AB Today – Daily Report August 24, 2020

Quotation of the day

“While we do see an increase in the amount of dollars, it’s just a shifting of pots of money.”

Edmonton public school board chair Trisha Estabrooks tells CBC the board is receiving six ​ ​ ​ ​ per cent less funding per student than two years ago.

Today in AB

On the schedule The swearing-in ceremony for ’s first-ever Muslim lieutenant-governor, Salma Lakhani, ​ ​ ​ ​ will take place on Wednesday in the legislature.

Finance Minister Travis Toews’ economic update drops next Thursday. ​ ​

Committees this week The Select Special Democratic Accountability Committee will meet Wednesday morning to receive a technical briefing on the Election Act and Election Finances and Contributions ​ ​ ​ Disclosure Act. ​

The Select Special Public Health Act Review Committee meets Thursday morning. Committee members will hear from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Alberta Health Services and the Office of the Chief Medical Officer.

In the legislature Hate to Hope held a rally on the legislature grounds calling for an end to anti-Indigenous racism. ​ ​

Premier watch Social media users called for a boycott of Troubled Monk brewery in Red Deer after Premier ​ posted a video of his visit Thursday (as the Red Deer Advocate pointed out, ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ former NDP premier has also toured the brewery). ​ ​

Owner Charlie Bredo released a statement saying he respects all views and said intolerance, ​ ​ ​ ​ not differences of opinion, is what is dividing the province.

“Even when it’s difficult, I want to be on the side of tolerance,” Bredo said.

The pushback did not deter Kenney from popping over to another brewhouse. He visited Rig ​ ​ Hand Distillery in Nisku, which has a bottle shaped like the Leduc #1 drilling rig.

Kenney-backed O’Toole wins CPC leadership race Erin O'Toole clinched the federal Conservative leadership late last night, securing a win over ​ rivals Peter MacKay, and on the third ballot. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

Countrywide, MacKay had a slim lead over O'Toole in the first round of voting, except in Alberta and Quebec — the two provinces where O’Toole had first-ballot support.

In Alberta, Lewis, a social conservative, also beat out MacKay on the first ballot. She led Alberta and the rest of the prairie provinces on the second ballot.

Premier Jason Kenney, who had publicly endorsed O’Toole, tweeted out his congratulations to ​ ​ ​ ​ the new leader.

“Erin is a brilliant, principled patriot who is driven by a desire for a stronger . He is committed to a fair deal for the West and a strong future for our resource industries,” Kenney wrote.

A hefty contingent of the UCP caucus also backed O’Toole; none publicly backed MacKay.

There was a delay in the count, which MP , co-chair of the organizing committee, ​ ​ chalked up to a malfunction with the ballot-opening machines. Thousands of ballots were torn and had to be re-marked.

School boards can delay if they want to, LaGrange says School boards will have the option to stagger or delay the start of classes — but the education ministry is stopping short of ordering an across-the-board change to upcoming start dates.

Education Minister Adriana LaGrange made the announcement after chief medical officer of ​ ​ health Dr. Deena Hinshaw released a 15-page guidance document for schools and parents last ​ ​ week.

“I continue to support school boards using this flexibility to adjust their plans if necessary in the coming days as they make preparations for a safe return to school,” LaGrange said in a statement.

But she argued the current plan allows schools enough time to prepare for re-entry, a view that is supported by the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) and College Of Alberta School Superintendents, who she had “followup discussions” with last week.

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) said the minister should speak to the workers who will be going back into schools, not just the superintendents and school boards.

“We give this an F grade and think the minister should go back and do her homework again,” said Bonnie Gostola, vice-president of AUPE, in a news release. ​ ​

Parents and NDP MLAs rallied outside of 27 different UCP constituency offices over the weekend in another push for additional funding to ensure a safe return to schools.

In a statement, LaGrange called it “disappointing” that “voices on social media and in the ​ ​ opposition continue to politicize the decisions made by non-partisan medical experts.”

For now, students and staff are scheduled to return to class on September 1 in Calgary and September 3 in .

Topics of conversation

● Alberta reported 144 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday The province has 1,084 active ​ ​ cases, an increase of 60 from Thursday. Two more people died, bringing the provincial death toll to 230. As of Friday afternoon, there were 43 people hospitalized (down five), including nine in intensive care (down three). ○ Weekend COVID-19 stats will be released on Monday. ○ A preprint of a study out of the University of Waterloo found Covid transmission ​ ​ doubled in primary school and child care settings when class sizes increased from eight to 15 students, and doubled again when sizes jumped from 15 to 30 students.

● The CBC dug into education budgets and the UCP government’s claim that it has upheld ​ ​ its promise to maintain or increase funding for school boards.

○ Despite an overall 1.2 per cent increase in Alberta Education’s budget from $8.2 billion to $8.3 billion, some boards are still seeing their funding levels drop; others are concerned that so-called “bridge funding” will expire without a replacement program. ○ The Alberta Teachers’ Association launched its own budget tracker that shows $27 million less in funding for operations this year, as 30,000 more students are slated to enroll this fall.

● Two Alberta professors, Lorian Hardcastle and Ubaka Ogbogu, penned an op-ed ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ arguing against the proposed private orthopedic surgery facility in Edmonton, calling it “a step in the wrong direction.” ○ The pair argues the proposed $200-million facility would put profits ahead of quality of care. ○ Ogbogu recently resigned from the Health Quality Council of Alberta after legislative changes meant the council would report directly to the health minister rather than to the legislature.

● Seasonally adjusted retail sales show growth beyond pre-pandemic levels in May and June, according to ATB Economics. ○ Retail sales were down 28 per cent in April compared to February, but were up three per cent in May and June. ○ The first six months of 2020 were down eight per cent compared to the same time period in 2019.

● Despite the work of journalists being declared “essential” during the pandemic, a Danish journalist working on a documentary about the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project was ordered to be deported, The Tyee reports. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

News briefs

McIver mulls toll road proposal ● Transportation Minister Ric McIver has agreed to entertain a proposal from the ​ ​ ​ ​ MacKenzie County and La Crete chambers of commerce for a toll bridge that could replace the La Crete ferry. ○ McIver said it would have been several decades, if at all, before the provincial government could provide funding for a bridge. ○ McIver pointed to Premier Jason Kenney’s 2019 election promise that there ​ ​ would be no tolls on existing infrastructure, but the UCP would consider “alternative ways to finance new infrastructure.” ○ NDP Infrastructure critic Rod Loyola said the move sets a dangerous precedent ​ ​ that municipalities’ projects will be sent to the bottom of the UCP’s priority list unless they’re willing to take on toll projects.

○ “This forces economically struggling communities into an impossible choice — do without critical transportation or let Jason Kenney pick the pockets of their families and small businesses even more,” Loyola said in a news release.