September 22, 2020

AB Today – Daily Report September 22, 2020

Quotation of the day

“You’re reading from our song sheet.”

Jobs, Economy and Innovation Minister Doug Schweitzer teases a forthcoming announcement to help transition oil and gas workers to greener types of work, such as hydrogen.

Today in AB

On the schedule The house is coming back one week ahead of schedule. Government house leader Jason Nixon announced MLAs will reconvene on Tuesday, October 20.

Albertans expect their government to be “all-in” during these tough times, Nixon said.

Shell pivoting to renewables, will launch cost-cutting project this year Royal Dutch Shell has plans to slash its oil and gas spending by 40 per cent, according to Reuters.

Shell hopes to shave off $4 billion in spending by cutting jobs over the next seven months. It’s not clear how many jobs will be lost in Alberta, but an investor call is scheduled for February 2021.

The firm is also reducing the number of refineries it operates from 17 to 10; it had previously cut $5 billion from its capital spending plan.

A source told Reuters that Shell will focus its oil and gas production resources in three major hubs — the Gulf of Mexico, Nigeria and the North Sea.

Meanwhile, the company plans to pivot to low-carbon fuels and renewable energy.

When asked about Shell’s changes, Jobs Minister Doug Schweitzer told reporters that Alberta is “well-positioned” to capitalize on natural gas and oil, as well as clean energy development.

“Alberta is a leader when it comes to solar and wind,” Schweitzer said Monday, adding the UCP is taking a “market-driven approach” to alternative energy.

He said Albertans should expect more policy announcements on hydrogen and other areas “later this week and next week.”

When asked by reporters about “upscaling” skills training for oil and gas workers looking to move towards renewable energy, Schweitzer said, “you’re reading from our song sheet.”

As previously reported by AB Today, clean energy experts say the UCP’s TIER program has helped bolster their sector, which can sell carbon offset credits to large industrial emitters and no longer relies on taxpayer-funded subsidies.

In July alone, seven new solar projects worth $634 million were announced in Alberta, some as large as the province’s entire current solar-generating capacity.

Meanwhile, Rystad Energy forecasts that Alberta will overtake Ontario as a wind and solar producer by 2025, per the CBC.

NDP Leader Rachel Notley said there is room for Alberta to be a leader in renewable energy while maintaining the oil and gas industry's “strong role” in the economy.

“Renewable energy is an increasingly important sector and one that Alberta should be leading on, not chasing,” Notley wrote on Twitter.

Shell is in the midst of a cost-cutting review called Project Reshape. The company expects to complete the cost-cutting exercise this year.

Today’s events

September 22 at 7:30 a.m. — Ottawa The Supreme Court of Canada is scheduled to hear Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan’s challenge to the constitutionality of the federal carbon pricing backstop. Hearings will run today and Wednesday.

September 22 at 9 a.m. — Edmonton Children’s Services Minister Rebecca Schulz and her federal counterpart, Minister Ahmed Hussen, will make a child care funding announcement at the Canada Place Child Care Society.

Topics of conversation

● There were 358 new Covid cases identified over the weekend — 119 confirmed on Friday, 102 on Saturday and 137 on Sunday. ○ That brings the number of active cases to 1,459 (up 35). The province reported another death, pushing the total to 256. There were 51 people hospitalized (up seven), including nine in ICU (up two). ○ The Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary is the site of an outbreak where one patient has died and 14 patients are infected. Four staff members have also tested positive for Covid and another 57 are in isolation. ○ Five people have tested positive at a residence on the University of Alberta campus. ○ There are now 19 schools with active outbreaks, including two schools on the “watch” list, meaning they have five or more cases. ○ Five schools are now clear with no active cases, while 81 schools in the province have at least one active case.

● During a Calgary city council meeting, Councillor Diane Colley-Urquhart accused Health Minister Tyler Shandro of being “confrontational” during a phone call about consolidating the city’s EMS dispatch with the provincial network. ○ Alberta Health is moving EMS dispatch for Calgary and three other municipalities to the centralized dispatch the rest of the province uses, a plan opposed by Mayor Naheed Nenshi and some city councillors. ○ Shandro’s issues manager Tara Jago described the call as “normal.” ○ “It was not confrontational beyond the fact that they disagree,” Jago said. “The Councillor made her case, as politicians do every day. It’s not ‘demeaning’ to respectfully disagree.”

● Ottawa has approved Ontario and New Brunswick's carbon pricing systems for big industrial polluters — a status Alberta’s plan attained last year.

● “C0VID19,” “THE VID,” “WEXIT” and “FUGRETA” — an allusion to climate activist Greta Thunberg — were among the 135 vanity plates rejected by Service Alberta in 2019 and 2020. ○ The province can reject plates that reference drugs and alcohol; politically or socially sensitive issues; illegal, inappropriate and sexual acts; or contain foul language.

News briefs

Psychiatrist says changes to AISH benefit qualifications will hurt those with invisible disabilities ● Dr. Ernie Boffa, the lead physician for the assertive community treatment team at the Edmonton Mental Health Clinic, told reporters at an NDP news conference that some of his patients have come to him in tears, scared they will lose their AISH benefits. ○ Premier Jason Kenney has said the province is rethinking who should qualify for AISH benefits, suggesting people without severe disabilities are taking advantage of the system. ○ Dr. Boffa pointed to anxiety and schizophrenia patients, saying some do not respond to treatment and can’t work. The premier’s issue manager Matt Wolf previously mentioned anxiety as a condition that may no longer qualify. ○ NDP Leader Rachel Notley told reporters the province’s recent surge in AISH beneficiaries was partly triggered by the NDP following the auditor general’s guidance and making the program simpler to navigate and access.

Funding announcements

Ministry of Jobs, Economy and Innovation ● The government announced $2.1 million in grants to the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Red Deer College and Olds College via the province’s Research Capacity Program. ○ SAIT will receive $1 million to expand applied research training programs. ○ Olds College will use $1 million to obtain agricultural equipment, sensors, and other devices for its Smart Agriculture Applied Research Program. ○ Red Deer College will get $150,000 for its Alternative Energy Lab.

Appointments and employments

TC Energy ● Francois Poirier, currently the TC Energy chief operating officer, will take over as president and CEO from Russ Girling, who is retiring at the end of the year.

AB Today is written by Catherine Griwkowsky, reporting from the Alberta Legislative Press Gallery.

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