Mayor Iveson calling out Kenney and UCP government following province’s reopening plan
Posted May 27, 2021 5:36 pm.
Last Updated May 28, 2021 7:15 am.
EDMONTON (CityNews) – As Premier Jason Kenney announced plans to reopen the province on Wednesday, Edmonton’s Mayor Don Iveson says Edmonton will choose its reopening plan based on expert medical advice.
He says the province is moving too quickly on reopening efforts.
“We need science and evidence to make these decisions, not festival enthusiasm.”
K-Days organizers have said planning is underway to have the fair this summer. Iveson, however, says it’s too early to say if he’d feel safe going, and he wonders why the province is obsessed with the Calgary Stampede.
Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson not sugar-coating his frustration with the province in his last few months as mayor. Here’s what he had to say about the relationship between the city and the UCP government. #yeg #abpoli #ableg pic.twitter.com/q7lrPNQ0xj
— Darcy Ropchan (@darcyropchan) May 27, 2021
“Staking on this, on the ‘yahoo’ moment of the Stampede and working backwards from that–which seems to be the timeline when vaccine hesitancy is higher in Calgary and southern Alberta than it is in the rest of the province–that raises a lot of questions for me.”
But with only a few months left in the mayor’s chair, Iveson is no longer holding his tongue when it comes to Premier Jason Kenney and the UCP.
He’s angry about recent opioid deaths last week and the death of a woman found in a garbage truck Wednesday. He says the province refuses to help the vulnerable.
“I lay this squarely at the feet of the government of Alberta. Those are a result of the gaps in the system. The city has tried as much as we can to plug the holes in the government’s failing system.”
Iveson told CityNews, over his eight years as mayor, he’s worked with leaders from across the political spectrum and has found ways to work together.
As for Kenney, Iveson says, “I think I’ve shown that working with five premiers and two prime ministers, that I can work with anyone who is a willing partner to build a great city for Edmontonians.
“I don’t have that with Jason Kenney and the UCP government.”
Iveson’s statement regarding the province’s new opening measures is a polar opposite to Calgary’s city council, which said it is happy an end is in short sight.
