AB Today – Daily Report September 14, 2020

Quotation of the day

“I know you don’t feel like it at the moment, but I ask that you trust me.”

Community and Social Services Minister Rajan Sawhney denied that disability benefits would be cut after public backlash followed a report in the Calgary Herald.

Today in AB

On the schedule The house is on break until October 26, per the parliamentary calendar.

Committees this week The Standing Committee on the Alberta Heritage Trust Fund will meet on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the fund’s first quarter report and plans for its upcoming annual public meeting.

The Select Special Public Health Act Review Committee will meet on Thursday at 1 p.m.

Minister denies plan to cut disability benefits Community and Social Services Minister Rajan Sawhney promised she would not cut disability benefits.

The pledge followed a Friday article from the Calgary Herald, in which a senior department official said there is a “push” for the province to make cuts to disability assistance.

“They’re not going to be that minor in nature,” said the Herald’s source.

Sawhney has been conducting a review of her ministry’s expenses, including the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program.

On Saturday, Sawhney responded in two Facebook posts, stating there have been no changes to the program and any future tweaks will be to “streamline operations.”

“I know you don’t feel like it at the moment, but I ask that you trust me,” Sawhney wrote. “I am very protective of all [Community and Social Services] clients and vulnerable Albertans. I’m doing my very best for all of you.”

The AISH caseload is growing at three times the rate of the population and funding has increased by 6.2 per cent to $1.29 billion, per Sawhney.

NDP Community and Social Services critic Marie Renaud said she was relieved the minister committed to holding the line but called on the UCP to return to a funding model that is tied to inflation.

“When this Government de-indexed AISH from the rate of inflation, they cut AISH,” Renaud said.

In November 2018, the then-government NDP increased AISH payments for the first time since 2012 and indexed payments to inflation.

The UCP government de-indexed payments in its inaugural budget, a move estimated to reduce $10 million in payments from the program in 2019-20. That budget’s total cut to all income supports, including AISH, is estimated to total $300 million by 2023.

Today’s events

September 14 at 2:30 p.m. — Leduc Seniors and Housing Minister Josephine Pon will attend a grand opening of the Linsford Gardens’ affordable housing complex.

September 14 at 6 p.m. — Blackfalds Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women Minister Leela Aheer will speak at the Bridging Diversity to Build Community meal at the Blackfalds Community Centre.

Topics of conversation

● As of Friday, there were 111 new cases of Covid in the province and 1,444 active cases (down 50). There were no new deaths, holding the total at 253. There were 41 people hospitalized (down two), including six in ICU (down one). ○ Covid cases have been identified at 29 schools, leading to hundreds of students being sent home to self isolate, the Globe reports.

● A poll conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs for the Business Council of Alberta found 88 per cent of Albertans have poor confidence in the economy. ○ The survey found economic issues were the top priority for Canadians at 61 per cent, followed by COVID-19 concerns in second place. ○ A slim majority of Canadians — 52 per cent — said they want a recovery that balances the economy and environment.

● In response to the enactment of regulations allowing the government to publish a Sunshine List of physicians’ compensation, Alberta Medical Association president Christine Molnar says she will push for context and a fair exemption process so the public does not confuse doctors’ billing data with their take-home pay. ○ Molnar also expressed concerns about publishing identifying information of doctors. ○ “Members with family in politically unstable countries or third-world environments have contacted me with concerns for the welfare of their loved ones for fear of kidnapping,” Molnar said. “A number of our members provide volunteer services in underprivileged countries and have expressed concern that they may become targets for ransom.”

● On Friday, the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by the Government of Alberta that ruled parts of the province’s Mental Health Act were unconstitutional. ○ The original Court of Queen’s Bench decision determined people with untreatable mental health conditions, such as those caused by brain injury, cannot be detained against their will. ○ While the province fought the decision in court, the UCP government passed Bill 17, Mental Health Amendment Act, to bring laws into compliance with the decision.

News briefs

Surgical backlog 88 per cent cleared, Indigenous grant stream added ● Despite Alberta Health Services’ initial estimate that the surgical backlog caused by COVID-19 would take two years to clear, the province now says 88 per cent of delayed surgeries have been completed. ○ The postponement of surgeries in the spring led to a backlog of approximately 25,000 surgeries. ○ On Friday, the government announced it will increase surgical capacity by 150 per cent to meet the targets in the Alberta Surgical Initiative. ○ In order to meet the revised target, the province is doubling down on plans to increase chartered surgical facilities. ○ Alberta Health Services will post a formal request for proposals for privately delivered, publicly insured clinics in the fall after posting a request for expressions of interest in February (which received 41 applications). ○ The government also announced it would add an Indigenous grants stream; six First Nations will be eligible for up to $50,000 in funding to help develop their proposals.

Municipality pleads guilty to chlorine gas release ● The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo pled guilty to a charge under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act stemming from a 2017 incident where chlorine gas was released from a plant in Fort McMurray. ○ The municipality was ordered by the provincial court to pay $150,000 for the release of the chlorine gas. ○ The funds from the penalty will go towards a workshop developed by the Alberta Water and Wastewater Operators’ Association, which will educate municipal water treatment operators on their obligations. The money will also go towards the Northern Lights Health Foundation’s Northern Lights Health Centre to buy air handling unit filters.

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

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