Ian Dalsin speaks during video link.  

By Chris Brown

'It's upsetting. It's sickening'

Grieving Albertans enraged, livid about UCP travel

Jan 4, 2021 | 3:49 PM

EDMONTON – Resignations by Municipal Affairs Minister Tracy Allard and the premier’s chief of staff didn’t do much to stop the anger and disappointment over their holiday travel that Albertans have been expressing since New Year’s Eve.

Ian Dalsin’s father was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer in June and passed away on Dec. 21 at 63 years old. Dalsin said his father spent the last six months of his life in lockdown because of COVID-19 restrictions.

He said playing by the rules cost family and friends experiences and time they can’t get back.

“He knew he was making sacrifices for his daughter, who’s at the Royal Alex (hospital) and his sister who’s working in the COVID ward in B.C. But he spent the last weeks of his life at home, on the couch, playing by the rules,” said Dalsin from Edmonton at a news conference organized by the NDP. “He chose to forego some of his hospice are options to make sure that he could die at home with my mom and not alone.”

He added hearing Allard couldn’t give up her traditional Hawaiian vacation makes him livid.

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“Skipping one Christmas is the least anyone could be asked to do. Any group of people who could stand in front of my family, ask us to give up what little time we had left and then leave on vacation, In my mind they’re completely unfit to lead this province.”

Lindsey Witzel of Calgary felt the same. Her grandfather passed away on Christmas Eve in a care home in Winnipeg, alone.

“When I found out that (Kenney’s) MLAs were travelling all over the world – Hawaii Mexico and Vegas to name a few – while my family was isolated at home, I was more than disappointed, I was enraged. I am still so angry,” she said.

Another speaker told of a cancelled Make-a-Wish trip to Hawaii for her son, while another says her grandfather begged her to take him from his care home so he could spend Christmas with the family.

As well as the resignations of Allard and Kenney chief of staff Jamie Huckabay, Jeremy Nixon has lost his post as parliamentary secretary for civil society and Jason Stephan is no longer at Treasury Board.

Tanya Fir, Pat Rehn and Tany Yao also lost their legislature committee responsibilities.

The NDP’s Janis Irwin said those Albertans and many others have sacrificed to follow the public health rules laid out by Dr. Deena Hinshaw and the Alberta government.

She said Albertans are outraged some in government decided COVID restrictions didn’t apply to them.

“It’s upsetting, it’s sickening,” said the member for Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood.

She said the resignations are not enough.

“This should have happened last week. To be honest, they should have had the moral judgment not to have done that in the first place.”

The NDP is demanding Kenney release a full accounting of all ministers and MLAs who vacationed outside of Canada during the holidays.

NDP Deputy Leader Sarah Hoffman said she’s never seen such widespread and intense public anger in Alberta.

“Everyone knows this is a fundamental breach of trust between Albertans and their government,” she said.

She called the premier’s news conference on Jan. 1 despicable, saying he tried to “weasel out” of his responsibility.