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Vol. 17, No. 4, Wednesday, December 15, 2021 www.LamontLeader.com
MP’s office manager disputes harsh workplace allegations made by O’Toole BY JOHN MATHER Lakeland MP Shannon Stubbs won’t be offering any more comments on allegations of having a toxic workplace, but her Lakeland Constituency office manager Tina Warawa spoke up to offer support. “Shannon isn’t going to say anything more about this,” said Warawa. “She has done an interview and denied those allegations. However she has said I can go on record if I want to recount my experiences working with her.” “What you’re looking at here with many of these unnamed sources are people who worked in Shannon's office half a decade ago,” said Warawa. “I don’t see much credibility with them.” One of the things reported, concerned the painting of the MP’s house in Vegreville as stated in the Globe and Mail. “I was actually there at the painting of a bedroom at her house just outside Two Hills,” said Warawa. “I was there and the girls were talking about having some wine while they were doing the painting. Shannon wasn’t even there.” “The two girls told me they were going to do it and the girls were excited to be doing the painting as a gift for
MP Shannon Stubbs’ office manager, Tina Warawa Shannon,” she said. “I’m now surprised that something that was done as a gift for Shannon can come back and be so hurtful towards her.” Warawa explained Stubbs is very involved in the lives of her staff. “She knows what all my kids are doing and knows when they have hockey games. She has given me the ability to arrange my schedule so I can attend those and so I can look after my council responsibilities.” (Warawa is a town councillor in Vegreville) “Working in an MPs office is a high
pressure responsibility,” stated Warawa. “There are tight deadlines, expectations for speed and accuracy in preparing reports and briefing notes. But the other side of this that nobody has talked about are the concessions Shannon makes for the staff.” Warawa explained Stubbs gives time allocations and adjusts schedules to accommodate child care needs and currently has a staffer who has a Monday to Thursday contract because she is a single mom with a special needs child and this allows her to have the extra time she needs. Another accommodation, Stubbs has made said Warawa is to a staff member to work remotely because her husband has had to take a job in BC. “I’m disappointed no one has written this side of the story,” said Warawa. “That Shannon will make these accommodations to support her staff. She makes sure I’m available to attend Colby’s hockey games (Warawa’s son). She knows I get my job done and I don’t care if I have to work a little earlier in the morning or later in the evening to get what’s required done. That’s the nature of the job. But Shannon has always supported me in what I’m doing with my life.”
She admits she has a strong personal relationship with Stubbs. “She knows when I need some time for myself and she insists I take that,” said Warawa. “She always has some small gifts for her staff.” “When she gets a gift for staffers, Shannon goes out and finds unique gifts that may fit in with their hobbies and passions. She puts a lot of thought into buying a gift for her staff. And now she’s being punished because we’ve been friends back to her.” Warawa explains Stubbs comes across in the House of Commons as an aggressive person. “But when people see her speaking out she’s fighting the Liberals, she’s battling for the Lakeland Constituency, and she’s fighting for this area.” “But in the years I’ve worked for her I can easily state Shannon has never yelled at me. We have a very good working relationship.” Stubbs has gone on record as saying the allegations are simply revenge tactics by Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole, after she called for an early leadership review following his election loss to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Former Mundare RV shop owners to be on Dragon’s Den BY JOHN MATHER Former Mundare RV parts dealer Young Farts RV Parts will be appearing on the CBC program Dragon’s Den, Dec. 16, with a chance to get some additional investment in their business. The owners, Jagger and Dawson Glowatsky, started their business in Mundare in 2017 and later moved it to larger premises in Vegreville in 2019. Through the use of a larger premise and an online presence the company has grown considerably. “Moving to Vegreville won’t hurt
us,” said Jagger Glowatsky at the time of their move to Vegreville. “There’s only about three RV wreckers in Canada, so people will look us up on the internet and then come out for what services they need.” Glowatsky started his career by selling used vehicles while he was still in high school. When he had sold upwards of 150 vehicles he felt it was time to start working full time. The switch to RV parts came when he purchased an RV at auction. “It was so far gone, there was no way
we were going to sell it whole. So, we er, Dawson graduated high school he were like ‘man, what do we do with became a partner in the business. this thing?’” Jagger said. “So, we were like, ‘hey, let’s try selling the parts out of it,’ and once we did that, we learned that there was actually more money in parts than actually selling these things as whole units.” When his brothThe Glowatsky brothers on Dragon’s Den