Minister of Health’s recent behaviour concerning
An open Letter to Premier Jason Kenney.
As an Albertan I am deeply concerned with the recent behaviour of the Minister of Health, Tyler Shandro and I am asking that you take the proper action in relieving Minister Shandro of his position.
The alarm bells about Tyler Shandro’s ability to appropriately act in his position have been ringing since the very first press conference with Mr. Shandro shortly after he took on his portfolio. This could be dismissed by considering the steep learning curve for him to take on this critical governance role. But since that seemingly innocuous event, Mr. Shandro’s inability to tackle his role has been made crystal clear.
The “tearing up” of the doctors’ contract; his decisions to make changes to the doctors’ fee schedule without any consultation with physicians; ignoring the contracts that include nurses and other health care providers; the cancellation of the provincial laboratory and so on all point to lack of knowledge of how to work with others and an insensitivity to the health needs of Albertans. These decisions also fly in the face of the UCP promise for job creation for Albertans; these are job destruction actions.
It only became worse when we Albertans learned that Mr. Shandro is a shareholder in a company, owned by his wife and sister-in-law, that will directly benefit from the health care cuts that Mr. Shandro is in charge of directing through his role as Minister of Health. Although Ms. Trussler ruled that it was not a conflict of interest, everyone clearly sees this as a conflict of interest for Mr. Shandro.
As if this has not been enough, now we learn that Minister Shandro visited his neighbour, a physician and threatened him because of a Facebook post made by said physician. Then we learn that Minister Shandro has threatened a public citizen for questioning his wife, through her company, about the conflict of interest issue. This is not acceptable behaviour at the best of times and certainly does not inspire the confidence of Albertans.
However, we are not in the best of times. We are in the middle of a worldwide pandemic that threatens the health and lives of all who live in our world as well as the livelihood and economy of all persons and countries. At this critical time the health care systems of the world are our most essential service and we must have the best personnel and resources available to successfully deal with the situation. This clearly is a time when we require a Minister of Health who is steadfast in his commitment to the people of this province and who has the fortitude to carry his responsibilities in a dependable and knowledgeable manner. We do not have this in Minister Shandro!
We, Albertans, need to know that our government truly sees our wellbeing as a priority and that this government will support the people of this province as we all venture through this unprecedented journey.
Please do the right thing and require that Mr. Shandro resign from his position as Alberta Minister of Health.
Irene McDermott
Edmonton