Dear Editor,
This past week, as PC heavyweight Doug Horner was doing all he could to avoid responsibility for the mismanagement of government aircraft, which is a responsibility that falls well within the scope of his ministerial portfolio, former Finance Minister Lloyd Snelgrove observed that if dodge ball ever becomes an Olympic sport, Horner could be a contender for gold.
Equally significant is that other PC MLAs and cabinet ministers are following Horner’s lead. Our own MLA, Robin Campbell, was point man for the PC caucus when it came to defending the actions of Alison Redford.
Shortly before Redford was finally punted as premier, and as leader of the PC party, two backbench PC MLAs were publicly challenging Redford’s travel expenses and the way she had been handling herself in that regard. In response, as a senior cabinet minister, Campbell went out of his way to defend Redford and what she’d been doing.
Campbell told Redford’s critics that they should keep their ideas to themselves, or at the very least, only say what they think behind closed doors. Campbell is the Government House Leader for Pete’s sake. He is one of the most senior legislative officials in the province. It is reprehensible that even as the truth came out about Redford’s lavish spending, Campbell’s chief concern was muzzling her critics.
Clearly, when it comes to the ethical and financial infractions of the PC government, and Alison Redford, cabinet ministers like Doug Horner and Robin Campbell are culpable. They knew exactly what was going on and did nothing to correct it. Horner deliberately kept quiet about it even though he was ultimately responsible. Campbell went public in his defense of Redford, attempting to get other government MLAs to shut up about it.
Campbell’s performance as an MLA therefore begs a question: “Who exactly does he think he represents when he walks into the legislature? Does he represent the people of West Yellowhead, or does he represent higher-ups in the PC Party?”
Based on the evidence, the answer to that question seems pretty clear.
Stuart Taylor
Hinton, Alta.
Past president of the
West Yellowhead Wildrose Constituency Association
