Jim Turner, a Medicine Hat city councillor in attendance at the We Choose Freedom Rally in Medicine Hat ( Tiffany Goodwein/CHATNewsToday)

By Tiffany Goodwein

‘Unacceptable:’ City councillor calls out province for their handling of the pandemic

Mar 6, 2021 | 6:55 PM

MEDICINE HAT,AB- A Medicine Hat city councillor has some blunt words for the province over their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Councillor Jim Turner was in attendance at the We Choose Freedom rally outside MLA Drew Barnes’ office Saturday, to show his support for Drew Barnes and those participating in the rally. He said the city has done a great job in keeping case numbers down but his biggest frustration stems from the province changing its stance on easing restrictions.

“ What really upsets me was four weeks ago Premier Kenney came out and said, ‘ you know we aren’t really going to focus so much on the cases anymore, we are going to look more at hospitalizations, if we get below 450 we are going to move to level two, if we get below 300 we are going to move to level three, well guess what, we are at I think 239 hospitalizations yesterday, we are still not even at level two,” Turner said,

“ For a government to make a statement like that and then come back and say ‘oh by the way we are changing the rules, that is unacceptable,”’ Coun. Turner said.

Coun. Turner isn’t the only municipal politician to express frustration with the province. On Monday, Mayor Ted Clugston also expressed his disappointment with the province’s restriction easement.

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“ The goalposts just keep getting moved. First of all, it was hospitalizations and now it is just cases and three weeks ago when they came out with their new relaunch plan and they had measurable targets, maybe you didn’t like them or you liked them, at least we had goals and now when the goalposts keep moving like this I get a little frustrated,” Clugston said Monday.

Coun. Turner said the lack of action by the province to ease restrictions is coming at the expense of the public and their livelihoods and he would like to see the province go in another direction, which involves ending the lockdowns.

“ I think the average person I talk to now, they’ve had it. They have no confidence now in our government, and it is time for Mr. Kenney to pivot,” Turner said.