Thread by @aaronhoyland

Those who dislike Jason Kenney tend to bring up his time in San Francisco where he advocated against extending recognition rights (including hospital visitations) to same-sex couples. It was morally indefensible.

I think what he did yesterday was just as bad. Here's why. 🧵

In June, when Kenney announced that most public health restrictions would end, he said that those restrictions would not be reintroduced. When asked about a backup plan, he flat-out stated that there isn't one.

Kenney has staked his political future on Covid being "over". He has one of the lowest popularity rates of any political leader in this country. His only hope of reelection in 2023 is for a strong economic bounce-back for Alberta.

But that won't happen if Covid continues to rage through this province. Or more accurately, it won't happen if people can see that Covid continues rage through this province. And here's where this changes from crass politicking to moral depravity.

By closing testing centres, tests will be harder to come by, which means official case numbers will be less reliable. By winding down contact tracing, it will be harder to track the spread. By ending mandatory isolation, it will ensure Covid remains endemic.

All of these things will make it impossible to accurately gauge the spread of Covid in Alberta. Which makes it easier to ignore. You can't write daily news stories or Twitter threads when you don't know what's happening.

I think there's often more nuance in the world than people acknowledge, and I try not to speak in absolutes. But there is no nuance here. Kenney is willfully sacrificing the health and wellbeing of Albertans to improve his electoral prospects.

I'm an idealist at times. I believe that politics provides an unparalleled opportunity to improve the lives of your fellow citizens. It also comes with tremendous responsibility to protect the most vulnerable among us.

That our premier and those involved with this decision would use that power in such a craven and self-serving manner is utterly unconscionable. He is willing to let people die to help get reelected. Let's make damn sure he fails.

And then, many years from now when someone brings up one-term former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, let's do what we can to ensure that THIS is his legacy.