Rookie Innisfail-Sylvan Lake MLA Kerry Towle has been appointed caucus whip and seniors critic for the Wildrose Party's shadow cabinet.
“I'm very excited,” said Towle on the afternoon of May 1, shortly after the announcement was made by Opposition leader Danielle Smith. “I'm truly honoured.”
Shadow cabinet is the term used to refer to members of the Opposition party that take responsibility for being the critic for specific portfolios held by cabinet ministers.
While normally caucus whip can mean making sure all the party representatives in the legislature are voting a specific way, Towle's role as whip will be a bit different.
“We have free votes,” Towle said of the Wildrose Party. Instead, Towle will try and keep everyone organized and make sure Smith is aware of any issues or conflicts.
In addition to being the whip, Towle will be tackling a portfolio that has a personal meaning for her.
“I have a real passion for seniors' long-term care,” Towle said. The issues surrounding long-term care for people are personal to Towle because her brother passed away after staying in a long-term care facility. While the care itself was good, Towle said the process of getting someone into appropriate care can be trying.
She noted some long-term care requirements currently split up spouses or put them in facilities far away from home.
Sixteen other appointments were made, making sure each of the 17 Wildrose MLAs elected on April 23 will have portfolios to cover. Towle said the appointments mirror what a Wildrose cabinet might have looked like, including having a smaller number of MLAs tackling files. “We are about smaller government,” Towle said.
Towle underwent orientation for new MLAs on May 1 in Edmonton, which included a talk from outgoing Speaker Ken Kowalski. Towle said they also learned about things like budgets and met the officers of the government, a full day she called “very informative.”
Towle is already looking towards a couple of riding-specific concerns.
She said the planned closure of the intersection of Highway 781 and Highway 11 and the need for an urgent care centre in Sylvan Lake were issues she's planning on tackling.
“There also are issues for Innisfail as well,” Towle said. She said the closing of the intersection could cause traffic issues during the summer. As for the urgent care centre in Sylvan Lake, Towle said people who would use one end up filtering into other nearby facilities like Innisfail.
