AB Today – Daily Report February 4, 2019 Quotation of the day “The only thing more volatile than oil prices these days are cryptocurrencies, so I would say to Mr. Kenney, you’re going to have to do a little bit better than that.” Premier Rachel Notley criticizes UCP Leader Jason Kenney’s suggestion that the oil industry ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ could provide abundant energy for cryptocurrency mining. Today in AB On the schedule The legislature will reconvene on March 18 for the government’s final throne speech before the spring election. Election readiness events take centre stage as parties prepare for writ drop Premier Rachel Notley rallied party faithful at a campaign kickoff in Calgary on Thursday, a day ​ ​ ​ ​ ahead of the official election period. Per the Elections Act, February 1 marked the start of the campaign period and was the first day the premier had the option of calling the election. Under the act, the election can be called anytime between February 1 and May 3. Notley has previously stated the election will be held within the legislated time frame prescribed in the legislation, but has not yet set a date. Pundits are betting the writ will be dropped soon after the March 18 throne speech. “Make no mistake — the choice ahead is the starkest Albertans have faced in decades, a choice for how we build the future and a choice for whom that future is built,” Notley said at the rally. “Is it built for everyday families, workers, everyday Albertans, or is it built for those at the top — elite political insiders and the wealthiest one per cent?” With Notley’s popularity polling higher than her party’s, the NDP’s messaging has pivoted to building “Team Rachel.” Dozens of candidates and MLAs stood behind Notley on stage holding signs reading, “Rachel Notley. Fighting for you.” Meanwhile, UCP Leader Jason Kenney says Notley should call the election immediately, and ​ ​ accused her of delaying the writ drop so her party can continue to benefit from government advertising dollars. “I urge the premier to stop campaigning with our tax dollars, stop running NDP ads at the public’s expense, and let the people decide,” Kenney said in a news release. “The NDP is spending millions of tax dollars running partisan ads while trying to bribe Albertans with our own money. Enough is enough.” Kenney said, if elected, he would introduce an “End Partisan Government Advertising Act” that would allow the auditor general to veto government ads that could be considered too favourable to the governing party. He also pledged to amend the existing Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act to ban “non-essential government advertising” during the election advertising period, which begins December 1 before an election year. Kenney hopes to follow the precedent set by Ontario’s Government Advertising Act, which passed in 2004. (It later lost some of its teeth in 2015). ​ ​ Currently, it is not against the rules for the Government of Alberta to run advertisements during the election period. The UCP pointed to recent “Made in Alberta” ads promoting the government’s program to ​ ​ upgrade and refine oil and gas products in the province as nothing but glowing pro-NDP propaganda. The United Conservative Party has a scheduled “UCP Election Readiness Conference” for ​ ​ February 15 to 17 in Edmonton. The event is open to all party members. For his part, Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel says his party is raring to go. The Alberta ​ ​ Party held a “campaign college” training event in Red Deer on January 20 to ready candidates for the campaign. This is the first election where the party plans to run a full slate of candidates. It also released its latest campaign advertising material. “We’ve just finished our strongest fundraising quarter ever — raising more in Q4 than any previous full year in party history,” Mandel said in a news release. “With 70 candidates nominated and the release of our campaign creative, we are nearly election ready, and look forward to presenting our vision and plan to Albertans.” Today’s events February 4 at 9 a.m. – Calgary ​ Infrastructure Minister Sandra Jansen will give a keynote speech at the Alberta and ​ ​ Saskatchewan Renewable Energy Finance Summit at the Westin Hotel Calgary. February 4 at 1 p.m. – Lethbridge ​ Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips will make an announcement about electric ​ ​ vehicles at Lethbridge College. February 4 at 4 p.m. – Edmonton ​ Premier Rachel Notley will unveil the portrait of the late Jim Prentice, former premier of ​ ​ ​ ​ Alberta, in the rotunda of the legislature. ​ ​ February 4 at 4 p.m. – Sundre ​ The fourth and final rescheduled in-person information session on the Bighorn Country management proposal will be held at the Royal Canadian Legion in Sundre. The other three rescheduled sessions were held over the weekend. Each of the four sites underwent a