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Newly elected Speaker Nathan Cooper has fired the clerk of the legislature.

Merwan Saher, who was appointed by Cooper’s NDP predecessor days before the election, was let go on Friday.

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Saher was replaced by Shannon Dean, who has worked in various non-partisan roles at the Alberta legislature for more than 20 years. She was acting clerk before Saher’s appointment.

Dean is the first woman in Alberta’s history to hold the full-time role as clerk.

The clerk works under the Speaker, with a swath of procedural and managerial responsibilities.

‘Absolutely not’ political: Cooper

Opposition Leader Rachel Notley slammed the move as “unprecedented and shocking.”

“(It) raises serious concerns about the level of non-partisan service that can be expected by members of the official Opposition from the Speaker’s office and the associated Legislative Assembly Office (LAO),” she said in a statement.