Doesn’t have your back

Written by Brenda Schimke

Last Friday, Premier Kenney announced his government would pull back funding from school boards for educational assistants, librarians, custodial staff and bus drivers—leaving it up to individual boards whether they actually lay off staff.

Then he tells the laid-off employee to jump over to the federal government’s enhanced EI program.

The same day, he sends letters to social workers advising his intention to lay off 1,200.

There’s something morally and ethically repugnant about Kenney’s inability to see past his own economic agenda and focus on real people’s lives in a time of crisis.

He so often demonstrates his inability to take responsibility for his own actions blaming others instead.

Kenney is the school board’s only source of money and they have no choice but to lay off their employees when the cash stops. Nothing in leadership is sleazier than the guy on top who sets his managers up to take the fall and treats his employees as nothing more than widgets.

He’s certainly earning his current label, ‘Baby Trump’.

Kenney isn’t a team player. With a worldwide pandemic unfolding and all provincial economies shut down, Kenney lays off his civil servants adding more expenses to a federal government trying to help everyone else—entrepreneurs, vulnerable seniors, kids, charities, individuals with mortgages, businesses, laid-off employees from the private sector, students, not-for-profits, etc.

The last thing Canada needs is a Premier not doing his share and even shifting his financial burden to the other nine provinces and three territories.

And frankly, the last thing Albertans need is a Premier ignoring the plight of counties, special areas and municipalities who provide our essential services.

Pre-pandemic, Kenney enjoyed the role of King of the Premiers in a protracted attack on Prime Minister Trudeau.

When this crisis is over and he’s out bragging about how well Alberta’s financial situation survived the pandemic, ‘Baby Trump’ might be surprised that his status has become Canada’s number one pariah.

Monday, we learned Kenny invested $1.5B in the Keystone Pipeline—no doubt using individual’s pension plan assets.

The federally-funded pipeline project, TMX, creates ALL Canadian jobs, whereas the Keystone pipeline was marketed as creating 44,500 permanent jobs—42,000 American jobs and only 2,500 Canadian jobs.

After the pandemic, bringing back the Canadian economy is going to be a costly and lengthy process, yet our very own ‘Baby Trump’ today is investing Albertan’s money in a project that will disproportionately advantage the U.S. economic recovery.

As all other provincial governments work with the federal government to save individuals and the engine of our economies—entrepreneurs, small and medium-sized businesses which contribute 70 per cent of all private-sector employment— Kenney is supporting American big business.

He’s the billionaire sitting in his palatal cabin planning his next yacht purchase as his crew fights to save themselves and the yacht from capsizing during a hurricane.

Ironically, Kenney has been a civil servant all his working life, with the exception of a few years as a paid lobbyist.

He never worked a ‘real job’ in the private sector and has enjoyed housing allowances and generous government expense accounts throughout his career.

He’s stacked up years of civil servant pensions and has always had top-notch health insurance.

He’s never had to worry about anything but ‘self’, nor share with anyone—no wife, no children and it seems no siblings.

He attended only private religious schools and he dropped out in his third year of university because he couldn’t adjust to dealing with others who did not embrace his views.

He didn’t go quietly!

Sadly, the ultimate civil servant, Jason Kenney, who has always lived a privileged and self-centred life, doesn’t have your back.

By his actions, he’s not demonstrating collegiality, insight, impartiality, humility or compassion—leadership characteristics absolutely necessary during a worldwide pandemic.

About the author

Brenda Schimke

Schimke is a Graduate with Distinction from the University of Alberta with a BCom degree. She has lived and worked in Alberta, BC and Ontario.