AB Today – Daily Report June 23, 2020 Quotation of the day “We could also have a referendum about taking a vacation to the moon.” NDP Leader Rachel Notley challenged Premier Jason Kenney to run his next election ​ ​ ​ ​ campaign on withdrawing from the Canada Pension Plan rather than use taxpayer money on a referendum. Today in AB On the schedule The house is scheduled to convene today at 1:30 p.m. MLAs are expected to continue debate on Bill 24, COVID-19 Pandemic Response Statutes ​ ​ Amendment Act, at second reading. The bill makes amendments that a solo minister additional powers without invoking the sweeping powers afforded under a public health emergency. The following bills are expected to be debated at committee stage: ● Bill 15, Choice in Education Act, which protects parental rights in various educational ​ options; ● Bill 16, Victims of Crime (Strengthening Public Safety) Amendment Act, which broadens ​ the scope of eligibility for the Victims of Crime Fund; and ● Bill 17, Mental Health Amendment Act, which brings Alberta’s laws in compliance with a ​ Supreme Court ruling on involuntary detention of individuals with a brain injury. Others could be called at second reading, including: ● Bill 21, Provincial Administrative Penalties Act, which decriminalizes first-time impaired ​ driving offences and sets up an online traffic court system; and ● Bill 24, COVID-19 Pandemic Response Statutes Amendment Act. ​ Monday’s debates and proceedings During private members’ business, UCP MLA Richard Gotfried’s Bill 201, Strategic Aviation ​ ​ ​ ​ Advisory Council Act, passed third reading, but UCP MLA Tany Yao did not introduce Bill 204, ​ ​ ​ ​ Voluntary Blood Donations Repeal Act. MLAs also debated a motion from UCP MLA for Central Peace—Notley Todd Loewen calling ​ ​ on the justice minister to explore options to establish a voluntary civilian corps to assist law enforcement in Alberta — it passed. Bill 19, Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Amendment Act, passed third reading during evening ​ debate. Bill 7, Responsible Energy Development Amendment Act, cleared committee stage and could ​ be called at third reading today. Bill 15 and Bill 16, were debated at committee of the whole and Bill 23 and Bill 24 were both ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ debated at second-reading stage for the first time. Premier watch Premier Jason Kenney shared a video amping up Edmonton as the “obvious choice” for the ​ ​ ​ ​ NHL playoffs amid the pandemic. The video heavily features the Rocky Mountains, which are hundreds of kilometres from the capital city. “We look forward to welcoming the league and players here to Alberta to take in the beautiful province we have to offer,” Kenney wrote. Guidelines written by chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw state that players and ​ ​ staff would be in a “cohort quarantine” in Edmonton’s Ice District should the league opt to hold the playoffs in Alberta — but UCP staffers chimed in on Twitter to say their families would be able to engage in tourism in the province. Kenney has previously said he would like NHL staff and players to be exempt from 14-day quarantine rules, but that decision lies with the feds. FOIP documents show billions in liabilities if Alberta leaves CPP Exiting the Canadian Pension Plan would force Alberta to inherit billions in unfunded liabilities currently held by CPP, according to internal government documents released by the NDP. A government memo to Finance Minister Travis Toews, obtained by the Opposition via a FOIP ​ ​ request, states withdrawing from the CPP would require Alberta to take on both its provincial share of the pension plan’s assets ($32.5 billion) and liabilities ($165.6 billion), which would leave the province with $133.1 billion in unfunded liabilities. That accounts for about 15 per cent of CPP’s current balance sheet, correlating with Alberta’s proportion of the national plan. The memo was drafted last September, leading NDP Leader Rachel Notley to question why ​ ​ the province motored ahead with the Fair Deal panel when it already had this information in its back pocket. “He sent his own MLAs on a fool’s errand,” Notley said. During question period, Toews said members of the panel were given a copy of the memo and factored it into their recommendations. The oft-cited pros to an Alberta Pension Plan include the province’s young population and high weekly average earnings, which economists, including those from right-wing think tank the Fraser Institute, say would bolster future pensions. However, Notley, the Fair Deal panel and bureaucrats cited in the memo (the Fraser Institute was also used as source) warn the province’s reliance on natural resources extraction would create contribution volatility, making a provincial plan risky relative to the CPP. Notley also warned taking on the $133 billion in liabilities could increase the province’s debt-to-GDP ratio to 60 per cent. Albertans wouldn’t be on the hook for the pension’s liabilities