Redford seen playing hooky in California
Former premier-turned-MLA ‘needs a bit of time,’ Mason says
As Alison Redford notified the Alberta Speaker’s office this week that she had a legitimate reason to be absent from the legislature, the former premier was spotted several times in the resort city of Palm Springs, Calif.
She has not attended the legislative assembly since she stepped down from the job on March 23, but two travellers said they’ve seen the Calgary-Elbow MLA in the California community in the past week. A freelance photographer hired by the Calgary Herald spoke briefly with Redford on Sunday but she declined to comment.
Several other people have used Facebook and Twitter to report sightings of Redford in the desert city, where she has a recreational property.
Sasa Kovacevic said he spotted Redford at Lulu California Bistro — a popular Palm Springs restaurant — the morning of Easter Sunday, two days before the legislature resumed sitting last week.
Kovacevic, an Edmonton resident, said he and his sister were waiting for a table when a woman and girl walked into the eatery. “She said she had a reservation for Redford,” Kovacevic said in a phone interview Saturday.
Kovacevic said Redford and the girl, presumably her daughter, Sarah, were with them in the waiting area for a few minutes. He said he was surprised to see Redford in the resort city. “As far as I know, she’s still an MLA and should be in the legislature.”
An employee who answered the phone at Lulu California Bistro confirmed that Redford had a reservation at the restaurant at 11:30 on the morning of April 20.
The legislature did not sit on Friday and doesn’t resume until May 5.
Alberta NDP leader Brian Mason said Sunday that it is unrealistic to expect Redford to “pretend that nothing has happened” and return immediately to the legislature.
“I don’t condone anything that she’s done. We’ve been very critical of her sense of entitlement and use of planes, the sky palace, the whole thing,” Mason said.
“But she’s been basically driven out of the highest political office in the province by her own colleagues. I think she needs a bit of time. If she’s not back when the fall session opens, then I think we have a problem.”