August 5, 2020
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AB Today – Daily Report August 5, 2020 Quotation of the day “It’s a power grab. The word dictatorship sounds like too strong of a word, but regarding Bill 10, it is not too strong of a word. It is the establishment of a ministerial dictatorship.” Jay Cameron, of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, blasts the sweeping cabinet powers allotted by Bill 10, which his organization is fighting in the courts. Today in AB On the schedule The house is adjourned until August 27, when Finance Minister Travis Toews will deliver a fiscal and economic update. In the legislature Officials from Stettler County, Camrose County and Northern Sunrise Country rallied outside the legislature on the weekend in protest of the UCP’s proposed change to municipal property tax assessments for oil and gas firms. The rural lawmakers say the changes will result in deep cuts to their municipalities’ bottom lines. Premier watch Premier Jason Kenney was in Hinton for a funding announcement yesterday and hopped in a flight simulator. His tour of Alberta continues today in Vermilion. Later in the day he met with officials from Travel Alberta and Tourism Jasper. While a class-action lawsuit by 900 Roma refugee claimants has been settled, the claimants are asking for an apology from Kenney, the Toronto Star reports. In 2012, Kenney, then-federal immigration minister, called Romani people “bogus refugees” and accused them of trying to take advantage of Canada’s health care and welfare system. Masks mandatory for Grades 4-12, government increasing funding Education Minister Adriana LaGrange and chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw announced masks will be mandatory on buses and in hallways for students in Grades 4 to 12, as well as teachers in all grades. LaGrange also announced $10 million in additional funding that will be used to provide all students and staff two reusable masks (1.6 million in total). The money will also pay for 466,000 litres of hand sanitizer, reusable face shields for bus drivers and teachers, two contactless thermometers per school and extra backup masks for schools. “Given the fact that we are now mandating masks for students and staff, we have now gone the extra measure of providing those resources and paying for those resources,” LaGrange said. The $10 million in new funding follows a previous re-allocation of money from maintenance budgets to address schools’ COVID-19 needs. Last month, LaGrange said schools could amp up safety precautions using $363 million in school board reserves, and an acceleration of $250 million in previously announced funding. In classrooms, masks will be optional if students are quietly sitting at desks not facing each other, Dr. Hinshaw said. Alberta Health’s review of medical literature was not completed when the school relaunch strategy was announced in mid-July and the mask recommendations were made in light of new evidence, according to Dr. Hinshaw. She and her staff will continually evaluate to see if more changes need to be made. Critics say distancing impossible in crowded classrooms NDP Education critic Sarah Hoffman said the government’s latest announcement doesn’t go far enough and that class sizes should be capped at 15 students to ensure physical distancing. “I’m sick of excuses,” she said, charging that the government only changed its mind on masks because of the outcry from students, parents and staff. The Alberta Teachers’ Association OK’d mandatory mask use but said the UCP is failing to recognize the impossibility of social distancing in the province’s overcrowded classrooms. “The suggestion that masks need not be worn if students can be appropriately distanced within the classroom or if teachers are not working closely with students betrays a fundamental failure to understand what actually goes on in classrooms,” the ATA said in a statement. Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services are working to reduce turnaround Covid test times for all in-school staff, teachers and students. Some school boards, like the Edmonton Public School Board, will be mandating full-time mask use in classrooms. Today’s events August 5 at 9:30 a.m. — Virtual Community and Social Services Minister Rajan Sawhney will make a funding announcement for shelter operators and other agencies serving people who are experiencing homeless to address ongoing impacts of COVID-19. Sawhney will make the announcement with Hope Mission executive director Bruce Reith and Mustard Seed CEO Stephen Wile. August 5 at 11 a.m. — Sundre Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon will announce funding for new emission-reduction technology and research at Black Gold Rush Industries. August 5 at noon — Lethbridge Agriculture and Forestry Minister Devin Dreeshen and Lethbridge—East UCP MLA Nathan Neudorf will announce details of the Irrigation Rehabilitation Program. August 5 at 1 p.m. — Vermillion Premier Jason Kenney, Advanced Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides and UCP