From: brewnoser2@gmail.com   
      
   Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has accepted the resignations of Grande Prairie   
   MLA Tracy Allard as minister of municipal affairs and of Jamie Huckabay, his   
   chief of staff.   
      
   They join a growing number of politicians across Canada who have admitted to   
   travelling outside the country despite pandemic restrictions, leading to   
   resignations in some cases. They include former Ontario finance minister Rod   
   Phillips, a Progressive    
   Conservative; Liberal MP Kamal Khera; and New Democrat MP Niki Ashton.   
      
   In a Facebook post on Monday, Kenney said he has also demoted five other   
   United Conservative Party MLAs who travelled internationally over the holidays.   
      
   Calgary-Klein MLA Jeremy Nixon has been stripped from his position as   
   parliamentary secretary for civil society, while Red Deer-South MLA Jason   
   Stephan has been removed from Treasury Board.   
      
   Three MLAs — Calgary-Peigan's Tanya Fir, Tany Yao of Fort McMurray-Wood   
   Buffalo and Lesser Slave Lake's Pat Rehn — have been removed from the   
   legislature committees they sat on.   
      
   Transportation Minister Ric McIver will take over municipal affairs until a   
   new minister is appointed, Kenney said. Larry Kaumeyer, the current principal   
   secretary, will serve as interim chief of staff.   
      
   "Millions of Albertans have made real sacrifices over the past 10 months to   
   help keep each other safe. They are right to be angry about people in   
   positions of leadership vacationing outside of the country," Kenney wrote.   
      
   Here are the Canadian politicians facing questions over travel amid COVID-19   
   restrictions   
      
   https://i.cbc.ca/1.5861138.1609801199!/fileImage/httpImage/image   
   jpg_gen/derivatives/original_1180/ucp-travel-demotions.jpg   
      
   Clockwise from top left: Tanya Fir, Jamie Huckabay, Tracy Allard, Jeremy   
   Nixon, Jason Stephan, Tany Yao and Pat Rehn. Kenney accepted the resignations   
   of Allard and Huckaby, while the other five have been demoted over their   
   decisions to travel on the    
   holidays.   
      
   "By travelling abroad over the holidays, these individuals demonstrated   
   extremely poor judgment."   
      
   Kenney's announcement comes after days of intense criticism by Albertans over   
   the holiday trips.   
      
   Social media has been dominated by calls for Kenney and Allard to resign,   
   while MLAs have been bombarded with emails and phone calls from angry   
   constituents.   
      
   CBC News first confirmed on Dec. 31 that Allard had been in Hawaii over the   
   holidays.   
      
   The next day, Kenney held a news conference, during which he told Albertans he   
   was at fault for not telling MLAs they shouldn't travel — even though public   
   health officials have advised against non-essential international trips for   
   months.   
      
   A few hours later, Allard held a news conference and apologized for taking the   
   trip. But in a statement that likely sealed her fate, she explained that the   
   Christmas trip to Hawaii was an annual tradition for her family.   
      
   Allard's comments angered Albertans   
      
   That prompted more outrage from Albertans, who began listing the traditions,   
   travel and gatherings they had eschewed this year due to COVID-19.   
      
   "We can't see our grown children in this city yet they can fly to Hawaii,"   
   Edmontonian Glen Mullins told CBC News on Monday. "My parents live in   
   Newfoundland. My tradition is to go see them. I couldn't go."   
      
   Senator Don Plett vacationed in Mexico over the holidays despite pandemic   
   advisory on travel   
      
   In Fort McMurray, Rae Ann Cleghorn said she followed public health guidelines   
   by not flying to New Brunswick to visit her family at Christmas.   
      
   Cleghorn voted for Yao in the 2019 provincial election. She said she wants him   
   to resign from the legislature after offering constituents an explanation for   
   his trip to Mexico.   
      
   "I was absolutely disgusted," she said. "I knew there were MLAs in Alberta who   
   had gone to other places. But I was floored when I found out one of our own up   
   here actually had the nerve to do the exact same thing."   
      
   NDP demand locations of UCP MLA holidays   
      
   NDP Opposition Leader Rachel Notley said her entire 24-member caucus stayed in   
   Alberta for the holidays.   
      
   On Monday, the NDP's Janis Irwin, MLA for Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood, and   
   Sarah Hoffman, who represents Edmonton-Glenora, demanded Kenney reveal where   
   each UCP MLA spent their holidays.   
      
   Irwin said Allard's decision to resign wasn't good enough.   
      
   "This should have happened last week, to be honest," she said. "They should   
   have had the moral judgment not to have [travelled] in the first place, and   
   that failure will not be forgotten."   
      
   Huckabay, who visited the U.K. over the holidays, was asked to resign,   
   according to the statement released by the premier.   
      
   Through the weekend, it was revealed that more MLAs had travelled: Fir was in   
   Las Vegas; Nixon had been in Hawaii; Rehn and Yao visited Mexico. Stephan left   
   for Arizona on Dec. 31, the day news of Allard's trip became public.   
      
   Janet Brown, a Calgary-based independent pollster, said the resignations and   
   demotions are "very big news," but she suggested that Kenney should have   
   announced them when he appeared before the media on New Year's Day.   
      
   "This is the kind of bold move he needed to make to turn the temperature   
   down," Brown said. "It's a big move. It's going to satisfy some people, but   
   it's not going to satisfy everybody."   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)