CALGARY Another Calgary politician travelled outside the province last month despite government orders against doing so, CTV News has learned. Calgary Signal Hill MP Ron Liepert s office confirmed Saturday that the 71-year-old politician flew to California twice during the pandemic. The first time was back in March, while the second trip was made during the current Parliamentary break. According to the statement, Liepert went to the U.S. to check on his property and both trips were for essential reasons. Opposition MP Liepert owns a house in Palm Desert California and has travelled twice since March, including during the current Parliamentary break, to deal with essential house maintenance issues, the statement read.
EDMONTON The fall out continues from the revelation at least eight UCP staffers, including five elected officials, recently travelled outside Canada against public health advice. Political observers, ethics experts and other Albertans are voicing outrage, demanding someone be held responsible. On Dec. 23, MLA Tanya Fir posted a Facebook video holiday greeting in beautiful Carburg Park, which is within the riding of Calgary-Peigan, but it turns out Fir was nowhere near her riding on Christmas. She travelled to Las Vegas to be with her sister, despite a provincial recommendation against non-essential travel and a government directive to spend Christmas with only your household.
You could almost feel the collective anger of Albertans building as news trickled out yesterday that more and more United Conservative Party MLAs had ignored their own government’s COVID-19 recommendations to stay home and cancel any non-essential international travel over the Christmas break.
Despite receiving the same recommendations against non-essential international holidays that every other Albertan has been told by the government since March 2020, at least five UCP MLAs, including one cabinet minister, decided the recommendations put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19 did not apply to them and instead jetted off to hotter locales.
As of today, we know the following UCP cabinet ministers, MLAs and senior political staffers have travelled internationally in recent weeks, or are just now returning home from abroad: