AB Today – Daily Report July 7, 2020 Quotation of the day “Perverse anti-energy tendencies.” Associate Minister for Natural Gas and Electricity Dale Nally calls on the NDP to apologize ​ ​ for its association with environmental activists. Today in AB On the schedule MLAs return at 1:30 p.m. The government could introduce four new bills: ● Bill 31, Environmental Protection Statutes Amendment Act; ​ ● Bill 32, Restoring Balance in Alberta’s Workplaces Act; ​ ● Bill 33, Alberta Investment Attraction Act; and ​ ● Bill 34, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act. ​ Per the order paper, MLAs could debate the following bills at second reading: ● Bill 21, Provincial Administrative Penalties Act, which would set up an online traffic court ​ and decriminalize first-time impaired driving offences; ● Bill 27, Alberta Senate Election Amendment Act, which brings in housekeeping changes ​ to a previous bill to bring back senate elections; ● Bill 28, Vital Statistics (Protecting Albertans from Convicted Sex Offenders) Amendment ​ Act; and ● Bill 29, Local Authorities Election Amendment Act, which changes municipal election ​ financing laws. MLAs could debate Bill 23, Commercial Tenancies Protection Act, which temporarily bans ​ ​ commercial evictions, at third reading. At the committee stage, MLAs could debate Bill 21, Provincial Administrative Penalties Act, and ​ ​ Bill 22, Red Tape Reduction Implementation Act. ​ Monday’s debates and proceedings The Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members’ Public Bills met to discuss Bill ​ 203, Pensions Protections Act. Its members heard from witnesses, including the former head of ​ the Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund, former AIMCo executives, and Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan, on the pros and cons of keeping Albertans’ pensions tied to ​ ​ the CPP and keeping public-sector pensions away from AIMCo. Ultimately, the UCP-dominated committee voted against recommending the bill be referred to the chamber for debate; it will be dropped from the order paper. In the house, MLAs voted against debating a motion from NDP house leader Heather Sweet to ​ ​ proclaim the legislature’s loyalty to Canada — but, much like the duelling anti-racism motions last month — Transportation Minister Ric McIver gave oral notice of a similar, ​ ​ pro-Confederation government motion. Another UCP motion encouraging more effective communication and collaboration between police services was granted a window of debate in the afternoon. Health Minister Tyler Shandro introduced Bill 30, Health Statutes Amendment Act, an omnibus ​ ​ ​ ​ bill that would make a fleet of changes to the health-care system (more on this below). MLAs debated the following bills at second-reading: ● Bill 21, Provincial Administrative Penalties Act, which would set up an online traffic court ​ and decriminalize first-time impaired driving offences; ● Bill 25, Protecting Alberta Industry From Theft Act, which will require scrap-metal ​ dealers to report all transactions of frequently stolen items such as catalytic converters and copper wire; and ● Bill 26, Constitutional Referendum Amendment Act, which gives the government the ​ power to choose referendum questions and timing. Bill 25 cleared second reading and will move onto committee stage. ​ In the legislature Treaty 8 Grand Chief Arthur Noskey and Adam North Peigan, president of the Sixties Scoop ​ ​ ​ ​ Indigenous Society of Alberta, were in the Speakers’ gallery during question period. They later joined NDP Indigenous Relations critic Richard Feehan to call for Premier Jason Kenney’s ​ ​ ​ ​ speechwriter Paul Bunner to resign. ​ ​ Representatives from Alberta Weekly Newspaper Association, celebrating its 100th anniversary, were also in the gallery. New omnibus bill makes sweeping changes to health system Health Minister Tyler Shandro tabled a bill on Monday that will fast-track approval for privately ​ ​ operated surgical clinics in Alberta. Bill 30, Health Statutes Amendment Act, will speed up the process by allowing so-called ​ “chartered” surgical clinics to be approved via a ministerial letter, rather than a ministerial order — which is more likely to be made public. As of today, there are 43 chartered surgical facilities in the province. The UCP wants more up and running in order to bring down wait times. Applications will be simplified and will no longer require a business plan. