Alberta’s NDP leader reflects on combative year in legislature

EDMONTON - Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley is unapologetic about her party’s relentless criticism of Premier Jason Kenney’s first full calendar year in office.

The NDP has been accused by the government of fear-mongering throughout 2020, as the opposition questioned government initiatives on everything from parks, public sector pensions and auto insurance premiums to its COVID-19 pandemic response.

“Did it look like we were swinging a lot? Yeah. Did we have a lot to swing at? Yeah, and so I, too, am frustrated with that but at the same time, our job as opposition is to make sure people are aware of what’s going on,” Notley said in a year-end interview with Postmedia.

In fact, she says she wishes the opposition had pushed the government harder to protect seniors in continuing care before the second wave of COVID-19 cases hit.

Those seniors have been disproportionately hurt by the pandemic. When Notley sat down for the interview in mid-December, 476 of the 744 deaths attributed to COVID-19 — or 64 per cent — had been in long-term care facilities or supportive home living sites.

“We probably are months away from being able to slow down the tragedy that we’re seeing unfold in our continuing care,” said Notley.

In early December, she called for twice-weekly rapid testing in continuing care centres.

On Dec. 17, the UCP announced it would deploy rapid testing in long-term care and designated supportive living facilities starting the following day — a move the NDP applauded, although Alberta Health Services did not say how frequent the testing would be.

But looking back, the hardest policy for Notley to swallow this year was Bill 47, which rolled back several NDP-era worker protections, including redefining and narrowing the circumstances in which workers can refuse unsafe work.

Labour Minister Jason Copping disputed this month that the changes make workplaces less safe and would instead encourage workers and workplaces to identify risks and mitigate them sooner, increasing safety on the job.

Notley said the legislation will disproportionately affect the front-line health-care providers the government claims to be supportive and appreciative of.

“It was very troubling. It made me very sad and it also really made me question the priorities of this government,” she said.