AB Today – Daily Report October 26, 2020

Quotation of the day

“Sucking profit out of a public service by privatizing it is like someone siphoning the gas right out of your brand-new car — that car’s not going to get you very far anymore, is it? You might even end up abandoned on a lonely road.”

AUPE vice-president Bonnie Gostola slams the UCP’s move to privatize hospital services.

Today in AB

Written by Catherine Griwkowsky

On the schedule The house will reconvene at 1:30 p.m. for the second week of the fall session.

There are two new backbencher bills that could be called for debate during private members’ business.

UCP MLA Peter Singh is poised to introduce Bill 205, Genocide Remembrance, Condemnation and Prevention Month Act, and UCP MLA Drew Barnes has Bill 206, Property Rights Statutes Amendment Act, on the order paper.

UCP MLA Tany Yao’s controversial Bill 204, Voluntary Blood Donations Repeal Act, which would reverse a ban on paying for blood and plasma donation, is also on the order paper, a leftover from the summer sitting. It has already cleared second reading and an early round of committee consultations.

Two new government bills could also be introduced: ● Children’s Services Minister Rebecca Schulz’s Bill 39, Child Care Licensing (Early Learning and Child Care) Amendment Act; and ● Agriculture and Forestry Minister Devin Dreeshen’s Bill 40, Forests (Growing Alberta’s Forest Sector) Amendment Act.

The following government bills could be debated at second reading: ● Bill 35, Tax Statutes (Creating Jobs and Driving Innovation) Amendment Act; ● Bill 36, Geothermal Resource Development Act; ● Bill 37, Builders’ Lien (Prompt Payment) Amendment Act; and ● Bill 38, Justice Statutes Amendment Act.

Committees this week The Standing Committee on Resources Stewardship will meet this morning to discuss a review of the Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblower Protection) Act.

On Tuesday morning, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts will meet to go over sections of auditor general’s reports from previous years related to the Municipal Affairs ministry.

The Select Special Democratic Accountability Committee meets Wednesday and Thursday morning, and the Standing Committee on the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund will hold its annual public meeting Wednesday evening.

At the legislature Edmonton’s Nigerian community held a protest march against the Nigerian Police Force’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), which kicked off outside the legislature on Saturday.

The Nigerian Police Force have been accused of targeting individuals, especially those who have distinctive features like dreadlocks or tattoos, and attempting to extort them. Those who do not bribe SARS officers are subject to violence. A dozen anti-SARS protesters in Nigeria have been killed, prompting international outcry.

Premier watch Premier Jason Kenney spoke to United Conservative Party members over Zoom from self-isolation in his home in Edmonton on the second weekend of the party’s virtual AGM.

Kenney revealed the deadline for the report by the public inquiry into anti-oilsands activism has been pushed back again. Commissioner Steve Allan had already been given an extended deadline of October 30 to turn in a report, but it now won’t be due until next year.

However, plans to counter the alleged foreign funding are already being laid. The premier told AGM attendees that legislation will be tabled in the spring to ban foreign donations to Political Action Committees.

Also at the AGM, Conservative Party of Canada Leader Erin O’Toole praised Kenney’s pandemic leadership, stating the Province of Alberta has outperformed Ottawa.

On Sunday, Kenney congratulated B.C. NDP Premier John Horgan on his re-election.

“BC is Alberta’s biggest trading partner within Canada,” Kenney tweeted. “Our economies and people are closely connected. I look forward to working with Premier Horgan for the betterment of both provinces.”

Workforce losses expected as Cenovus, Husky merge Cenovus Energy will buy Husky Energy in a $3.8-billion merger announced on Sunday. The resulting synergies are expected to save both companies $1.2 billion — and cost Albertans jobs.

The new company will maintain the name Cenovus and remain headquartered in Calgary.

Energy Minister Sonya Savage said consolidation is not unexpected given the economy.

“We have no doubt Alberta’s oil and gas sector will be in a strong position in meeting post-pandemic global energy demand,” she said in a statement to AB Today.

Job cuts are expected. Alex Pourbaix, Cenovus president and chief executive officer, told investors on a Sunday call that the two companies’ overlap is mostly on the corporate side.

That means job losses will be felt most acutely in downtown Calgary where $1.2 billion in “run-rate synergies” will reduce the number of management and corporate positions required to run operations (workers in the field are less likely to be affected, Pourbaix said).

Once the merger is complete, the new firm will be the third-largest oil company and second-largest refiner in Canada, boasting 750,000 barrels per day in production, 660,000 in refining and upgrading capacity and 265,000 in pipeline takeaway capacity.

“We will be a leaner, stronger and more integrated company, exceptionally well-suited to weather the current environment and be a strong Canadian energy leader in the years ahead,” Pourbaix said in a news release.

The merger will reduce the companies’ vulnerability to the West Texas Intermediate-Western Canadian Select differential by combining their upstream and downstream assets. (When the price differential is wide, Husky’s refineries and upgraders benefit; when it shrinks and oil prices rise, Cenovus’ production assets do.)

