AB Today – Daily Report March 6, 2019

Quotation of the day

“You’re trying to intimidate people, you’re trying to bully people at the workplace? This is insane.”

Independent MLA Prab Gill reacts to a social media video by Jason Kenney’s office showing a meeting with Gill and a staff member of the premier (via the Star Edmonton).

Today in AB

On the schedule The legislature will reconvene on March 18 for the government’s final throne speech before the spring election.

Legislature investigating after Kenney staffers post incognito video of Notley employee, ex-UCP MLA Prab Gill

The Legislative Assembly Office is looking into an undercover video posted by UCP Leader Jason Kenney office’s official Twitter account.

The black and white video, which has been viewed more than 73,000 times, features footage of Jeremy Nolais, a senior advisor to Premier Rachel Notley, exiting an office in the Federal Building followed 10 minutes later by ex-UCP MLA Prab Gill.

“Is the NDP Caucus about to gain a new MLA? Not sure if aligning with the NDP is a good move in Calgary, though,” the Unite Alberta account tweeted on Monday evening.

Speaking to reporters in Calgary on Tuesday, UCP House Leader Jason Nixon denied UCP staff made the video as an intimidation tactic, saying it was filmed in a public area of the Federal Building between the UCP’s offices and Gill’s office by staffers who decided to record the “interesting” event when they saw it play out.

Nixon also accused the NDP of using similar tactics to record Opposition members in public.

A spokesperson for the Legislative Assembly Office told AB Today they are “aware of the incident and are looking into it.”

The video led to a testy Twitter exchange between Nolais and Kenney staffer Blaise Boehmer.

“News spreads quickly in the Federal building,” Boehmer wrote. “The Premier’s Director of Issues Management visiting a non-NDP MLA’s office is gonna travel through the grapevine. Quick action by the UCP to catch it. What the heck was Nolais thinking? Lazy, sloppy work.”

Nolais responded: “It's true. Nobody is quicker and better at creepy intimidation tactics than your crew.”

Gill said he met with Nolais to discuss funding for a school project in his riding.

Gill was elected as a UCP MLA for Calgary—Greenway but left the party following allegations of ballot box stuffing at his nomination meeting. Since becoming an Independent MLA, Gill has raised concerns with the RCMP and the Elections Commissioner about fraudulent voting practices he alleges took place during the 2017 UCP leadership race.

In an interview with the Edmonton Star, he called the video “insane” and accused the UCP of intimidation and bullying in the workplace.

This video is not the first time the UCP has been accused of attempting to intimidate its opponents on social media.

The Unite Alberta account compiled a public Twitter list of NDP staffers last month (which also included a number of NDP supporters who do not work for the party) that led some Twitter users to express concern the list would be used by UCP supporters and others angry at the NDP to troll their accounts.

Last November, Kenney staffers filmed reporters in a scrum when Premier Notley walked past and accused media of giving the premier a pass when they did not ask about the two NDP staffers accused of sexual misconduct.

Gill’s allegations against the UCP and Kenney’s leadership campaign have not been tested in court. The UCP says it used a third-party contractor for its voting systems to avoid fraud.

Today’s events

March 5 at 10 a.m. – Edmonton The NDP’s spring legislation committee will meet again in the cabinet room of the legislature.

Topics of conversation

● NDP-friendly PACs Public Interest Alberta and Friends of Medicare — who both identify as non-partisan — launched a new social media video campaign “Alberta Seniors Deserve Better” Tuesday, asking Albertans to sign a petition to make continuing care an election issue. ○ The campaign calls on the province to legislate staff-to-resident ratios in seniors’ homes and to take the profit motive out of seniors care. ○ One of the videos also warns about the unexpected out-of-pocket costs seniors and their families incur when entering Alberta’s supportive living system. ○ “Our seniors deserve a robust public system that provides high quality care,” said Joel French, executive director of Public Interest Alberta, in a news release. “Some politicians are promising tax cuts to large corporations and the wealthy, but our government should be focused on investing in proper care for Alberta’s seniors who have worked hard their entire lives to contribute to our province.”

● Jack Mintz, the University of Calgary economist cited in the UCP’s proposed corporate tax cut plan, penned an op-ed in the National Post slamming the “bad news” in the NDP’s Q3 fiscal update. ○ Mintz accused the NDP government of piling on debt and adding interest expenses and called its long-term fiscal plan “unbalanced” and “unsustainable.” ○ Meanwhile, UCP Leader Jason Kenney detailed his plan to cut corporate taxes in a op-ed that ran in the Edmonton Sun and Calgary Sun on Tuesday.

● Economic Development and Trade Minister Deron Bilous is pushing back on UCP Leader Jason Kenney’s critiques of the NDP’s corporate tax hike. ○ Following his Monday announcement about plans for a 30 per cent corporate tax cut, Kenney reminded voters the federal coffers brought in $8.8 billion less from the NDP’s corporate tax increase than the party projected in its 2015 election platform. ○ Bilous told AB Today those projections were made before the 2015 downturn. He fired back at the UCP, saying the NDP work to diversify the province’s tech and energy sectors has created billions in private investment.