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta will continue to accredit the facilities. NDP Health critic David Shepherd disputed the government’s claims about reducing wait times ​ ​ and said that the bill will move Alberta’s health system towards profit-centred care. Another big shift is the move to allow doctors to take salaries from the province, rather than bill per-procedure as they do now, through the “Alternative Relationship Plan Program.” The province will also be able to contract out administrative staff in medical clinics to third parties, something that is currently managed by doctors who run their own practices. Regulatory colleges to see more public members handling complaints Like most provinces, Alberta’s regulatory college complaint review committees are currently made up of 25 per cent members of the public. The bill aims to increase that to 50 per cent, with plans to appoint 130 public members. Countrywide, there has been pressure for governments to move away from the old-school model of professional regulatory bodies where, for example, a panel of doctors is in charge of disciplining a fellow doctor who has received a patient complaint. “This is not just about patient safety, but also about ethics,” Shandro said during a news conference. Under Bill 30, the Health Quality Council of Alberta’s mandate will be expanded beyond just ​ ​ monitoring the safety of doctors’ offices and hospitals to include patient-centred quality checks. If Bill 10 passes, the council will report directly to the minister of health. ​ ​ Alberta Health Services had been given 100 days to prepare a plan for how it would implement recommendations from a recent government-commissioned EY Canada report on bringing down health-care costs. Its release was delayed until August due to the coronavirus. The Health Sciences Association of Alberta says the province shouldn’t be relying on the advice of the pre-pandemic report, pointing to the lessons learned by failing private long-term care homes across Canada. “Are we going to see Canadian soldiers in their camouflage running into surgical suites to mop up when the private system fails like it did in long-term care centres?” asked HSAA president Mike Parker. ​ Topics of conversation ● There are currently 607 active Covid cases in the province, an increase of 35 cases since the last update on Friday. There are currently 57 people in hospital, up from 42 last week, including six in the ICU, down from nine. ○ The number of deaths remains unchanged at 155. ○ The Misericordia Hospital in Edmonton is closed for new admissions due to an ​ ​ outbreak of COVID-19, where 18 patients and 14 staff, including a physician, tested positive. Two patients have died. ○ Facemasks are now mandatory in Alberta courthouses, but it will be up to a judge’s discretion as to whether they must be worn in the courtroom. ● U.S. Supreme Court ruled against an emergency order from the White House yesterday ​ ​ that would have allowed construction on the Keystone XL pipeline to resume. ○ U.S. President Donald Trump wanted the top court to overturn a Montana ​ ​ judge’s order that is blocking construction on crucial sections of the project. ● In response to a joint investigation with other Canadian privacy watchdogs, the Alberta Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner announced that Clearview AI ​ ​ suspended its contract with the RCMP, its last client in Canada. ○ The investigation was prompted by media reports that the New York City-based ​ ​ startup was using facial recognition technology to sweep the internet for facial images and making them available to law enforcement. ○ The investigation — conducted jointly with privacy commissioners in British Columbia, Quebec and nationally — remains ongoing. ● Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women Minister Leela Aheer wrote an op-ed in ​ ​ ​ ​ the Calgary Herald, speaking about her experience with racism and her desire to end it. ​ ​ ○ “I know what racism looks like, sounds like and feels like,” Aheer said. “I also know racism exists in Alberta. I have fought against it my entire life.” ○ When she was 15 years old, a local chapter of the Aryan Nations opened near Aheer’s home and sent a letter calling her an abomination for “corrupting a white Christian bloodline.” Aheer’s mother is white and her dad is East Asian. ● A new Environics Research poll commissioned by the Alberta Federation of Labour ​ ​ states 78 per cent of Albertans either strongly support or somewhat support universal child care in response to the COVID-19 crisis. News briefs Ethics commissioner clears justice minister of conflict of interest ● Ethics commissioner Marguerite Trussler cleared Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer of ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ conflict of interest allegations related to his hiring of accountant Steve Allan to head up ​ ​ the public inquiry into foreign funding of anti-oilsands activism. ○ The controversy stemmed from revelations that Allan donated to Schweitzer’s UCP leadership campaign and helped throw a fundraising event for him, as well as their mutual ties to Dentons law firm. ○ Trussler ruled that Schweitzer gained nothing personally from appointing Allan to the post and therefore didn’t break the law. She also suggested media reports about the potential conflict of interest made a big deal of something that did not warrant an investigation. ○ “Often with the media, and particularly social media, the truth is inconvenient and facts are of no interest at all,” Trussler wrote. ○ The report also noted that Schweitzer tried to recruit someone from the oil and gas industry to head up the inquiry, but was unsuccessful. Question period NDP call for ‘real jobs plan’ ● NDP MLA Sarah Hoffman kicked off question period by asking why the UCP can’t come ​ ​ up with a better jobs recovery program than simply cutting the corporate tax rate.