AB Today – Election Report March 27, 2019 Quotation of the day “We’re not going to get to policing the views of every one of our 160,000 members. That would be impossible. If people actively belong to organizations that are actively promoting hatred, that’s one thing.” UCP Leader Jason Kenney says ex-candidates Caylan Ford and Eva Kiryakos can remain ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ active members of the UCP, despite resigning as candidates after their social media messages promoting Islamophobia, racism, and transphobia were unearthed. Day 9: Today on the campaign trail On the schedule The spring election will be held on April 16. Advanced polling will take place between April 9 and April 13. Candidate nominations close on March 29. Notley campaign NDP Leader Rachel Notley stuck around Calgary Tuesday for an announcement about ​ ​ reducing surgical wait times at the Wellspring Calgary Carma House, a supportive cancer care centre. Notley’s Wednesday schedule was not yet available at the time of publication. Kenney campaign UCP Leader Jason Kenney was back in Edmonton—Gold Bar Tuesday, the riding where ​ ​ former PC cabinet minister David Dorward is hoping to take back his seat from NDP incumbent ​ ​ Marlin Schmidt, for an announcement about advanced skills training. ​ On Wednesday, Kenney will take his blue Dodge pickup — “the Unity Truck” — out on country roads where he plans to make an announcement in Lac Ste. Anne County on his party’s plan to tackle rural crime. Mandel campaign Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel was in Calgary and Lacombe to release his party’s jobs ​ ​ platform. The riding of Lacombe—Ponoka is currently held by UCP incumbent Ron Orr, who will be ​ ​ challenged by the NDP’s Doug Hart, the Alberta Party’s Myles Chykerda, the Alberta ​ ​ ​ ​ Advantage Party’s Shawn Tylke, the Alberta Independent Party’s Tessa Szwagierczak and the ​ ​ ​ ​ Freedom Conservative Party’s Keith Parrill. ​ Mandel’s Wednesday schedule is not yet available. Khan campaign Alberta Liberal Party Leader David Khan made a gender equity announcement in his riding of ​ ​ Calgary—Mountain View. On Wednesday, Khan will make his way to the capital for the AUMA political panel at the Edmonton Convention Centre before making an electoral policy reform announcement at the Edmonton Federal Building. He will shoot a campaign story at CTV Edmonton before heading back to Calgary. Today’s events March 27 at 9:30 a.m. – Edmonton ​ The Alberta Urban Municipalities Association will host a political forum at the Edmonton Conference Centre at the AUMA’s Spring 2019 Municipal Leaders’ Caucus. March 27 at 11 a.m. – Lac Ste. Anne County ​ UCP Leader Jason Kenney will be in Lac Ste. Anne County to talk about his party’s plan to ​ ​ tackle rural crime. March 27 at 11:30 a.m. – Edmonton ​ Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau will be in Edmonton to speak to the Edmonton Chamber ​ ​ of Commerce at the Sutton Place Hotel. March 27 at 1:30 p.m. – Edmonton ​ Alberta Liberal Leader David Khan will make an announcement on electoral reform policy at the ​ ​ Edmonton Federal Building. March 27 at 6 p.m. – Edmonton ​ Demonstrators angry about proposed rollbacks in the gay-straight alliance legislation by the UCP will hold a march from the legislature grounds to the UCP headquarters. ​ ​ Topics of conversation ● UCP Leader Jason Kenney continued to take heat over his position on gay-straight ​ ​ alliances, following a Monday announcement where he vowed to enact the previous PC government’s Education Act, which would replace the NDP’s law requiring the LGBTQ ​ ​ groups be allowed in every school and their memberships kept anonymous from parents. ○ Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Kenney said he would leave it up to the discretion of teachers as to whether to notify parents of students who join gay-straight alliances. ○ He also said he would strike a balance between the religious freedoms demanded by private schools and the ability of students to form GSAs. ● UCP Leader Jason Kenney says disgraced former candidates Caylan Ford and Eva ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Kiryakos, both of whom dropped out after their Islamophobic, racist and transphobic ​ social media posts were made public, are still members of the party. ○ “Our party believes in equal treatment of all Albertans, respectful of dignity regardless of who they pray to or who they love,” Kenney said. “I’ve also been clear that we’re not going to get to policing the views of every one of our 160,000 members. That would be impossible. If people actively belong to organizations that are actively promoting hatred, that’s one thing. I think there are two instances of 160,000 members.” ○ When asked about the vetting process, a party spokesman told AB Today they ​ ​ do not disclose details for “obvious reasons.” ○ Ford resigned over comments made in 2017 over Facebook messenger, while Kiryakos preemptively resigned saying she had been blackmailed by someone hoping to release the comments