AB Today – Daily Report December 14, 2018

Quotation of the day

"I truly hope he got a gift receipt with that because I would like to exchange that for a pipeline."

While speaking at the Northern Leaders’ Summit in Slave Lake Thursday, Premier Rachel Notley takes a jab at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who recently said his sympathies are with Alberta during this difficult Christmas.

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.

UCP board member, campaign volunteer resigns over Jason Kenney’s anti-LGBTQ past

Holding back tears, Cody Johnston told media Thursday he cancelled his United Conservative Party membership and has asked to be removed from the three UCP boards he sits on after listening to leaked recordings of UCP Leader Jason Kenney boasting about campaigning to overturn the first gay spousal law in North America.

As a gay man, Johnston said he has had to defend his conservative beliefs and support for the UCP to gay friends. He called the leaked recording “the last straw.”

“This is not even the apex of [Kenney]’s ignorance,” Johnston said.

Old remarks Kenney made about his anti-gay rights advocacy during his time in San Francisco in the 1980s resurfaced last week. In the audio, Kenney boasts about working to successfully overturn a California spousal law that would have allowed same-sex couples to have hospital visitation rights and bereavement leave at the height of the AIDS crisis.

Johnston is currently employed as a communications and policy director with the Freedom Conservative Party. He said working co-operatively with the UCP had been difficult because he had been labelled as a single-issue politico by “Kenney’s people” for speaking out in favour of gay rights.

Johnston said he hoped the merger of the Progressive Conservative and Wildrose parties would have amplified the progressive voices within the new UCP and mellowed out extremism, but instead, he contended, Kenney is silencing UCP members by not allowing them to openly state their beliefs on issues like abortion and LGBTQ rights.

“When you get into office you represent everyone and that’s what he’s forgotten,” Johnston said.

UCP caucus calls departure “opportunistic”

UCP communications staffer Harrison Fleming said Johnston’s decision to leave the party was “opportunistic” and characterized his motives as “clearly political” — an accusation Johnston denies.

Fleming is also the former head of LGBTory, an advocacy group for LGBTQ+ conservatives in Canada. He said he experienced homophobia during his past work on Parliament Hill, but has not personally experienced that type of discrimination from the UCP. “And I’ve been the one standing at the forefront literally waving the flag,” he added.

The UCP says Kenney’s remarks in the audio clip were recorded nearly 20 years ago, and like many Canadians, his views on social issues have evolved.

“It is both ridiculous and unreasonable to continue representing this ancient recording as recent or representative of Mr. Kenney’s views today,” UCP spokesperson Christine Myatt said in a statement.

“Since then, Mr. Kenney has gone on record many times expressing support for the rights of same-sex couples and LGBT rights, including speaking in favour of updating the Conservative Party of Canada’s definition of marriage,” Myatt said.

Today’s events

December 14 at 10 a.m. – Grande Prairie and Fairview Premier Rachel Notley will make an infrastructure announcement in Grande Prairie followed by a visit to two schools in her hometown of Fairview.

December 14 at 10 a.m. – Calgary Service Alberta Minister Brian Malkinson will be announcing new condo board governance rules.

December 14 at 1 p.m. – Boyle Seniors and Housing Minister Lori Sigurdson will speak at the official opening of the Wild Rose Villa and Assisted Living facility in Boyle.

Topics of conversation

● Both the UCP and NDP are gearing up to testify in front of the Senate Standing Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources after Bill C-69 passed second reading in the Red Chamber Wednesday. ○ The NDP government says it plans to formally call for amendments to the legislation at the upcoming committee hearings — including changes to the bill’s implementation timeline and project list as well as the addition of a clause acknowledging Alberta’s Climate Leadership Plan. ○ In September, the UCP sent a letter to the Senate National Committee requesting a chance to testify. The party said if it is invited, it will call for the bill to be scrapped in its entirety. ○ Both parties argue Bill C-69, which revamps Canada’s natural resources review process, would prevent any new pipelines from ever being built and hurt investment in Alberta.

● Alberta NDP MLA for Calgary—Shaw Graham Sucha launched a criminal complaint with the Calgary Police Service over alleged fraud in the UCP nomination race in the neighbour riding of Calgary—East. Peter Singh won the nomination November 3, beating out Matthew Dirk, Issa Mosa, Jamie Lall, Andre Chabot, and Manjit Jaswal in the first ballot. ○ The losing candidates sent a letter to party brass alleging fraud, bribery, forgery and improper inducement by Singh’s camp. Two sworn affidavits included in the letter state party members were offered $75 or $100 gift cards in exchange for a vote for Singh. ○ “Various Calgary media outlets have reported on allegations that Mr. Singh and/or his associates assisting with his party nomination have inappropriately used at least one person’s credit card to purchase a membership in the United

Conservative Party without their consent,” Sucha said in a letter addressed to police. He asked the police to determine whether a criminal investigation is warranted. ○ Deborah Wiebe, who said she got her car serviced at Singh’s autobody shop, said her credit card information was used to buy a party membership. ○ The UCP is conducting its own internal investigation and did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the NDP’s police complaint. ○ The Calgary Police Service told AB Today it could not confirm if someone is under investigation until charges have been sworn.

