s response to the pandemic and blame others for the province’s heavy COVID caseload and high death rate.
“I know there’s some people out there who would like to impose a hard lockdown on everyone,” Mr. Kenney told Roy Green, the 74-year-old broadcaster who is apparently the only radio commentator the premier can find nowadays who won’t ask him tough questions.
“First of all, that makes no sense for the 80 per cent of the population that’s vaccinated, who are at much lower levels of risk of transmission and extremely lower levels of risks of hospitalization,” the premier bloviated.
“But secondly, it’s the roughly 20-per-cent of the adult population who are unvaccinated who are less likely to observe health measures,” he rolled along, omitting acknowledgement that his United Conservative Party Government barely tries to enforce what restrictions it imposes, or that his past statements and promises have encouraged Alberta’s aggressive vaccine refuseniks.
The premier’s gaslighting continued unabated by Mr. Green’s softball questions to include the government’s half-hearted “proof of vaccination program,” the vaccine passport Mr. Kenney vowed would never come to Alberta, and a defence of the decision last summer to be the first province to drop almost all restrictions.
“I don’t think we were wrong to drop public health restrictions in the summer, July the first,” Mr. Kenney said. “We saw the numbers go down for five or six weeks after that. Case numbers went down very low. Hospitalizations, fewer than 100 people in hospital.
“How could I have possibly have justified what the opposition and others wanted, which was continued damaging restrictions when there was no evidence to support that?”
How indeed, when experts were almost universally calling for just the actions Mr. Kenney rejected out of hand?
“We were too optimistic, but it was not just an unfounded optimism that the analysis done by our public health team of how other jurisdictions like the United Kingdom and Israel had done at similar levels of vaccination suggested that we would be able to open it up and not rely on restrictions to manage the disease below the maximum capacity of our health care service,” he blathered on.
Anyway, Mr. Kenney said, getting back to the question at hand about a circuit-breaker lockdown, “in the case of Alberta, our perspective has been that restrictions should be a last and limited resort.”
That statement, at least, is accurate. Indeed, Premier Kenney’s reluctance to impose tough restrictions, and his government’s consistent hurry to drop them, is almost certainly the reason things are as bad as they are here now.
Since Mr. Kenney – as was once said of the House of Bourbon – learns nothing and forgets nothing, a hard lockdown now seems all but inevitable.
Too bad that whatever action Mr. Kenney takes is almost certain to be too late – a hallmark of UCP mismanagement from the start of the pandemic – to save many lives and perhaps even to rescue the province’s crumbling health care system.
As of last Friday, Government of Canada statistics showed Alberta, with about one eighth of the country’s population, with the highest count of active COVID cases among all Canadian provinces and territories by a significant margin – 20,040 cases compared with 6,478 in Quebec, the next highest provincial caseload. Quebec has almost double Alberta’s population.
Similarly, the COVID death rate per 100,000 population in Alberta in the previous two weeks led the country dramatically – three times higher than that of B.C., almost six times higher than Ontario’s rate, nearly seven times that of Quebec, and 40 times that of Nova Scotia.
Almost all surgeries have been cancelled in Alberta and triaging of patients who require care from the province’s jam-packed intensive-care units to survive has begun in some places and looms elsewhere.
“…it’s the roughly 20-per-cent of the adult population who are unvaccinated who are less likely to observe health measures.”
Let’s not forget the children under 12 years old who are all unvaccinated. Those children would be likely to observe the closure of their schools, if, for example, their schools were closed. It’s pretty hard to argue with a locked door. Kenney should know that Albertans will never forgive or forget when it comes to applying the triage protocol to children. And why, when it looks like the vaccine could be available to them in as little as a month? A month is not an eternity. The death of a child is forever.
Tell us again, Premier, how little other people’s children matter to you. #FirebreakAB!
(For the record, a school in my community disappeared its provincial flag on that fateful spring weekend in 2020 when the Kenney government laid off more than 20,000 education workers. The flag has not reappeared. The Canada flag flies proudly to this day.)
