Weeks after it became public, the recorded telephone conversation between Premier Danielle Smith and street preacher and political activist Art Pawlowski and its fallout continues to garner widespread public comment.
And with the provincial election widely expected to be held next month, the situation has certainly become a campaign issue.
Whether area residents and their fellow Albertans believe critical issues such as health-care funding, crime fighting, education policy, and the cost-of-living crisis should take a back seat to the Smith-Pawlowski controversy remains an open question.
Last week the premier’s office said Smith would not be commenting further on the Pawlowski call issue after the Ethics Commissioner launched an investigation into whether she interfered with the administration of justice.
“The premier welcomes this investigation, is fully cooperating with the commissioner, and is confident this examination will confirm there has been no such interference,” her office said.
“As a result of the ongoing investigation, it would be inappropriate for the premier to comment on this further, until the investigation is completed.”
The NDP says a full judicial inquiry, not just an ethics commissioner investigation, is needed to address the Smith-Pawlowski issue.
“Only a judge could look at breaches of other legislation and could conduct interviews concerning matters not covered in the Conflict of Interest Act,” said NDP justice critic Irfan Sabir.
“The premier’s actions are a clear violation of the rule of law, and she should be held accountable for that.”
No question, the ethics or lack of ethics of one of the province’s top political leaders is and will be of interest to voters.
At the same time there are many other critical things at stake in the upcoming election campaign.
For example, the health-care system remains under extreme stress, with wait times at the region’s main referral hospital in Red Deer sometimes running into many hours for seriously sick and injured people.
Hopefully the election campaign will see candidates outline concrete plans to address all the many challenges facing Alberta.
Dan Singleton is an editor with the Albertan.