safety and security review. February 4 at 7 p.m. – Edmonton ​ Premier Rachel Notley will deliver remarks at the Black History Month reception in the Capital ​ ​ View room of the Federal Building. Topics of conversation ● The Ontario NDP has joined the chorus in calling for an investigation into UCP Leader Jason Kenney’s political donation history. The provincial party is asking Elections ​ Ontario to look into donations the UCP leader made to the Ontario Progressive Conservatives while he was claiming to reside in Alberta. ○ The UCP says Kenney’s contributions — which totalled more than $1,000 between 1997 and 2006 — came from attending party conferences, not from direct contributions. ○ According to Elections Ontario, people who are barred from donating based on where they live are still allowed to purchase tickets that cover the cost of attending events, but no extra donations can be made. ○ According to the Ontario NDP, Kenney’s pal Maxime Bernier also donated to the ​ ​ Ontario PCs during a 2016 byelection. ○ The complaint spawned from former Alberta Liberal candidate Kyle Morrow, who ​ ​ questioned Kenney’s residency claims during his time as an MP in Ottawa. The ​ federal Grits have asked the Speaker of the House of Commons to probe whether Kenney violated housing rules. ● A video circulating on Twitter shows UCP Leader Jason Kenney apparently mocking ​ ​ ​ ​ NDP candidate Steven Durrell for his age, incorrectly stating the Airdrie—Cochrane ​ ​ hopeful is 19. Durrell is 29. ○ Durrell shot back with a tweet noting that 29 is also the age Kenney was when he ​ ​ was first elected as an MP. “I’ll take young people getting active in politics over the #OldBoysClub any day,” Durrell wrote. ● The Supreme Court of Canada ruled bankrupt companies are still responsible for abandoned oil well cleanup, the Canadian Press reports. ​ ​ ​ ​ ○ In a 5-2 decision, the country’s highest court overturned the Alberta Court of Appeal’s 2016 decision that allowed trustees of bankrupt companies to abandon responsibilities. ○ Since the 2016 decision, the province has been burdened with the cleanup of 1,800 abandoned oil wells at an estimated cost of $100 million. ● Energy Minister Marg McCuaig-Boyd and Premier Rachel Notley announced the ​ ​ ​ ​ province’s oil production cap will rise by 75,000 barrels per day in February and March. The new allowance will be 3.63 million barrels per day. ○ The storage glut is dissipating ahead of schedule, the province says. There are now 30 million barrels in storage, five million fewer than when the curtailment launched. ○ UCP MLA for Lac La Biche—St. Paul—Two Hills Dave Hanson and UCP MLA ​ ​ for Bonnyville—Cold Lake Scott Cyr released a joint statement warning that 500 ​ ​ to 1,000 Albertans in their region could lose their jobs due to the curtailment formula. ○ “The NDP Energy Minister needs to come to our community and explain their change,” they said. “It is simply not acceptable for the government to hide from a decision that stands to cost hundreds of Albertans in our community their jobs.” ○ UCP Leader Jason Kenney was publicly supportive of the curtailment and ​ ​ encouraged the premier to enact a production cap last November. ● UCP Leader Jason Kenney vowed to fight Ottawa’s stress test rules for homebuyers, ​ ​ which he says have tempered Alberta home sales. Kenney contends the rules were designed to combat overheated housing markets in Toronto and Vancouver — and are needlessly tough on Albertans. ○ “The Alberta NDP has done and said nothing to fight for Albertans hurt by this unfair policy imposed by their [Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau Liberal ​ ​ ​ ​ Government allies,” Kenney said in a news release. “As soon as the legislature convenes, we will present a motion calling on the federal government to exempt Alberta from the CMHC stress test, and if elected we will build a coalition with other provinces whose economy has been hurt by this Liberal policy.” ● A democracy watchdog is questioning the lack of transparency coming from new ​ ​ Election Commissioner Lorne Gibson’s office. ​ ​ ○ Duff Conacher, co-founder of Ottawa-based Democracy Watch, told CBC the ​ ​ ​ commissioner’s “excessive secrecy” makes it difficult to judge whether the decisions made by his office are appropriate. ○ Gibson was salty when questioned. “My role is to be a decision maker. There are all kinds of factors that go into how I make decisions, and I don't think I need to explain to you,” he told the public broadcaster. ● UCP Leader Jason Kenney has added another campaign pledge to his ledger — a ​ ​ promise to review any government contracts signed after February 1. Given the proximity to the election call, Kenney says the government should only be signing contracts that are “strictly necessary.” ○ “We will not let the NDP get away with signing sweetheart deals with their friends in the dying days of this government,” Kenney said in a news release.