THE ISSUE Alberta’s Premier Review of 108 NEWS Politics and Government Vitality JUNE/2020 from AS THE PANDEMIC SLOWS, DEBATE RAMPS UP IN of education that shall be given to their children”. THE LEGISLATURE Education Minister, Adriana LaGrange, rose in the Aaron Singleton Assembly to assert “this proposed legislation will affirm that parents, not politicians, have the right to choose the kind of education they feel will be best for their Great job, Alberta. Seriously. In the weeks leading up to the kick-start of Alberta’s Relaunch Strategy, public discourse children”. What exactly does that look like for this centred around the potential for a second wave of the novel coronavirus in the province due to the potential for a government? Senior Editor: Pascal Ryffel lackadaisical approach to public health orders. Put another way, the fear was the public would act as if we were out of the First, the bill proposes to change the approval process Publisher: Alberta Counsel pandemic woods. However, individuals and companies across the province have done an overall wonderful job of for charter schools wishing to set up in the province. maintaining physical distancing in public. Of course, 100% adherence was never expected, but the overwhelming majority The current wording of the legislation only permits an of Albertans stayed the course. ALBERTA COUNSEL application for a charter school to be made to the Legal and Lobby Professionals Kudos to you all. minister in the event the applicable school board refuses to establish alternative programs as requested. Management Consultants As a result, we are in what could objectively be described as the “back-half” of the epidemiological curve as we likely have As Bill 15 reads, all applications will now proceed directly to the minister who will be required to notify applicable boards, Trade-mark Agents passed the peak of COVID-19. This writer will not go so far as to say that we are in the clear yet. Recognizing that a second school divisions, existing charter schools, and Francophone regional authorities. wave is still a very real threat in addition to factors not yet known, it is always advisable to continue following the advice LEDGEVIEW BUILDING and direction of public health officials such as Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw. Second, it has been proposed that going forward, parents who elect to homeschool their children will not be required to be 800, 9707-110 Street NW supervised by a school board. Alberta Teachers’ Association President, Jason Schilling spoke against this government The result of a lessened number of active cases and hospitalizations is that Alberta’s elected officials have been recalled to Edmonton AB T5K 2L9 policy, saying “Unsupervised home education should be a concern to all Albertans. A child’s right to a quality education the Legislative Assembly by Government House Leader, Jason Nixon. Although it has been an honour and a privilege to P: 780-652-1311 must not be sacrificed in the name of parental choice”. At the time of writing, the second reading has not begun in the provide you with bi-weekly updates on Alberta’s fight against SARS-CoV-2, it is an exciting prospect to resume covering F: 780-652-1312 Legislature. Expect the UCP to highlight the importance of parental choice as the key reason for the development of this legislative debate and important news in provincial politics. So without further ado, let’s look at the week that was. E: [email protected] legislation while the opposition will likely argue the Bill is an affront to public education in Alberta. www.AlbertaCounsel.com Three new bills were tabled in the Legislature last week after a spirited debate related to the pandemic on Wednesday morning. Bill 16 – The Victims of Crime Amendment Act The News from Alberta Counsel is Like the previously mentioned legislation, Bill 16 has only been read a first time at the time of writing Issue 108 of The Alberta’s premier review of Bill 7 – Responsible Energy Development Amendment Act provincial politics and government NEWS. Key amendments being proposed relate to the use of money from the Victims of Crime Fund as well as the future of vitality. As an original source of Perhaps this is the least controversial legislation tabled last week was the bill that will impact the way in which the Alberta the Criminal Injuries Review Board. When the bill becomes law, the act’s name will change to the Victims of Crime and Public Safety Act. political news and commentary, The Energy Regulator will navigate future timelines. On behalf of the Energy Minister, Ric McIver indicated to the Assembly that “this legislation helps deliver on our government’s promise to ensure that energy development in our province occurs in an News will provide a fresh look at Section 10(a), which stipulates the uses of money in the fund, will be changed to read that payments from the fund can efficient and environmentally responsible manner”. He would also go on to say that the overarching goal of the proposed legislation, policy, committee provide grants to programs that benefit victims and promote public safety. As it presently reads, the language only includes amendments is to restore predictability to the AER’s regulatory process. debates, the civil service, along with grants relating to victim benefit programs. The change in language is expected to allow the provincial government to use party updates and events. The Official Opposition affirmed the shared desire to the fund to provide grants to law enforcement initiatives and towards their promise of hiring new crown prosecutors in improve the regulatory efficiency of the AER. Of While we are confident that Alberta. The UCP has recently increased the victim fine surcharge to 20% and is expected to significantly increase the course, they would not be serving their function if annual size of the fund. they did not offer their critique. Perhaps the greatest “the new leadership will Alberta Counsel Interestingly, the bill also proposes to disestablish the Criminal Injuries Review Board amidst the various changes to how concern presented in the bill is that, while it does We work with organizations to address the timeline concerns funding from the Victims of Crime Fund will be dispersed following royal assent. The board is intended to operate highlight the power of the Lieutenant Governor in navigate their way through the independent of government to “review decisions made under the Victims of Crime Financial Benefits Program”. Council to make regulations and timelines that that have emerged, Bill 7 will confusing network that is override any rule implemented by the AER that Both Bill 15 and 16 were the subject of a Point of Privilege from NDP Opposition House Leader, Heather Sweet. The point associated with government. We comes into conflict with Bill 7, it fails to indicate provide us with additional was made to highlight that a technical briefing had been made to the media while one had not been made available to help our clients connect with those exactly what those new timelines would be. Justice accountability and mechanisms members of the opposition. Government House Leader, Jason Nixon, rebutted with his observation that the NDP had who are important in shaping public Minister Doug Schweitzer offered his input that advised the media of their intention to raise the Point of Privilege prior to notifying the Speaker’s Office. Speaker Nathan policy and ensure your messaging is “while we are confident that the new leadership will to step in if required. Cooper stated “I think that much has been said about technical briefings, and I think it is important that the Speaker takes effectively communicated to address the timeline concerns that have emerged, Doug Schweitzer, ” time to consider both the submissions today as well as the precedent.” Justice Minister decision makers. Bill 7 will provide us with additional accountability and mechanisms to step in if required.” Bill 1 Expected to Receive Royal Assent To subscribe to The News from The first piece of legislation tabled during this session was passed on division on Thursday last week. The Critical Bill 15 – The Choice in Education Act Infrastructure Defence Act was the subject of much scrutiny at the time of first reading as rail blockades and protests in Alberta Counsel, please visit support of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs were the focus of legislators across the country. Public discourse and debate www.albertacounsel.com/news A key promise in the UCP campaign platform was to develop a policy that would affirm a parent’s right to choose how their children are educated in Alberta. During the party’s time in opposition, they had even drafted a petition on their website to saw the ability to conduct protests clash head-on with the rule of law. The recent comments of Energy Minister, Sonya pressure the former NDP government to not target independent, faith-based education. Now that they have secured a Savage, suggesting that having mass gathering restrictions presents an opportunity to build pipelines with minimal majority mandate until 2023, the UCP have formally tabled their Choice in Education Act which seeks to formally adopt protesters may reinforce the opposition’s long-held belief that Bill 1 was intended to restrict the ability of people to conduct Section 26.3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That section reads “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind peaceful protests. Considering the recent arrest at the Legislature that caught the eye of Premier Jason Kenney, this is a public debate that is not likely to go away anytime soon.