AB Today – Daily Report June 2, 2020

Quotation of the day

“Personnel is policy.”

Premier tells reporters the Parole Board will include appointees who ​ ​ have been affected by rural property crime.

Today in AB

On the schedule The house is scheduled to convene at 1:30 p.m. today.

The following government bills could be debated at second reading today: ● Bill 2, Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Amendment Act; ​ ● Bill 4, Fiscal Planning and Transparency (Fixed Budget Period) Amendment Act; ​ ● Bill 15, Choice in Education Act; ​ ● Bill 16, Victims of Crime (Strengthening Public Safety) Amendment Act; and ​ ● Bill 18, Corrections (Alberta Parole Board) Amendment Act. ​

There are three government bills on the order paper that could be introduced: ● Health Minister ’s Bill 17, Mental Health Amendment Act; ​ ​ ​ ​ ● Bill 19, Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Amendment Act, which is also from Shandro ​ and follows a legally mandated review of the law; and ● Service Alberta Minister ’s Bill 20, Real Estate Amendment Act. ​ ​ ​ ​

Monday’s debates and proceedings

Justice Minister introduced Bill 18, Corrections (Alberta Parole Board) ​ ​ ​ ​ Amendment Act, which would create a separate Alberta Parole Board at a cost of $600,000 per year. The bill was granted first reading.

MLAs also debated UCP MLA Richard Gotfried’s private member’s bill, Bill 201, Strategic ​ ​ ​ ​ Aviation Advisory Council Act. It passed second reading.

Energy Minister ’s Bill 7, Responsible Energy Development Amendment Act, ​ ​ ​ ​ passed second reading during the evening session.

Bill 4, Bill 15 and Bill 16 were also debated at second reading. The house sat until 1:30 a.m. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

MLAs also debated the cultural significance of rodeo in a non-government motion, which passed unanimously.

Speaker Nathan Cooper ruled there was no breach of privilege related to Opposition house ​ ​ leader Heather Sweet’s complaint last week. Sweet asked for a Speaker’s ruling after media ​ ​ received a technical briefing on Bill 15, Choice in Education Act, but the Opposition did not. ​ ​

In order to avoid the conflict in the future, the Speaker suggested the government could provide media with technical briefings after a bill is introduced in the house, so as to not favour the press over the Opposition.

Premier watch Individual firearms owners would have a better legal case against the federal government’s new gun restrictions than the province would, Premier Jason Kenney said in an appearance on ​ ​ Danielle Smith’s radio show. ​ ​ ​

He also addressed anti-police brutality protests, mostly in the U.S., that followed the death of George Floyd, who was killed by a police officer who kneeled on his neck. ​

When asked by reporters at a news conference about the protests in Alberta, Kenney said "I denounce racism in any form and police brutality anywhere that it occurs.” He said that people have a democratic right to protest, but they should be mindful of avoiding “super spreader” events and the public health order limiting gatherings to 50 people.

Alberta parole board bill will follow Ontario, Quebec’s model New legislation tabled by Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer aims to create a provincial parole ​ ​ board for inmates in provincial institutions.

Establishing a provincial parole board would fulfil a UCP platform commitment, part of the governing party’s fair deal mandate that included loosening Alberta’s dependence on the Parole Board of Canada.

If Bill 18 is passed, the Alberta parole board will be up and running by January 2021. ​ ​

The UCP said the new board will be tougher on repeat offenders.

“We hear the concerns of the revolving door, or the catch and release that’s happening — and I’m not talking about fishing,” said Municipal District of Greenview Councillor Tom Burton, who ​ ​ joined the government’s news conference to discuss rural crime.

Schweitzer said administering the parole board will cost about $600,000 annually. Some of that will likely be covered by the federal government, he added.

When asked by reporters whether the new board would enact different requirements for parole eligibility, Premier Jason Kenney responded, “personnel is policy” and said he intends to ​ ​ appoint people who are familiar with rural crime.

“This is an important part of getting a fair deal for Alberta and of getting more Alberta and less Ottawa,” Kenney said.

NDP Justice critic said the UCP is establishing the new parole board for show ​ ​ rather than to fix crime. She said the $600,000 could be better spent on other measures such as affordable housing and mental health supports.

Ontario and Quebec are the only two other provinces with standalone parole boards.

Today’s events

June 2 at 8 a.m. – Edmonton ​ The UCP cabinet will meet in the Windsor Room of the Federal Building. At 5 p.m. the UCP’s emergency management cabinet committee will meet in the same room.

Topics of conversation

● There were 34 new cases of COVID-19 reported on Monday. A total of 6,501 people have recovered, and there are 400 active cases. ○ There were no new deaths since the province’s last update. A total of 134 Albertans have died from the virus. ○ There are currently 53 people in hospital, six of whom are in the ICU.

