REHN RETURNS TO UCP FOLD
MLA vows to do better for his riding
Alberta's UCP caucus voted to welcome ousted MLA Pat Rehn back into the fold Wednesday.
The Lesser Slave Lake MLA was kicked out of the province's governing caucus by Premier Jason Kenney in January after being accused of being absent from his riding.
UCP caucus chair Nathan Neudorf announced the re-admission with a news release that noted Rehn has “worked tirelessly” to rebuild trust with local families, businesses, elected officials and Indigenous leaders since his removal.
Rehn, who previously said he was “disappointed, but to be frank, also relieved” to sit as an independent, said in the Wednesday release the past six months had been eye-opening.
“It was clear that I was not living up to expectations in representing Lesser Slave Lake, and for that I am sorry. I am humbled that people are willing to give me a second chance, and I will not let them down. I am a conservative and I joined politics to the put the NDP'S devastating experiments out to pasture and to restore the Alberta Advantage for all. I thank my government colleagues and look forward to the days ahead,” said Rehn.
Letters of support, including from the local UCP constituency association and party members, asking for Rehn to be allowed to rejoin caucus were presented during Wednesday's caucus meeting.
A list provided by the UCP caucus noted those letters came from local leaders in the municipal districts of Big Lakes and Opportunity, the town of High Prairie, religious leaders, business owners and Bigstone Cree Nation Chief Silas Yellowknee.
In early January, it was Slave Lake's town council that wrote an open letter calling for Rehn to resign, a move supported by the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA).
On Wednesday, Slave Lake Mayor Tyler Warman said he was puzzled by the recent decision since neither the party nor the provincial government reached out to him or Slave Lake about it.
“Is this what's best for the party, or is this what's best for the region? Time will tell,” said Warman in an interview.
Neudorf said Rehn has been doing “an incredible amount of work” since his removal from caucus.
“He has learned to apply the skills that made him so successful in business to his job as MLA, and he has reminded all of us why he was elected in the first place,” Neudorf said in the statement.
NDP Opposition Deputy Leader Sarah Hoffman said in a statement Wednesday Rehn being welcomed back into caucus shows the premier is unable to lead.
“After removing Rehn from the UCP caucus and swearing to never let him run for another nomination, Rehn is welcomed back because he's more loyal to Jason Kenney than the people of Lesser Slave Lake,” said Hoffman.
Rehn was also one of several UCP MLAS who travelled internationally in December despite provincial guidelines to avoid non-essential travel in a controversy that became known as “Alohagate.”
In January, publicly available financial records suggesting Rehn spent the majority of his time in Edmonton, where he expensed three meals a day almost every day in April, May, June and July 2020 forced Rehn to apologize. In a Facebook post, he said an assistant made recording errors, and vowed not to claim any allowances in 2021.