Hi ABS,
“Let’s not forget the children under 12 years old who are all unvaccinated.” Ok, let’s look at that. How many elementary-age children have died from Covid-19? Following the link posted in the blog to find Alberta I see it says zero. How many of all school-age children (5-19) have been admitted to ICU in Alta? I see 39 with one death and if the 12-19 year-olds were vaccinated that would be a lot lower. These are cumulative numbers since the beginning of the pandemic.
Yes, Covid-19 is serious and Alberta is in a mess largely due to the UCP, but children are not taking the brunt of it. Let’s keep the perceptions in control.
The fix? Lockdown the unvaccinated adults. Just do it…
Good for your local school! Kenney makes me ashamed to admit I’m Albertan.
ABS,
A little more about this on the CBC today. I post the link here but basically it says the medical establishment confirms children don’t get seriously ill from Covid-19. Also interesting is it seems to say that antibody tests show that Covid has been more prevalent in children than other age groups. Yes, children get it and spread it (but less than adults) which is bad for the parents and grand parents who might live with them – but the children don’t experience severe results themselves.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/kids-covid-risk-1.6191067
The message? Get vaccinated.
Off topic – BTW, I really like your point in a previous comment that we all need to reject the Conservatives and like-minded types in every way possible. Get out and work against them, vote against them, and tell everyone about them and how we need to keep them away from the levers of power. They are toxic to us…
Firstly, that study clearly states it applies to previous versions of COVID, i.e. not Delta. Far. Ore children are getting critically ill with Delta than with previous variants or original COVID-19. Secondly, what it showed was that children can still die of this, and that some who survive get long-COVID. “Less likely” ≠ “impossible”. Whose children’s lives do you want to gamble? Yours?
Jerry,
“Far. Ore children are getting critically ill with Delta…” We’re guessing that you have a reference for that statement? If so pls provide it.
Health Canada says that for Canada as a whole there have been 316,803 confirmed Covid cases in the 0-19 age group. It also says that 191 children in this age group were admitted to ICU. Of course 191 is too many, but to talk about triaged and dead children is hyperbole.
Perspective – let’s have a little. Then talk about doing what can fix this, lockdown the unvaccinated.
https://health-infobase.canada.ca/covid-19/epidemiological-summary-covid-19-cases.html?redir=1
This could have been avoided if these pretend conservatives and Reformers we have in the UCP paid attention to medical experts. The UCP thinks they know everything. Albertans must live with the results, but there are people who don’t, because of Covid-19, and how the UCP badly looked after this.
Maybe “Dr.” Kenney can provide more spin in the near future about the children contracting COVid in school. Recent data shows 161 schools affected in Alberta!!! Maybe now the age of deaths can be reduced in some statistical legerdemain just like all previous spin coming from the “Dr.”
We have 62% of the population fully vaccinated, 72% of the population have had 1 dose or more. So where is he getting 80% of the population vaccinated from? Lying liars gotta lie….
according to the Federal Government of Canada Covid-19 coverage site.
https://health-infobase.canada.ca/covid-19/vaccination-coverage/
79.74% of the over 12 population in Alberta has at least one dose.
71.82% over 12 have 2 or more shots.
would you be shocked to learn that as early as June 5th Ab had 66.5% single dose coverage. and 14% fully vaccinated.
Ontario had only hit 8% full coverage by that point.
this surge of case “numbers” is a result of Alberta now classifying all workplace and school absences as ‘confirmed’ cases. 10% absentee rate, at any Alberta school automatically now classified an ‘outbreak’
there is alot of aggressive accounting and a more then a few noble lies floating around..
“No way it is going to happen” … Yes, in Kenney speak it probably means it is coming soon. Kenney seems to miss no opportunity to deplete whatever little is remaining of his credibility. As the old joke goes – how can you tell he is lying? His lips are moving.
