Alberta minister thanks convoys, says COVID-19 restrictions were 'about political control and power'
CTV
Kaycee Madu, Alberta's labour and immigration minister, ignited a firestorm Tuesday afternoon when he thanked "freedom convoys" for fighting against "tyrannical" federal COVID-19 restrictions that are soon to be loosened.
Kaycee Madu, Alberta's labour and immigration minister, ignited a firestorm Tuesday afternoon when he thanked "freedom convoys" for fighting against "tyrannical" federal COVID-19 restrictions that are soon to be loosened.
He added that Ottawa's vaccination rules regarding international travel were never "about science but about political control and power."
The Alberta NDP called on Premier Jason Kenney to remove Madu from cabinet.
"Frankly, it's a new low for this minister," Justice Critic Irfan Sabir told CTV News Edmonton. "Essentially he is thanking Freedom Convoy people who were responsible for a whole lot of lawlessness in this country."
"These comments are way over the line. They're disrespectful to many, many Albertans who fell sick, who lost loved ones, who lost jobs and businesses."
Convoy protesters flooded the streets of Ottawa for several weeks and blocked international borders in Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario. Four men were charged with conspiracy to commit murder after they were arrested at the Alberta blockade in February.
"I believe the restrictions that were there federally were based on the advice the federal government was getting from their health experts," Sabir said.
