Alberta cabinet ministers wrapped up their four-day tour of the province on January 26. Premier Alison Redford and her 20 ministers visited 22 communities and held 120 public sessions in order to “meet Albertans face-to-face to discuss local issues and ideas,” according to the government press release.

Jay O’Neill, speaking for the premier’s office, says it was not a pre-emptive campaign tour and the timing has nothing to do with the provincial election, which Redford has said will be called after the spring session.

“The cabinet tour’s been done in the past and this is a continuation of that practice.... The timing is the same time as it was last year,” says O’Neill.

The ministers were seeking input from people like Gail Kastning, who attended a 45-minute afternoon visit to St. Cyril School in Calgary’s S.W., on January 24.

She says the notice given to the school was too short for parents to properly prepare. Each day of the cabinet tour itinerary was released roughly 36 hours beforehand. Kastning also says the scheduling was not ideal.

“If it had been in the evening we would have had a packed gym,” says Kastning, who is a parent and member of the St. Cyril School Council.

Premier Redford, along with ministers for Service Alberta, Finance, and Health and Wellness gathered with parents, students and teachers in the school’s small library, posing for pictures and acquiescing to students’ requests for autographs.