AB Today – Daily Report October 20, 2020

Quotation of the day

“It’s just catnip for socialists.”

Premier Jason Kenney said the NDP loves to stir up a “medi-scare” when conservatives talk about private health care.

Today in AB

Written by Catherine Griwkowsky

On the schedule The house will reconvene at 10 a.m. to kick off the fall session.

Government house leader Jason Nixon said the government hopes to pass around 20 bills during the house’s 23 scheduled sitting days before Christmas.

The government has already dealt with health legislation related to COVID-19 and will now focus on its economic response, Nixon told reporters.

The UCP’s proposed legislation will lay out a geothermal legislative framework; an innovation and employment incentive; “red tape reduction” for forestry companies; labour law reforms; and a law to establish a payment deadline for contractors, subcontractors and labourers.

The government will also table the Justice Statutes Amendment Act aimed at quicker forfeiture for victim restitution and bring in digital record-keeping for child care providers.

The first day back will be dedicated to a special debate on the economy, but NDP Opposition house leader Heather Sweet said the government refused to agree to an emergency debate on jobs.

Sweet said 50,000 jobs were lost pre-pandemic and currently 290,000 Albertans are unemployed. She accused the UCP of not taking these numbers seriously.

“I fully expect to see plenty of hand-waving and pointless theatrics from this government,” Sweet said.

Premier watch Premier Jason Kenney was on Danielle Smith’s radio show on Monday, where he spoke about UCP members passing a resolution in favour of privately funded, privately managed health care — contrary to his public health-care pledge on the campaign trail last year.

All the resolution means is that there should be more “choices” in the system, Kenney said.

“Health care should be based on what’s in the best interests of the patient, not on ideology or special interest groups,” he said, adding the government is already increasing the number of privately operated surgical clinics to cut wait times.

When Smith pressed him, stating she took the motion to mean that more Albertans could pay out of pocket for procedures, Kenney pointed to cataract surgery, where people already do.

He said the NDP has been accusing conservatives of attempting to Americanize the health-care system for the past 60 years.

“It is the oldest scare tactic in the book,” Kenney told Smith.

When asked about a “right to work” resolution that also passed at the UCP’s Annual General Meeting, Kenney said he would consider it, and all resolutions, when formulating his election platform in two years.

Minister proposes compromise on municipal assessments After a pushback from rural municipalities, the government will wait three years before changing the linear assessment model for municipal property taxes.

Instead, the province will offer a suite of tax holidays for the oil and gas industry over that same period.

The three-year tax break will come at an $80-million annual cost to municipalities (and save industry the same amount), as the province waives the well-drilling equipment tax, lowers property assessments for ailing oil and gas wells, and cuts assessments on shallow gas wells, Municipal Affairs Minister Tracy Allard explained yesterday.

Earlier scenarios proposed by the UCP would have seen the oil and gas industry save up to $290 million annually at the expense of municipalities.

“This was a very complex and nuanced decision, as every factor caused a domino effect,” Allard told reporters.

While industry and municipalities agreed to the compromise, municipal leaders say their biggest challenge isn’t solved — about $173 million in taxes that have not been paid.

Rural Municipalities of Alberta president Al Kemmere, who participated in Allard’s news conference, said the majority of those outstanding tax bills are owed by operational — not bankrupt — companies.

He is calling on the UCP to implement new legislative or regulatory measures, such as a special lien on companies that don’t pay.

Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers president and CEO Tim McMillan disputed Kemmere’s characterization, stating it is a small percentage of viable companies that have skipped out on their bill.

While Allard would not commit to a solution for the tax-collection issue right away, she noted the new tax holiday is a temporary measure while the province conducts more consultation on changes to the tax assessment model. The timeline of the review would “straddle” this government’s mandate and the next, she said.

The proposal marks a backtrack by the UCP, at least temporarily. In August, Premier Jason Kenney had described the linear assessment model as “completely out of whack” and said taxes are driving oil and gas companies to bankruptcy.

Today’s events

October 20 at 8 a.m. — Edmonton The UCP cabinet will meet in the Windsor Room of the Federal Building.

Topics of conversation

● There were 898 new cases of Covid confirmed over the weekend — 311 confirmed on Friday, 231 confirmed on Saturday and 356 confirmed on Sunday. The number of active cases has grown to a new high of 3,138 (up 302 since Friday). There are now 117 people hospitalized (unchanged since Friday), including 18 in ICU (up seven). Four more people died, bringing the total to 292.

● The province’s influenza vaccination program opened on Monday. Flu shots are free at pharmacies and doctors’ offices, but are only available at health clinics for families with children five and younger by appointment. ○ The province also ordered a record 1.96 million doses of the flu vaccine, enough for 45 per cent of the population, in hopes of mitigating the impact of the influenza virus on the health system.

● The United Nurses of Alberta accepted bargaining dates with Alberta Health Services in November, December and January, but says unless AHS agrees to more than two day at the bargaining table per month it will launch a Labour Code complaint. ○ Finance Minister Travis Toews had previously asked AHS and the union to delay bargaining until March 31, 2021. ○ “The AHS response of offering extremely limited bargaining dates appears to be an effort to achieve the government’s goals by other means, in clear violation of the law,” UNA labour relations director David Harrigan said in a news release. ○ AHS has more than 250 proposals for amendments under the current collective agreement, according to Harrigan, and has previously indicated plans to lay off up to 750 nurses.

News briefs

NDP warns of ‘extreme’ right to work legislation after UCP AMG ● NDP Labour critic Christina Gray said the “right to work” policy resolution (passed by UCP members at the AGM with 81 per cent support) borrows from the most “extreme” right-wing jurisdictions and takes aim at collective bargaining rights. ○ “The UCP has already axed overtime laws, slashed holiday pay, and attacked workers’ right to speak out,” Gray said. “Now, they want to pit Albertans against each other, just to help make sure their bosses can pay them less.” ○ Meanwhile, the Building Trades of Alberta, which represents 18 trade unions related to the construction industry, sent a letter to the premier, warning such a law would not likely survive a charter challenge.

Funding announcements

Alberta Enterprise Corporation ● Jobs, Economy and Innovation Minister Doug Schweitzer announced an additional $5 million in new funds for the Alberta Enterprise Corporation’s Accelerate Fund, which bolsters venture capitalist investment. ○ The fund was previously set at $10 million.

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry ● Agriculture and Forestry Minister Devin Dreeshen announced a $3.7-million grant to help the University of Alberta transition government research programs to the university, as part of its farmer-led research push.

AB Today is written by Catherine Griwkowsky, reporting from the Alberta Legislative Press Gallery.

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