Alberta Opposition Leader Rachel Notley says the United Conservative Party government, particularly former finance minister Travis Toews, must bear the responsibility and fallout for the record-setting six-figure bonus payment to the chief medical officer of health.
“It is jaw dropping to me that they would then turn around and offer up a 60 per cent bonus to someone who had – by her own admission – chosen not to completely exercise her authority and hand over decision-making power to an incredibly ill-informed cabinet,” Notley told reporters in Calgary. “Mr. Toews believes that Albertans expect their tax dollars to be spent wisely and with the greatest oversight.Toews’ campaign team tweeted out Wednesday a graphic stating that no new bonuses would be authorized without a cabinet minister’s explicit authorization.
The issue threatens to become a wedge topic in the leadership race, with candidates such as former Wildrose party leaders Danielle Smith and Brian Jean wooing the section of the party base that bitterly resented vaccine mandates and other government-mandated restrictions. Jean wrote on Twitter on Monday: “While Albertans were losing businesses, while our health system was collapsing under mismanagement, the people on the Sky Palace balcony signed off on an all-time record bonus.”
Wow, a Conservative getting a 228,000 bonus for COVID-19 work while the Freedumb Convoy Conservatives are costing taxpayers millions. A double Conservative whammy.