The Alberta Government’s political staffers continually argue that decisions such as which businesses continue to operate are only made by @CMOH_Alberta and politicians play no role.

This leaves out some important facts and context, likely for cynical political reasons.

1/ https://twitter.com/mattwolfab/status/1259165619225853959

It is true that decisions regarding the operations of businesses in Alberta have been made by @CMOH_Alberta. Dr Hinshaw has extensive powers, including prohibiting people from engaging in business under s. 29(2.1) of the Public Health Act.

2;

For example, Dr Hinshaw’s Order on 27 March 2020 prevented certain businesses from offering services to the public and limited how other businesses do so.

https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/c02f3b06-9c37-4845-98ee-d07d805fdce1/resource/32f3367d-9a15-4aef-af6e-4e960891c14e/download/health-cmoh-record-of-decision-cmoh-07-2020.pdf

3/

A close read of the Order shows that Dr Hinshaw did *not* order any business to close. She did order some businesses to stop offering any services to the public, which is almost, but not quite the same thing.

4/

The likely reason for this is because Dr Hinshaw doesn’t have the power to close businesses or other public places. Medical Officers of Health *can* order closures for up to 24 hours in order to investigate the presence of a communicable disease, but not indefinite closures.

5/

The Public Health ACT does permit the Lieutenant Governor in Council (that is, Cabinet), however, to order the closure of *any* public place, including any business, during a public health emergency.

To date, the LGiC has not exercised this power.

6/

By way of contrast, the LGiC for Ontario ordered the closure of most businesses. While there are differences between the two provinces’ emergency powers, Ontario’s Cabinet has not shown the same reluctance to act as Alberta’s Cabinet has.

7/ https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/200051

Dr Hinshaw’s order (cited above), focused on public health. It governed how businesses could interact with the public, and thus primarily affects retail establishments, not meatpacking plants. Worker health and safety remain the responsibility of the Ministry of Labour.

8/

Perhaps, especially given the benefit of hindsight, Dr Hinshaw should not have relied on OH&S investigators to protect workers at meatpacking plants. However, I suspect public health officials were focusing their very stretched resources on other areas of critical need.

9/

Likewise, in hindsight, the OH&S inspector should not have done a virtual tour of Cargill and/or should have taken quicker and more decisive action in response to the concerns. That said, these are not medical officers and may not yet have understood the health risks.

10/

And, perhaps, the Alberta Government can be forgiven for not recognizing that its two ministries were not up to the task of protecting the health at these plants.

But it cannot deny that it had no role to play. At all times, the LGiC could have closed Cargill.

11/

As case numbers started to rise, the Alberta Government had at least as good information as anyone else about these outbreaks.

Yet, they did nothing. They held the power to close the plant, to do what the union and others were demanding, but they did not.

12/

People like @MattWolfAB, @tarajago and others may deny the Government’s responsibility by pointing out that it was Dr Hinshaw and the OH&S inspector who made decisions. But this ignores the fact that only the Government could close Cargill but has not used its powers.

/fin

Post-script:

With new evidence that Cargill was not following the Occupational Health and Safety Act, perhaps @MattWolfAB or @tarajago can answer why the LGiC has not ordered the closure of the plant.

https://twitter.com/rachelnotley/status/1259220883488387072?s=21 https://twitter.com/rachelnotley/status/1259220883488387072