It’s been a difficult year for Marie Renaud, MLA for St. Albert and NDP critic for community and social services.
Looking back at 2020, Renaud said she watched the UCP do some really destructive things that started with the provincial budget and ended with Bill 47 which changed workplace safety rules.
“I mean, it started in March with them shoving through a budget,” she said.
On Feb. 27, the provincial government released Budget 2020. One goal of the budget was to eliminate Alberta's deficit by 2022.
“(The budget) was really based on assumptions that were just out in left field. One of the assumptions was that the revenue projections (were) based on the fact that three pipelines would be built – so Line 3, TMX and Keystone. Some of those are just not a given,” she said.
The UCP promised to balance the budget during their election campaign in 2019. Budget 2020 was passed March 18, a week after the province shut down due to the pandemic, and included plans for job growth by eliminating red tape and cutting taxes for corporations.
Renaud was also alarmed by concerns the Privacy Commissioner, Jill Clayton, had with the Babylon healthcare app.
“We had the Officer of the Legislature, so the Privacy Commissioner, weigh in with her serious concerns that people outside of Alberta could have access to health records,” said Renaud.
The government, in partnership with Telus, launched the Babylon Health app in March. The app allowed users to book appointments, see doctors and get prescriptions.
In April, the Gazette reported that Clayton was launching two investigations into the Babylon Health app, due to privacy concerns. A news release on the OIPC website states that investigations are active, and no additional details are available.
Renaud also has concerns with the amount of legislation that was passed this year and what that legislation has meant for Albertans.
“We saw just an influx of legislation that was passed with the majority government, with, in some cases, very little debate,” said Renaud.
Renaud named legislation that had to do with public pensions, public parks and workers’ rights as garnering pushback from the community but ultimately passing through the legislature.
“Bill 47 was one of the last ones that we saw and that was a massive rollback or protection for workers,” she said.
The bill was passed on Dec. 10 and reversed many changes the NDP had made to the Workers Compensation Act in 2018. Some of those changes included reinstating an insurable earnings cap, limiting presumptive coverage for issues like PTSD, and restoring a voluntary system for reinstating injured workers.
In a press release, the government said they made these changes to simplify language, remove red tape and make Alberta a more attractive place for new investment.
“Those are just some examples of this really heavy legislative agenda that was shoved through when people were rightly focused on their health and their safety and the safety of their communities and families,” said Renaud. “It was incredibly disappointing that UCP just, you know, (went) full steam ahead without really allowing Albertans to weigh in.”
Renaud said she was also disappointed in the way the government has handled the pandemic, saying they "failed on a number of fronts".
“Everything that you read tells you that taking quick decisive action does result in bringing the numbers down faster. We know that when we get control of the spread of the infection as quickly as possible, we create the best scenario for businesses for the economy,” she said.
Renaud said the government “dragged its feet” on public health measures and that has resulted in the current lockdown.
“First and foremost, my focus is on constituents, so there's been a ton of casework all throughout this pandemic – people are really hurting,” she said.
Renaud has been passionate about many issues this year, including her role on Public Accounts and as an Opposition critic. Her role as critic has been to review income support programs like AISH and disability support programs.
“I have just seen, again, an ideological bent on the bottom line. So instead of looking at, you know, if we remove this from someone what is the cost down the road – I don't see a lot of that,” she said.
Renaud spent the month of October living on the equivalent of an AISH allowance.
“I decided to do that for a few reasons. People say to me all the time, ‘Well you should try it. You should try living on this.’ And, you know, it was really just to remind me of what life is like when you don't have a safety net,” said Renaud.
Renaud said she is worried she will see more of the same from the UCP in the coming year, and said the NDP is working on next steps by consulting with Albertans and experts and developing more public policies.
“We've already consulted and developed papers on geothermal and hydrogen and childcare and then, of course, COVID response. And at some point, you know there's a lot of policy to look at. But at some point, we will be developing public policy around social services, so this is just one of those steps.”
