Athabasca-Redwater MLA Jeff Johnson was busy preparing his office and meeting with staff and colleagues last week as he readied himself for his new post as Alberta’s minister of infrastructure, a title he was both excited and humbled by.
Newly named premier Alison Redford gave Johnson a call on Oct. 11 to tell him what she had in mind, Johnson said from his new office in the Alberta Legislature.
He was sworn in the next day.
“I was pretty flattered to start with, it was quite an honour,” he said. “It’s even more exciting because of the premier we’ve got and what she’s doing.”
While Redford has been slammed early on for the veteran Progressive Conservatives she included in her new cabinet, with the likes of Ron Liepert and Ted Morton, Johnson represents the fresher face of the apparent change she promised to bring to the party and government.
Of the 20-strong group, Johnson said he is joining nine other first term MLAs in the cabinet.
The 44-year old said he is excited to be part of a new, younger PC government.
“It’s all about constantly renewing, staying fresh and staying relevant,” he said.
As for his first weeks as minister, he will spend much of his time getting briefed by his department to get up to speed with the issues, to ensure he is ready for the Oct. 24 sitting of the legislature.
Moving forward, he said he will maintain the government’s commitment to infrastructure investment, demonstrated in the last five years under Ed Stelmach’s government by local project investments like the Athabasca Regional Multiplex, Athabasca University’s Academic and Research Centre and the water treatment plant. He cited Edmonton’s new Royal Alberta Museum and the ongoing twinning of Highway 63 as current examples of such investment.
He will also be working closely with the previous infrastructure minister, Lac La Biche-St. Paul MLA Ray Danyluk. Redford switched Danyluk to the ministry of transportation, which shares its staff with Johnson’s new post.
Infrastructure will not be the only thing on Johnson’s plate though.
In Redford’s shuffle, he was also handed responsibility for the Oil Sands Sustainable Development Secretariat, a 2007 collaboration between the government, industry, stakeholders and communities which had previously fallen under the Treasury Board. The eight to ten member group is designed to address the impacts of booming oil sands development across the province.
Johnson will also serve as vice chair for the Treasury Board, which makes decisions regarding the government’s budget and spending decisions, and as the newly created political minister for northern Alberta.
In previous years, a political minister had been designated for Edmonton, Calgary and rural Alberta. Johnson will be the first to represent the concerns of the region that stretches all the way across the province north of Edmonton and ensure government addresses their issues.
As for the local impact of Johnson’s new responsibilities, he said he will continue to work hard for his constituents despite the added pressure of looking at issues on a provincial level.
He added that, for the riding, the advantage of being in the ruling party’s caucus will be amplified by his new position, allowing him greater access “to have the wishes of the constituents expressed.”