● Former Sun News commentator and columnist Michael Coren said UCP Leader Jason Kenney needs to pay the price for his sins. ○ Writing in the Toronto Star, Coren said Kenney’s anti-LGBTQ+ activism in San Francisco “caused enormous pain and suffering to men at their most vulnerable and fearful.” Coren — a former Roman Catholic who has since left the church — says the AIDS victims Kenney rallied against were the very people “Jesus told us to be with and to care for.” ○ “That the man who is likely to be Alberta’s next premier, and a possibly future federal Conservative leader, can say that his former beliefs and activism made him more spiritual sickens me to my stomach,” Coren wrote. ○ In the much-discussed audio tape, Kenney contends his activism brought him closer to the church.

● Education Minister David Eggen told the National Post he is “deeply concerned” about reports that teachers working for publicly funded Catholic schools in Red Deer were forced to sign contracts stipulating that employees could not be in same-sex relationships. ○ A teacher interviewed by the Post described a culture of fear that operates in these schools where employees feel compelled to lie if they are living with a partner before marriage and regularly refer to having a vasectomy as “Catholic knee surgery” if they have to miss work for the procedure.

● Environmental group 350 dot org held a protest outside of the JP Morgan building in New York City demanding that Chase defund TransCanada. Protestors also disrupted a speech on LNG from federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau in Ottawa on Thursday morning.

News briefs - Governmental

Environment and Parks Townhall to be held on Bighorn Country proposal Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips will hold a telephone town hall on the province’s new Bighorn Country proposal, which would create a mix of parks and public land in the region. A series of in-person consultation sessions will also be held.

The government says changes to the land designation will protect Big Horn’s biodiversity, support continued traditional land-use by Indigenous Peoples and create new outdoor recreation opportunities.

The ministry also signed an agreement with Indigenous communities, energy companies, and the federal government for a new 166,000 hectare “Biodiversity Stewardship Area” near Wood Buffalo National Park. The proposal was initially brought forward by the Mikisew Cree First Nation and aims to preserve boreal forest and caribou and bison habitat.

In a news release the government said, “industry champions Teck, Cenovus Energy and Imperial played a vital role in discussions by agreeing to a voluntary relinquishment of oilsands and mining leases” on the land.

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Forestry agreement renewed The province signed on for another 20 years of the Marten Hills Forest Management Agreement with Tolko Industries Ltd., Vanderwell Contractors Ltd. and West Fraser Mills Ltd.

“Ensuring forestry companies are able to provide high-paying and stable jobs for Albertans is a priority for our government,” said Agriculture and Forestry Minister Oneil Carlier in a news release on Wednesday.

The agreement includes commitments to reforestation, preserving biodiversity and watershed health, pest management and community consultation.

The province has 19 other similar forest management agreements with private companies.

Appointments and employments Southern Alberta Institute of Technology

● Melinda Park was named chair of the board of directors for the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.

Nominations United Conservative Party

● Karri Flatla won the United Conservative Party nomination in Lethbridge—West.

Lobbyist registrations

If you are looking for further information on any lobbying registry, it is all public and easily searchable here.

Consultants who registered as lobbyists from December 7, 2018 – December 13, 2018

● Peter Hunt, 385 Consulting Inc. o Clients: Rocky View 2020

● Zack Ziolkowski, Cam MacKay, Jonathon Wescott, Shayne Saskiw, Pascal Ryffel, Jenelle Saskiw, Bronte Valk, Keith Pridgen, Alberta Counsel o Clients: Alberta Liquor Stores Association (ALSA); Team Alberta; Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC)

● Patrick Spotowski, Ian D Murray, Harvey Voogd, Marge Hollawa, Sequent Group Ltd. o Clients: Alberta Charitable Casino Operators Association

● Brad Lavigne, Counsel Public Affairs Inc. o Clients: WinSport

● Garry Keller, StrategyCorp Inc. o Clients: Muslim Association of Canada

Organizations that registered in-house lobbyists from December 7, 2018 – December 13, 2018

● Innovative Medicines Canada ● International Union of Operating Engineers, Local Union No. 955 ● The Co-operators Group Ltd.

● Alberta Construction Association ● Canadian Solar Industries Association ● Alberta Chamber of Resources ● International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 424

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

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