Premier Kenney’s failed economic and COVID-19 strategies have resulted in enormous financial hardship for Albertans and augmented the breeding grounds of pandemic conspiracy theories and the anti-mask movement. The mandated closure of small businesses has affected the livelihood of thousands who work in and own restaurants and the rest of the hospitality sector. By cutting the province’s revenue by slashing corporate taxes and tying up billions in failed oil ventures like the Keystone XL Pipeline, Jason Kenney and the UCP left the province with a huge deficit. They were unwilling to provide support so that non-essential workers could stay at home and small businesses could get through a circuit-breaker lockdown. The UCP’s incompetence has put tens-of-thousands of frustrated Albertans out of work, in both the private and public sectors, while corporate profits soar.
The UCP government has always put the interests of big corporations first; the restaurant and hospitality industries have been hit hard while big-box, big-capital retail operations have seen record profits. For instance, retail operations were permitted to stay open with reduced capacity while restaurants were completely shuttered during the past two months. Why couldn’t restaurants operate by following enhanced safety procedures as well? If they had to close, then why weren’t workers paid to stay home and protected from layoffs? This follows the UCP’s established pattern of refusing to constrain big business. In the spring they refused to shut down Cargill’s High River meatpacking plant, which remains the worst super-spreader in Canada. Cargill has had a second outbreak in December 2020. The UCP government gave $4.7 billion in tax cuts to big business, guaranteed $6 billion in loans to oil corporations, made deals with Australian corporations to open up coal mines, left $675 million in essential worker wage top-ups on the table, seized public sector pensions, cut over 11,000 healthcare jobs, and completely ignored the need for economic diversification. So much for the “job creation” which they ran on – they are only concerned with helping the bottom line of big businesses.
The closure mandate, which also affected casinos, cafés and bars, was in place since early December but was partially rescinded on February 8. There was a portent of heavier restrictions on November 24, when the premier announced banquet halls and conference centres would be shut down – but, in true Kenney-style, he held a buffet lunch for officials and staffers at Government House on November 27. Between the buffet and Alohagate, with six MLAs jetting off to the sun, it is clear that the UCP is unwilling to take COVID seriously. It’s no wonder that the anti-mask movement specifically points to these political missteps as proof of the “scamdemic.” However, these UCP blunders should be seen for what they are: hypocritical foolishness from sycophants of big business, who are detached from the concerns of everyday people and unaccountable to them.
While there is little evidence that small businesses were even a major source of transmission, the province-wide mask mandate has improved the situation, and it should have been brought in earlier. On December 13, there were 21,216 active cases, and by February 4 the number of active cases was reduced by over two-thirds with only 6,407 active cases remaining. Over half of the total pandemic death toll (890 of 1693) occurred during this same short period. If Albertans had a competent government in office who would have mandated masks and co-ordinated a circuit-breaker lockdown, then our ICUs and frontline healthcare workers would not have been stretched to their limits. The UCP should have focussed on accountability for super-spreading big business, such as in food production plants where work is done in close quarters and where the pandemic has impacted the health of hundreds of workers and their families. In the first months of 2021, seven meatpacking and processing facilities in the province are experiencing outbreaks.
While Kenney’s UCP might be running down the stairs blindfolded, most Albertans are actually doing their part to reduce the spread. For instance, over the holiday period, 68 percent of Albertans decided not to visit family or friends who live outside their homes, the highest level of any Canadian province. A further 27 percent only did so once. An astonishing 95 percent of Albertans acted very sensibly – far more than UCP politicians. The majority of Albertans, 52 percent , accurately believed that the turn of the year was the worst period of the crisis and only 11 percent thought the worst had passed. Most Albertans understand that appropriate measures need to be taken to deal with the pandemic and are angry with how it’s been handled so far; 69 percent of Albertans reported being dissatisfied with the measures taken by the UCP, the highest dissatisfaction of any Canadian province.
The anger at Kenney has forced some government retreats. They announced a change of policy on coal mining in the Rockies in early February, reinstating the old policy of protection, at least for now. After months of pressure, they have finally, too little, too late as always, announced that essential workers will get a one-off top-up to their pay. This scheme was announced by the federal government in May, but until now Alberta’s UCP refused to take up the plan. The province only has to pay 25 percent of the $1,200 to workers. Of course, given it s the UCP, there are gaps and some important groups of workers will be left out.
Despite the intelligent judgement of most Albertans, the careless big-business agenda of UCP politicians has produced fertile fields for the anti-mask movement. People who’ve been put in increasingly difficult financial positions are more likely to embrace unscientific rhetoric and misinformation about the pandemic, which is extremely easy to encounter online. An anti-mask protest is scheduled for February 20 outside the Alberta Legislature in Edmonton. “Walk for Freedom” and “Freedom Walk” organizers have scheduled at least twelve other rallies during the past year, in Calgary and Red Deer. Most have been small with a few hundred or less attending. Religious figures and the right-wing have used these rallies as a platform to spread their ideas. The speaking list for the Legislature rally is a hodgepodge of people who support hyper-religious, racist and ultranationalist, anti-immigration, Islamophobic, anti-LGBTQ, anti-women’s rights, and separatist agendas. An anti-hate rally is being organized on February 20 by racialized and marginalized people from across the province who have been directly impacted by hate groups; organizers are looking for support and solidarity. There have been several separate hate-motivated assaults against Muslim women in Edmonton since December and as recently as February 5; racist actions like these have prompted anti-hate organizing across the province during the past year.
It’s worth noting that Kenney and the UCP have a history of racist policy that extends beyond their anti-worker legislation (which disproportionately affects immigrant and other marginalized workers). For example, Kenney backed the UCP speechwriter who had written countless racist and homophobic articles. The UCP proposed a school curriculum that removes references to residential schools and axed funding for anti-racism initiatives.
However, the many unjust policies of the UCP have also renewed class consciousness and contributed to the growth of a working-class movement. In fact, there’s been an uptick in labour movement activity in the past year directed against all the unemployment-boosting policies and broader anti-worker legislation that has been rammed through the legislature. The Alberta Federation of Labour has been organizing community action teams – through standuptokenney.ca – and preparing for massive direct action against the UCP government, possibly including work stoppages and general strikes. It is unlikely at this point that the steadily-sinking UCP will win the next election – at least, not without a change in leadership. The recent retreats on coal mining and essential workers’ money are signs of a weak and battered government. Now is the time kick them out. An organized working-class movement, if it continues to develop and mature, could force resignations and legislative dissolution.
Socialists and labour organizers should reach out to anti-hate organizers with the goal of forging a new mass movement of all working people against Jason Kenney and the UCP. The agenda of this government has cost us all dearly; the capitalist mode of production and the whims of the ruling class are at the root of the problem. There’s an immense but temporary opportunity to build a united, multi-racial movement of working and oppressed people to stand against the ruling class and kick out their stooges.
Join the rally for unity and solidarity: 1:30 pm, Saturday February 20, Legislature Grounds, Edmonton.
Socialist Alternative supports a socialist program that:
- Taxes the rich in order to fund services.
- Tackles the pandemic by bolstering our public healthcare, shutting down super-spreaders, and providing support for workers.
- Provides stable livelihoods for all, by taking industry into public ownership.
- Puts racism and right-wing hate groups on the back foot.
- Democratically plans the economy instead of allowing big capitalists to have control.
- Organizes a just transition from fossil fuels to good union jobs in clean energy.
Let us seize this opportunity!
