Desperate to distract from the attention being paid to allegations of dodgy contracts pushed by government insiders, Alberta’s United Conservative Government attacked the Canadian Union of Public Employees yesterday, accusing its Ontario-based national office of “attacking” public sector bargaining.
In a joint statement laden with falsehoods published on the official Alberta Government website, Finance Minister Nate Horner and Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides played the venerable “Eastern Bastards” card to try to gin up anger at the union for the strike by education workers in several communities for a living wage.
Under the confusingly vague headline “CUPE National attacks: Joint statement,” the press release begins, “CUPE National union with Ontario-based leadership is interfering in what should be local negotiations between school boards and CUPE locals, and in other areas using tactics of fear and intimidation to prevent deals from being signed.”
Gee whiz! A couple of words missing there, for sure! Someone must’ve written that one up in a hurry. Or maybe the ministers wrote it themselves. I’ve taken a screenshot in case anyone gets around to editing that lead.
The ministerial twosome accused CUPE’s national leadership of “effectively deregistering” a CUPE local in Medicine Hat to keep it from organizing a ratification vote.
Never mind that the local in question had already been placed under administration for reasons unrelated to bargaining and therefore any deal the local union’s executive signed would have been of no legal force or effect. Surely that is a fact the government knew.
And never mind that the UCP Government constantly pretends it’s not party to the negotiations – even though it has passed legislation that allows it to give secret mandates to public sector boards and agencies, and it’s illegal for them to even tell the unions they’re negotiating with that’s happened. (I know, dear readers, that if you live in another Canadian province, you must think I’m making this up. Nevertheless, it is all true.)
In rebuttal, CUPE Alberta President Rory Gill shot back that “rather than step up to the plate and negotiate a solution to the classroom problems they have caused, the government chooses a smear campaign.”
He identified two additional falsehoods in the government release. One, a claim that there is an injunction at one work site preventing picketers from blocking school buses. There is no such injunction and the picketers have agreed not to block buses.
And, two, that CUPE pressured a nursing agency whose employees had been contracted by a school board to administer medications to students. There was no pressure from CUPE. The agency, which said it had no idea it had been asked to replace striking workers, pulled out when it became apparent its employees were being asked to scab.
“The timing of the UCP attack is to draw attention away from five strike votes happening right now, and the release of recent polling data showing UCP supporters don’t even side with the government when it comes to the strike and education issues,” Mr. Gill’s statement said.
About 4,000 CUPE members in the Edmonton area and Fort McMurray are on strike, and an additional 2,350 in Calgary and other communities have just taken strike votes.
Well, there’s nothing like attacking “union leaders in Ontario” when parents are yelling at your MLAs about having to send their kids to school through picket lines that are there because you’ve not-so-secretly ordered school boards not to pay employees a living wage, and when you’ve also got the most respected newspaper left in the country breathing down your neck about the metastasizing Dodgy Contracts Scandal.
Speaking of which, Globe journalists Carrie Tait and Alanna Smith, who last week broke the original story about former Alberta Health Services CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos’s serious allegations of interference in AHS contracts on behalf of private companies by UCP-connected officials, published another report yesterday saying Health Minister Adriana LaGrange stripped AHS of the power to negotiate such deals after Ms. Mentzelopoulos raised concerns internally about the contracts.
In response, Alberta Friends of Medicare published a statement calling for Ms. LaGrange to step aside immediately. “We do not believe any proper independent investigations can happen unless she does,” said FoM Executive Director Chris Gallaway.
Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi also weighed in. “If these allegations are true, Adriana LaGrange, with the apparent support of the premier and her office, ordered the coverup of investigations into the worst corruption Alberta has ever seen.”
Meanwhile, Premier Danielle Smith is still conveniently unreachable, out of the country while supposedly trying with other Canadian premiers to talk the Trump Administration out of slapping more tariffs on Canada.
When Arts, Culture and Status of Women Minister Tanya Fir and Children and Family Services Minister Searle Turton were aggressively questioned by reporters at a news conference on an unrelated topic yesterday, they repeatedly fell back on the UCP code of silence.
In Ms. Fir’s words, “Government takes these allegations very seriously and that’s why the premier has written to the auditor-general requesting an expedited review of this issue and we welcome the investigation of AG’s and we’re also awaiting the results of AHS’s internal review, and I won’t say anything further until we receive the results of these investigations.”
Alas for the UCP, this story appears to have legs and, if the Alberta political rumour mill is to be believed, more chapters will be published soon.