I understand Kenney is a career politician and they can have a short term focus, but other long term politicians in most of the rest of the country outside of Alberta and Saskatchewan seem to get that COVID is not a problem that can be easily talked away or dismissed. They seem to have figured out pandering the anti vax fringe is a losing proposition. So, I would not be surprised that we go from open forever summer to lock down fall. Bad decisions and delayed action have unpleasant consequences.
I have to wonder if the real reason Kenney is doing this is his hold on the leadership is tenuous and he is in fear of the anti vax wing of his own caucus. He only narrowly missed having a vote on his leadership vote recently so perhaps he has decided the only way to hang on is not to upset them. If so, I suppose it would be yet another example of Kenney putting politics ahead of the public good. How well has that worked for him so far?
At this point I have concluded he will never learn. The only question that remains is whether he will take his party down with him. It seems quite possible.
I’m convinced Kenney is running scared of the noisy back-benchers–and former UCP member Drew Barnes–so yes, he’s been playing to the rural Covid-deniers all along. I can only imagine what Kenney had to promise to get the leadership review delayed to next spring–but it won’t be good for (intelligent, educated) Alberta or for (ignorant, misinformed, uneducated) Oilberduh either one.
Worse, since Kenney has nowhere else to go–I can’t see former-bro O’Toole giving Kenney a job, much less any business executive wanting him on the team–he’ll drag down the UCP with him rather than quit. I suspect it’s a case of “If I can’t have it, nobody can.”
Even if the UCP members give Kenney the boot, he’ll be replaced by someone less stupidly stubborn and somewhat more plausible. But I can’t say I’d have any confidence a replacement would be more intelligent, more principled or less stubborn.
Jason Kenney seems intent on following the advice of his rural MLA’s over the best medical advice in the Province.
What does that tell voters?
Yes, Jason Kenney views protecting his own position as UCP Leader over and above the health and welfare of Albertans.
The Alberta covid numbers are clear. We are in a crisis situation. The premium has intentially chosen to elongate this crisis, and Albertans will have to suffer through simply because of Kenney’s ego.
What surprises me is that Dr. Hinshaw has not resigned. No point in her remaining if her advice and counsel is ignored.
“I don’t think we were wrong to drop public health restrictions in the summer, July the first,” Mr. Kenney said.”
The families of those individuals that have since passed away, due to COVID-19, during the month of September 2021 might disagree with that observation, or at least some of them might disagree.
Jason Kenney has said that, “I’m happy to be held accountable to the members of my party,” Kenney said. He suggested a premature review would be seen as a “self-indulgent political sideshow.”
https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/alberta-premier-happy-to-be-held-accountable-as-splinters-form-in-ucp-caucus-1.5596126
In order to forego the spectacle of ‘self-indulgent political sideshows’ there are two other options available that would both directly force and enforce public accountability upon Jason Kenney and all those elected public officials that serve him. Those two options are:
1. “Holding elected officials accountable: Bill 52 gives Albertans a way to remove elected officials they feel are not upholding their responsibilities.”
https://www.alberta.ca/holding-elected-officials-accountable.aspx
2. And/or the option of legal judgement and enforcement that is currently being tested in at least one other jurisdiction:
“The Michigan Attorney General’s Office Thursday announced criminal charges for eight former state officials, including the state’s former Gov. Rick Snyder, along with one current official, for their alleged roles in the Flint water crisis. Together the group face 42 counts related to the drinking water catastrophe roughly seven years ago. The crimes range from perjury to misconduct in office to involuntary manslaughter.”
https://www.npr.org/2021/01/14/956924155/ex-michigan-gov-rick-snyder-and-8-others-criminally-charged-in-flint-water-crisi
In a COVID-19 world the issues of political accountability and responsibility have been succinctly addressed by Dr. Charles I.M. Lugosi, as follows:
“It is plain and obvious that it is the public duty of an elected public official is to safeguard the health of the complete population from a pandemic. An elected public official is not immune from criminal liability. Can a decision to relax social distancing and to gradually reverse lockdown orders, without carefully considering the data that can be acquired by extensive testing of the general population, be found by a jury to amount to a wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons? The answer is a resounding yes. A prosecutor can make a compelling analogy to a reckless airline pilot who needlessly chooses not to rely on navigation technology when flying blindly in foggy conditions and crashing into a mountainside, killing all on board.”
