AB Today – Daily Report December 18, 2018

Quotation of the day

“Standing up for Canadian energy doesn’t mean we don’t believe in and care about climate change.” ​

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi and city councillors received an icy reception when they ​ ​ ​ ​ addressed a pro-pipeline rally outside Calgary City Hall Monday.

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.

Province, First Nations announce $1.2 billion investment in wind power projects

Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips announced plans for five new wind-powered ​ ​ projects Monday that are expected to generate 760 megawatts of electricity as well as 1,000 jobs. Most of the job creation will come from construction jobs, but some will be permanent positions.

The five approved projects will be undertaken by private companies but will also receive $197 ​ ​ million in funding from the province’s Renewable Energy Program, which distributes revenues ​ ​

from the province’s carbon pricing system to green energy projects. For these projects, the money will funnel from heavy industrial emitters, not from gas and power bills, according to a spokesperson for the government.

As part of the agreement, companies will receive an average rate of 3.9 cents per kilowatt hour for the energy they produce, much lower than the province’s capped rate of 6.8 cents per kilowatt hour. The reduced rate is part of an exchange for receiving government funding.

The government has set a target of generating 5,000 megawatts of renewable electricity by 2030, which would account for 30 per cent of the province’s energy needs. Once operational, the five projects announced Monday will generate enough energy to power 300,000 homes, per the government.

Three of the projects will be build in collaboration with First Nations, providing the participating nations with at least 25 per cent equity in their projects.

Construction is slated to begin in 2020, with the first projects beginning operation in 2021.

Two of the projects are led by Alberta-based companies, one by the Canadian subsidiary of French-based EDF Renewables Inc. and two by Ontario-based companies.

Following the recent election of Ontario Premier Doug Ford, the province wound down its ​ ​ cap-and-trade carbon pricing system and slashed all of its green energy subsidies, which may have led these companies to look west for greener pastures.

In the government’s news release, CanWEA president Robert Hornung said it is “clear from the ​ ​ number of companies bidding into the procurement process that wind energy developers continue to prioritize Alberta as a destination for new investment.”

Today’s events

December 18 at 9 a.m. – Edmonton ​ The Treasury Board committee will meet in the cabinet room of the Alberta Legislature.

December 18 at 10:30 a.m. – Calgary ​ Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley and the Home Space Society will officially open The Maple, a ​ ​ permanent supportive housing facility for women.

December 18 at 11 a.m. – Leduc ​ Edmonton—South West MLA Thomas Dang will speak at a home dedication ceremony in ​ ​ Leduc on behalf of Seniors and Housing Minister Lori Sigurdson. ​ ​

December 18 at 12:15 p.m. – Calgary ​ Premier Rachel Notley will announce funding for an urban renewal project at the Nutrien ​ ​ Western Event Centre Arena in Calgary.

Topics of conversation

● Calgary City Council granted unanimous consent to a motion declaring its support for the energy industry. The motion labelled the oil price differential a “crisis.” ​ ​

● School trustees are calling on the province to make onboard video cameras on school buses mandatory and to increase the penalty for illegally passing buses after a number of driver fly-bys were caught on camera. ​ ​ ○ Prince Edward Island increased penalties earlier this month for drivers who fail to ​ ​ stop for a school bus when red lights are flashing. The penalty in that province is 12 demerit points, which means a three-month suspension on a licence in addition to a fine of up to $5,000.

● Health Minister Sarah Hoffman told the Edmonton Journal the province’s long-delayed ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ digital health portal will be up and running by April. ○ An online portal where patients could securely view blood test results, x-ray scans and prescription histories was supposed by complete by 2014-15, as promised by then-PC health minister Gene Zwozdesky. ​ ​ ○ The project’s first phase, a website with health information, launched in 2008, but ​ ​ the province says it ran into delays because the formatting wasn’t smartphone-friendly.

● The Canadian Chamber of Commerce released a report last week opposing “one size ​ ​ fits all carbon pricing” while encouraging governments to return revenues from carbon taxation to businesses to help them lower their carbon emissions and their energy costs. ● The report argues against “layering regulations on top of carbon pricing,” saying that reduces companies’ abilities to be nimble when responding to carbon taxes. ● In a follow-up news release, the chamber cited Alberta’s non-revenue-neutral carbon tax ​ ​ as an example of how not to do it. ○ The carbon levy brought in by the Alberta Government currently prices carbon emissions on most fuels at $30 per tonne, with some exceptions. ○ United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney has said one of his first acts if ​ ​ elected premier would be to repeal the carbon tax.

● Following on the heels of Quebec Premier François Legault’s recent remarks that there ​ ​ is “no social acceptability” in his province for Alberta’s “dirty oil,” the Université de Montréal’s business school published an annual report that found a trend of Quebecers ​ ​ buying bigger, gas-guzzling vehicles and larger houses.

News briefs - Non-governmental

Alberta Party Alberta Party calls for concrete action against Bill C-69 The Alberta Party says the NDP government must make public the specific changes it wants made to federal Bill C-69, Impact Assessment Act. ​ ​

Alberta Party energy critic Greg Clark said it is imperative that Premier Rachel Notley “defend ​ ​ ​ ​ Alberta’s oilpatch and workers by concretely speaking out on Bill C-69 and the changes that ​ ​ need to be made to this legislation in the Senate.”

Bill C-69 is currently before the senate energy committee. The Notley administration opposes ​ the bill and plans to speak against it during the committee’s upcoming hearings.

Clark and the Alberta Party also called on Western Canadian and Albertan senators to speak out about exactly what amendments to the impact assessment legislation they will push for “to protect and grow Alberta’s oil and gas industry, restore and maintain lost investor confidence, address impacts on Indigenous communities and ensure pipelines get built.”

Clark called on all Albertans to write to their senators.

Funding announcements ● The Ministry of Environment and Parks announced joint funding between the federal ​ government and provincial government for new flood mapping and other disaster mitigation projects along the North Saskatchewan River. ○ The federal government is pitching in $8.7 million for 18 projects through its National Disaster Mitigation Program, while the province will contribute $5 million. ○ In 2013, massive flooding in southern Alberta, including in Calgary and High River, killed five people and caused $6 billion in damages.

● The Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced $1.93 million in funding for the ​ not-for-profit Alberta TrailNet Society. The organization will fund 12 projects along the Great Trail, formerly known as the Trans Canada Trail, that will break new ground, update existing trails, and add bridges and signage.