In that rarest of political events in Alberta, Ms. LaGrange was actually confronted by a scrum of reporters in the Alberta Legislature yesterday and told them an unnamed third party will investigate Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s allegations.
However, The Canadian Press reported that later in the day, “LaGrange’s office … clarified that the third party will assist in the review being conducted by Alberta Health Services but that overall control remains with the government.”
The story, as we used to say when daily newspapers were a thing, continues.
Scott Schmidt- Medicine Hat News/ Feb 8th…….
” Laying it out in Alberta, apparently we only act tough when we face East. ”
Clairvoyant ? Not sure, but I just read the article yesterday and, well Ta Da ! Read your headline and literally burst out laughing. Timing is perfect.
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Putting the union on the grill..makes a nice side dish to the UCP all you can stomach buffet. Cover costs not included, but the koolaid juice bar is unlimited.
Please note, we will not be held liable for any adverse side effects ,as it was your choice to get to this stage.
I have a one knock song for you. I only have to knock once! I own the joint! https://youtu.be/sstgcbGsew0?t=1
POGO — ah! Paree`… stepping up to Angel 227.
You know full well that the UCP is trying so hard to bury this scandal of enormous proportions. It’s not going to happen, because there is too much that has come out. This is an ugly mess, and the UCP can’t wipe the stains of it off.
Ok Elon.
Truly disgusting that these scumbags would throw educational assistants under the bus to distract the rubes from their blatant corruption. Marlain-a-Lago despises unionized workers (even if they don’t even make a living wage). The $614 million dollars that went to companies associated with Mraiche would be more than enough to end the outrage of education workers having to beg for a fair wage by walking picket lines in February (while Stormy Danielle is on another taxpayer funded vacation somewhere warm and won’t face Albertans). The contempt the UCP have for working folks is only exceeded by their greed and corruption.
100%
So true, not much of a shiny object as distractions go. As more of this scandal is exposed, these press releases will become more bizarre and less tethered to reality. Any bets that the third party assisting in the review will be Preston Manning?
It will be interesting if any of this goes anywhere. It’s Alberta, so it won’t.
CX: TIA (This Is Alberta). DJC
“We’ll investigate ourselves and let you know if we find anything incriminating that we want to share with you. We’ll do it with great haste.” No one said it, but that’s what it means.
Hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars are allegedly on the line, along with potential Criminal Code violations pertaining to bribes and influencing peddling involving public officials and a service provider. It’s beyond ridiculous for anyone in the UCP government to think this can be swept under the table. The potential jail terms for violations like this are north of a decade. It’s very serious. That is why a criminal investigation of these allegations by the RCMP must be launched immediately. Everyone in government allegedly involved in this scandal needs to step down in the meantime. Follow the money, as they say.
The premier can only hide in the U.S. for so long. The longer she stays away, the worse the public perception of her. It’s too late for her to get in front of this scandal, which is gaining momentum every day. Now she has some digging to do. Excuses and claims of ignorance won’t cut it.
Bring on a judicial review, too.
So….
Would the UCP hidden leadership cabal actually use a province-wide strike to oust Queen Danielle?
They are inclined to give any credit to organized labour; however, to get rid of a problem, letting a strike happen is a good idea.
As for Alberta, why do their CON premiers keep breaking? I guess they can’t have nice things.
Great article David!
The UCP are infamous for trying to “change the station”, but as you stated, this one definitely has legs.
What she doesn’t say is: the “third” party will be a UCP loyalist – probably receiving some largess from them in some form or other. Corruption thy name is Danielle Smith.
Deflect, blame and always look for an external Boogie-man! The mantra of the provincial UCP !! Day after day, year after year it is always someone else fault.
I feel Smith and crew have passed the point of reaching their pinnacle and there is nowhere to go but down for them from here.
First of all, I understand the government is desperately cutting expenses in an effort to ensure it does not go into a deficit in the upcoming year as languishing oil prices have been quite unhelpful over most of the last year. Second, they also need to cut enough to ensure they can cut also taxes, a promise they made in the last election which so far they have not kept. So yes, here is a reason they will drag out this strike and not pay those workers more. Its not just being stubborn and ideological.
To make things even worse for Smith, Trudeau is leaving so she can not blame him or easily stir up some controversy about the Federal government to distract from her own problems. So perhaps Ontario will become their new object to disparage although Alberta conservatives usually generally prefer to the words Eastern based. But maybe the communications person who wrote this was new or scrambling.
