How did Copping become Alberta's health minister, political scientist asks

The appointment of a Calgary MLA into the role of health minister has left question marks, doubt and worry amid political commentators and opponents.

Jason Copping, MLA for Calgary Varsity and former minister of Labour and Immigration, took the reins as health minister Tuesday. Tyler Shandro has taken over Copping's former portfolio.

Duane Bratt, a political scientist at Mount Royal University, wished Copping good luck as he steps into his new role, a position that has been under increasing scrutiny. Alberta is currently grappling with the highest COVID-19 case numbers in Canada and a healthcare system that is struggling to maintain capacity.

Bratt said there are many questions around how Copping, a relatively unknown member of the legislature, ended up in the position and what he will do now that he has the role.

“How did he end up (there), was he the last guy in the room?” said Bratt. “I don't know how he ended up in that job.”

Before entering provincial politics, Copping spent two decades working in management in the labour relations and human resources fields. His official UCP bio states he has previously worked on collective bargaining agreements and represented management in arbitration cases.

Copping was first elected into the legislature in 2019 and named to Premier Jason Kenney's cabinet later that year. He has spent the past two years as the minister of Labour and Immigration, sponsoring five bills. Those bills mostly amended legislation around business and workplaces.

One of his recent bills, Bill 47: Ensuring Safety and Cutting Red Tape, 2020, changed a number of legal protections and compensation measures introduced by the previous NDP government. Those changes included the removal of presumptive psychological coverage for many health-care workers, including nurses and doctors.

Those workers can still receive compensation for issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder, but the Workers Compensation Board (WCB) won't automatically assume those injuries come from the workplace.

Official Opposition Leader Rachel Notley reacted to Tuesday's cabinet shuffle in a series of tweets, saying Copping has a legacy of revoking WCB protections and failing to protect workers at Alberta meat plants during COVID-19 outbreaks in the workplace.

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) issued a similar statement, saying Copping has “blemishes” on his record, pointing to changes in workers legislation.

Bratt said the new role would be difficult for anyone to take on as relations have been frayed through past and present labour negotiations with health-care workers.

The province is negotiating a new bargaining agreement with the United Nurses of Alberta.

“What is his standing? What are the policy changes? Those are all very good questions and there is, I mean, there is no trust that the health-care workers have with the government over labour negotiations,” said Bratt.