Opposition attacks ‘mean-spirited’
‘There’s a lot of scandals out there,’ says Wildrose’s Smith
Premier Alison Redford came out firing on the last day of the fall session Thursday, dismissing opposition legislation as “erroneous, irrelevant, and not important,” while bemoaning the level of attacks she has received from rival parties.
Redford said she understands her job comes with enhanced public scrutiny, but suggested some of it has been “meanspirited” in calling into question her character and that of her friends and relatives.
“I know that no matter what is said, that I can put my head down on the pillow at night and go to sleep,” she said Thursday at a wrap-up news conference for the fall session.
It has been a trying session for the premier, who has been dogged with opposition questions about a number of controversies. Included are queries about her role in selecting her ex-husband’s law firm for a potentially lucrative litigation, alleged illegal donations her sister made several years ago to the PC party, and a massive donation the party received this spring from Oilers owner Daryl Katz, his family and associates.
“If any public official, whether it’s me or anyone else, has their integrity called into question, there are processes that allow for that to be dealt with,” Redford said.
“I’m disappointed that it has to happen, but if those questions are being asked, it’s absolutely fine. I know who I am, I know who my sister is and I know how we run our lives, and we will move on from this.”
Redford said she expects such attacks to continue from an opposition that seems to be more interested in dredging up dirt from the past than making meaningful contributions to policy and legislation.
In a pointed exchange with Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith during question period, Redford challenged Smith to focus on more substantive subjects.
“While we have had repetitive questions that have been answered by this side of the house on a regular basis, this honourable member who claims to be the critic for international relations, aboriginal relations and cities, has, in 22 days, asked one question with respect to these issues,” Redford said in response to a Smith question about the tobacco lawsuit.
A short time later, she reacted with even more anger when Smith mentioned her sister’s alleged illegal donations.
“To me this question period is nothing but an exclamation point on the decorum that has been inappropriately shown in this house. These sorts of comments are entirely inappropriate, they do not dignify this institution, and I’m not surprised to hear them from the leader of the official Opposition.”
The opposition, however, has said it’s the Tories who have shown bad behaviour in their lack of respect for other parties.
“She thinks the whole legislature is irrelevant,” Smith said of Redford. “She barely ever shows up. When she’s there, she barely ever answers questions.”
The Wildrose says the PCs unanimously rejected more than 100 amendments proposed by the three opposition parties in more than 93 hours of debate. Early in the session, it did accept a couple of amendments, including one change to the Education Act.
Smith accused the PCs of being unwilling to look at the merits of amendments due to bad feelings about their aggressive tactics in question period.
“I’m sorry. There’s a lot of issues that are out there. There’s a lot of scandals that are out there. We would not be doing our job if we didn’t ask the questions that we did,” Smith said.
NDP Leader Brian Mason said it was clear to him the Tories had no interest in considering opposition input.
“The real decisions of this legislature are made not in the legislature, but in the Conservative caucus,” Mason said.
Liberal Leader Raj Sherman said he felt the real victim in this session was public policy. “Legislation-wise, 10 bills were passed under the cover of darkness in a very short time span,” he said.
However, Redford said opposition amendments didn’t get much credence because they were “erroneous, irrelevant, and not important.”
Despite the tension and acrimony of the past several weeks, Thursday’s question period featured some moments of levity.
One came from Speaker Gene Zwozdesky, who drew laughter from all sides when he interrupted Tory MLA Maureen Kubinec’s softball question to a minister about the session’s biggest accomplishment.
“Honourable member, really?” he said.
He did allow the question, after reminding the rookie MLA that the point of question period is to hold the government accountable.
Zwozdesky also played along when the Wildrose caucus incorporated a collective comedy routine into one of their questions.
“To the minister of energy,” critic Jeff Wilson said, before being joined in chorus by the rest of his Wildrose colleagues, “why are you so awesome?”
The entire legislature broke into laughter, including Zwozdesky.
Minister Ken Hughes responded with a quote from former prime minister John Diefenbaker: “When you are hunting big game, don’t get distracted by rabbit tracks.”