With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to have widespread impacts on the business, education and health sectors across the region and province, the recent travelling MLAs scandal raises questions about whether Alberta is actually getting the leadership it needs.
With more than 1,000 people having already died in the province during the pandemic – and business community losses certainly counted in the billions of dollars – the matter of leadership has now become vital to the well-being of the community-at-large.
As the top elected official in this province, Premier Jason Kenney has a great deal of power to direct the economy and health-care system. Whether his handling of the recent travelling MLAs scandal is a good example of good leadership remains very much an open question.
While first saying he had no plans to discipline his rouge MLAs, Kenney then bowed to public pressure by removing one of the MLAs from cabinet and demoting the others.
Whether Kenney’s shaky handling of the matter will be enough to restore public confidence in his government’s pandemic response efforts remains to be seen. What is not in question is that the recent scandal has raised a good deal of doubt about Kenney’s leadership abilities.
Thankfully, Alberta is receiving excellent leadership from outside the government in the form of Dr. Deena Hinshaw, chief medical officer of health.
When asked last week for her comments on the travelling MLA scandal, Hinshaw refrained from joining the chorus of outrage and instead pointed the way forward.
“I would just ask Albertans to take a deep breath and continue to look towards that common goal of getting through COVID together,” said Hinshaw. “We do need to look to that public health guidance, look to those measures, as the roadmap that will get us through.”
As Alberta battles through the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, competent leadership is an absolute must. Thankfully that leadership is today being brilliantly displayed by Dr. Hinshaw and her physician and nurse colleagues who are guiding this province forward.
Dan Singleton is an editor with The Albertan.
