LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY of ALBERTA [The House Met at 2:30
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May 3, 1983 ALBERTA HANSARD 761 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ALBERTA This Bill includes a number of new provisions based on our experience with the Occupational Health and Safety Title: Tuesday, May 3, 1983 2:30 p.m. Act since it came into force in 1976; also to implement certain recommendations of the Task Force on Construc• tion Safety. Important new provisions include a clearer [The House met at 2:30 p.m.] definition of employer, the notification of new projects, the preparation of occupational health and safety policies and code of practices, clarification of procedures for PRAYERS work, refusal and discriminatory practices related to safe• ty issues, and important clarification of regulation- making authority, especially with respect to mine safety. [Mr. Speaker in the Chair] [Leave granted; Bill 51 read a first time] head: INTRODUCTION OF BILLS Bill 203 head: TABLING RETURNS AND REPORTS Alberta Development Fund Act MR. FJORDBOTTEN: Mr. Speaker, I wish to file with MR. NOTLEY: Mr. Speaker, I request leave to introduce the Assembly a copy of a telex sent yesterday jointly by Bill No. 203, the Alberta Development Fund Act. myself and the Minister of Economic Development to the The basic principle in Bill 203 is to restructure the Minister of Transport for Canada, the Hon. Jean-Luc heritage trust fund into an Alberta development fund and Pepin, regarding the western rail transportation initiative. place the primary goal as the diversification of the Alber• ta economy. head: INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS [Leave granted; Bill 203 read a first time] MR. COOK: Mr. Speaker, I'd like to introduce to you, Bill 205 and through you to hon. members of the Assembly, 50 Alberta Economic Council Act students who are in the public gallery, I believe. They are exchange students from the city of Laval, near Montreal, MR. NOTLEY: Mr. Speaker, I request leave to introduce Quebec. a companion Bill, Bill No. 205, the Alberta Economic Monsieur le Président, je pense que c'est important Council Act. d'avoir les échanges entre les deux provinces, parce qu'ils The principle in Bill 205 is the establishment of an donnent aux étudiants et à nous aussi un autre point de Alberta economic council, the principle mandate of which vue du Canada, et c'est important d'avoir un Canada would be to undertake the preparation of an economic dans lequel c'est possible d'être un bon Canadien du inventory for the province of Alberta. Québec ou un bon Canadien de l'Alberta. Mr. Speaker, I just want to say it's important to have [Leave granted; Bill 205 read a first time] these kinds of exchanges, because this way it's possible to be a good Canadian from Alberta or a good Canadian Bill 35 from Quebec. I ask them to rise and receive a warm Hail and Crop Insurance welcome from the Assembly. Amendment Act, 1983 MR. JONSON: Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to introduce to MR. FJORDBOTTEN: Mr. Speaker, I request leave to you, and through you to members of the Assembly, 29 introduce Bill No. 35, the Hail and Crop Insurance grade 10 students from Ponoka composite high school. Amendment Act, 1983. This being a money Bill, His They are accompanied by their teacher Mr. Anderson Honour the Honourable the Lieutenant-Governor, hav• and bus driver Mr. Evans. On Thursday this class, along ing been informed of the contents of the Bill, recom• with others in the school, will be inviting parents and mends the same to the Assembly. community members into their classes to listen and par• The purpose of the Bill is to permit the government to ticipate as part of the school's Education Week activities. guarantee the payment of money borrowed by the corpo• A bit of a commercial: in addition to their academic ration or advance money to the corporation for the endeavors, all members of this class will be participating purpose of meeting any of its obligations. Other amend• in the track and field season, as Ponoka composite ments are primarily to delete some provisions that are no pursues its 15th consecutive central Alberta high school longer applicable and to make some changes of a minor championship. They are seated in the members gallery, nature. and I now ask that the class stand and receive the tradi• tional welcome of the House. [Leave granted; Bill 35 read a first time] MR. PURDY: Mr. Speaker, it's my pleasure to introduce Bill 51 to you and to hon. members of the Assembly some 27 Occupational Health and Safety enthusiastic grade 6 students from the Brookwood school Amendment Act, 1983 in Spruce Grove. They are accompanied by their teachers Mr. Shapka and Ms Oldershaw and by parents Mr. MR. DIACHUK: Mr. Speaker, I request leave to intro• Lehman, Mrs. Platt, and Mrs. Jacobsen. They are in the duce Bill 51, the Occupational Health and Safety public gallery, and I ask them to rise and receive the Amendment Act, 1983. cordial welcome of the House. 