Author of the article: Duane Bratt
Publishing date: May 09, 2021  â¢Â 5 days ago  â¢Â 5 minute read  â¢Â Supporters gather during a rally against measures taken by government and health authorities to curb the spread of COVID-19 at the Whistle Stop Cafe in Mirror, Alberta, on Saturday, May 8, 2021. The Whistle Stop was shut down by AHS for not following public health rules. Photo by Jason Franson/The Canadian Press
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What a week in Alberta politics! On Apr. 28, Premier Jason Kenney warned against COVID-19 lockdowns. The next day, he reversed himself and introduced some limited measures that simultaneously exempted rural hotspots.
Nevertheless, over the course of the weekend, COVID-19 cases skyrocketed to their highest totals during the 15-month-long pandemic. This led government house leader Jason Nixon to announce on May 2 that the Alberta legislature would be suspended for two weeks.
Author of the article: Duane Bratt
Publishing date: May 09, 2021  â¢Â 6 days ago  â¢Â 5 minute read  â¢Â Supporters gather during a rally against measures taken by government and health authorities to curb the spread of COVID-19 at the Whistle Stop Cafe in Mirror, Alberta, on Saturday, May 8, 2021. The Whistle Stop was shut down by AHS for not following public health rules. Photo by Jason Franson/The Canadian Press
Article content
What a week in Alberta politics! On Apr. 28, Premier Jason Kenney warned against COVID-19 lockdowns. The next day, he reversed himself and introduced some limited measures that simultaneously exempted rural hotspots.
Nevertheless, over the course of the weekend, COVID-19 cases skyrocketed to their highest totals during the 15-month-long pandemic. This led government house leader Jason Nixon to announce on May 2 that the Alberta legislature would be suspended for two weeks.
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It’s been one year since Alberta logged its first case of COVID-19. Here are some of the most significant moments over the course of the pandemic in the province.
March 5: Alberta identifies its first presumptive COVID-19 case, a Calgary woman returning from a California cruise.
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Try refreshing your browser, or Twelve months of COVID-19: A timeline of the pandemic in Alberta Back to video
March 11: The World Health Organization declares COVID-19 a pandemic, while Alberta begins to recommend against out-of-country travel. The following day, Alberta bans gatherings of more than 250 people.
Alberta Recall Law in the Works Following MLA Controversies
Dissatisfied citizens in Alberta will soon be able to remove their legislators from elected office, something one advocate believes is also necessary in other Canadian jurisdictions.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced in early January that MLA recall legislation will be introduced in the spring.
This came after Kenney removed MLA Pat Rehn from the United Conservative Party (UCP) caucus for travelling abroad over the holidays, as well as for ignoring “calls from me, UCP caucus leadership, and his constituents” to “be more present in his constituency” of Lesser Slave Lake.
“This whole story shows why we need recall legislation that works for Albertans and for the rest of Canada, so it can let us hold politicians accountable,” says Franco Terrazzano, Alberta director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.