AB Today – Daily Report July 10, 2020

Quotation of the day

“We don’t have any hard caps in place.”

UCP Associate Minister for Natural Gas and Electricity Dale Nally announces a new grant ​ ​ program for petrochemical diversification currently doesn’t have a limit in spending.

Today in AB

On the schedule The house is adjourned until Monday afternoon.

Thursday’s debates and proceedings Bill 28, the Protecting Albertans from Convicted Sex Offenders Act, which bans sex offenders ​ from legally changing their name, cleared third reading.

Bill 27, Alberta Senate Election Amendment Act, passed second reading, despite NDP ​ Democracy critic Heather Sweet’s attempt to delay its passage until a committee could study ​ ​ the potential for senate elections.

MLAs also debated Bill 25, Protecting Alberta Industry From Theft Act, at third reading. ​ ​

UCP announces bottomless petrochemical grant program The UCP government is switching Alberta’s petrochemical diversification program (PDP) from a royalty credit deferral to a grant program.

Associate Minister for Natural Gas and Electricity Dale Nally announced the new 10-year ​ ​ initiative called the Alberta Petrochemicals Incentive Program Thursday.

The size of the program will depend on enrollment and no company that applies and meets the government’s criteria will be turned away.

“We don’t have any hard caps in place,” Nally told reporters.

In order to receive a grant, a project must be fully built and operational.

“It’s not picking winners and losers,” Nally said, adding that further criteria will be released in the fall.

This is the third iteration of PDP funding in Alberta. It will work in tandem with the second phase, which was started by the previous NDP government, and offered up $1.1 billion in royalty credits for petrochemical companies. That was a move away from the PC’s 2014 grant program.

The UCP hopes the program will spur investment into petrochemical centres in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland east of Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Joffre and Medicine Hat, where facilities convert natural gases into products such as plastic, fertilizer and fabric.

NDP MLA Deron Bilous congratulated the UCP government for recognizing the need for ​ ​ economic diversification but said he expects the grant program will be less popular than the NDP’s royalty deferrals.

“The government’s plan will attract less than half of the private-sector investments and create thousands fewer jobs than our plan,” Bilous said in question period.

Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association said this iteration of the PDP program will help increase the sector’s growth by $30 billion in growth by 2030, creating 90,000 direct and indirect jobs and $10 billion in tax revenues for the province.

But the Canadian Taxpayers Federation had harsh words for the program.

“We need to get the economy going again, but the answer is not to make struggling taxpayers sign a blank-cheque for another petrochemical corporate welfare program,” said Franco ​ Terrazzano, the CTF’s Alberta director, in a news release. “Premier Jason Kenney should stay ​ ​ ​ focused on tax relief instead of risking tax dollars trying to play investment banker.”

The CTF has also criticized the NDP’s royalty credit program, citing an internal briefing note to ​ ​ then-minister of finance Joe Ceci warning about the risks of subsidizing the industry. ​ ​

On Twitter, University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe said it was disappointing to see ​ ​ ​ ​ another government subsidy program.

“Absent a market failure, such subsidies are counterproductive and costly,” he wrote.

Upcoming events

July 15 at 9 a.m. – Virtual ​ ​ The Energy Roundtable will host a webinar on Alberta’s economic future with Suncor’s chief ​ ​ sustainability officer Martha Hall Findlay and the chair of the Alberta Economic Recovery ​ ​ Council Jack Mintz. ​ ​

Topics of conversation

● There were 37 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Alberta Thursday. The number of active cases dropped to 584, down from 608. There are currently nine fewer people in hospital (46), while the number in the ICU remains at seven. ○ Three more people have died at the Misericordia Hospital because of the outbreak, bringing the provincial total to 161, including a total of six at that hospital.

● Statistics Canada is reporting Alberta gained 92,000 jobs in June and employment levels are now at 89.7 per cent of pre-Covid levels. ○ However, the unemployment rate remains static at 15.5 per cent.

