AB Today – Daily Report January 18, 2020

Quotation of the day

“What’s next? A UCP flag flying at the top of the legislature?”

NDP Democracy and Ethics critic Heather Sweet says Municipal Affairs Minister Kaycee ​ ​ ​ ​ Madu should be fined for soliciting political donations in a taxpayer-funded mailout alongside ​ the provincial coat of arms.

Today in AB Committees this week Committee meetings resume this week. The Standing Committee on Legislative Offices meets this morning to discuss last year’s annual report from the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate.

This afternoon, the Special Standing Committee on Member Services will meet to discuss the 2020-21 budget estimates for the Legislative Assembly Office and to draft a new policy on travel and expenses for LAO staff.

A group of artists will make a hail mary effort at saving the Alberta Branded store on the ​ ​ legislature grounds by arriving en masse to the meeting

"We're not allowed to speak, but we're going to go there and show that we are not happy with this decision and that we would like it reconsidered," said painter Karen Bishop in an interview ​ ​ with CBC News.

Speaker Nathan Cooper announced the government’s plans to close the shop at the ​ ​ committee’s last meeting in November. The gallery opened five years ago with an annual operating cost of $300,00. Last year, it sold just 90 pieces of art.

Premier watch Premier spoke on Saturday at an invite-only energy conference in Lake Louise ​ ​ hosted by Peters & Co. Limited, an energy investment firm.

“2020 is going to be a great turnaround year for Alberta,” Kenney said. “We’ve been through five tough years.”

Kenney told investors that the price gap between Canadian oil and international benchmarks such as West Texas Intermediate and Brent — which has widened this month— is not necessarily a product of provincial policy. Instead he placed the blame on environmental groups for swaying foreign investors from putting money into developing Canadian oil and gas and resulting misinformation about Alberta’s environmental record.

The UCP government is working to change perceptions so that investment flows to the province increase, per Kenney, who went on to deliver an ethical oil argument.

He doled out some good news for the energy sector, including construction progress on the Keystone XL pipeline and legal wins for Enbridge Line 3 and Line 5 south of the border.

The premier indicated the trade missions he embarked on last year, including to the U.S. and U.K., resulted in “concrete” investments made in the province, but did not provide details or name the companies involved.

He added the government is in “advanced” talks with companies or constoria looking to invest billions in the petrochemical sector.

Kenney told attendees from Toronto and New York to spread the message: “There is at least one jurisdiction in North America that believes in the creative powers in markets.”

Kenney also said he told Prime Minister Justin Trudeau if the Teck Frontier mine project is not ​ ​ approved by February 29, “this will be conveying to Western Canadians the policy really is to phase out the oilsands.”

Today’s events

January 20 at 9 a.m. — Calgary ​ ​ At the McDougall Centre, Advanced Education Minister will announce ​ ​ “transformational changes” that link post-secondary education to jobs.

January 20 at 10 a.m. — ​ ​ Associate Minister of Red Tape Reduction will hold a photo op at Pasta Pantry to ​ ​ mark Red Tape Reduction Week.

January 20 at 10:30 a.m. — Edmonton ​ ​ Lac Ste. Anne—Parkland UCP MLA will speak at the Pembina River District 3 ​ ​ zone meeting at the Executive Royal Inn.

January 20 at 12 p.m. — North Vancouver ​ Indigenous leaders and activists — including Smith’s Landing First Nation Chief Gerry Cheezie ​ and Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs — will deliver an open letter ​ ​ to federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, calling on him to ​ ​ reject the Teck Frontier mine in Alberta, described as “the largest surface mine ever built in the ​ Canadian oilsands.”

Upcoming events

January 22 — Victoria ​ Federal, provincial and territorial justice and public safety ministers are set to meet at the Delta Hotels Ocean Pointe Resort. A news conference is scheduled for 5:45 p.m.