“The integration of Cenovus’ best-in-class in situ oilsands assets with Husky’s extensive North American upgrading, refining and transportation network and high netback offshore natural gas production, will create a low-cost competitor and support long-term value creation,” said Husky president and CEO Rob Peabody in a news release.

The break-even price of oil for the combined company is expected to drop to $33 per barrel by 2023, lower than it would be for either firm on a standalone basis.

In the short-term, the company’s priority will be shoring up its balance sheet, rather than capital expenditures.

The deal is expected to close in early 2021, pending shareholder and regulatory approval (both boards have given it the A-OK).

Today’s events

October 26 at 9 a.m. — Virtual Infrastructure Minister Prasad Panda and his federal counterpart Catherine McKenna will announce funding for eight infrastructure projects in Alberta.

October 26 at 7 p.m. — Whitecourt Infrastructure Minister Prasad Panda will speak at a council meeting at the Town of Whitecourt at the Forest Interpretive Centre.

Upcoming events

November 18 at 10 a.m. — Edmonton Jobs, Economy and Innovation Minister Doug Schweitzer will speak to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce.

Topics of conversation

● Alberta confirmed 432 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday. The number of active cases grew to 3,651 (up 132). There are now 112 people hospitalized (unchanged), including 14 in ICU (down four). Four new deaths were reported, bringing the total to 300. ○ Speaking at the UCP AGM on Saturday, Premier Jason Kenney said he does not expect restrictions on restaurants that were in place this spring to return.

● The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees says the government has issued a request for proposals for privatized laundry services and that Covenant Health is already moving forward with privatization in other areas. ○ A letter sent to AUPE from Covenant Health revealed 225 public-sector positions will be cut, including from food, environmental, laundry and transcription services. ○ “If you’re sucking profits out of the medical system so some rich guy can get even richer, then you’re guaranteeing dirty laundry, spoiled food, subpar cleaning protocols, and vulnerable people getting sick,” AUPE vice-president Bonnie Gostola said in a news release. ○ Some of those positions will be among the 428 laundry staff whose jobs could be quashed when the government moves to a privatized laundry service for hospitals and other health facilities.

● The NDP is calling on the UCP to reveal how much the party received from the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, whether the party is still taking payments, and if it will return the money. ○ NDP Democracy and Ethics critic Heather Sweet noted the UCP is the only provincial party to take the subsidy despite the fact the party raised $3 million this year.

News briefs

Oil production curtailment ending ● The government’s oil production curtailment policy will wrap up in December 2020, a year earlier than planned. ○ The oil curtailment policy was announced by the previous NDP government when the differential between West Texas Intermediate and Western Canadian Select soared to $45.93 in November 2018. ○ Before the coronavirus hit, the UCP had extended the curtailment policy to December 2021 and made voluntary curtailment linked to offloading of the government crude by rail contracts. But now Energy Minister Sonya Savage says “Maintaining the stability and predictability of Alberta’s resource sector is vital for investor confidence” amid the pandemic and drop in oil demand. ○ In August about 3.10 million barrels per day were produced in Alberta, well below the 3.81 million barrels per day limit. ○ According to the government, the production of WCS is not expected to outstrip pipeline capacity until mid-2021.

Government inks caribou deal with Ottawa ● The provincial and federal governments signed off on a caribou protection plan under Section 11 of the federal Species at Risk Act. ○ Without a deal, Ottawa could impose an Environmental Protection Order, which Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon said would be “disastrous” compared to a made-in-Alberta solution. ○ The agreement includes timelines for the work being done by the province’s caribou sub-regional task forces, which were created last year. ○ It also requires caribou recovery outcomes be worked into the approval of oil, gas and forestry projects; the planting of trees; caribou population monitoring; and land-use planning.

Opposition unveils its plan for child care ● The NDP released another policy paper on Friday, pushing for a universal child care system. ○ NDP Leader Rachel Notley said such a system would put 42,500 people to work and would increase Alberta’s GDP by $6 billion. ○ “The single most effective economic strategy we can implement to get people back to work and grow our economy is to offer universal, affordable early learning child care,” Notley said in a news release. ○ The plan includes $25-a-day child care spaces in both non-profit and private centres. ○ The child care proposal is part of the NDP’s “Alberta’s Future” proposals that will be part of their 2023 election platform.

Funding announcements

University of Calgary ● The government announced $11.8 million in funding for the University of Calgary from the Major Innovation Fund. ○ $3 million will go towards the University of Calgary’s Quantum Alberta network; ○ $3.9 million will go towards the study of antimicrobial resistance; and ○ $4.9 million will be dedicated to the SMILE-UVI satellite project, which is working with an international space mission to study how space radiation impacts the upper atmosphere, industrial infrastructure, and GPS technology and satellite imaging used for oil and gas mining.

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

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