If by some sort of miracle MLA Tracy Allard is allowed to continue to serve as a member of the Premier’s Council on the Status of Persons with Disabilities, there should be an admission charge for the next meeting she attends.
Can’t you just hear the disconnect?
The council will be immersed in the important business of the day when Allard takes out her cellphone and starts looking through her pictures of her disgraced Hawaiian holiday.
“Oh, this one isn’t very good,’’ she could say and then spend a few more minutes scrolling through images to find the right one. The sun, of course, can’t be too dark — or too light. And we can’t have those little colourful umbrellas drenched in overpriced cocktails appear in photos of an elected official, can we?
Allard’s decision to go to Hawaii hilariously hollers, “Do as I say, not as I do.”
It was not a lack of judgment. It was Allard out to prove she is above other Albertans, who are shackled to their homes as COVID-19 blows through the province. It also questions her own self-respect. Allard, the provincial municipal affairs minister, tested positive for COVID-19 in October. One would think she would not have rolled the dice with a seven-hour flight, tens of thousands of feet in the sky, to a tropical island despite — oh yes — provincial and federal government restrictions on travel.
What gives here?
Here’s my concern. And, damn right, it’s personal.
Allard, who has a certificate in disability management and does not have a disability, was appointed to the council in August 2019.
As Albertans with disabilities continue to struggle with the COVID clutch, Allard’s junket was an insult to not only all Albertans but specifically those of us with disabilities.
I have learned people who do not have disabilities can make tremendous contributions to the disabled community.
But it takes someone with unique empathy and deep understanding. It also takes someone to make sacrifices to show their solidarity and support.
Allard lost that somewhere — and so much more — over the South Pacific.
How can anyone with an issue — even life-threatening — now trust someone on a council on disabilities who showcases a privileged lifestyle?
How can someone with bare kitchen cupboards because of the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped issues have a meaningful conversation with someone who went on a misguided Hawaiian hiatus?
How can the rest of the premier’s council respect and work with someone who now sits in a cement pool of controversy?
How can Allard expect Albertans to take their issues seriously when she bluntly chose not to follow health protocols herself?
Allard must — absolutely must — resign.
We already have a politician south of the Canadian border somersaulting in one of the most embarrassing falls from grace because they are not willing to fundamentally accept the facts. We don’t need it here.
Allard did apologize.
I don’t think it’s enough.
If she doesn’t take one for the team now, our provincial government’s entitled philosophy will to continue spiral out of control.
And the disconnect between Albertans in need and policy-makers will be extended.
How far is it now, you ask?
I’d say 4,962 km — the distance between Grande Prairie and Honolulu.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2021