on her public Facebook and Twitter feeds. ● While promoting the federal budget in Calgary yesterday, Finance Minister Bill Morneau ​ recommitted to his plan to sell-off the Trans Mountain pipeline to the private sector as soon as it is commercially viable (a.k.a. once pertaining legal challenges and Indigenous consultations are wrapped up) ○ Part of his re-privatization strategy includes working with Indigenous groups to help them obtain some ownership of the project, but cautioned this can only happen if communities have “meaningful economic participation.” ● UCP Leader Jason Kenney sent a letter to Toronto Mayor John Tory asking him to ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ oppose a motion from leftwing City Councillor Mike Layton calling on the city to launch a ​ ​ lawsuit against the oil and gas industries based on their role in climate change. Kenney called Layton’s criticism of the oil and gas industry “hypocritical,” saying it lets Ontario’s automotive sector and its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions off the hook. ○ “According to the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association, Ontario's transportation equipment manufacturing is 20.2 per cent of the province's GDP,” Kenney wrote. “Yet I note Mr. Layton's proposal completely absolves Canada's transportation sector for any responsibility for the growth in emissions here in Canada and around the world.” ● Canadian oilfield firms with a U.S. presence are now making more cash south of the border than they do at home, per the Canadian Press. ​ ​ ​ ○ According to the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors, Canadian companies relocated 16 rigs to the U.S. last year. ● Outrage Machine, a pop-up podcast on the Alberta Election, launches on March 27. ​ ● UCP candidate for Edmonton—Gold Bar David Dorward issued a statement in ​ ​ ​ ​ response to the re-circulation of a social media post he shared in 2016 about fears of ​ ​ allowing trans people to use washrooms and change rooms of their identified gender. ○ “While I was not alone in sharing this belief at the time, I am relieved that such fears have not been validated in the following three years,” Dorward said, adding he believes school officials have “appropriately” handled the issue. ○ “Like many Albertans, I have not been as quick to understand these evolving, complex issues as maybe I ought to be. However, I am committed to working toward a better understanding of them and the people they most affect. I apologize for any offence I may have caused.” ○ Dorward had been a PC cabinet minister and had beat out NDP candidate Marlin ​ Schmidt in the riding before Schmidt toppled him in 2015. The two will face off ​ again this election. ● Ex-Alberta cabinet minister Ken Hughes was appointed special advisor for Ontario ​ ​ Premier Doug Ford's review of his province's government-run liquor retail system. ​ ​ ○ Hughes will help the Ford administration design its plan to expand the sale of alcohol into corner, grocery and big box stores. (Currently booze can only be sold in provincially-owned LCBO stores; by an unpopular Beer Store monopoly; and in a handful of government-chosen grocery stores.) ○ In Alberta, liquor is available in liquor stores, but is not currently sold in corner, grocery and big box stores. ● Borrowing a line late former premier Jim Prentice used against her during a 2015 ​ ​ election debate, NDP Leader Rachel Notley took to Twitter to tell UCP finance critic ​ ​ Drew Barnes “math is hard” in response to a tweet he penned on the math curriculum ​ ​ ​ where the percentages on his data added up to 110 per cent. ○ “Not gonna say it...Not gonna say it....Not gonna say it…” Notley tweeted ​ alongside a screenshot of Barnes’ tweet. “Fine. I’ll say it. Math is hard.” ○ Notley also included the hashtag #Tacticalmath, a shot at Kenney who said women often don’t have the same knowledge of tactical politics as men since they have not been politicians for as long. ○ The remark directed at Notley by Prentice drew widespread criticism. ● Canola farmer and incumbent UCP candidate for Athabasca—Barrhead—Westlock Glenn van Dijken said the provincial and federal governments need to pay more ​ attention to the escalating trade dispute with China following an announcement that a second Canadian canola exporter is facing a ban. ​ ○ “As a canola farmer myself, I know that this widening trade dispute, if not addressed, will have economic consequences for our province,” van Dijken said. In the polls ● A new Angus Reid poll has Premier Notley’s personal approval rating at 40 per cent. ​ ​ ○ Since hitting a low of 28 per cent in June 2017, Notley’s approval rating has been consistently on the rise. However, it has not returned to post-election levels when 53 per cent of Albertans approved of their premier. News from the campaign trail NDP promises to end surgical backlogs NDP Leader Rachel Notley announced, if re-elected, her government would increase surgeries ​ ​ by 40,000 over the next three years via a $90 million investment.