As for the brewing scandal which is not going away, their vague responses just give rise to more and more questions. Who is this third party investigator? Who will they report to? In my opinion, LaGrange may not only be trying to cover things up, but may be a party that should be investigated for her role in these contracts. Because interestingly the Premier has only claimed innocence for herself, not her Ministers or staff. Smith seems to be saying she was not involved in the questionable contracts, although it is not clear if she is also trying to say she was also not involved in a cover up. So many questions …
Latest UCP talking point for media scrums:
Reporter: “What’s your comment on the [insert name of scandal here]?”
UCP minister/ press flack/ talking head: “Well, as I said before–SQUIRREL!!!”
May I suggest Dr. David Swann be tasked with chairing an investigation into AHS procurement practises. He has extensive experience in health care, government and how they intersect. Also, he is clearly a man of principle and decency; his years of good faith public service prove this.
We had the good fortune to meet with and be advocated for by Dr. Swann many years ago when he was environment critic for the opposition liberals. He spoke for us and others in the area when Encana violated drilling rules for cbm and frac’d into the local aquifer. His to devotion to our case (and to public service in general) was impressive. To this day I am grateful to him and for the example he set.
Hello DJC and fellow commenters,
It seems surprising that Danielle Smith and her fellow MLAs would give away millions of tax dollars to Sam Mraiche and his companies and receive only expensive hockey tickets in return. Why would they put their lucrative careers as politicians on the line for hockey tickets? The could afford to pay for themselves if they really wanted them. This seems to be a very small benefit in exchange for the potential loss of publicly funded wages and other emoluments to MLAs paid for by the public.
Christina: Oh, I think it’s quite possible some MLAs are just too dumb to think through a situation like this. As for hockey tickets, Ms. Smith explicitly had the rules changes to allow MLAs to be given professional sports tickets as gifts. DJC
I think it fair to say that the hockey tickets are all we know about….for now. Could just be the tip of the iceberg.
I, and many others can write all the stories you want. Of what “it’s” like. I won’t. To me? That would be the pornography of evil complacency! From insults and passive oppression, to dead children in what used to be homes. That is us if we don’t change. Corruption? That’s the gateway drug! Me me me, is doomsday? Oh say I’m wrong!
Ahh of course. Suddenly wakes up to put hate on the union’s mother ship CUPE National! Who by the way have been representing the AB locals all along. And also paying the striking picketers.
With NO idea of CUPE’s structure. It’s just more lies & gaslighting from AB UCP via Nate. He should do his union homework.
FYI former AB Conservative Premier Ralph Klein hated CUPE National so much that when he/she were introduced, he even refused to shake hands with the CUPE National President Judy D’Arcy back in the day.
With these Reformers the Gong Shows never end and if they weren’t so damaging they might be fun to watch. Easterners are starting to say that if Carney wins the Liberal seat he could defeat the Reform Party clown Pierre Poilievre. I certainly hope so. We don’t want another damn Reformer lying to us like he did when he was with Stephen Harper do we?
“The Breakdown: UCP Corruption Map”
https://www.abresistance.ca/the_breakdown_ucp_corruption_map
Figuring out ways to equal and/or surpass the racketeering of the role model that is the convicted felon south of the 49th and remain undetected is no easy task, apparently. But someone sure seems to be committed by giving it the old college try. In any case, it sounds like it must be time for a coat of official whitewash.
More everywhere? Nah! Why yes sir! All for us! Us for us! Me me me.. *clears throat*!
Far be it from me to cast any shade on CUPE, or do or say anything that might lend credence to the UCP’s hostility to unions, but there have been two other recent school support staff collective agreements settled recently with no drama — and little attention from provincial media.
On February 4th, the Grande Prairie Public School Division — 8,800 students in 13 schools — announced it had ratified a 4-year agreement with its Employees’ Association representing non-instructional staff, with annual wage increases of 3%. https://everythinggp.com/2025/02/04/gppsd-ratifies-four-year-agreement-with-employees-association/
Then on the 10th, Grande Prairie & District Catholic Schools — 5,600 students, 13 schools — announced they had also ratified a 4-year agreement for its support staff, this time represented by Unifor local 328. They are also getting four years of 3% annual wage increases.
https://everythinggp.com/2025/02/10/gpcsd-ratifies-agreement-with-unifor-local-328/
It would be interesting to find out why agreements could be achieved without mediation or job action in this city, when so many others around the province are not.