https://www.jurist.org/commentary/2020/05/charles-lugosi-public-officials-covid19-criminal-negligence/
It is either time to make Jason Kenney “happy” and fufill his desire for a truly complete, unbiased, nonpartisan, thorough, and direct public accountability, or it is time to simply continue on with the status quo of delusional thinking, cognitive dissonance, and the gaslighting that is the standard UCP ‘Alberta Advantage’.
I’m sorry, Alkyl, the only thing that’ll come from Kenney’s statement (as per your CTV link) is spin. While it would be mildly amusing to see the Premier fall over from dizziness, he’s spinning so fast, that’s the only result I foresee.
Your other examples, unfortunately, come from the US. They have a lot more ways to discipline incompetent or dishonest politicians than Canada offers. There’s been some discussion of class-action lawsuits on lawyer Susan Wright’s blog “Susan on the Soapbox”:
https://susanonthesoapbox.com/2021/09/26/on-liberty-and-albertas-covid-crisis/
and
https://susanonthesoapbox.com/2021/09/19/kenneys-awesome-summer-and-disastrous-fall/
The Twitter version is, you might be able to sue a government in Canada–but it’s really, really hard.
“Your other examples, unfortunately, come from the US.”
First, the example concerning the Flint water crisis and the criminal charges filed against former state officials is an open real world applied example of pursuing and demanding legal accountability of elected public officials. The future outcome along with any and all legal precedents and lessons learned should be interesting.
Second, the link to “Flying Blind: Do Public Officials Risk Criminal Liability by Reopening the Country Without Conducting Necessary COVID-19 Testing?” by Dr. Charles I.M. Lugosi was specifically included, because:
“Dr. Charles I.M. Lugosi represents clients from his base with Crease Harman LLP in Victoria, British Columbia in the areas of constitutional law, tort law, bioethics, commercial litigation, professional discipline and regulatory law, administrative law, and criminal law. He holds a law degree from the University of Western Ontario and an LLM, a Masters in Bioethics and an SJD from the University of Pennsylvania, and is admitted to the practice of law in both Canada and the US.”
And, he specifically addresses the Canadian case:
“In Canada, everyone is criminally negligent who, in failing to do anything that is his or her duty to do, shows a wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons. Other jurisdictions have similar laws. An individual who knows that he or she is positive for COVID-19, yet fails to voluntarily isolate and is found to be the cause of the transmission of the virus to another person who dies from the virus, is guilty of criminal negligence causing death and may be sentenced to life in prison. But what about the potential criminal liability of an elected public official, such as the leader of a country, state, province or municipality, who ignores the need for extensive testing for COVID-19 and instead reopens businesses, schools and public gatherings in response to gloomy economic forecasts, resulting in a predictable second and more deadly wave of infections? Is this second wave of infection foreseeable because of a choice not to do extensive testing in conjunction with a staged re-opening or is it an inevitable reality that we must all face, even if extensive testing is done?” A careful reading of the entire submission by Dr.Lugosi makes that observation and conclusion entirely obvious.
Finally, my note regarding Bill 52 and recall legislation is a made in Alberta solution that advertises itself as a means of:
“Holding elected officials accountable: Bill 52 gives Albertans a way to remove elected officials they feel are not upholding their responsibilities.”
It is up to the Alberta electorate to decide how when they will use such provisions to hold ‘elected officials accountable’. I hope that explanation resolves, at least partially, any confusion, or misunderstanding.
Have a safe day.
This will be exactly how the UPC will discredit and dissolve the public health care as ineffectual in the face of a pandemic .
Starve it , stress it , break it … then call it broken , remove it and ask for bids to replace it.
