Madu doubles down on panic claim
Won't apologize for saying NDP, feds want hospitals overwhelmed
Alberta Justice Minister Kaycee Madu is refusing to apologize after accusing the Opposition, the federal government and journalists of wanting hospitals to become overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients.
In a Facebook post on Friday, Madu responded to a comment that accused the government of “treating (COVID-19) like it's going to kill everyone it comes in contact with” by saying the fact that the majority of people survive the virus is not a reason for the government not to try to prevent deaths.
“It is also not a reason to wait until we overwhelm our healthcare system, then create public panic, and see Albertans in field and make-shift hospitals gasping for breathe because we have ran out of ventilators, manpower etc,” he wrote.
“My point is that I don't think it will be responsible to simply wait until we have a disaster on our hands.
“That's what the NDP, the media and the federal Liberals were looking for and want. We simply couldn't allow that to happen.”
When asked Monday if Madu stood by his statement, Blaise
Boehmer, his press secretary, said the minister “won't apologize for stating the obvious.”
“The Minister was referring to the increasing tendency of different groups, including the NDP, to exploit the pandemic for their own political purposes,” Boehmer said in an email.
“We see this every day with the NDP'S overcooked and incendiary rhetoric both in the legislative assembly and on social media.”
Madu's post came days after Premier Jason Kenney called the “tendency to try to politicize (the pandemic) and turn it into a blame game” regrettable.
Kenney's office did not respond to questions regarding whether the premier supported Madu's position.
The comments mark a change in tone for the government, which has often accused the NDP of being in favour of a lockdown to slow the virus, including as recently as April.
NDP health critic David Shepherd posted a video Monday, saying his party wanted the government to act “sooner rather than later so that we would not be in the position of Alberta being the worst jurisdiction in North America for COVID -19 new cases.”
Shepherd repeated the NDP'S call for paid sick leave and more support for businesses.
“What we want to see, minister, is real leadership. Not this cheap partisanship. Not this sniping,” he said.
Madu's comments came as more than a dozen UCP MLAS have not said publicly whether they'll be getting vaccinated against COVID-19 — including 11 who signed an open letter to the premier in April opposing public health restrictions.
CTV News reported last week that 17 UCP MLAS did not respond to queries about their plans.
Postmedia contacted them Monday. Grande Prairie MLA Tracy Allard's office was the lone respondent.
“MLA Allard believes it is inappropriate for anyone to be asked this question, including MLAS,” Emily Goertzen, a constituency assistant, said in a statement.
“Since MLA Allard was vaccinated on Saturday, she has made the decision to make it public knowledge, with the hope that it will encourage more people to get vaccinated.”
Tim Gerwing, director of communications for the UCP caucus, said in an email the government is encouraging Albertans to get vaccinated but pointed out vaccines are not mandatory in Canada.
“What's more, no Albertan is forced to disclose personal health information about their bodies. That is just as true for elected officials as it is for the general public,” he said.
In a statement Monday, the NDP Opposition confirmed all of its MLAS had received a first dose of the vaccine.
One independent MLA has not publicly confirmed their plans.
I don't think it will be responsible to … wait until we have a disaster on our hands. That's what the NDP, the media and the federal Liberals … want.