○ “I think Mr. Kenney is quite naive when it comes to the value-added energy space,” Bilous said. “If simply lowering the corporate tax rate was the silver bullet, there would be facilities upgrading our propane already in the province.”

● The Edmonton Journal did some data journalism to break down how the government is spending the revenues from its contentious carbon tax. Since being introduced two years ago, the carbon tax has brought in $2 billion. ○ So where has the money gone? The biggest ticket items were tax rebates to individuals ($450 million), cash used to offset small business tax cuts ($220 million) and funding for transit projects, including Edmonton’s LRT line and the C-Line expansion in Calgary. ○ The province is also using carbon tax revenues to fund more than 2,000 projects in small communities, such as energy efficiency retrofits for public buildings and small-scale green energy projects. ○ UCP Leader Jason Kenney, who has vowed to “scrap the carbon tax” if elected, called the Journal’s investigation “misleading” and slammed the concept of carbon-tax funded projects as an “NDP marketing gimmick.” ○ “Infrastructure was funded before the carbon tax. Infrastructure will be funded after the carbon tax is gone,” Kenney wrote on Twitter.

● The Canadian Taxpayers Federation released a leaked briefing report that appears to show public servants warning Finance Minister Joe Ceci against proposed subsidies for the petrochemical industry. ○ The memo, dated November 2015, warns the NDP’s proposed $500 million Hydrocarbon Value-Add Program, which would have provided grants and royalty credits in exchange for investment in the petrochemical sector, will come at a “net cost” to the government. ○ “Given the current fiscal situation and the financial pressures facing the Government, it would be questionable to introduce subsidies to the petrochemical industry at this point,” the memo reads. ○ It goes on to say, “While increased investment in Alberta’s petrochemical sector could expand the provincial industrial base, it is still questionable that these additional value-added plants will help moderate the ups and downs of the oil and gas sector.” ○ Despite the advice outlined in the memo, the province later passed the Energy Diversification Act, which committed $2.1 billion in combined funding to the Petrochemicals Diversification Program (PDP) and the Petrochemical Feedstock Infrastructure Program. ○ Michael McKinnon, a spokesperson for Energy Minister Marg McCuaig Boyd, confirmed the validity of the briefing note, but told AB Today it is based on data that is now over four years old.

○ “Since then, our province’s economic circumstances have changed significantly and PDP became a viable option to create jobs, which it has,” McKinnon said in an emailed statement. ○ The three petrochemical projects approved to date have already resulted in $10 billion in private sector investment and are on track to create almost 9,000 jobs, according to McKinnon. “The time is now to grab the bull by the horns and do more refining and upgrading that adds value and creates jobs in Alberta.” ○ Although partially redacted, the memo appears to be signed off on by an assistant deputy minister. While addressed to Minister Ceci, it is unclear which ministry it was directed from.

New briefs — Non-governmental

UCP slams appointment of former Pembina Institute head UCP House Leader Jason Nixon held a news conference in Calgary slamming Energy Minister Marg McCuaig-Boyd for appointing the Pembina Institute’s former executive director to the Alberta Energy Regulator board.

McCuaig-Boyd appointed Ed Whittingham to the board for a five-year term on February 12.

Nixon compared the appointment to the 2016 appointment of Tzeporah Berman. Berman, an environmental activist who has worked for Stand.Earth and Greenpeace, was appointed co-chair of the Oil Sands Advisory Group by the NDP in 2016.

“It’s outrageous that the NDP Government would appoint a foreign-funded, anti-oil sands, anti-pipeline activist like Mr. Whittingham to such an important government body,” Nixon said in a news release on Tuesday. “Mr. Whittingham’s appointment once again demonstrates the NDP’s hostile views towards Alberta’s oil and gas industry — despite public claims that they have changed.”

Berman was removed from the advisory group in 2017 along with four other board members.

Alberta Energy Regulator board chair Sheila O’Brien issued a statement in response to the UCP’s gripes, noting Alberta law prohibits board members from becoming involved in the day-to-day operations and decisions of the regulator.

Funding announcements Ministry of Transportation ● Transportation Minister Brian Mason announced construction on the West Calgary Ring Road will start in the spring now that contracts have been officially tendered. ○ The north segment will cost $463 million, while the West Bow River segment was tendered at $89 million.

Ministry of Environment and Parks ● NDP MLA for St. Albert Marie Renaud announced $160,000 for a new trail project as part of the Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park Management Plan. ○ The park was named after late lieutenant-governor Lois Hole in April 19, 2005. The province is upgrading the park to add accessibility and other improvements.

Nominations Alberta Party ● Jason Beekman was acclaimed as the Alberta Party candidate for Taber—Warner.

Alberta Advantage Party ● Chris Glassford was acclaimed as the Alberta Advantage Party candidate for Sherwood Park. ● Mark Gregor was acclaimed as the Alberta Advantage Party for Drayton Valley—Devon.

AB Today is written by Catherine Griwkowsky, reporting from Alberta's legislative press gallery.

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