Banff-Kananaskis MLA Miranda Rosin, who also represents the hamlet of Bragg Creek, visited family in Saskatchewan over the holidays.
Rosin did not respond to multiple interview requests from Great West Newspapers reporters, but a statement was provided by the director of communications for the United Conservative Party caucus, Tim Gerwing, who said she had travelled out of province over Christmas.
Gerwing indicated that because Rosin lives alone, the current health measures in Alberta and Saskatchewan allowed her to visit one other household.
Rosin will not be stripped of any responsibilities, Gerwing said, including her role as vice-chair of the committee reviewing the Public Health Act, because she did not travel internationally and followed public health guidelines.
"Both Alberta and Saskatchewan permitted individuals who live alone to join another household for Christmas," wrote Gerwing in a statement provided to the Rocky Mountain Outlook in Canmore. "MLA Rosin drove to neighbouring Saskatchewan to spend Christmas with her parents.
"Those who had responsibilities removed travelled abroad – not to a neighbouring province with matching policies while following public health guidelines."
A statement issued by Rosin on Jan. 5 stated she was disappointed in her UCP colleagues who travelled outside Canada over the holidays – news that enraged many Albertans and Canadians, who had been asked to limit their holiday celebrations to their own household.
"I want to assure everyone that I was not one of those who left the country over Christmas season, nor all year," she wrote. "My Christmas holidays were spent painting Christmas crafts, skating outdoors, and playing tabletop curling on the dining room table."
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Several UCP MLAs, including former minister of municipal affairs Tracy Allard, have faced criticism for their decision to travel outside the country at the end of December 2020. Many had social media profiles displaying the message "Stay home, save lives," but still ignored their own government's recommendation to avoid all non-essential travel.
Premier Jason Kenney said elected officials are held to a higher standard and that inappropriate holiday travel does not meet that standard. While he has apologized to Albertans for the behaviour of his MLAs who travelled overseas, he has not addressed the fact that by travelling to a neighbouring province, Rosin's actions also breached the trust of her constituents.
"Albertans have the right to demand their leadership set the right example in following public health rules and guidelines, particularly when millions have made terrible sacrifices to protect one another," wrote the premier in a social media post on Jan. 8
"Inappropriate travel by government MLAs and staff over the holidays shows we did not meet the standard of leadership rightfully expected of us, and as a result, trust has been broken. For that, I apologize. We have dealt serious consequences to those who displayed poor judgment. We are taking immediate action to fix this so it does not happen again, and will work hard to repair the trust of Albertans."
Six MLAs, including Allard, were demoted as a result of what Rosin characterized as "poor judgment."
"Throughout 2020, governments everywhere have made decisions that profoundly affected Albertan families and businesses," wrote Rosin in her statement. "The least [we] elected officials could do is to personally sacrifice some, ourselves.
"It is a shame that our government will lose these individuals from their positions, as prior to these events they all served their capacities with great expertise and work ethic. Unfortunately, poor judgment cannot be tolerated for those whom we entrust to govern our societies, and consequences must be faced for poor decision making."
