AB Today – Daily Report February 10, 2020

Quotation of the day

“Albertans want jobs, not an ‘aid package’ from .”

Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon rejects a report that Ottawa is considering an ​ ​ aid package to Alberta as a federal cabinet decision on whether to approve the Teck oilsands mine looms — despite the UCP formally requesting the aid four months ago.

Today in AB

On the schedule There are two more constituency weeks left in the winter break. The house resumes February 25.

Committees this week On Tuesday morning, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts will meet to discuss recommendations to the health ministry and Alberta Health Services made by the auditor general in recent annual reports. In the afternoon, the committee will review the accounts for the Ministry of Education, the Board of Education and the Edmonton Public School Board.

On Wednesday, the ministries of the treasury board and finance; the Alberta Investment Management Corporation; and the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission are on the committee docket.

Premier watch

Premier Jason Kenney’s mission to Washington, D.C., continued over the weekend. On Friday, ​ ​ he sat on a panel with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe at the Wilson Centre, where they ​ ​ ​ ​ discussed the Teck Frontier mine, energy, environment, trade and China.

On Saturday, Kenney joined Moe, Quebec Premier François Legault, Premier Doug ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Ford and New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs for a news conference at The Embassy of ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ .

Kenney claimed the Canadian government gave backchannel signals to former U.S. President Barack Obama that there would be no pushback from Ottawa if Keystone XL was rejected by ​ the White House.

Prime Minister ’s former principal secretary Gerald Butts and the former U.S. ​ ​ ​ ​ ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman both denied the charge. ​ ​

“Have been staying out of Canadian politics since the election, but this is not true,” Butts wrote ​ on Twitter. “I would appreciate it if [Kenney] would retract that statement.”

Heyman echoed the sentiment.

“As the former US Ambassador to Canada I am unaware of ANY conversation related to acceptance of an anti KXL decision by either the Harper or Trudeau governments, their advisors, or their staff,” he wrote. ​ ​

The premier also took a jab at U.S. Democratic Party politicians who have opposed the ​ ​ Keystone XL pipeline, a day after Ford received pushback for doing the same.

While Ford explicitly criticized House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vermont ​ ​ Senator Bernie Sanders, Kenney did not name names. Sanders and Massachusetts Senator ​ ​ Elizabeth Warren, both leading contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination, have ​ signed a pledge to block the project if they are elected to the Oval Office.

When asked by reporters on Friday about former federal minister John Baird contemplating a ​ ​ Conservative Party of Canada leadership bid, Kenney called Baird a bilingual, “principled conservative.”

“I think he’d be a very compelling candidate,” Kenney said.

Federal Teck Frontier talk riles up MLAs Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon dismissed the idea that Alberta could be placated ​ ​ with a “charity handout,” amid reports the federal government may offer the province an aid package if it declines to approve the $20.6-billion Teck Frontier mine project.

“Teck is not a political gift — it deserves to be approved on its merits,” Nixon said at a Friday news conference in Calgary. “If the federal government takes seriously its commitment to science-driven, evidence-based decision-making, then it will accept the recommendation of the regulatory agencies and approve it.”

Several media reports have suggested officials in Ottawa are developing potential funding streams to support Alberta if the federal cabinet — which is set to make a decision by the end of the month — rejects the mine.

The proposed aid is reportedly being structured around a request from Alberta Finance Minister ​ ​ Travis Toews to federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau made last year, which asked for money ​ ​ ​ to create green jobs through the cleanup of abandoned oil and gas wells, as well as fiscal stabilization payments.

Teck Frontier was not mentioned in that letter, and Nixon flatly rejected the idea that an aid package would sufficiently remedy the loss of the mining project.

“In our view, the federal cabinet’s pending decision on the independent joint review panel’s recommendation to approve Teck Frontier is in no way linked to Alberta’s ask regarding an equalization rebate (or other unrelated requests.),” he said in a statement.

The contentious mine, scheduled to be built between Fort McMurray and Fort Chipewyan, received approval from the joint federal-provincial regulatory review process last summer, the latest progress in the 10-year application process.

The company has reached agreements with the 14 Indigenous communities in the project’s area.

Teck says the project will employ up to 7,000 workers during the construction phase and 2,5000 workers over the mine’s operation, garnering an estimated $70 billion in tax revenues over its 40-plus-year lifespan.

