AB Today – Daily Report August 9, 2019

Quotation of the day

“I’m a huge fan of [Senator Raynell Andreychuk] even though the first ​ ​ time we met, she was ruling against me in the Saskatchewan high school debate championship round, costing me the big prize: a full set of Encyclopedia Britannica!”

Premier wishes retiring Conservative Senator Raynell Adreychuk well after ​ ​ ​ ​ 26 years in the Senate.

Today in AB

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

Today’s events

August 9 at 9:30 a.m. – ​ ​ Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women Minister , UCP MLA for ​ ​ Calgary—Currie Nicholas Milliken and GlobalFest chief financial officer Ken Goosen will make ​ ​ ​ ​ an announcement on red tape reduction for non-profit organizations.

Government seeking public feedback on health-care review The government is now taking public feedback as part of its review of the province’s health superboard, Health Services.

Members of the public can submit feedback via a newly created email address. ​ ​

Health Minister announced the Alberta Health Services review on May 30 with ​ ​ the goal of finding savings a decade after the superboard’s formation. The province directed more than $22 billion to the super board last year, roughly 40 per cent of the government’s overall budget.

“All input will be reviewed and considered,” Shandro said in a statement on Thursday. “We are committed to releasing the final report publicly.” The province has hired Ernst and Young to conduct the review; the firm is scheduled to report its findings by December 31.

Shandro says all savings uncovered during the review will be reinvested in the health-care system.

The review, which Shandro said will not impact the work of frontline employees, is separate from the blue ribbon panel on the province’s finances, which is set to wrap up next week.

Topics of conversation

● Oil storage levels in Alberta have fallen to their lowest level in nearly two years thanks to ​ ​ production curtailments and an increase in crude by rail shipments, according to a new report from private industry monitor Genscape. ○ As of July 26, crude storage inventory in Western Canada is at about 27.7 million barrels. ○ Cenovus Energy Inc. told Bloomberg the company is on track to ship 100,000 ​ ​ ​ ​ barrels of oil per day by the end of 2019. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. says it expects a 20 per cent increase in crude-by-rail over the last quarter. ○ Alberta implemented a mandatory production curtailment on January 1 in order to deal with an oil glut and the massive price differential between West Texas Intermediate and Western Canadian Select crude. ○ The UCP government is currently in talks to offload crude-by-rail contracts signed by the previous NDP government onto the private sector as it mulls extending oil production curtailments past the planned phaseout of the curtailment scheduled for the end of the year.

● The City of Edmonton’s Community and Public Services Committee set an August 21 ​ date to debate a symbolic ban on conversion therapy. ​ ○ Edmonton is the latest Alberta municipality to discuss a ban on the discredited practice that attempts to change sexual orientation or gender identity. St. Albert and Strathcona County councils passed bans in their municipalities. ○ The municipal bans come after the province dissolved a working group tasked by ​ ​ the previous government to find a way to end conversion therapy in Alberta. Health Minister Tyler Shandro said he welcomes input and that his government ​ ​ opposes the practice, but that conversion therapy already isn’t a recognized practice within the health system.

● Lac Ste Anne County has declared a state of agricultural emergency, after heavy rainfall ​ ​ caused “incorrigible damage” to local livestock farms and crops. ○ “While various degrees of damage exist throughout the municipality, almost all crop has been affected by current moisture conditions in a negative manner,” the county said in a statement on its website. ○ After a disaster has been declared, crop producers with insurance are able to declare their losses for compensation.

● Activists hoping to stop the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project are calling on insurance companies to stop underwriting the project in advance of an August 31 deadline to renew coverage, Reuters reports. ​ ​ ○ A coalition of 32 environmental and Indigenous groups sent a letter to the 27 insurance companies registered to insure the pipeline. ○ One of the companies, Zurich Insurance Group, pledged to divest from the oilsands industry in June, but told the activists in a letter last week that it will continue to insure the pipeline project while discussing how to meet the Paris climate goals with the Canadian government.

● Leader Elizabeth May released her party’s jobs transition ​ ​ platform, which includes plans to shift jobs in the fossil fuel industry to the renewable energy sector. May said, if elected prime minister, she would increase hiring for the cleanup of orphaned oil wells, including converting some wells to geothermal energy projects. ○ “It's critical that workers in fossil fuel industries and fossil fuel-dependent communities not fear for their future,” May said at a news conference in ​ ​ Vancouver on Wednesday. “We are not at war with fossil fuel workers. We are not at all willing to leave any part of Canada or any community behind.” ○ Earlier this year, May said that as long as it is still using fossil fuels, Canada ​ ​ should ban foreign oil imports and use only Alberta oil.

