Tyler Shandro out as health minister as Premier Jason Kenney set to announce changes to cabinet: sources
Premier Jason Kenney will announce changes to his cabinet Tuesday afternoon and Global News has confirmed with multiple sources that Tyler Shandro is out as health minister.
Sources confirm that Jason Copping will be named the new health minister in a ceremony scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Copping is currently the minister of Labour and Immigration.
Global News will stream the ceremony live in this story post at 3:30 p.m.
A media notice issued by the province Tuesday morning states Kenney will make changes to his cabinet and later join Alberta’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw for a 5 p.m. update on the COVID-19 situation in the province.
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi was asked about the move Tuesday morning ahead of the formal ceremony.
“Minister Copping is a very good guy. He has been very effective as minister of Labour, and I have no doubt he’ll do a good job as health minister,” Nenshi said.
“That said, this is very much Premier Kenney’s style: he tries to figure out what the minimum possible thing he can do is — announces the minimum possible thing — and then is surprised when it doesn’t work.
Multiple sources have confirmed to Global News that Jason Copping will be named the new Health Minister by Premier Jason Kenney this afternoon. #ableg
— Tom Vernon (@TomVernonGlobal) September 21, 2021
It’s not known how many other moves Kenney may make to his cabinet.
Shandro’s future is also not known. He was originally sworn in as the minister of health in April 2019.
NDP Leader Rachel Notley said while Shandro’s removal from the ministry is welcome, it is not a solution to the “urgent challenges before us.”
“Alberta is facing a crisis in our hospitals but the UCP can’t see beyond the chaotic spectacle of their own infighting,” Notley said in a news release.
“It is clear that the responsibility for Alberta’s pandemic mismanagement rests on the shoulders of every UCP member and therefore it is incumbent on them all to take responsibility and chart a more effective path on behalf of Albertans.
“A cabinet shuffle will not ease the immense pressure on our hospitals from this severe fourth wave. It won’t reschedule the life-saving surgeries of thousands of Albertans. It won’t recover our economy. And it won’t help everyday families looking for leadership. Albertans deserve better.”
Shandro has faced criticism throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and before. He was the health minister in charge when the province tore up the contract with Alberta doctors, who several months later passed a vote of non-confidence in the minister.
The ceremony comes amid growing frustration with Kenney’s own leadership.
Last week, the United Conservative Party constituency board in Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills voted 27 to 1 in favour of launching a leadership review.
The last time the premier made changes to his cabinet was in July, when several people were shuffled in a move Kenney said was made to focus on post-pandemic recovery.
— With files from Tom Vernon, Global News. More to come…
by Global News