○ There has been a spike in cases linked to two private family gatherings in Edmonton. Chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw thanked those ​ ​ who attended the gatherings for swiftly getting tested and told Albertans not to shame those who contract COVID-19.

● Construction on a seven-kilometre section of the Trans Mountain pipeline began ​ ​ yesterday in Kamloops.

● Suncor CEO Mark Little and Alberta Innovates CEO Laura Kilcrease penned an op-ed ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ in Corporate Knights predicting a “transformation of our energy system” will soon cause ​ ​ a drop in demand for oil comparable to the COVID-19 pandemic. ○ In the piece, the two argue that the disruption in oil demand is an opportunity for companies in the sector to step up and lead. ○ “As the history of the oil sands reveals, disruption and transformation are nothing new for Albertans and we’re optimistic that the Canadian energy industry is up to the challenge and best positioned to invest in and lead energy transformation,” the piece states.

● Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Monday that Ottawa would fast track $2.2 ​ ​ billion in gas-tax funds in one shot in June, instead of holding the second payment until later in the year. ○ The Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association, Rural Municipalities Association, the City of Edmonton and the City of responded with a letter saying the move is not enough. ​ ​ ○ “Municipalities are on the front lines of this pandemic — and we still face $10-15 billion in non-recoverable losses,” per the letter. ○ Premier Jason Kenney said a municipal funding announcement is coming within ​ ​ days.

● UCP founding chairman Ed Ammar found himself in hot water Sunday after a ​ ​ controversial social media post. Ammar responded to a tweet from federal cabinet minister Ahmed Hussen saying anti-Black racism does not stop at the border with, ​ ​ “Don’t bring this to Canada you fuckin loser.” ○ Ammar temporarily deleted his account, then posted an apology Monday morning ​ ​ that praised Canada for being open and tolerant and said he does not want to see the type of violence in the U.S. make its way to Canada. ○ Hussen offered to call Ammar to speak about systemic racism in the country. ○ When asked by reporters to comment on Ammar’s remarks, Premier Jason ​ Kenney said he spends as little time on Twitter as possible and said he usually ​ mutes or blocks people who use foul language.

● The Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service is officially open to mobile home tenants and landlords.

○ Mobile Home Sites Tenancies Amendment Act, which passed last month, took ​ effect on Monday. ○ Prior to the bill’s passage, the only remedy for mobile home owners and renters was the more expensive court system.

Funding announcements

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and Ministry of Environment and Parks ● The government announced $40 million from the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund will be doled out through Emissions Reduction Alberta’s Food, Farming and Forestry Challenge for innovation in agriculture, agri-food and forestry. ○ The TIER fund collects a price on carbon emissions from heavy industrial polluters and uses the cash to bolster emissions-reduction technology. ○ Applications for the food and forestry challenges are open until August 27.

Western Economic Diversification Canada ● The federal ministry of Western Economic Diversification Canada announced $1.45 million in funding for Travel Alberta to support tourism marketing. ○ The funds were part of a “save the summer” announcement from federal Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly. ​ ​

Question period

NDP lead off

● NDP Leader led off by asking about racism prevention, noting the UCP ​ ​ ​ cut the $2-million Anti-Racism Community Grant Program by 25 per cent and expanded its eligibility beyond its original anti-racism focus. ○ “We must do more than just condemn racism; we must actively fight it,” Notley said. “Yet this government has cut several grants for helping communities fight racism by at least half. To the premier: will he reconsider that decision?”

● Premier Jason Kenney responded that the government will continue funding and was ​ ​ the first government in 25 years to have a minister responsible for multiculturalism and the first to have a provincial immigration minister. ○ “We are taking practical measures to ensure equality of opportunity for Albertans of all backgrounds,” Kenney said.

UCP ministers’ responses to many questions lobbed during Monday’s question period routed back to comments by Alberta Federal of Labour president Gil McGowan, who said on Twitter ​ ​ ​ ​ that Bill 15, Choice in Education Act, paves the way for nutbar religious charter schools and ​ ​ homeschooling that doesn’t follow the curriculum.

The UCP repeatedly called on the NDP to denounce McGowan’s remarks and characterized the union leader as an affiliate of the New Democrats.

Other NDP questions NDP MLAs also asked about support for businesses to purchase PPE, remarks the premier made about the deaths of seniors from COVID-19, plans to sell provincial parks, exemptions to the single-site rule for seniors care providers, funding for the Green Line LRT in Calgary and funding for LGBTQ+ youth organizations.

UCP friendly questions UCP backbenchers asked about the Choice in Education Act, access to the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service for mobile home renters and owners, and support for the tourism industry.