AB Today – Daily Report August 16, 2019

Quotation of the day

“The UCP have clearly stacked the deck against working people with the creation of this panel.”

NDP Labour critic Christina Gray says the members of the UCP’s newly announced ​ ​ minimum wage review panel do not have everyday Albertans’ interests at heart.

Today in AB

On the schedule The House is adjourned for the summer recess.

At the Legislature Instead of the usual signs and chants of protestors, the steps of the legislature were graced Thursday by… Disney princesses. ​ ​

Premier Watch Premier Jason Kenney held his second Facebook Live Q&A session since taking office on ​ ​ Thursday evening.

After wishing a happy Independence Day to Pakistan on Wednesday, Kenney issued a statement Thursday on India’s Independence Day.

In his greeting, he gave a shout out to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who he has ​ ​ previously referred to as a personal friend, using two honourifics — “Sir” and “Ji.”

“Alberta is richer for the cultural, social and economic strengths that 175,000 Albertans of Indian heritage share with all of us,” Kenney said.

Minimum wage increases to be put under the microscope The United Conservative government has appointed a nine-person panel to review the province’s minimum wage.

Labour and Immigration Minister Jason Copping says the government has no plans to roll back ​ ​ minimum wage except in the possible case of servers who serve alcohol.

Alberta’s minimum wage was raised incrementally by Rachel Notley’s government from $10.20 ​ ​ an hour in 2015 to $15 an hour in September 2018. On the campaign trail earlier this year, the UCP said this led restaurants to cut back servers’ hours to cover increased labour costs and as a result, employees were earning less tip income.

Copping said the cost of the panel will be low since all of its members are volunteers. It is scheduled to report back to the government in January 2020.

NDP Labour critic Christina Gray accused the UCP of stacking the panel with individuals in ​ ​ favour of alcohol server wage cuts in order to undercut her former government’s labour progress.

Copping told reporters the panel is made up of “a blend of individuals — academics, people from industry, people who are owners on the retail side, and also on the restaurant side who could bring that to the table, and also workers.”

However, many of the panel’s volunteers are on the record expressing disdain for the NDP’s minimum wage changes.

The panel’s chair, University of Alberta associate professor Joseph Marchand, penned a piece ​ ​ ​ for the C.D. Howe Institute in 2017, contending the boosted minimum wage would lead to 25,000 job losses.

Marchand told reporters Thursday his conclusion was “no different” than a study done in British Columbia when it was weighing a minimum wage increase.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business, which will be represented on the panel by its Alberta and British Columbia vice-president Richard Truscott, has frequently campaigned ​ ​ against minimum wage increases across the country, including in Alberta.

Restaurants Canada’s Western Canada vice-president Mark von Schellwitz will also sit on the ​ ​ panel. During the spring election campaign, the organization launched “Restaurant Realities,” ​ ​ which encouraged restaurant and franchise owners to lobby local candidates against minimum wage hikes. Notably, Premier Jason Kenney first announced his plans to scrap NDP-era labour ​ ​ laws onstage during a Restaurants Canada event in February.

Three food and beverage servers also scored spots on the panel. Two of the three work for Blink Restaurant and Bar in Calgary, whose owner has called on the restaurant industry to ​ organize against NDP policies, which she said forced her to lay off employees. ​

The third server, Rachel Donnelly, works for Chop Steakhouse. According to her biography ​ ​ supplied by the government, Donnelly “has expressed concern with the lack of a server differential on her job.”

The owners of both Chop and Blink are directors on Restaurants Canada’s board.

Gray pointed to two major Canadian reviews — one in B.C. and one in Ontario — that ​ ​ ​ ​ recommended ending the practice of paying liquor servers a lower wage.

“We know a $15 minimum wage means more money in the pockets of Albertans who will spend it in our local economy,” the NDP Labour critic said in a news release. “We also know it’s wrong to pay a group of workers, made up of mostly women, a lower minimum wage than everyone else.”

Since taking office in April, the government has introduced a tiered minimum wage system, allowing businesses to pay anyone under 18 years old and who works less than 28 hours per week $13 an hour.

