UCP MLA apologizes for hand gesture
United Conservative Party MLA Tany Yao was accused of making a “threatening” hand gesture directed at NDP MLA Thomas Dang in the Legislative Assembly Tuesday.
Re-enacting the gesture Wednesday for reporters, Yao pointed at his eyes with two fingers and then pointed them ahead.
The gesture — which Yao said meant to suggest that he was keeping an eye on Dang — spurred government house leader Brian Mason to make a point of privilege.
He withdrew his motion Wednesday after Yao apologized to the Legislative Assembly.
“During a particularly emotional moment in this assembly, I made a gesture towards another member,” Yao said in his apology, adding he meant no harm. “My actions were not befitting of this chamber and I humbly ask for the assembly’s forgiveness.”
LEGISLATIVE SITTING EXTENDED
Government house leader Brian Mason said the fall sitting of the Legislative Assembly will extend into next week.
“We’ll give the opposition as much time as they like ... if they need more time to digest the bills,” he said Wednesday.
Opposition parties complained they didn’t have enough time to go through complex pieces of legislation before the end of the sitting, which was supposed to finish Thursday. It launched Oct. 30.
“Most of these bills are not nearly as onerous and contentious as they would like people to believe,” Mason added.
ENVIRONMENT MINISTER HEADS TO MINNESOTA
Alberta’s environment minister travelled to Minneapolis on Wednesday to promote investment opportunities, said a government news release.
Shannon Phillips’s pitstops over two days will include meetings with political representatives and the Minnesota Department of Commerce. She is also giving a presentation on the government’s Climate Leadership Plan at the University of Minnesota Institute on Energy.
The cost for Phillips and one staff member is pegged at $3,850.