AB Today – Daily Report January 4, 2019

Quotation of the day

“As I look ahead to the coming election campaign of 2019, I no longer have the confidence that I can give the 100 per cent of me that will be needed. Many think that this will be the nastiest, most bitter campaign in Alberta history, and I don’t disagree.”

Former Calgary city councillor and NDP candidate for Calgary—Acadia Brian Pincott on why ​ ​ he chose to withdraw from the upcoming provincial election.

Today in AB

On the schedule The House is now on winter break until February. The government has not committed to holding a spring legislative session or to tabling a budget before next year’s election, which must be held on or before May 31, 2019.

Complaints made to Elections Alberta over NDP-friendly PAC, UCP election tactics

As the province enters an election year, complaints over third-party advertising and accusations of dirty leadership campaigning are dominating the headlines.

Left-wing PAC accused of taking foreign donations

United Conservative Party MLA Nathan Cooper sent a letter to Elections Commissioner Lorne ​ ​ ​ Gibson asking for an investigation into left-leaning political action committee (PAC) Progress ​ Alberta.

The letter says the organization received a total of $62,843 in foreign cash from U.S.-based Tideas foundation in 2016 and 2017, which Cooper alleged Progress Alberta put into an account to be funnelled back into political advertising within the province.

Progress Alberta first registered as a third-party PAC on January 28, 2018.

Executive director Duncan Kinney told the Edmonton Journal Progress Alberta has filed all ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ advertising expenses with Elections Alberta and said if the commissioner decides to investigate, his organization will cooperate.

UCP insiders accuse Kenney’s leadership campaign of playing dirty

UCP Leader Jason Kenney denies allegations former UCP party member Tariq Chaudhry ​ ​ ​ made in a sworn affidavit claiming he paid $20,000 for community events and an additional ​ $6,000 for party memberships on behalf of Kenney’s campaign during the UCP leadership race.

The allegations have not been proven in court.

Meanwhile, UCP MLA Wayne Anderson met with Elections Alberta in late December after filing ​ ​ ​ ​ a complaint through the elections commissioner about Kenney’s leadership campaign. Anderson’s complaint follows the the release of an audio recording in which UCP insiders discuss leadership candidate Jeff Callaway’s plan to run a “kamikaze” campaign to take down ​ ​ Brian Jean and ensure the success of Kenney. ​

“Where there’s smoke there’s fire, and there’s been a considerable amount of smoke around recently,” Anderson said.

Anderson lost the UCP nomination for Highwood to RJ Sigurdson in October. ​ ​

UCP failed to account for in-kind donations, Fildebrandt says

The bad blood between Freedom Conservative Party leader Derek Fildebrandt and his former ​ ​ party continues.

Fildebrandt said the United Conservative Party deliberately concealed an in-kind donation he ​ ​ made towards newspaper and Facebook ads that supported Kenney’s leadership bid. The party countered that the $283 not reported to Elections Alberta was merely an oversight, not malice.

“This raises the strong possibility that campaign activities across the province may have been funded by donations in-kind that were intentionally not recorded as such,” Fildebrandt said in a news release. “The failure to record these donations legally was not an accident or oversite, but clearly intentional and deliberate. I am therefore asking Elections Alberta to open an investigation into this case and to determine if other such cases occurred during the campaign.”

Topics of conversation

● Alberta’s oil production curtailment officially kicked in on January 1; the price differential between Western Canadian Select and West Texas Intermediate remains tight at approximately $12.50 USD per barrel. ​ ○ At the same time, the industry is facing a drop in the number of active drilling rigs. ​ ​ There were only 70 active drillers across the country at the end of December, down from 136 at the same time last year. In January 2012, there were 710 active rigs operating across Canada. ○ A recent National Energy Board report directed to federal Natural Resources ​ ​ Minister Amarjeet Sohi showed the industry produces 365,000 barrels of ​ ​ Western Canadian Crude more than can be shipped through existing pipelines. ○ Sohi is expected to make a decision on how Ottawa will manage Western Canada’s oil supply in February. ○ Alberta is now shipping 2.4 times more oil by railcar that it was one year ago, per the NEB report.

● In a surprise Facebook post, Premier Rachel Notley announced she has accepted the ​ ​ ​ ​ resignation of NDP MLA for Calgary—Varsity Stephanie McLean from her seat in the ​ ​ Legislative Assembly. The former Service Alberta and status of women minister had ​ ​ been absent with leave from the legislature for the entire fall session. ○ McLean, a lawyer who became the first sitting MLA to give birth in office in February 2016, had previously announced she would not seek re-election. She also stepped down from cabinet last June. ○ Last November, she told the Edmonton Journal she had “been better” and asked ​ ​ ​ for her privacy to be respected.

● Former Calgary councillor Brian Pincott dropped out as the NDP candidate for ​ ​ Calgary—Acadia, citing struggles with depression and worries that the forthcoming ​ ​ ​ campaign will be the “nastiest and most bitter in Alberta history.”

○ The riding is currently held by NDP MLA Brandy Payne, who is not seeking ​ ​ re-election.

