I’m writing in response to Ron Voss’ letter in the Jan. 4, 2018 edition with respect to the unacceptable behaviour by United Conservative Party House Leader MLA Jason Nixon, UCP Leader Jason Kenney’s deliberate misinformation campaign, and the choice Albertans will have in the 2019 election.
In 2008, A BC Human Rights Tribunal found Nixon Safety Consulting wrongfully dismissed a woman for complaining to him about being sexually harassed by an off-site supervisor. Nixon even faxed her termination letter to the perpetrator. To his credit, he has admitted this was a mistake. But defending this action based on Nixon’s age as some have done, including Kenney, is preposterous. Being young isn't an excuse to tolerate sexual harassment.
During debate in the legislature on the NDP’s bill to protect Alberta workers from exactly this kind of rare but nonetheless unscrupulous action by employers, Nixon himself argued we don’t need laws like this since industry will always do the right thing. That was incredibly dishonest of Nixon because he was personally involved with a case where it did the wrong thing and failed a single mother a few days before Christmas. The entire UCP caucus voted against these common-sense protections for Alberta workers. Albertans deserve better.
In my 2017 year-end reflection that Mr. Voss referred to in his letter, I mentioned Jason Kenney’s campaign of misinformation to mislead Albertans. Indeed, this has become a pattern for Kenney, leading some to apply the term “Pinocchio Index” to his statements.
For example, Kenney recently tweeted that Alberta’s population had shrunk under the NDP. The truth is that Alberta’s population has grown for decades consecutively. Kenney and his propaganda machine, Alberta Can’t Wait, also tried to make Albertans believe their heating bills would go up 75 per cent Jan 1. That too was completely false as I’ve described in a previous letter to the editor. The UCP has now even begun attacking academics on Twitter who use facts to debunk their false claims and flawed logic.
This deliberate and desperate attempt by Kenney and the UCP to mislead Albertans and attack those who speak truth to power is shocking but not surprising. That is why I too am looking forward to 2019 when Albertans will face a choice between the NDP who are protecting workers from sexual harassment, and the UCP who make excuses for perpetrators and use dishonest tactics for political gain.
Albertans deserve to judge political parties on the merits of the ideas they put forward. So far the UCP is in a policy vacuum but excel at sleight of hand.
Albertans are smarter than Kenney and the UCP give them credit for. Let’s continue to have honest conversations based on facts. We owe it to each other to share and build on our ideas to continue moving Alberta forward.
Cam Westhead, MLA for Banff-Cochrane
