AB Today – Daily Report July 15, 2020

Quotation of the day

“When we are talking about children who are victims of sexual abuse, it’s not fine anymore. I think these things are a bridge too far.”

NDP MLA takes issue with UCP MLAs implying NDP MLA is ​ ​ ​ ​ against protecting children from sexual abuse.

Today in AB

On the schedule The house convenes at 1:30 p.m. today.

The summer session is set to wrap up on Thursday, July 30. There are 11 pieces of government legislation the UCP hopes to pass before the house rises.

Tuesday’s debates and proceedings Bill 31, Environmental Protection Statutes Amendment Act, passed second reading and Bill 25, ​ ​ Protecting Industry From Theft Act, cleared third reading.

At second reading, MLAs debated: ● Bill 30, Health Statutes Amendment Act; and ​ ● Bill 32, Restoring Balance in Alberta’s Workplaces Act. ​

During committee stage, MLAs debated:

● Bill 21, Provincial Administrative Penalties Act; and ​ ● Bill 27, Alberta Senate Election Amendment Act. ​

MLAs debated a government motion denouncing racism.

In the legislature A small group of protesters gathered outside the legislature to speak out against cuts to special education supports. NDP Education Critic joined them on the front steps. ​ ​

Committee seeks greater feedback to address domestic blood supply shortages MLAs on both sides of the aisle decided they want to hear more from stakeholders about a private member’s bill that would allow private companies to pay for blood and plasma donations in Alberta.

The Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Member’s Public Bills heard from UCP MLA as well as department officials Tuesday on Bill 204, Voluntary Blood Donations ​ ​ ​ ​ Repeal Act.

Yao noted that Canadian Blood Services already buys plasma and other blood products on the international market, and argued opening up paid donations in Alberta would reduce its reliance on the United States, where donors are compensated anyways.

The Voluntary Blood Donations Act was brought in by the NDP in 2017 to ban paid donations, ​ ​ with exemptions for research. At the time, the NDP government said it was moving to prohibit payment for blood because private clinics were poised to set up shop in the province.

Graham Statt, assistant deputy minister in charge of pharmaceutical and supplementary ​ benefits, told the committee that Canadian Blood Services (CBS) currently sources 87 per cent of its plasma products from international sources — and that figure could hit 91 per cent by 2024.

Yao said all the patient groups he consulted with — including Plasma For Life — were in favour of paid donations in Alberta and pointed to an incident early in the pandemic where the U.S. tried to block N-95 masks en route to Canada as evidence of the medical system’s susceptibility to supply chain disruption.

Former NDP health minister Sarah Hoffman asked whether Yao had consulted with ​ ​ BloodWatch, an organization formed by survivors of the tainted blood scandal, who advocate for ​ all provinces to pass laws banning the private sale of blood.

“BloodWatch is an extremist organization, which is really just trying to protect a union steward shop,” Yao said in response (Canadian Blood Services workers are unionized in some provinces).

The provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick explicitly allow for paid donations of blood products. Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec all have a ban on paid products.

The committee voted to invite up to six stakeholders to its next meeting on July 20. It will then vote on whether to allow the legislation to proceed in the house. It’s unclear whether the UCP caucus will support Yao’s bill, but three government backbencher bills have been given royal assent since the UCP took office.

Today’s events

July 15 at 1 p.m. – Online ​ ​ Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions will announce a “strategic ​ ​ project investment” to add more treatment beds.

Topics of conversation

● There were 86 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed Tuesday afternoon, bringing the total number of active cases to 701, 25 more than Monday. Fifty-five patients are in hospital (up 10) and 13 are in the ICU (up by three). Two more people have died, including one tied to the outbreak at the Misericordia Hospital, bringing its death toll to six. ○ Some of the new cases have been linked to a Hutterite colony in Saskatchewan and others to house parties and nightclubs in B.C. ○ Chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said it is unacceptable that ​ ​ some members of the Siksika First Nations were denied access to local businesses due to assumptions about their COVID-19 status. She said some Chinese people and religious groups have also faced discrimination and that it’s important not to single out groups of people.

