Alberta - Shadow Cabinet and Redford's New Chief of Staff

On Monday, Alberta Premier Alison Redford announced  a change in Chief of Staff, Farouk Adatia.  He replaces Stephen Carter,  who served as Redford's Chief of Staff for the past six months. Earlier this year Adatia failed to win the PC party's nomination for Calgary-Hawkwood.  His annual salary is expected to be $264,000.  A nice reward for the Calgary lawyer. 

"As a lawyer specializing in corporate and commercial law and as a volunteer leader with deep ties to the community, Farouk's experience and values are reflective of a new government focused on building an even better Alberta,"said Redford.

Isn't that what voters were appalled at during the election, the PC dynasty rewarding crony's with plumb jobs?  Regardless, voters get the government they deserve.  Meanwhile the pressure has been on after a fatal accident on Highway 63, which killed seven people.  While Doug Horner responded, Premier Redford said she would answer some letters regarding concerns over twinning of the highway when she returns from vacation next week.  Will it be more excuses? 

Meanwhile there was an education session for the newly elected MLAs in the legislature.  The session is intended to introduce new members to the procedures and obviously give some helpful advice.  Former Speaker Ken Kowalski, urged MLAs to be civil and to turn down the rhetoric.  He said that one can disagree with the other side, but can still work with them.  Civility is certainly something that would be desired.  Albertans want their MLAs to get things done. 

Official Opposition Leader, Danielle Smith, used the occasion to introduce her shadow cabinet. 

“Wildrose campaigned on the slogan ‘new ideas that put Albertans first’, and more than one-third of Albertans rallied to that cause,” said Smith, noting that Wildrose earned more votes than any other opposition party in Alberta history on April 23.

Among the major critic roles, Rob Anderson and Heather Forsyth will return to their chief critic portfolios of Finance and Health, respectively. Anderson will also return as House Leader. Bruce McAllister (Chestermere-Rocky View) will be Education Critic, Kerry Towle (Innisfail-Sylvan Lake) will be Seniors Critic and Whip, Shayne Saskiw (Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills) will be Critic for Justice and Solicitor General, and Jason Hale (Strathmore-Brooks) will serve as Energy Critic.

“While we will not needlessly oppose the Redford PCs, we intend to use our role as Official Opposition to ensure that Albertans’ voices are clearly heard in the Alberta Legislature,” Smith said.   Wildrose Website

Premier Alison Redford is expected to announce her new cabinet next week, with a legislature session starting on May 16th.  The session should include the throne speech and will hopefully deal with the Highway 63 issue prior to breaking for the summer. 

With a large official opposition, it should no longer be business as usual.