● Two libraries took to Twitter to share information about the return on investment public libraries generate following news that the province has only funded 50 per cent of the typical annual library budget. ○ Calgary Public Library said it is non-partisan and would not comment on ​ ​ government policies, but noted it has 720,000 active library members who make more than 6.8 million visits annually. ○ The Edmonton Public Library (EPL) echoed the sentiment, tweeting, “Fun facts: ​ ​ every year, EPL saves Edmontonians $131.5 million. And, every $1 invested in EPL returns $3.11.” ○ Premier Jason Kenney said he has no plans to cut funding for libraries and that ​ ​ the 50 per cent funding allocation was only an interim supply decision in lieu of a spring budget.

● Speaker Nathan Cooper’s latest edu-tainment video shares fun facts about Alberta’s ​ ​ ​ ​ Government House. ​ ○ Construction began in 1912 for a residence for vice regals and lieutenant governors. In 1938, former premier William Aberhart and lieutenant governor ​ ​ John Bowen got into a spat over Bowen’s refusal to give royal assent to three ​ bills. In response, Aberhart cut off utilities to Government House, forcing Bowen and his family out. ○ Bowen refused to sign the bills before a review by the Supreme Court of Canada. The court sided with Bowen, declaring the province did not have legislative authority over the bills. ○ For a period of time, Government House also housed injured veterans, Cooper explained.

News briefs — Non-governmental Energy Efficiency Alberta releases 2018-19 report The provincial agency that was a frequent target of attacks on the campaign trail trumpeted its impact on jobs and the economy in its annual report. ​

Energy Efficiency Alberta (EEA), which launched in 2017 to provide programs and services designed to increase efficiency in homes and businesses, says its work achieved $3.02 in value per dollar spent.

The agency said its programs generated $850 million in economic growth and saved its 214,000 participants $692 million in energy costs.

“Alberta’s a bright spot for energy efficiency in Canada,” Efficiency Canada executive director Corey Diamond said in the report. “The strong uptake on the commercial and industrial ​ program side shows that businesses are looking for low-cost ways to stay competitive and improve their bottom line.”

During the spring election campaign the UCP used EEA as a talking point, saying Albertans do not need a carbon-tax funded agency to change their light bulbs and showerheads. However, since taking office, the party has walked back talk of scrapping the agency and has instead launched a review of its 20 programs based on their individual merits.

Funding announcements Seniors and Housing ● Alberta Seniors and Housing Minister was in Calgary Thursday ​ ​ alongside Liberal Calgary—Centre MP Kent Hehr for the grand opening of Clayton, an ​ ​ affordable housing project that will house 30 single adults in Calgary. ○ The $5.8-million project received $4 million from the Alberta and Canada governments; $1.7 came from RESOLVE, a fundraising campaign backed by ​ ​ nine housing agencies, which garnered contributions from individuals and corporations. The remainder came from the City of Calgary. ○ In a news release, Pon said the province is “committed to working with other levels of government, community organizations and private-sector partners to help break the cycle of chronic homelessness.”

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 2, 2019 – August 8, 2019

● Nick Koolsbergen, Trisha Rinneard, Lauren Klammer, Wellington Advocacy Inc. ​ o Clients: Information Services Corporation ​

● Jeff Sterzuk, Prairie Sky Enterprises Ltd. (Prairie Sky Consulting) ​ o Clients: Canadian National Railway Company (CN) ​

● Jenelle Saskiw, Keith Pridgen, Bronte Valk, Pascal Ryffel, Shayne Saskiw, Jonathon Wescott, Zack Ziolkowski, Michelle Collins, Alberta Counsel ​ o Clients: City of Brooks ​

● Sandie Price, Sandie Price ​ o Clients: Alberta Federation of Rural Electricity Associations ​

● Brent Kossey, Zoe Keirstead, Rosa Ellithorpe, 1689986 ALBERTA LIMITED carrying ​ on business as Navigator o Clients: Alcanna Inc.; Summerhill; Improbable Canada Inc.; Enbridge Inc. ​

● Hal Danchilla, Gail Kelly, CSG Canadian Strategy Group Inc. (also operating as ​ Crestview Strategy (Alberta)) o Clients: APPLE Schools ​

● Hal Danchilla, CSG Canadian Strategy Group Inc. (also operating as Crestview ​ Strategy (Alberta)) o Clients: Genstar Development Company ​

● Matt Solberg, Sonia Kont, Monte Solberg, Michael Solberg, New West Public Affairs ​ o Clients: Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association (ACTLA) ​

Organizations that registered in-house lobbyists from August 2, 2019 – August 8, 2019

● Concrete Alberta ● Nauticol Energy Ltd. ● Hoffmann-La Roche ● Canadian Franchise Association (CFA) ● EPCOR Utilities Inc. ● CF Chemicals, Ltd. ● Inter Pipeline Ltd.