Teck approval a test for Ottawa-Alberta relations The decision of whether to approve the mine is seen as a test for the minority government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has promised to set Canada on a path for net-zero ​ ​ greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Speaking in Washington at the Wilson Center on Friday, Premier Jason Kenney said, even with ​ ​ the Teck development, the oilsands could remain under the 100 megatonne cap on CO2 emissions negotiated by Trudeau and former premier Rachel Notley. ​ ​

“Here I am, unapologetic booster of the Canadian energy industry, I just imposed a $30-a-ton price on industrial emissions of CO2 that affects over half of our emissions and will get us a long way towards national targets on controlling CO2 emissions,” Kenney said.

He noted the federal government has been more responsive to Alberta since the October 2019 election and recognized the appointment of Alberta-born Chrystia Freeland to the position of ​ ​ deputy prime minister.

“Some of our issues are being listened to and we hope we’ll see that reflected in the Teck Frontier Mine, for example, but also in equalization payments,” Kenney said.

But Nixon went further, warning national unity is at stake with the project’s approval.

“Prime Minister Trudeau has emphasized his desire to work with Alberta and to preserve national unity,” he said. “It’s time he backed up his words with action. Albertans are watching closely.”

UCP MLA for Cypress—Medicine Hat Drew Barnes, a member of the province’s Fair Deal ​ ​ panel, said if the federal government does not approve the Teck Frontier mine project, it will push the province towards independence.

Teck CEO Don Lindsay told investors in Banff last month that even with regulatory approval ​ ​ from the federal government, the project may not get built unless the price of Western Canadian Select reaches $75 USD per barrel. The average price for WCS in January was $30.73

Today’s events February 10 at 7:30 a.m. — Calgary ​ ​ Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau will speak about regional economic concerns at a ​ ​ ​ ​ sold-out breakfast event at the Economic Club of Canada in Calgary.

February 10 at 9 a.m. — Grande Prairie ​ ​ Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon will announce a collaboration between the ​ ​ government of Alberta and three municipalities to connect local businesses to international markets.

February 10 at 10 a.m. — Clairmont ​ ​ Agriculture and Forestry Minister Devin Dreeshen and Finance Minister Travis Toews will ​ ​ ​ ​ announce a new program to help grain producers get their products to market after wet harvest conditions.

February 10 at 2 p.m. — Grande Prairie ​ ​ The UCP caucus will meet at the Grande Prairie Legion.

February 10 at 6 p.m. — Grande Prairie ​ ​ The UCP will hold a $150-per-ticket fundraiser with Premier Jason Kenney and other UCP ​ ​ ​ ​ MLAs at Revolution Place.

Topics of conversation

● Trans Mountain CEO Ian Anderson confirmed the cost of completing the Trans ​ ​ ​ ​ Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX) is now expected to reach $12.6 billion by the time the pipeline is expected to be operational in 2022. When the federal government purchased the project from Kinder Morgan for $4.5 billion in 2018, estimated construction costs were $7.4 billion. ○ Anderson blamed the cost increases on higher material costs and alterations to the project as well as year-long construction delays he said added $1 billion to the project price tag. ○ The delay was due to a Federal Court of Appeal decision that found the Crown did not adequately fulfill its duty to consult with Indigenous peoples affected by the project. Last week, the court ruled that Ottawa’s second round of consultations on the project did fulfill its obligation to Indigenous people, clearing the final legal hurdle to TMX’s completion. ○ The Indigenous groups whose legal challenges the court rejected last week have sixty days from the release of the decision to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.

● Climate Justice Edmonton and the Beaver Hills Warriors held a rally at Canada Place on Friday in solidarity with land protectors in Wet'suwet'en territory protesting the building of the Coastal GasLink LNG pipeline. ○ “We are experiencing active genocide and Canada cannot sweep this colonial violence under the rug,” said Kailyn Card, a Cree woman and organizer with the ​ ​ Beaver Hills Warriors. ○ The group has another action planned for Monday. ○ B.C. NDP Premier John Horgan called LNG a “success story” and ​ ​ acknowledged the courts determined the CGL pipeline should proceed.

● Edmonton-based Aurora Cannabis announced 500 people will be laid off and that ​ ​ founder and CEO Terry Booth would be retiring ahead of second quarter results ​ ​ expected to show up to $1 billion in writedowns. ○ Of the 500 job positions being axed, 25 per cent will be corporate roles.

● Retailers will be allowed to order cannabis vape cartridges from the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission starting Monday, the Calgary Herald reports. ​ ​ ​ ​ ○ The surprise announcement comes as the province is undertaking a review of the Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act. Jerrica Goodwin, spokesperson for ​ ​ ​ Finance Minister Travis Toews, told the Herald the approval is unrelated to the ​ ​ ​ ​ review. ○ However, Goodwin told Global News in December that vaping products would ​ ​ not be available for sale until after the law’s review.