(The full list of panel members is below.)

Today’s events

August 16 at 1 p.m. – Calgary ​ ​ Children’s Services Minister Rebecca Schulz will speak at the Royal Conservatory’s ​ ​ Wonderland — Music is a Mind Bender recital at the Bow Building.

Topics of conversation

● The much-discussed blue ribbon panel report has landed on Finance Minister Travis ​ Toews’ desk, he confirmed Thursday. ​ ○ “I will be reviewing the report and sharing it with my colleagues in government for their consideration as well. Upon our review, we will share the report with Albertans in early September,” Toews said in a statement.

● The government’s stay application on a court injunction against Bill 9, Public Sector ​ ​ Wage Arbitration Deferral Act, will be heard by the Alberta Court of Appeal in Edmonton next Thursday. ○ The province is asking the court to expedite its appeal of a judge’s decision to grant the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) an injunction against Bill 9. In July, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Eric Macklin granted AUPE an ​ ​ ​ injunction on the basis that the government must respect the collective bargaining process. ○ “It is in the long-term public interest for the public to see that its government cannot unilaterally change its contractual obligations through legislation that may interfere with Charter Rights,” Macklin wrote in his ruling on Bill 9. ​ ​

● Premier Jason Kenney may enjoy borrowing from Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s ​ ​ ​ ​ catchphrases and populist policies, but he has no plans to order gas stations to display anti-carbon-tax stickers on their pumps, the Canadian Press reports. ​ ​ ​ ​ ○ Ford legislated gas station owners must post the stickers, which criticize Ottawa’s carbon levy, by August 30 or face up to $10,000 per day in fines. ○ Kenney told CP Alberta is focused on fighting carbon pricing in court — and, ​ ​ thanks to the NDP’s carbon tax, Albertans are already well acquainted with the pain carbon pricing causes at the pumps.

● The Alberta RCMP Twitter account confirmed the force is continuing its investigation into ​ ​ identity fraud during the 2017 UCP leadership campaign. ○ Meanwhile, “kudatah” leader George Clark says he was called in for an interview ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ with RCMP officers about the leadership vote. ○ Clark gained prominence in 2016 when he held a news conference in a Walmart parking lot stating he would hold a “kudatah” (coup d’état) to overthrow then-premier Rachel Notley and the NDP government. ​ ​ ○ “I have nothing to hide as I've not done anything wrong,” Clark wrote on Facebook. “So despite the strange investigative process, I will go to the interview. Speaking the TRUTH should never be feared. I'm wondering if maybe the RCMP intend on interviewing EVERYONE that was politically active in 2017?”

News briefs — Governmental

Environment and Parks Following the establishment of three sub-regional task forces on caribou recovery, the province says it will meet industry and community stakeholders throughout the summer to hear input on land-use planning and caribou recovery.

“In accordance with our commitments made during the election, we are looking to develop a common-sense approach to protecting Alberta’s woodland caribou populations while balancing economic and employment concerns,” Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon said in a ​ ​ news release.

“We will be engaging experts and stakeholders in a variety of areas — Indigenous communities, industry, biologists and hunters and trappers to name a few — to create a made-in-Alberta solution that protects jobs and access while ensuring woodland caribou populations thrive long-term.”

The regional task forces — in Cold Lake, Bistcho Lake and Upper Smoky — are expected to ​ ​ begin work in the fall.

Members of the public can also give feedback on a draft agreement with the federal government on caribou recovery online until October 6. ​ ​

News briefs — Non-governmental

UCP broke promise by cutting funding to housing, mental health and addictions: NDP The NDP are accusing the UCP government of cutting $3.5 million in funding from the Calgary Homeless Foundation.

The eight per cent cut goes against the UCP’s commitment to mental health, addictions and homelessness, says NDP Seniors and Housing critic Lori Sigurdson. ​ ​

The cuts to the Calgary Homeless Foundation, which funds 30 organizations in Alberta’s largest city, came as part of the interim supply budget the UCP government passed last session, the Star Calgary reports. ​ ​ ​

In a statement to the Star, Community and Social Services Minister Rajan Sawhney said his ​ ​ ​ ​ office is working with the foundation and is “committed to protecting vulnerable Albertans, while at the same time getting the province’s finances back on track in order to sustain our vital programs for future generations.”