● The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) is calling for the decriminalization ​ ​ of simple possession of illicit drugs, arguing substance use disorder should be treated as a public health issue, not a criminal one. ○ The Alberta government is currently undertaking a review of the Police Act in ​ ​ response to concerns over systemic racism in policing; however, decriminalization is unlikely to be included. A spokesperson for the solicitor general told AB Today in an emailed statement that both the Controlled Drugs ​ ​ ​ and Substances Act and the Criminal Code are under federal jurisdiction. ​ ​ ​

● Municipal Affairs Minister Kaycee Madu penned an op-ed in the Edmonton Journal ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ arguing his government doesn’t just pay lip service to fighting racism — it walks the walk. ○ Madu cited the UCP’s $1-billion investment in the Indigenous Opportunities Corporation; the Fair Registration Practices Act, which reduces burdens on ​ ​ recognition of foreign credentials; and other promises to create change for people of colour.

● A brouhaha erupted over legislative decorum Thursday as the NDP called for an emergency non-confidence motion in an attempt to oust deputy chair of committees Nicholas Milliken. ​ ○ The spat stemmed from a Wednesday incident when Milliken ordered the NDP’s Marie Renaud out of the legislature after she refused to apologize for saying she ​ was “intimidated” by UCP MLA Shane Getson. ​ ​ ○ Renaud said Getson was mocking her mannerisms, directly angling his chair towards her while she was speaking and making inaudible comments. ○ “It’s humiliating actually,” Renaud told reporters Thursday. “I was trying to do my job and I got kicked out for not apologizing. I didn't sleep very well last night.” ○ Getson denied trying to intimidate Renaud and the motion for Milliken’s ouster was denied. ○ In a member’s statement later Thursday, UCP MLA Laila Goodridge remarked ​ ​ that “not liking something does not make it bullying” and said last time she checked, looking at someone is still allowed. ○ NDP house leader Heather Sweet has asked the Speaker to review workplace ​ ​ harassment policies.

News briefs

Privacy commissioner issues recommendations on ABTraceTogether app ● Alberta’s information and privacy commissioner Jill Clayton weighed in on the ​ ​ government’s controversial Covid-tracing app, ABTraceTogether, in a 66-page report Thursday. ○ Clayton’s report was largely positive on the mobile tracing app, but laid out some ​ ​ concerns, especially on how the app runs on Apple devices. ○ “Given the need to run ABTraceTogether in the foreground on Apple devices, there is a security risk,” Clayton said. “Running the app on Apple devices requires a device to remain unlocked, which significantly increases risk in case of theft or loss.” ○ The federal government has signalled it is working on a mobile tracing app that could operate countrywide. As of last week, 219,146 Albertans had downloaded the provincial app.

NDP tables thousands of letters on proposed pension changes ● NDP MLA Christina Gray and other members of the official Opposition caucus hauled ​ ​ 16 boxes to the premier’s office, filled with 36,000 letters from Albertans weighing in on the UCP’s recent and proposed changes to pensions. ○ Following the Fair Deal panel’s report, the UCP government has indicated it will hold a referendum on whether Alberta should pull out of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) in favour of an Alberta version.

○ Gray’s private member’s bill, which would have prevented Alberta from pulling out of the CPP, was denied a second reading per a committee recommendation on Wednesday.

Funding announcements

Ministry of Advanced Education ● The government announced it is spending $20 million on upgrades to the University of Lethbridge’s district heating and cooling centre, a move expected to create 112 jobs. ○ The announcement was part of a broader $98 million in accelerated capital funding for post-secondary institutions as part of the economic recovery plan.

Appointments and employments

Affordable Housing Review Panel The government announced a 10-member panel on affordable housing led by UCP MLA Mickey Amery. The panel is tasked with recommending how the province can “transform ​ affordable housing” while making more efficient use of taxpayer money.

The other members are: ○ Paul Boskovich, president, Genstar Development Company; ​ ○ Lauren Ingalls, chief administrative officer, Westwinds Communities; ​ ○ Jeffrey Johnson, consultant and former Progressive Conservative MLA and ​ cabinet minister; ○ Sam Kolias, co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer, Boardwalk REIT; ​ ○ Javaid (Jerry) Naqvi, chairman and founder, Cameron Development ​ Corporation; ○ Marcia Nelson, executive fellow, University of Calgary; ​ ○ Raymond Swonek, chief executive officer, Greater Edmonton Foundation ​ Seniors Housing; ○ Dr. Sasha Tsenkova, professor, University of Calgary; and ​ ○ Rachelle Venne, chief executive officer, Institute for the Advancement of ​ Aboriginal Women.

