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(Government of Alberta)
Provincial Politics

Jason Nixon chosen as acting finance minister

Jun 3, 2022 | 4:36 PM

Premier Jason Kenney has tapped Jason Nixon to be the province’s acting finance minister and president of the Treasury Board.

Kenney announced the news on social media Thursday and that Nixon will remain minister of environment and parks.

Grande Prairie -Wapiti MLA Travis Toews stepped down this week as finance minister after announcing he will run in the United Conservative Party leadership race.

Shannon Phillips, the NDP finance critic, said in a statement that Nixon is the wrong person to instill investor confidence, diversify our economy, or restore public trust.

“Albertans deserve a Finance Minister who they can trust to restore respect and stability in health care and protect them from rising monthly costs. Today’s UCP appointment of Jason Nixon as Minister of Finance fails on all counts,” she said.

“Nixon has a long history of unacceptable and unprofessional behavior, including firing a female employee for reporting workplace sexual harassment, boozing on the Sky Palace patio during COVID restrictions, and most recently, threatening the careers of fellow MLAs while yelling obscenities in the legislature.

She added that his “financial mismanagement while president of the Athabasca University Students’ Union in 2015 disqualifies him from managing a $60-billion-dollar budget on behalf of the people of Alberta.”