Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland MLA Shane Getson says he’s never been so happy to see a year in the rear-view mirror.
“I think, like most Albertans, 2020 was quite the ride,” he said.
In a year-in-review interview with the St. Albert Gazette, Getson acknowledged the struggles 2020 brought, but he also said there were some high points.
For Getson, those high points started with the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act (Bill 1). The controversial bill was passed in June and introduced penalties to anyone who arranges or acts in a protest, or similar activity, that interferes with essential infrastructure.
“When we started the year, we had those rail blockades that were taking place that caused some issues with Teck. Our Premier and Minister (Doug) Schweitzer reacted really quickly,” said Getson.
Back in February, the Gazette reported, protesters had set up a camp near Winterburn Industrial Area near Acheson and blocked the railway in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en nation in B.C.
“We sent a clear message that that kind of illegal protest was not allowed. People are absolutely allowed to protest, just don't do that,” he said.
In March, Getson was able to put forth his first motion – no small feat.
“Getting a moose draw seems to be easier than getting your ticket drawn as an MLA to have a motion or a bill, and I got the first one out of the gate,” he said.
The motion was about getting transportation and utility corridors in place and it was brought up in the Fair Deal Panel. Getson was named as the MLA who would lead that task force in the Economic Recovery Plan. In July, Jason Nixon, minister of environment and parks, along with Getson, got Bill 31 passed with “lightning speed.”
“Essentially, it was his bill, but he gave it to me as a private member to carry through because the actions took place out in our area ... that was the first time in 25 years that a private member's carried through a government bill,” Getson explained.
The bill was made in response to a decision by the Alberta Court of Appeal to classify silica sand, or gravel, as a mineral. This classification had the potential to halt the construction industry. Bill 31 amended the Public Lands Act by removing silica sand from the Act.
“We managed to put through a piece of legislation in the spring that essentially mitigated an iceberg that would have tanked all gravel and sand production in the province for two years,” Getson said.
Getson sat on three committees last year. He acted as deputy chair of the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund, he sat as a member on the resource committee and he was on the Skills for Jobs Task Force.
The Skills for Jobs Task Force submitted its final report in September. The task force was mandated to find ways to increase and expand apprenticeship and skilled trades opportunities.
“That one's really cool – it comes up with new actionable recommendations ... And that looks at the whole apprenticeship model and how we view apprenticeships,” he said.
COVID-19 has changed the way Geston and the UCP do politics, and that transition has not always been seamless.
Getson said the Conservatives are really good at “boots on the ground” politics and not so good at getting their message out to the media.
He’s had to change his game from doing face-to-face meetings and large town halls to virtual meets and videos. Getson said he is camera-shy and his team has had to work with him over the year.
“That wasn't where I came from,” said Getson. “So going on the road and feeling like Rick Mercer poppin' across the communities, doing little video blogs and interviews with people to try to get their story in, and to get that out there and help promote them and the businesses and the good things we have going, that has massively changed. But I think it's okay.”
He said the pandemic has also caused the UCP to change their focus from balancing the budget to dealing with the current health crisis.
“It's a tough pill to swallow but you can't have both. We know that we're spending cash that we're going to be borrowing and paying back for a number of years, but it's the right thing to do because it's the right thing to do right now,” he said.
Getson said he is optimistic about 2021. He sees a world where COVID is mostly gone, and a comeback of the energy sector.
“You're going to see a bunch of the work we've done the last two years, that legislation we put in place, the business development part of it, the whole economic recovery. Those are going to start taking traction and you're going to see the fruits of those rewards start to pay off,” he said.
He predicts there will potentially be “gateway to the north” developments. He also foresees developments in the energy sector and in the technology sector with software developments in gaming.
“It’s the new entertainment model. We’re good at it. We’re never going to be Silicon Valley, but we’re really good at that,” he said.
Getson said Albertans will see the “fight back” strategy in the fall and there will be referendums.
“What that does is it sets a mandate for us to say, ‘OK, what matters to you? What's really important – you got six items here, what do you want us to go after?’ And then let's get after it, because, you know, we're talking about building our nation and building our province again and dusting ourselves off. We've all been kicked down. We’re not tapping out."