Whose responsibility is it to not catch covid-19?
It apparently is not the governments as they have followed their science
so it must be yours
Does “look in the mirror” ring a bell?
as horrible as kenneys’ actions look
i think he is following the (corporate/elite) conservative agenda exactly
and masterfully manipulating his base
I’m sure he feels that those who get this disease
have sinned in the eyes of his god
and are not of his chosen ones
Only sure thing is that no matter how many Albertans die as a direct result of his actions, Jason Kenney will never see the inside of a prison cell. It’s not reckless endangerment when a wealthy white man in a suit does it!
The hospital situation in Alberta is so bad it gets onto local news down my way. kenney’s name is getting around and not in a good way, obviously, rather as a kind of incompetent dope. They usually choose to show clips of the blustering defensive-looking ninny version of jason. Even got hisself a New York Times article that was, er, not complimentary.
Another place that opened too early was New Brunswick, and epidemiological pundits in Halifax from Dalhousie University wondered at the time (prior to Aug 1 implementation of abandoning masks etc): “Why would they do that?” Seems that 70% coverage of the eligible instead of 75% of the total population vaccinated so as to minimize risks to children was enough for Higgs and his rather bossy Chief Public Health Officer Jennifer Russell (who has a Wikipedia entry – oohwee) who has some high standing in a national Docs organization, and has been jealous of the better results and guidance in NS, going out of her way to say “I’m comfortable,” almost as a putdown of the criticism from next door from “lessers” in the medical hierarchy. She once was in the Armed Forces and seems a bit regimental segeant-major-ish. Too bad she was wrong to be comfortable, ahem. Higgs and she also got upset when three weeks later after Aug 1, NS re-applied border restrictions on NB. Seems the Tory mind generally reacts in similar ways but to a different degree of foolishness depending on locale. I wouldn’t call Higgs of NB a nutter, far from it, but being overly optimistic on Covid has been a trait of his, and he at least had the decency to apologize over this weekend for re-imposed restrictions and deaths and accepting responsibility. The active case rate is 6 times lower than Alberta per capita, but the worst since this virus madness began 18 months ago, and worse than Ontario and Quebec.
kenney never apologizes for anything and can come up with lame and lying excuses at the drop of a hat. Rewriting history is his favourite tactic, denying what he said before and claiming it’s because it’s being taken out of context or some such pitiful excuse, like an 8 year-old brat of a kid. A completely useless specimen of a human being. Not that some of his followers seem any better and the Albertans who believed the underlying message from the UCP that Covid was all a bit of a hoax are now coughing themselves to death in the ICU, leaving space for new cases of folks who think they’ve got food poisoning or strep throat. Denial of facts is a seminal trait of the stupid and many Conservatives — is there a connection? Only the Shadow knows. Oh and stupid also applies to 1000 or more students from the self-same Dalhousie University who gathered twice for a street party in Halifax on the weekend, at over 20 times the limit for gatherings. “We need some fun, we deserve it,” they said, as some jumped from trees onto the drunken crowd below — dear god, these are our future, and basic math eludes them.
It’s all pretty damn sad.
Of course the question that everyone is asking…why should a middle-aged, childless, confirmed-bachelor care about the health and safety of other people’s kids?
When I was around all those young Reformers in my youth, all being free, childless, and with not a care for any responsibilities, would scream out at the tops of their lungs, “RAISE YOUR OWN GODMAN KIDS!!! THEY”RE PROBABLY ALL GONNA BE CRIMINALS AND DRUG ADDICTS ANYWAY.” Ah, the exuberance of idiotic youth.
Kenney, like the other members of the so called “Snack Pack” were single young men and full of the virtues of irresponsbility. They firmly believed that a better world would result if government and its regulations just vanished. Then, the unfettered free market would take over, everyone would become an entrepreneur and rich overnight. And those who can’t make it, can DIE!!!
