KENNEY MUST ANSWER PRESSING QUESTIONS WHEN HE EMERGES FROM HIDING TODAY

EDMONTON - Premier Jason Kenney must finally tell the whole truth about critical issues facing Alberta, if he keeps his promise to emerge from hiding this afternoon.

“This is the second time Kenney has vanished during pivotal moments in Alberta’s pandemic response and that’s unacceptable,” said Sarah Hoffman, NDP deputy leader. “Alberta families, students, seniors and small businesses need to know what his plan is - to keep them safe and support their success.” 

From his office in the Sky Palace, Kenney hosted a Zoom call with UCP constituency presidents last night, shortly after he refused to answer a Facebook Live question about when Alberta’s lockdown restrictions will be lifted.

“I’m concerned that Jason Kenney is spending more time trying to manage his scandals and put down an internal UCP revolt rather than governing for Albertans in the midst of an ongoing public health emergency and economic crisis,” said Hoffman.

These are some of the critical questions that Kenney must answer fully when he emerges from hiding later today, if he is serious about regaining the trust of Albertans:

1. What modelling and data is being used to determine whether COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted or not?
2. What is the UCP government's plan to increase willingness and uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine?
3. Will the premier commit to publicly reporting regional vaccination numbers, current inventory levels and projected shipments to Alberta? 
4. With the upcoming expansion of the international travel pilot, what is the plan to isolate new cases of the COVID-19 variant and prevent it from spreading into our communities?
5. Will cases of the COVID-19 variant be added to daily AHS updates?
6. How much notice will the UCP give businesses to plan for lockdown-style restrictions, or reopening?
7. Will there be any new support for Alberta small businesses during an extended lockdown?
8. Why hasn’t this UCP government invested in school-specific contact tracers, hired more school staff or given families any financial support when they have to keep their children at home?
9. Will the premier act immediately to get the federal wage top-up for essential front-line workers?
10. When will Premier Kenney come through with his promise to build a “wall of defense” around seniors and put in place a province-wide workforce strategy to ensure there is enough staff in continuing care centres?
11. Will the premier finally release the details of the public investment in the KXL pipeline?
12. Is the premier really going to cut wages for nurses, teachers and other public sector workers in the budget, and if so what are the economic consequences of reducing pay for thousands of working Albertans on Alberta’s economy?
13. Where is the full list of UCP MLAs and ministers who traveled outside of Canada during the holidays? Where did they go and when did they leave?
14. Did Premier Kenney approve his chief of staff’s vacation in the UK, or did he really leave the country without the premier’s knowledge?

“Premier Kenney and this UCP government have a lot of work to do to regain the trust of Albertans,” said Hoffman. “One way they can start is by answering these questions.”