MLA Rehn says he will speak against restrictions
The MLA for Lesser Slave Lake says he is disappointed but relieved to be removed from the UCP caucus.
Pat Rehn was kicked out of caucus by Premier Jason Kenney on Thursday after he was accused of being absent from his riding. In a Facebook post that night, Rehn said there are advantages to the removal and he will now be able to oppose some COVID -19 measures.
“I will now be able to express my opposition of some of the lockdown measures, such as closing gyms and businesses,” Rehn said in the message posted just before 11 p.m. “I believe strongly that measures must be taken to prevent COVID-19 spread, but also recognize the long lasting effects caused by the lockdown itself.
Rehn's original post said he was “disappointed, but to be frank, also relieved.” By Friday morning the reference to being relieved had been edited out of the statement.
Rehn being booted from caucus comes amid a growing push for him to resign.
Friday morning, the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) executive committee issued a statement saying it's joining the call for Rehn to resign and that it supports Kenney's decision to remove him from caucus.
“By failing to engage with and advocate for his constituents, MLA Rehn broke public trust of his local councils and failed to be accountable to his constituents,” the statement said. “Further, we join the Town of Slave Lake in calling for Mr. Rehn's resignation as the MLA for the Lesser Slave Lake constituency.”
Publicly available financial records suggest Rehn spent the majority of his time in Edmonton. Records show he expensed three meals a day in Edmonton almost every day in April, May, June and July 2020. He was also found to have travelled to Mexico over the holidays, despite there being provincial guidelines to avoid non-essential travel.
Slave Lake's town council wrote an open letter in early January calling for Rehn to resign.
The letter said he had been absent from the riding and ill-prepared for meetings he did attend.
A similar letter was sent to Rehn from High Prairie town council though they did not ask for a resignation.
On Thursday, Slave Lake Mayor Tyler Warman said Rehn being removed from caucus is good news but Rehn should resign as MLA all together.
“At this point, you have to ask yourself, what are you holding on to? He said repeatedly that he wants to work hard for this region, and do what's best for this region, and represent this region. If he really, truly cares, he'll let somebody that the people have the confidence in take that position and make sure that we get the representation that we need,” Warman told Postmedia.
AUMA president Barry Morishita said the organization is supporting Slave Lake's call for Rehn to resign, something he believes is unprecedented.
“We've always insisted that those relationships are important and when they degrade to the point where an individual council is feeling that neglected, then we have to support them,” he said.
Rehn has not responded to repeated requests from Postmedia for an interview. Becoming an independent MLA means that Rehn will be moved out of the UCP caucus office space. His salary is unchanged.
RECALL LEGISLATION
Kenney has promised recall legislation will be tabled this sitting but there's no word on when it might take effect. The law would allow voters to force MLAS out ahead of a provincial election.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation called on Kenney to immediately bring forward legislation so voters could recall Rehn.
“Kenney kicked Rehn out of caucus, but it should be up to his constituents whether he stays in the legislature or gets sent packing,” said Franco Terrazzano, the CTF'S Alberta director. “The premier has done all he can and now it should be up to the people to decide whether Rehn should continue to collect his six-figure MLA paycheque.”