Funding announcements

Natural Resources Canada ● The federal government announced $6 million in funding to Indigenous groups in Alberta ​ ​ and B.C. looking to participate in energy infrastructure development. The cash comes via a one-year initiative called the Indigenous Natural Resource Partnerships (INRP) program.

● The Natural Resources department also announced $2.1 million in funding for Linear ​ ​ Motion Technologies (LMT) Canada to test a new electric valve system for use in the oil and gas sector.

Appointments and Employments Labour and Immigration

● Labour and Immigration Minister Jason Copping announced a nine-member panel to ​ ​ investigate whether lowering the minimum wage for alcohol servers would increase their overall income earnings. Panel members include: ● Joseph Marchand, panel chair, associate professor of economics, University of ​ Alberta; ● Anindya Sen, professor of economics, University of Waterloo; ​ ● Mark von Schellwitz, vice-president (Western Canada), Restaurants Canada; ​ ● Richard Truscott, vice-president, British Columbia and Alberta, Canadian ​ Federation of Independent Business; ● Jason Stanton, owner, Running Room; ​ ● Branko Culo, owner of Express Employment and member of Alberta Enterprise ​ Group; ● Delphine Borger, server, Blink Restaurant, Calgary; ​ ● Rachel Donnelly, server, Chop Steakhouse; and ​ ● Nicole Lyckama, server, Blink Restaurant, Calgary. ​

Lobbyist registrations

If you are looking for further information on any lobbying registry, it is all public and easily searchable here. ​ ​

Consultants who registered as lobbyists from August 9, 2019 – August 15, 2019

● Evan Legate, Longview Communications Inc. ​ o Clients: Athabasca Oil Corporation ​

● Hal Danchilla, Michael Lohner, CSG Canadian Strategy Group Inc. (also operating as ​ Crestview Strategy (Alberta)) o Clients: Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. ​

● Hal Danchilla, Melissa Caouette, 2139107 Alberta Ltd. (operating as Crestview ​ Strategy (West)) o Clients: Millar Western Forest Products Ltd. ​

● Chris McCluskey, Proof Inc. ​ o Clients: StubHub Inc. ​

● Nick Koolsbergen, Trisha Rinneard, Wellington Advocacy Inc. ​ o Clients: Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited ​

● Peter Csillag, Enterprise Canada Inc. ​ o Clients: Parkland County; Sureway Construction Group Ltd.; EVRAZ North ​ America Inc.; Kepler Academy

● Blake Oliver, Crestview Strategy ​ o Clients: Music Canada ​

● Michael Solberg, Matt Solberg, Sonia Kont, Tristan Bray, Monte Solberg, Sarah Painchaud, New West Public Affairs ​ o Clients: Campbell Oilfield Rentals Ltd. ​

● Lisa Samson, Garry Keller, Conal Slobodin, Troy Sherman, StrategyCorp Inc. ​ o Clients: Seven Generations Energy Ltd ​

● Randy Kerr, RK STRATEGY ​ o Clients: The Educational Partnership Foundation ​ Organizations that registered in-house lobbyists from August 9, 2019 – August 15, 2019 ● Dow AgroSciences Canada Inc. ● Northeast Capital Industrial Association ● Rogers Communications Inc. ● TransCanada PipeLines Limited ● Canadian National Railway Company (CN) ● Obsidian Energy Ltd. ● Calgary Chamber of Commerce ● General Electric Canada ● Insurance Brokers Association of Alberta ● Purdue Pharma (Canada) ● Methanex Corporation ● Alberta Wheat Commission ● Desjardins General Insurance Group ● Association of Alberta Registry Agents ● Canadian Association of Consulting Quantity Surveyors ● GS1 Canada ● Advanced Biofuels Canada