Graham says he's owed an apology, believes there should be repercussions

Wade Graham, the owner of Float Canmore and administrator of the Facebook group Canmore Politics, believes Banff- Kananaskis MLA Miranda Rosin owes him an apology.

Early in the New Year, Graham raised the questions on the whereabouts of the Banff-Kananakis MLA during Christmas, and just yesterday had his suspicions confirmed.

In a statement issued through Tim Gerwing, communications director for the UCP Government Caucus, Rosin confirmed she went to Saskatchewan to spend Christmas with her parents. The statement pointed out both Alberta and Saskatchewan permitted individuals who live alone to join another household for Christmas.

Graham says many questions remain to be answered.

"She kind of painted herself into a corner, and politically it wasn't super astute," says Graham. "There's been speculation for a couple of weeks now. Why did it take a couple of weeks to say, 'Yeah, I went to Saskatchewan?'

"I think there's still lots of questions. Does she live alone? The Christmas card she sent out would suggest she doesn't."

The card he's referring to pictures Cochranite Morgan Nagel alongside Rosin with a pair of dogs.

Asked whether he went to Saskatchewan, Nagel, who is a Cochrane town councillor, said he spent Christmas at home following all the regulations.

Graham started to raise the question of Rosin's whereabouts in early January.

"I said a long time ago I would apologize immediately if I was wrong about my speculation, and I wasn't, and I expect an apology from her."

Graham said he forewent the tradition of joining family outside of the province for Christmas because of the COVID-19 restrictions in place. He says he wasn't able to see his 90-year old grandmother, nor meet a recently-born nephew for the first time.

"I gave up family traditions for UCP guidelines and the social common good, and my MLA, while saying one thing, did the other. Technical, yeah, not against the rules, maybe, if she is technically single."

The topic has caused some heated discussion in Canmore, and particularly on Canmore Politics. One person withdrew their post after Rosin supporters started messaging her privately.

"After 50 or so comments--we keep it very civil out there--she was getting private messages saying nasty things and so that divisiveness, that hatred, that unproductive conversation, is growing because of the actions of our MLA."

He believes there should be some repercussions.

"I hope this is not the end of it. I think that there should be consequences. There should be repercussions for her action. She obviously was not fully truthful with Mr, Kenney, she wasn't truthful with her constituents, and she threw her colleagues under the bus."