● NDP MLA for Edmonton—Whitemud Dr. Bob Turner announced he would not seek ​ ​ ​ re-election. ○ Turner unseated then-PC health minister and current Alberta Party leader Stephen Mandel in 2015. ​

● Alberta Premier Rachel Notley’s popularity is in the middle of the pack compared to ​ ​ Canada’s other premiers. Notley has a 36 per cent approval rating, a tie with Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister, according to a recent Angus Reid poll. ​ ​ ​ ​ ○ Recently elected Coalition Avenir Québec Premier François Legault took the top ​ ​ spot with a 59 per cent approval rating, while Nova Scotia Premier Stephen ​ McNeil has the lowest approval at 30 per cent. ​

● Culture and Tourism Minister Ricardo Miranda became the first cabinet minister in ​ ​ Alberta to have a same-sex wedding while in office. ​ ​ ○ Miranda and his partner Christopher Brown were married at the Calgary ​ ​ Glenbow Museum last Friday at a ceremony officiated by Premier Rachel ​ Notley. ​

● Thirty-seven former top provincial biologists penned an open letter to Premier Rachel ​ ​ ​ Notley and Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips asking the government ​ ​ ​ to stick with its conservation plans for Bighorn Country — despite what the scientists call a “misinformation” campaign being spread by the United Conservative Party. ○ In November last year the province announced a $40 million plan to preserve a 4,000-square kilometre region east of the Rocky Mountains.

● A Southern Alberta ranching family made headlines for withholding the carbon tax ​ ​ portion of its gas bill until the Trans Mountain pipeline is built.

News briefs - Governmental

Treasury Board and Ministry of Finance

Government ratifies nursing staff contract but faces more bargaining in 2019 The province signed its sixth and final major public service contract after a successful round of negotiations with the province’s auxiliary nursing care staff, represented by the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE).

In a written statement, Finance Minister Joe Ceci called the deal an “achievement” that will lead ​ ​ to controlled expenditure growth “without repeating the deep cuts of the past.”

In 2018, the province reached three-year agreements with the Alberta Teachers’ Association, the Health Sciences Association of Alberta, the United Nurses of Alberta and with two groups represented by the AUPE — the health support workers at Alberta Health Services and the provincial public service.

While many of the deals include temporary salary freezes, they also include provisions that allow wages to be re-negotiated beginning this year. The deals made with the AUPE’s public ​ service members and with the United Nurses of Alberta contain two-year wage freezes but allow wage talks for 2020 to re-open this month.

The AUPE says its will begin re-negotiating its nursing members’ wages for the 2019-20 year ​ ​ starting this month, and will have a chance to go to binding arbitration on March 31. According to the AUPE, its recent deal with the government includes “significant improvements” to employment security, benefits and overtime.-

“As new discussions begin [this year] with our labour partners, we will continue to responsibly deal with public finances in a manner that reflects our ongoing challenges in getting fair value for our resources,” Ceci said in a statement.

Ministry of Culture and Tourism

Government improving French-language services The province has begun implementing its French Policy 2018-21 Action Plan that aims to increase the number of French-language programs and services in the province, as well as the amount of French-language printed government materials and provincial collaboration with community groups.

The province created its French policy in June 2017, and the action plan is the latest step in beefing up francophone services.

“This cross-ministry plan supports the growing number of people in Alberta who speak French,” Miranda said. “I’m proud to help make life better for French-speaking people and to implement the French Policy in a meaningful and collaborative way.”

According to Statistics Canada, 268,615 Albertans speak French, and the province is expected to see the highest growth in French-speaking populations in Canada.

The changes will be made within existing budgets.

News briefs - Non-governmental

Alberta Party

Speaker’s response to sexual misconduct ‘disappointing’ Alberta Party MLA Karen McPherson says Speaker Bob Wanner’s response to her call for an ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ investigation into sexual misconduct by unknown government MLAs is “disappointing.”

In November, McPherson sent a letter asking the Speaker to review the handling of allegations of sexual misconduct against two sitting NDP MLAs.

In a letter to McPherson dated December 4, 2018, Wanner said since neither he nor the Alberta Legislature’s human resources department received any formal complaints, he has no purview to investigate.

“We still don’t know the nature of the complaints — only that they were ‘inappropriate’ and ‘non-criminal.’ This answer doesn’t give Albertans confidence in the investigative process, and they deserve better — they deserve to know the truth,” McPherson said.

Freedom Conservative Party

Equality or independence Freedom Conservative Party Leader Derek Fildebrandt continues to push his Alberta ​ ​ secession agenda with the launch of an “equality or independence” campaign.

Fildebrandt is calling for a major reform of the Canadian constitution that includes recognition from the federal government that Alberta is an equal partner. The FCP is giving the federal government one year from the next provincial election to make the constitutional reforms and, should they fail, will then call for a referendum on Alberta independence.

Amending the Canadian constitution requires the approval of the Senate and House of Commons and of the legislative assemblies of at least two thirds of the provinces with at least 50 per cent of the national.

According to the FCP, a survey of its party membership showed 52 per cent support for constitutional reform and 41 per cent support for an immediate referendum on independence.

“Merely complaining and grumbling about Ottawa will do nothing unless backed by real action. That is why today I am announcing that the FCP will be championing Alberta sovereignty, preferably inside confederation, but outside if left no other choice,” Fildebrandt said in a news release.

“Albertans are also proud Canadians and we want nothing more than to make Canada work, but the status quo is unacceptable to any self-respecting Albertan,” he added.

During an appearance on Global News’ West Block, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said certain ​ ​ ​ ​ politicians are trying to exploit the public’s feeling of alienation related to the Trans Mountain pipeline.

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

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