Elected officials promise functioning services from government
By COLLIN GALLANT on March 14, 2020.
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant The work of government will continue, southeast Alberta’s elected representatives stressed on Friday, as the legislative bodies considered suspending or altering proceedings to avoid transmitting of the coronavirus. The House of Commons will not meet again until mid-April, and the Alberta Legislature suspended public visits on Thursday. The province is now evaluating whether to suspend the winter session that began in late February. Three provincial and federal politicians that represent Medicine Hat said Friday they will sit as required, but understand measures that they limit risk. “The most important thing is Albertans take care of themselves and the Alberta government to help protect our communities,” said Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA Drew Barnes. He said ministry work and service delivery will continue. School tours and other group visits to the legislature grounds are now suspended and the public gallery is closed, though proceedings will still be broadcast. In terms of local operations, Barnes said his office will remain open, but interactions will be limited as much as possible, on advice from health professionals. Personal appearances will also be cancelled on advice from legislature officials. Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner MP Glen Motz said he will return to Medicine Hat this weekend. He said he is watching government actions and hopes to conduct business as normally as possible over the next five weeks. “Obviously it’s unusual,” he said. “You need to be prudent, but the public expects us to lead at this time. “But just because parliamentarians are away (from Ottawa) at this time, that doesn’t mean public health officials and others won’t be working hard. “If we get called back, we’ll go back.” In Ottawa, MP duties involve not only sitting in the House for debate and votes, but interacting with staff, senior bureaucrats and industry leaders during committee work. Motz said that when you add general travel schedules of all involved, and a large number of public visitors to parliament buildings, the potential risk is great. This week Alberta Health Services issued an advisory to cancel all events that might attract 250 or more people. City meetings in Medicine Hat will continue as scheduled, though under Alberta Health guidelines and advisories to limit physical contact and increase cleanliness. On Friday, city officials stated that public attendance is generally low. While there are fewer than 90 MLAs in the relatively spacious legislature, the daily program involves a large number of support staff and office workers and top administrators congregating. The Alberta Electrical System Operator announced Friday it would ban in-person meetings between its staff and stakeholders, and instead reschedule them for telephone or internet conferencing in the interest of health. “There are a lot of things that can be accomplished over the phone and internet that couldn’t be done 20 years ago,” said Motz, who plans to keep his office open but follow health officials’ directions. A constituency open house that was planned for next week in Raymond may be reconsidered, he said. Brooks-Medicine Hat Michaela Glasgo said the province should be united in its response to pandemic. “As always, I am grateful to those who are on the front lines dealing with this issue and protecting our public health,” she wrote. Both Motz and Barnes said eyes are now on the federal government’s response, not only to the health crisis, but also a quickly worsening economic outlook. “The goal should be to get as much money in to the pockets of residents as soon as possible,” said Barnes. Solidarity in Ottawa A unanimous vote and many messages of support for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is in isolation after his wife entered quarantine following a positive test. As well on Friday, the union representing 120,000 federal workers announced it would suspend an ongoing strike vote among its members and would re-evaluate the situation on March 30. 29-28
