Government House Leader Jason Nixon has announced the suspension of the spring session of the legislative assembly for at least two weeks due to rising COVID-19 cases in the province.
In a statement released Sunday, Nixon’s office said the suspension is an effort to prevent further spread of the virus, not due to confirmed cases among MLAs or staff.
“With COVID-19 continuing to spread across Alberta, the government has determined that having MLAs return to Edmonton from all over the province after constituency week is no longer prudent,” Nixon said in the statement. “Suspending proceedings is the right thing to do as case counts increase.”
READ MORE: Alberta passes legislation allowing for 3-hour paid leave so workers can get COVID-19 vaccine
The office said the decision was made after consultation with the official opposition Sunday. But in a statement, the NDP called the decision “cowardly” and accused Premier Jason Kenney of “fleeing” the legislature while public health measures such as paid sick leave have not been enacted.
“The first item on the agenda for Monday must be an emergency debate on Jason Kenney’s failing pandemic response,” NDP Leader Rachel Notley said.
“Alberta workers need paid sick leave, families need a Learn From Home Fund to support students online, our variant testing system needs immediate improvement, and our existing public health measures must be enforced. All this work is being left undone because Jason Kenney is afraid of public scrutiny.”
READ MORE: Alberta Health reports single-day high of 2,433 new COVID-19 cases
The decision to suspend the spring sitting comes as Alberta struggles to manage the pandemic. On Saturday, the province reported the highest single-day total of COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, at 2,433. It was the third consecutive day the province reported more than 2,000 cases.
Alberta’s active case count was at 22,504 as of Saturday, and there were 646 people in hospital with the virus, with 152 of those individuals in intensive care. Doctors are also being briefed on patient triage protocols should they be required.
The tentative return date is May 17, and Nixon says the house can be reconvened earlier if an emergency arises.