immediately, but they would need to make up the difference via their pay cheques over the next 150 years in order to keep the potential provincial pension plan’s payouts at CPP levels. While the Fair Deal panel report recommends Alberta immediately pulling out of the CPP, ​ ​ Premier Jason Kenney stated he would direct government employees to further study the ​ ​ implications of an Alberta Pension Plan and put the question to a referendum — one of three proposed for fall 2021. If the province does decide to pull out of the CPP, the new provincial pension plan cannot take effect for another three years. The legislative committee on private members’ bills will discuss NDP MLA Christina Gray’s Bill ​ ​ ​ 203, Pension Protection Act, in the Federal Building this morning. ​ Gray’s bill, which was tabled in January, would make it illegal for Alberta to withdraw from the CPP, and would also reverse changes that saw the Alberta Investment Management Corporation recently take over management of public sector pensions. Today’s events June 23 at 9 a.m. – Edmonton ​ The UCP cabinet will meet in the Windsor Room of the Federal Building. Topics of conversation ● There were 32 new cases of COVID-19 in Alberta on Monday, bringing the total number of active cases in the province to 542. There are 32 people hospitalized, including six in intensive care, and one new death for a total of 153. ○ The province finished its first phase of free mask distribution with 14 million masks handed out at fast-food drive-thrus and about six million more through municipalities and other organizations. The next phase of mask distribution will begin in July. ○ The RCMP have issued $1,200 fines to seven Americans who stopped in Banff ​ ​ after crossing the border with approval to drive to Alaska. Americans who work or live in Alaska are allowed into Canada but must only stop for essentials such as gas, groceries or rest on their way to the state. ● NDP Leader Rachel Notley penned an op-ed in the Edmonton Journal calling on ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ politicians to take action against racism. ○ “We, as politicians, and as a society, must act with intention to fight racism and to end racism,” Notley said. “We must be anti-racist.” ○ Last week, the UCP defeated a motion from NDP MLA Jasvir Deol calling for the ​ ​ creation of an anti-racism task force and instead tabled a weaker motion denouncing racism. ○ While in power in 2017, the NDP government promised a review of police street checks, also known as carding. That review never materialized despite support ​ ​ for a carding ban from the opposition parties. ● The mayor of Pincher Creek says all seven physicians pulled their services from the hospital in his town, signalling its imminent closure, despite the UCP promising that wouldn’t be the case, CBC reports. ​ ​ ○ Mayor Don Anderberg said he hasn’t seen a plan from the government on how ​ ​ to continue the hospital’s services. ○ Health Minister Tyler Shandro rejected the EY Canada report’s recommendation ​ ​ to shutter some rural hospitals and pledged to find physicians to replace those leaving hospitals following the change to their funding formula. ● The government will take public feedback on its 20-year capital plan, as well as proposed amendments to the Alberta Infrastructure Act, until August 10. ​ ​ ○ The government anticipates an infrastructure bill will be tabled in the fall sitting. ● An editorial in the Globe and Mail argues Alberta has been the beneficiary of Stephen ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Harper-era changes to the equalization formula. ​ ○ “Mr. Kenney fans the flames of anger in Alberta, stoking the belief that the province is being cheated,” the editorial board wrote. “Reality is more complex.” News briefs Olivia keeps crown, Noah back in top spot ● Holding his nine-month-old baby Max, Service Alberta Minister Nate Glubish ​ ​ ​ announced for the fifth straight year in a row Olivia was the most popular girl name in the province and Noah is back in the top spot, after a back and forth over recent years with Liam. ○ The girl name Harper fell to 16th place after holding the seventh spot in 2018. ○ Sharing names with the political party leaders, there were 34 Rachels and 38 Jasons born in 2019. ○ Glubish and his wife Allison, who is a teacher, wanted a name that was easy to ​ ​ say and spell and settled on Max after publicly dubbing the baby “tiny human” before he was born. Funding announcements Associate Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions ● After pausing an Alberta Health Services pilot to carry out telephone monitoring of opioid users just days ago, Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Jason Luan ​ announced $4 million over four years for the Virtual Opioid Dependency program and the Opioid Agonist Therapy Gap Coverage program. ○ The former allows opioid users to access support for addictions by phone; the latter will cover the cost of opioid addiction treatment drugs for up to 120 days.