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Allard resigns as Alberta municipal affairs minister, Kenney's chief of staff steps down amid controversy over international travel

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Tracy Allard has resigned as Alberta’s municipal affairs minister after travelling to Hawaii over Christmas despite advisories to avoid all non-essential international travel during the pandemic.

In a statement posted on Facebook Monday, Premier Jason Kenney announced Allard had stepped down and said he had also accepted the resignations of MLA Jeremy Nixon as parliamentary secretary for civil society and MLA Jason Stephan from treasury board. They, as well as MLAs Tanya Fir, Pat Rehn, and Tany Yao, have lost their legislature committee responsibilities.

All six of them, including Allard, remain in the UCP caucus.

The MLAs have been caught up in scandal over the last few days after travelling to various international locations over the holidays despite the government asking Albertans to stay home.

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Kenney’s chief of staff, Jamie Huckabay, also travelled to the United Kingdom and returned to Canada via the United States. Kenney said Huckabay has stepped down after the premier asked him to.

At a press conference on New Year’s Day, Kenney said he would not be punishing those who chose to travel, claiming he had not been clear enough with them about the rules.

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Albertans have every right to expect that people in positions of public trust be held to a higher standard of conduct...

Posted by Jason Kenney on Monday, January 4, 2021

At the time he was argued that travel, which is not legally forbidden, was important to protect the travel industry, including Calgary-based Westjet.

In his statement Monday, he said Albertans wanted more to be done.

“Albertans have every right to expect that people in positions of public trust be held to a higher standard of conduct during the COVID-19 pandemic, ” he said.

“Millions of Albertans have made real sacrifices over the past 10 months to help keep each other safe. They are right to be angry about people in positions of leadership vacationing outside of the country.”

Transportation Minister Ric McIver will serve as interim municipal affairs minister, and principal secretary Larry Kaumeyer will serve as interim chief of staff, Kenney said.

Allard apologized for her behavior at a press conference on New Year’s Day.

Stephan, the MLA for Red Deer-South, defended taking a trip to Arizona last Thursday. He posted on Facebook Saturday that he was coming home at Kenney’s request but claimed “international travel, in and of itself, does not negatively impact Alberta’s COVID curve if it is done responsibly.”

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Nixon, MLA for Calgary-Klein, also travelled to Hawaii in December while Fir, a former cabinet minister, went to Las Vegas. Fir “sincerely” and “wholeheartedly” apologized in a post to Facebook.

Both Rehn and Yao travelled to Mexico. Rehn has apologized for what he called a previously-planned family trip. As of Sunday, government officials confirmed Yao was in Mexico and said they were trying to contact him to tell him to come home.

The NDP Opposition called for Allard to resign when her travel was uncovered last Thursday. In a statement Monday, deputy leader Sarah Hoffman said the government needs to provide a complete accounting of all UCP ministers and MLAs who vacationed outside of Canada over the holidays.

“Premier Jason Kenney’s ministers, MLAs, and senior staff betrayed every single Albertan by thumbing their noses to the rules, by hitting the beach and jetting off to warm destinations while families made deep sacrifices and struggled with loneliness and grief in isolation. It’s sickening,” she said.

Duane Bratt, a political science professor at Mount Royal University, said Kenney’s decision to act now instead of on Friday, when he originally said he wasn’t going to punish travelling MLAs, made the situation worse.

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“Basically, had he taken the action that he did today on Friday in that press conference, I don’t think we would have seen the anger build up,” he said.

“It would have been anger from the usual suspects, but it wouldn’t have been the anger from … his own base, and that is what that is what led to the shift.”

Meanwhile, Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson expressed concern that the decision by some politicians to travel will lead others to flout the rules.

In a statement Monday, Iveson said he, like most Edmontonians, stayed home over the holidays.

“Many Edmontonians are justifiably angered about reports that some politicians and public officials, engaged in non essential travel during the serious phase of the pandemic,” Iveson wrote on Twitter.

“As mayor of the hardest hit city in our province. I’m concerned that some will take these developments as an excuse to flaunt the public health rules, even just out of frustration.”

Iveson also issued a statement on the appointment of McIver to lead municipal affairs, noting the relationship between the province and municipalities has never been more important than during the pandemic.

“I want to assure Edmontonians that a change in minister does not mean we will slow down our efforts to ensure our city has the tools it needs to weather this pandemic and recover from it successfully,” he said Monday afternoon.

— With files from Lisa Johnson

ajoannou@postmedia.com

twitter.com/ashleyjoannou

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