762 ALBERTA HANSARD May 3, 1983 MR. HIEBERT: Mr. Speaker, we have a special guest MR. NOTLEY: Mr. Speaker, a supplementary question. seated in your gallery today. David MacLennan is the Has the minister undertaken any discussions with his assistant head of the North American department in the cabinet colleague the Minister of Housing, in view of the foreign office in London. He's accompanied by Julia savings in the mortgage reduction program — a program King, the British Vice-Consul in Edmonton. I ask them to that by and large helps high-income people, and there's a rise and receive the warm welcome of the Assembly. saving as a result of lower interest rates — about shifting some of the savings over so that low-income Albertans do not risk the loss of their homes as a result of these shelter head: ORAL QUESTION PERIOD reductions? Social Allowance DR. WEBBER: Mr. Speaker, before making the decision MR. NOTLEY: Mr. Speaker, I'd like to direct the first on shelter ceilings, we looked at information related to question to the hon. Minister of Social Services and vacancy rates across the province and what the market Community Health. On March 25, 1983, when the gov• was doing in terms of house price increases as well as ernment announced the changes with respect to the shelt• rental increases. Certainly we shared that information. er allowances, did the minister have in his possession any Possibly the hon. minister would like to supplement. documentation which warns that as many as 2,670 Alber• ta families risk losing their homes as a result of the reduction in their shelter allowances? MR. SHABEN: Mr. Speaker, one of the important as• pects of the decisions when the changes were made to the DR. WEBBER: Mr. Speaker, I would like to start off by shelter allowance and when the mortgage interest reduc• saying that my voice is a little different today than it has tion program was developed, was that recipients of social been. I hope nobody will mistake me for the hon. assistance would be eligible for both the benefits of the Member for Edmonton Strathcona. [laughter] mortgage interest reduction program and the shelter al• In response to the question, in preparing for the lowance; in other words, one would not affect the eligibil• changes to social allowance and, more specifically, the ity of the other in order for the recipients to receive both. shelter changes, certainly the department did a very Although it's difficult, because there are about 140,000 thorough analysis of the number of people who would be recipients of the mortgage interest reduction program, we affected, and I had that information at the time. Just so believe a number of those are undoubtedly individuals there is no misunderstanding, the statement that some who are also receiving social assistance. 2,669 people could lose their homes is not the informa• tion I received. The information I received is that under MR. NOTLEY: Mr. Speaker, a supplementary question. the old system of shelter allowances, there were 2,669 Could the hon. Minister of Social Services and Commu• cases where they were receiving benefits above the ceil• nity Health advise the House why the government did not ings, so they would be affected. But it certainly doesn't include in the March 25 release — as well as in the follow that they will be losing their homes. communication that was sent to all the rural newspapers in the province, I might add — the risk to those Alber• MR. NOTLEY: Mr. Speaker, a supplementary question. tans who will be affected by the shelter changes? In view Did the minister share this information with his cabinet of the fact that documentation was prepared by the colleagues, and was this information made available to department, why only the glowing aspects of the pro• members of the government in total? Or was it in fact gram, especially in the rural papers, as opposed to the simply used by the minister in making the recommenda• risk that Albertans will face? tions which led to the announcement of March 25, 1983? DR. WEBBER: Mr. Speaker, in terms of making social DR. WEBBER: Mr. Speaker, prior to the decision being allowance recipients aware of the changes, I believe I made, my colleagues and I had the information. indicated previously that all social allowance recipients in the province received a letter indicating the changes that MR. NOTLEY: I see. Okay. So much for free enterprise would take place, including the change in the shelter that cares. [interjections] ceilings, which reflects the economic circumstances we A supplementary question, Mr.