January 23 at 9 a.m. — Edmonton ​ ​ Alberta Urban Municipalities Association president Barry Morishita and Municipal Affairs ​ ​ Minister will hold a summit on municipal finances at the Chateau Lacombe. ​ ​

Topics of conversation

● One-time media baron Conrad Black said the federal Liberals’ climate policy ​ ​ “persecute[s] Alberta” during his speech at the Value of Alberta conference on Saturday. ​ ​ ○ “They’re doing it out of a fear of a fate whose likelihood is based on very flimsy suppositions and dubious advocacy by a lot of zealots,” Black said. ○ Black told attendees that when it comes to climate change there is not sufficient ​ ​ scientific research to demonstrate the “level of alarm that’s been reached is justified.” ○ Panelists also discussed the legalities of a potential Alberta separation. ​ ​

● Leader David Khan and Wexit founder Peter Downing debated ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ the merits of Confederation versus separation at the Calgary Leadership Forum on Saturday. ○ Downing suggested that 30 per cent of Albertans are prepared to vote in favour of separating from Canada immediately. ○ “I am really concerned about this Wexit, western separation talk. I think it's really dangerous for our province and our country,” Khan told the audience.

● The Court of Queen’s Bench approved Encana Corp.’s plan to move its global ​ ​ headquarters from Calgary to Denver, Colorado. ○ The company’s shareholders approved the move on Tuesday, along with a name change to Ovintiv Inc. ○ The company has previously said moving to the United States would improve its access to U.S. index funds and passively managed accounts, but that it won’t impact its operations in Canada.

● Alberta’s chief medical examiner Dr. Elizabeth Brooks-Lim is resigning, making her the ​ ​ third person to quit the post in the last five years, CBC reports. ​ ​ ○ Brooks-Lim said she will stay on while the government recruits her replacement.

● New vehicle sales were down in November in Alberta by 0.8 per cent compared to the ​ ​ month before and 6.5 per cent year over year. ○ ATB Financial’s economics and research team, which used Statistics Canada data and seasonally adjusted it, says there has been a decline in new vehicle sales 11 of the past 12 months.

● Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will hold a three-day cabinet retreat in Winnipeg to ​ ​ ​ discuss climate change and the economy. ○ Economist Andrew Leach, who chaired the Notley government’s climate ​ ​ leadership panel in 2015 and 2016, will speak to cabinet. ○ Trans Mountain Corp. chair Bill Downe will give an update on the pipeline ​ ​ expansion project.

● An Edmonton tech CEO says he was disappointed by the provincial government’s lack of participation at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year. ○ TIQ Software CEO Jason Suriano said the Manitoba Tech West delegation ​ ​ ​ worked with him, but as a result his conference badge said he was from Winnipeg, rather than Alberta. ○ “Spending thousands of tax dollars without certainty of a return for taxpayers would not be fiscally prudent,” Justin Brattinga, a spokesperson for Economic ​ ​ Development Minister told Global News. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ○ In the fall 2019 budget, the government eliminated several tax credits and grants that were used by Alberta's gaming, film and tech industries. ○ The government recently announced a new Innovation Capital Working Group, which will explore ways to support the province’s tech centre. ○ The provincial government had reps at CES for the past three years.

News briefs — Non-governmental

NDP critic calls for minister to be fined for using Alberta’s coat of arms to fundraise ● NDP Democracy and Ethics critic Heather Sweet is asking Culture Minister ​ ​ ​ to fine Municipal Affairs Minister Kaycee Madu for using the Alberta coat of arms in a ​ ​ partisan fundraising letter. ○ According to the Emblems of Alberta Act, using the coat of arms without written ​ ​ permission from the culture minister carries a fine of up to $1,000. ○ Madu used the coat of arms twice in a fundraising letter and constituency update sent to UCP supporters on January 6. ○ “It’s troubling that Jason Kenney’s ministers continue to act like their political ​ ​ party is indistinguishable from the Government of Alberta,” Sweet said in a news release. ○ Madu spokesperson Timothy Gerwing said Sweet’s allegations amount to an ​ ​ ​ “outrageous level of hyperbole” and that the mailout was a result of “a constituency volunteer making an honest error with respect to usage of the coat of arms.”

Appointments and employments

Ministry of Children’s Services ● Brock Harrison is back in the Alberta politics scene after a stint as CPC Leader ​ Andrew Scheer’s director of communications. Harrison will be chief of staff for ​ Children’s Services Minister starting February 10. ​ ​ ○ Before heading to Ottawa, Harrison was a staffer with the Wild Rose Party.