MLA for Lloydminster—Vermilion—Wainwright Garth Rowswell will announce funding for Lakeland College. Topics of conversation ● Since the last update on July 30, there have been 303 new Covid cases identified. ○ The current number of active cases is 1,191, a decrease of 195. ○ There are currently 85 hospitalizations (down six), including 23 people in the ICU (up five). Five more people died, bringing the total to 201. ○ There were three more deaths at the Good Samaritan Southgate long-term care facility, making it the deadliest site of outbreak so far in the province. ○ Phase 2 of the free mask giveaway wrapped up on Sunday, bringing the total free masks distributed in the province to 40 million. ● Alberta and Ottawa agreed to cut funding for environmental monitoring downstream of the oilsands for the year, the Canadian Press reports. ○ This includes eliminating field monitoring on the main branch of the Athabasca River, scrapping a pilot project gauging the risk of tailings ponds, and halting a planned water quality assessment in Wood Buffalo National Park. ○ The bilateral agreement, signed July 7, cuts funding by 25 per cent from last year. ○ For his part, federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said the new budget reflects a reduction in overall spring/summer field monitoring because of COVID-19. ● The chief electoral officer levied a $20,000 fine late last month to Bhupinder “Roger” Sarna for obstructing an investigation being conducted by ex-election commissioner Lorne Gibson, thereby committing a corrupt practice. ○ A $5,500 fine was also issued to American citizen Brenda Cherry for fraudulently voting in the 2019 election. ● The elimination of 141 communities’ eligibility for the Rural Remote Northern Program, which boosts physician compensation in far-flung regions, was discussed weeks prior to the change, according to internal government documents obtained by the Edmonton Journal through a Freedom of Information request. ○ That contradicts claims made by Alberta Health officials in April when they called the removal of the communities an “oversight.” ○ Health Minister Tyler Shandro had previously announced changes to rural doctor billing rules but said there would not be changes to how rural communities were defined. Those 141 communities were swiftly put back on the eligibility list. ● Since the government’s small and medium enterprise relaunch grant was created a month ago, it has doled out $25.7 million through more than 6,700 grants. ○ Firms with fewer than 500 employees that saw their revenues drop by more than 50 per cent during the pandemic were eligible to apply for up to $5,000 in aid. ● Homeless Edmontonians can stay at the Edmonton Expo Centre for two more weeks as the province transitions back to daytime access in shelters. Currently, most shelters only offer overnight beds, but with additional funding they will offer day support such as laundry and shower services. ○ Originally, the Expo Centre had been scheduled to end its temporary services on August 1. It had been a space where people facing homelessness could stay so that other shelters wouldn’t get overcrowded. News briefs Hunting rules overhauled ● New amendments to the province’s Wildlife Regulation mean that Albertans can now participate in guided hunts normally designed for international tourists. The fur trapping season will be extended in some areas and “many formerly restricted migratory game bird waterbodies” will be opened for hunting. ○ Companion dogs will also be permitted on big game hunts and restrictions will be loosed on the sale of trapped fur. Government points to CIHI data as evidence physician cuts are needed ● The government issued a news release citing data from the Canadian Institute of Health Information that showed from 2015 to 2019, the number of physicians in Alberta increased by 12 per cent, while the population grew by six per cent. ○ “This data confirms that we need new approaches to paying and working with doctors,” Health Minister Tyler Shandro said. “We spend 15 per cent more per capita on physicians than the national average, but Albertans aren’t seeing better results.” He noted the NDP increased spending by $1 billion a year, but the increase in rural doctors still lagged behind other provinces. ○ Shandro said Alberta has the highest per capita expenditure on physicians at $5.4 billion annually, including $81 million for recruiting rural physicians. Funding announcements Canadian Agricultural Partnership ● The Eastern Irrigation District is getting $100,000 to conduct a dam safety review through a joint partnership between the federal and provincial government. The funds will flow via the Canadian Agricultural Partnership’s Emergency Preparedness Program. Irrigation Rehabilitation Program ● The province announced $2.6 million in funding for the St. Mary River Irrigation District. o The government billed the announcement as part of its pandemic recovery plan but also noted the funds come from Alberta’s $10-million annual Irrigation Rehabilitation Program, which was started in 1969.