Quarantine clarity needed

By Leela Sharon Aheer Chestermere-Strathmore MLA

I want to start off this article by thanking you. I have had so many conversations over the last week with respect to many things, but what really resonated with me and what I passed on to my colleagues in government were your concerns, and rightly so, over children’s sports and their mental health, the coal policy, and incidents around Albertans being detained and transferred to designated locations for quarantine purposes against their will. Let me start with the last concern first. 

We need a definitive explanation from officials in Ottawa to understand the border measures being taken during the pandemic. I truly believe that we as travellers have a responsibility to know and understand the protocols for testing and quarantine, but I am confused as to these obligations, and we need some clarity on these rules. My friend Joseph Schow wrote this letter on his Facebook page and I believe he sums up our concerns quite well, especially when returning Albertans were told that if they resisted, they would be arrested. Here is MLA Schow’s post:

“Like many Albertans, I am disturbed by reports of our fellow citizens being detained at airports and forced into confinement with little to no contact with family or explanation.

“Airports fall under federal jurisdiction, so today I wrote Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and demanded answers.

“All Albertans and Canadians are protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms against arbitrary detainment. This right is absolute, even against the backdrop of this awful pandemic.

“If you agree Albertans deserve answers from Ottawa, fill out my petition here: https://www.josephschow.ca/trudeau.”

As you know I have written about the coal policy in some of my previous articles. I wanted to let you know that your concerns were passed on to the minister of energy and as of Feb. 8, the coal leases will be rescinded and a robust consultation will continue. We were always responsible at all levels of government to have consultations, and to be very transparent for any development of lands when it comes to resource extraction and stewardship. We are the best in the world when it comes to this, so I am very grateful to the minister for taking a step back, listening to Albertans and taking the time to do some much-needed work with the communities and the folks in those communities when it comes to the development of our resources. I truly believe businesses will want to come here and invest in Alberta because they will know that our regulations are the best in the world. It gives credibility to the sectors, all levels of government, and gives our wonderful people in this province a voice. I thank you again for your valuable input and for reaching out to our office with your concerns.

Finally, congratulations to all of you and your advocacy to me on children, their mental health and sports. I’m sure you can imagine the volume of emails that we received on this very important issue. I want to thank you for reaching out, coming up with solutions and really rallying your voices to be heard on this issue. That and the declining numbers in the hospital has given all of us some much-needed breathing room to open up our lives a little more than anticipated this week. 

Starting Feb. 8, children and youth will be allowed to participate in lessons, practices and conditioning activities for indoor and outdoor sports and athletics. This includes team-based sports, minor sports and activities, as well as school athletics. We have worked with our colleagues in Alberta Health to revise these requirements.

It is important to note that all games continue to be prohibited, and while these activities are included in Step 1, there are strong measures in place that must continue to be followed. 

These measures include a maximum of 10 individuals including trainers and participants; mandatory masks; three metres physical distance for indoor activities; two metres physical distance for outdoor activities; and, everyone must be 18 years old or younger, with the exception of the coaches or trainers.

We know how important kids sports and activities are to the physical and mental well-being of our province’s young people. I want to thank Albertans, from the bottom of my heart, for making this happen. It is due to their good work and sacrifices over the past several weeks.

Thank you, stay safe and as always, I love to hear from you.

(Leela Sharon Aheer is the MLA Elect for Chestermere-Strathmore, Minister of Status of Women and Minister of Culture and Multiculturalism)