His Grace, Conrad “Tubby” Black called himself a “determined social-Darwinist” who was so right-wing he terrified even Margret Thatcher. Imagine, giving the notion to the ‘Iron Lady’ that she was a “wet”? All this points to is that even Thatcher understood that there were clear obligations that government, regardless of their partisan stripe, cannot walk away from. In the minds of these young Reformers, it was all about breaking the state and “Burn, baby. Burn.” Of course, they all wanted careers that were financed on at the public trough, but that’s another story.
As Alberta tetters into becoming defined as a failed state and unworthy of any classification that would call the place modern and civilized, maybe the silver-lining in all this is that the UPC voting anti-vaxxers will all be killed off by their lemming like rush off the cliff.
I can dream, can’t I?
“Alberta economist Andrew Leach” should say, “NDP political hack Andrew Leach”.
You know, if truth has anything to do with it.
Political hacks like him think Kenney controls the pandemic. He does not, and no other jurisdiction in the world does either.
One main aspect of the pandemic not being over is that vaccine passports are not a get out of the pandemic free card. People with their double dose are ramping up the R0 and filling our hospitals with their neighbours.
However, we do not need a hard lock down. What we need is for people to understand that the pandemic isnt over and to double down on physical distancing and other “new normal” practices.
Ad Hominems in one sentence to try to call into question the statements made by Andrew Leach, “if truth has anything to do with it” in the next sentence even without presenting any challenge whatsoever to the tweet. You must be a special person to not need any reason beyond your own, apparently partisan, opinion to determine what the “truth” is, to not identify what that “truth” is and to criticize others for presenting an actual case for their position. Rather than pretend to be our superior, could you deign to actually try to present your true position along with your reasoning?
Also, please try to refrain from straw man accusations as well. At no point did Mr. Leach imply or declare that Kenney controlled the pandemic or that Mr. Leach is a member, or even a supporter, of the NDP (as though that alone would disqualify him from making accurate observations). If you have no supportable opinions other than you don’t like some people, keep that for your friends as opposed to trying to pretend you actually have a contribution to make to the conversation.
BRET LARSON: The head honcho of the UCP, and the UCP are the ones responsible for why Alberta keeps on retuning to the top place in Canada for Covid-19 cases. It is how they are managing the situation so poorly.
Bret: Dr. Leach is an economist. For many of your view an economist is a vicar of the neo-liberal (Thatcherism) church, so your characterization of Dr. Leach should be apostate, not hack. In fact, there are many strains of thought and economic analysis which are evidence-based and do not support your church of neo-liberalism.
Yes, we do need a very hard lock down to give public health measures of testing, infection chain tracing, and compulsory isolation to work. But that means providing funding to replace the public health nurses Klein and the other Thatcher wannabes started cutting years ago. As with SARS and MERS, Covid can be eliminated from our society by those basic measures.
“Just me” in the previous comment to yours has nailed the reasons Kenney and the UCP are controlling the response to this plague in the way they are. As usual, it is all about wrecking the public sector to create a mythical free enterprise heaven which cannot exist.
Just to clarify, SARS and MERS have not been eliminated from our society. In fact, Covid 19 (corona virus disease 2019) is caused by a SARS corona virus. Like the flu, corona viruses will be with us for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, with new variants causing sporadic breakouts. There’s nothing good about corona viruses, but we will continue to amass data on the corona virus family making it (hopefully) easier and more effective to deal with future outbreaks. The only reason we’re having the degree of problems with Covid 19 that we are is political.
He won’t punish the vaccinated, but he will allow the unvaccinated to punish the families of children who need surgeries. And people still believe him and the ucp are doing great. Wow, they really Kenneyed the situation.
“We can be reasonably certain this is coming soon to Alberta’s error-riddled pandemic response because Jason Kenney informed us yesterday there’s no way it’s going to happen.”
It would be unprofessional I know, but how do journalists respond to Kenney and his nonsense with anything other than laughter?
With massive shots of Canadian Club because alcohol is a depressant and numbs the pain.
Replace Jason kenney with who? Rachel Notley? Damn well hope not!