● The United Nurses of Alberta issued a call on Tuesday for the chief medical officer of ​ ​ health and the government to make mask use mandatory. ○ UNA’s executive board passed a motion on Monday evening requesting mandatory masking in workplaces and enclosed public spaces. ○ “As medical professionals, nurses understand the gravity of this pandemic and the serious health consequences COVID-19 poses,” UNA president Heather ​ Smith said in the news release. “We also understand the economic necessity of ​ getting Alberta back to work and preventing the need for another lockdown.” ○ The Alberta Federation of Labour also joined in the call for mandatory masks.

○ Chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw confirmed she received the ​ ​ letter and that she is reviewing the recommendations, but mask use is currently strongly encouraged — not mandatory.

● police Chief Scott Woods issued a statement saying the temporary demotion ​ ​ ​ ​ of two officers who conducted unauthorized surveillance of former NDP environment minister in 2017 was an appropriate penalty. ​ ​ ○ The two officers were off-road vehicle enthusiasts who were upset over Phillips’ proposal to create a provincial park that would restrict ATV riding. ○ Woods called the officers’ actions unacceptable and said the behaviour erodes trust in the force as a whole. ○ “The two officers have been sanctioned for their individual misconduct, but all of us in the Police Service will bear the consequences,” Woods said. “It now falls to us to regain the trust of the community that has been lost as a result of their actions.” ○ Justice Minister and Solicitor General has directed the Alberta ​ ​ Serious Incident Response Team to investigate.

● The Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations (CAFA) expressed concern about the ​ ​ UCP’s Alberta 2030 post-secondary education review being conducted by McKinsey and Co., saying its timeline is too short for meaningful consultation with stakeholders — and its price tag is too high. ○ The report, which was commissioned by Advanced Education Minister last month, is expected to cost $3.7 million, which CAFA ​ says is triple what it needs to, especially as post-secondary institutions are facing budget cuts. ○ CAFA said the tight timeline leads it to believe the results of McKinsey’s review are “pre-determined, rather than developed from an Alberta-specific context.”

News briefs

NDP warns about privatization under Bill 30 ● NDP Leader and Health critic David Shepherd were joined by Lorian ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Hardcastle, assistant professor in the faculty of law and Cumming school of medicine at ​ the University of , in the Federal Building to sound the alarm over “American-style” health care that they said would be ushered in under Bill 30. ​ ​ ○ Hardcastle said private clinics will treat the most profitable patients — those who have fewer complications — leaving more expensive cases to the private sector. ○ Notley also pointed to a change that means the minister will no longer be required to determine whether a privately run facility is in the public interest. ○ Notley slammed the direct contracts between the government and corporations that operate the clinics, which the government billed as a red tape reduction

measure. The government states the change was made at the request of physicians, who previously had to ask for permission to share funding with employees.

Question period

UCP calls on NDP to denounce Joe Ceci UCP ministers used question period to call on the NDP caucus to denounce NDP MLA Joe ​ Ceci, who said over the weekend at a protest rally that all UCP bills are bad. ​

Ministers seized on those comments to say Ceci doesn’t stand with child sexual abuse victims or human trafficking survivors, pointing to the UCP’s Bill 28, Protecting Albertans from ​ ​ Convicted Sex Offenders Act.

Service Alberta Minister said the NDP and Ceci sunk to new lows: “The member ​ ​ for Calgary-Buffalo may not think that this is good legislation, but child advocacy centres across the province do. Survivors do. This side of the house is on the side of survivors and Alberta families even if the NDP is not.”

NDP MLA Kathleen Ganley called multiple points of order on the comments, but Speaker ​ ​ Nathan Cooper ruled they fell within the realm of debate. ​

Other NDP questions NDP MLAs also asked about Bill 30, the omnibus bill that makes a series of changes to the ​ ​ health-care system; paid sick leave during the pandemic; energy war room transparency; a potential review of the continuing care system; child care availability for parents returning to work; funding for educational assistants; crowds at Alberta beaches; and the investigation into Lethbridge police who surveilled ex-minister Shannon Phillips. ​ ​

UCP backbencher questions UCP backbenchers asked about economic diversification, bears in Banff and financial literacy funding.