● Mount Royal University political science professor Duane Bratt wrote an op-ed in the ​ ​ Globe and Mail questioning what it would take for the United Conservative Party’s ​ ​ ​ “kamikaze” scandal to truly raise the ire of Albertans. ○ “Despite these unprecedented fines and an ongoing criminal investigation of a political party leadership race, it has not really gained traction in Alberta,” Bratt wrote. “It should.” ○ The scandal centres around the 2017 UCP leadership race where candidate Jeff ​ Callaway is alleged to have run as a stalking horse candidate to attack ​ challenger Brian Jean and in coordination with now-Premier Jason Kenney’s ​ ​ ​ ​ campaign.

News briefs — Governmental

Schweitzer calls for rule of law to be upheld amidst ongoing protests by Unifor ● A court of Queen’s Bench injunction against protests in Carseland was amended Friday to include police enforcement provisions. Federated Co-Operatives Limited called for the injunction to be beefed up as Unifor workers continued to block its fuel station in solidarity with locked-out workers in Saskatchewan. ○ Solicitor General and Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer said the rule of law must ​ ​ be upheld. ○ “While all Canadians have a right to protest in a legitimate fashion, breaking a court order is a violation of the law,” Schweitzer said in a statement.

Government pleased with reduced forestry tariffs from U.S. ● Forestry Minister Devin Dreeshen and Trade Minister Tanya Fir issued a statement ​ ​ ​ ​ lauding the U.S. Department of Commerce’s signal that it will reduce tariff rates for forestry companies. ○ The department issued a preliminary ruling on February 3 reducing rates, but the decision won’t be finalized until August 2020, nor will a decision on anti-dumping and countervailing duties. ○ “We are encouraged by this week’s preliminary determination but recognize there are still several steps ahead,” Fir said.

News briefs — Non-governmental

UCP legacy parties officially merge ● The Wildrose and Progressive Conservative parties have officially merged with the United Conservative Party. ○ Elections Alberta approved the merger, which was requested by the UCP’s board in January, and it is considered retroactive to January 1, 2020. ○ Last year, the UCP passed Bill 22, Reform of Agencies, Boards and ​ ​ ​ Commissions and Government Enterprises Act, which authorized political parties ​ to transfer money to one another. ○ The Wildrose and Progressive Conservative party memberships voted to merge under the UCP banner in 2017. Since being elected head of the UCP, Premier Jason Kenney was officially the leader of all three parties. ​ ○ Financial statements filed with Elections Alberta after the merger show the ​ ​ Wildrose Party brought in $200,696 and expensed $170,571.21 in 2018. ○ Meanwhile, a chartered professional accountant issued a qualified opinion on the ​ ​ state of the PC’s finances, which shows the party generated $179,064 in revenue in 2018, the bulk of which was from transfers and other income, not contributions. That year, the party also expensed $143,509, leaving it $156,682 in debt.

NDP slams UCP on jobs numbers ● NDP Leader Rachel Notley slammed the UCP’s job creation record after the latest ​ ​ Statistics Canada data showed the province shed 19,000 jobs in January, the third monthly contraction. ○ “The Premier claims he’s ‘obsessed’ with creating jobs, but let’s be honest, his real obsession is with this corporate handout and Albertans can see it is not creating jobs,” Notley said. “Instead, we’ve seen job losses and investment flee to other jurisdictions.” ○ The Labour Force Survey shows there are 9,000 fewer employed Albertans compared to this time last year. ○ Full-time employment was down 0.2 per cent, or 3,600 jobs, while part-time employment was down 3.5 per cent, or 15,200 jobs. ○ The unemployment rate rose slightly from seven per cent in December to 7.3 per cent in January. ○ Oil and gas jobs increased by 4,200, or 3.1 per cent, from December.

Appointments and employments

Ministry of Health ● UCP MLA for Calgary—Fish Creek Richard Gotfried will head up a review of the ​ ​ province’s continuing care legislation. A report to the government is due back next year.

Ministry of Justice ● Solicitor General and Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer appointed former Ontario ​ ​ ​ ​ Superior Court justice Colin McKinnon to investigate whether the Alberta Crown ​ ​ Prosecution Service failed to make disclosures about a forensic pathologist’s medical findings. ○ The appointment follows a report from CBC’s The Fifth Estate that revealed ​ ​ prosecutors may not have disclosed to defence attorneys that a panel review of the pathologist’s work found he made several unreasonable conclusions.