Question period

Labour changes spark continued raucous debate

● NDP Leader Rachel Notley asked about proposed changes under Bill 32, including ​ ​ ​ ​ reforming how overtime pay is accounted for and extending how long employers have to pay out an employee after they exit the company.

○ “Yesterday we asked the government why they’re permitting bosses to wait a month to pay out wages when people have been fired. Newsflash: half of Alberta’s working families have $200 or less at the end of the month,” Notley said. “The minister’s so-called ‘simple change’ in timing pushes those families into crisis and poverty.”

● Premier Jason Kenney said the NDP pushed working families into poverty through the ​ ​ carbon tax. He then defended changes to union dues rules by reading from Unifor press releases to prove the union was anti-pipeline, despite many of its members working in the oil and gas sector.

Other NDP questions NDP MLAs also asked about financial reporting, changes to the auto insurance industry; hail damage payouts; petrochemical diversification program plans; Edmonton infrastructure investment, including a planned Southwest Edmonton Hospital; cuts to the Alberta Child and Family Benefit; centring women in economic recovery, support for small businesses and a proposed pension referendum.

UCP backbencher questions UCP backbenchers used their questions to ask about unions and changes to labour legislation.

Lobbyist registrations

Consultants who registered as lobbyists from July 3 – July 9, 2020

● Elan MacDonald, Glenn Monteith and Brian Senio, Global Public Affairs ​ ​ ​ o Clients: College of Dental Technologists of Alberta ​

● Amber Ruddy and Bradley Lavigne, Counsel Public Affairs Inc. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ o Clients: Emergent BioSolutions Canada Inc. (formerly Adapt Pharma Canada ​ Ltd.)

● Elan MacDonald and Brian Senio, Global Public Affairs ​ ​ ​ o Clients: Sodexo Canada Ltd. ​

● Lee Funke, Torque Communications ​ o Clients: 1882870 Alberta Ltd., Oil Sands Community Alliance ​

● Lee Funke and Heather Shewchuk, Torque Communications ​ ​ ​ o Clients: Westmoreland Coal Company ​

● Shayne Saskiw, Jon Wescott, Pascal Ryffel, Bronte Valk, Zack Ziolkowski, Cam MacKay and Aaron Singleton, Alberta Counsel ​ ​ ​ o Clients: Alberta Bottle Depot Association ​

● Jonathon Wescott, Pascal Ryffel, Zack Ziolkowski and Shayne Saskiw, Alberta ​ ​ ​ Counsel o Clients: Alberta Beef Producers ​

● Nick Koolsbergen and Brad Tennant, Wellington Advocacy Inc. ​ ​ ​ o Clients: Potential Place ​

● Christian von Donat, Impact Public Affairs ​ o Clients: Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science ​

● Monte Solberg, Matt Solberg, Michael Solberg, Sonia Kont, Sarah Painchaud and ​ Tristan Bray, New West Public Affairs ​ o Clients: TransPod Inc. ​

● Sonia Kont and Monte Solberg, New West Public Affairs ​ ​ ​ o Clients: Children's Cottage Society ​

● Max Correia, Frank Parker and Jordan Devon, Crestview Strategy ​ ​ ​ o Clients: Alberta Medical Association ​ o The AMA hired a lobbyist to ask for a resumption of bargaining.

● Jeff Johnson, Course Consulting Ltd. ​ o Clients: Alberta Continuing Care Association ​

● Richard Truscott, Maple Leaf Strategies ​ o Clients: Waste Connections of Canada ​

Organizations that registered in-house lobbyists from July 3, 2020 – July 9, 2020

● The Explorers and Producers Association of Canada ● Alberta Enterprise Group ● Aurora Cannabis Enterprises ● Amazon Canada Fulfillment Services, ULC ● Real Property Association of Canada (REALPAC) ● Canadian Bankers Association ● Music Canada ● Canadian Solar Solutions Inc. ● Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers ● Sun Life Financial ● Independent Power Producers Society of Alberta ● Shell Canada Limited ● Enbridge Inc.

● Capital Power ● Mylan Pharmaceuticals ULC ● BCE Inc. ● Canadian Association of Geophysical Contractors