Deny! Distract! Deflect! The Alberta Legislature resumes sitting

The Alberta Legislature got back to business yesterday, with a desperate United Conservative Party Government mired in a dodgy contracts scandal of its own creation flailing about for ways to deny, distract and deflect criticism, commentary, and questions.

Luckily for the government, in addition to having no elected leader in the Legislature, the Opposition NDP seems to have no imagination, so despite the UCP’s evident incompetence, the government enjoyed a modest degree of success with its efforts to bury the bad news.

On the bingo card for the first day the Legislature was back in session:

Now-former infrastructure minister Peter Guthrie, who dared to suggest Health Minister Adriana LaGrange shouldn’t be allowed to remain in cabinet while a cloud of suspicion about her role in the sketchy contracts scandal hangs over her, is out of cabinet instead. 

What’s going on is not 100 per cent clear.

Mr. Guthrie resigned from his cabinet post, but says he will remain as a member of the UCP Caucus – at least until they try to throw him out, presumably. That will allow him to preserve his influence a little longer, which is smart.

The MLA for Airdrie-Cochrane posted his resignation letter on social media, hinting at more problems with procurement and contracts in other departments of government. 

“In recent months, I have voiced concerns regarding the Government of Alberta’s procurement practices across all departments,” Mr. Guthrie wrote in his resignation letter. “Unfortunately, the majority of Cabinet does not appear to share my concerns.”

“For this reason I have decided to step down and return to caucus as a private member, where I can continue to voice my concerns and hold Cabinet accountable with honesty and integrity.” 

Whether or not his resignation came as a complete surprise depends on whom you talk to. 

Mr. Guthrie’s departure from cabinet has a faint echo in the departures of MLA and former minister Len Webber and cabinet member Donna Kennedy-Glans from the Legislature’s Progressive Conservative Caucus in February 2014. In less than a month, Premier Alison Redford had been pushed out, in effect fired by her own caucus.

Inevitably, political observers with a sense of history were soon asking if Mr. Guthrie is a harbinger of a similar rebellion that will see Premier Smith forced to walk the plank as Ms. Redford was, or if he’ll end up as a lonely Independent in the least popular corner of the House. 

It’s said here, though, that while history may have repeated itself this February, it’s unlikely to happen again in March. 

Alberta Health Services Chief Information Officer Penny Rae is suddenly out of her job. Was she pushed or did she jump? That’s not immediately clear, either.

Word of Ms. Rae’s similarly sudden departure was emailed to AHS senior leaders late yesterday morning. “Penny Rae, Chief Information Officer, Information Technology will be leaving Alberta Health Services to pursue other opportunities effective February 25,” said the note from Vice-President and Chief Medical Officer Peter Jamieson. 

Dr. Jamieson tersely thanked Ms. Rae for her accomplishments, which appear to have been considerable, and named Glen Shortt as her interim replacement. 

For her part, Ms. Rae sent a message to her team saying “I’m sure the news from today is unsettling. Please know that I’ll be okay.” Thanking her staff for their work, she continued, “This change will give me a good reason to find my next adventure, and you all know I like an adventure.”

The buzz in the hallways of the health care system is that the highly competent and respected Ms. Rae has been on a hit list for a while for daring to speak too frankly about UCP policies. 

She’s right, of course, she’ll be OK. But will highly qualified people consider working in health care in Alberta ever again? Not many. 

Speaker Nathan Cooper, back in the Legislature, meanwhile, ruled that the Opposition can’t ask questions pertaining to Edmonton businessman Sam Mraiche or free luxury hockey tickets for UCP insiders on the grounds someone has filed a request with the Legislature’s Ethics Commissioner to look into allegations involving both. The NDP appeared to give up without an argument, or even a peep of protest.

Hansard wasn’t yet available last night, but Mr. Cooper can be heard on the Legislature’s clunky 1970s-style video recording intervening to stop a question by Calgary-Foothills MLA Court Ellingson on the grounds that “where a matter has been referred to the Ethics Commissioner, neither the Legislative Assembly nor a committee of the Assembly shall inquire into the matter.”

“I have received notice from the Ethics Commissioner that this matter has been referred to him and as such questions specifically referring to this matter will not be for the Assembly to consider,” Speaker Cooper said in tones of convenient finality. 

Very well, Mr. Ellingson co-operatively moved right along with an unmemorably nonspecific question. 

Wouldn’t this have been an excellent opportunity for the Opposition to suggest to the people of Alberta that if they can’t ask an obviously pertinent and legitimate question in Question Period – no matter what speakers Ken Kowalski and Gene Zwozdesky ruled once upon a time – then the Alberta Legislature is broken?

UCP House Leader Joseph Schow, thereupon got up on his hind legs to request a two-hour emergency debate on U.S. tariffs, something that the Alberta Legislature has no meaningful role in resolving and can do absolutely nothing about except talk. 

In other words, would the Legislature kindly devote a couple of hours to allowing the UCP brain trust to make video memes of the premier trying to suck up to Donald Trump!

The NDP meekly agreed to this transparent attempt to distract from the scandal dogging the government. Go figure!