The recent Alberta legislative session that wrapped up last week saw several major government moves and plenty of controversy.
Whether the Notley NDP government or the Wildrose Opposition came out on top remains uncertain. What is known is that the session was anything but a shining example of multi-party cooperation during the serious economic downturn.
For her part, Premier Rachel Notley says the passing of key government legislation, including the controversial climate change bill, was good news for Albertans. “Although much work remains, I'm very proud of the progress that we've been making on delivering on our commitments,” Notley said.
“I've very proud of our climate leadership plan. For Albertans it will make a big difference in their lives and our children will have more opportunities.”
For his part, Wildrose Leader Brian Jean says his party “consistently stood up for families against expensive new taxes and risky economic experiments under the NDP government.
“Folks are worried about their jobs and whether they will be able to collect a paycheque at the end of the month to help pay for their mortgages.
“Instead of sticking up for these families, the NDP government set Alberta down a path of further credit downgrades, more uncertainty for businesses across the province and an expensive new carbon tax to be paid for on the backs of Alberta families.”
Unfortunately for Jean and his fellow Wildrose MLAs, several sideshow issues stole a great deal of the party's thunder during the recent session.
For example, the failure of the Wildrose and the Progressive Conservatives to join forces, either officially or unofficially, in the face of a determined and united NDP government was a boon for Premier Notley and her cabinet ministers.
With her right-wing opponents acting much more like rivals than potential suitors, the premier was able to focus on her agenda instead of fighting a united conservative front.
Public confidence in the Wildrose was also shaken by the recent Derek Fildebrandt scandal that saw the controversial MLA verbally attack the visiting Ontario premier and then be suspended from caucus for a ill-advised social media post.
While Notley NDP didn't come out of the recent legislative session without a few bruises and scrapes, the Wildrose Opposition came up well short of scoring any major points or knockdown blows.
- Singleton is the Mountain View Gazette editor
