AB Today – Daily Report December 7, 2018

Quotation of the day

“There may or may not be a budget. There are two options and one of those two options will happen.”

Premier refuses to commit to either holding a spring session or tabling a budget ​ ​ prior to the forthcoming 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.

Thursday’s debates and proceedings The House met for its last sitting day of 2018 on Thursday.

The House approved first reading of a private member’s bill introduced by Sherwood Park NDP MLA Annie McKitrick. Bill 214, Traffic Safety (Safe Distances for Passing Bicycles) ​ ​ ​ ​ Amendment Act, aims to establish minimum safe passing distances for motorists when overtaking cyclists.

Question period was held in the afternoon.

In the House Treaty 8 prepared a statement for Indigenous Relations Minister ​ to read in the House raising concerns over a proposed UCP policy to sell off Crown land in the Peace Country Area. UCP leader first mentioned the plan during a speech at ​ ​ the Rural Municipalities of conference in last month.

“We are challenging the province’s assumption of Crown lands,” the statement from Grand Chief Arthur Noskey read. “The Treaty people have always had a different position on this. The lands ​ have always been our treasury, our food source, and our pharmacy since time immemorial — and are assumed to be unproductive by a man who hopes to be the next .”

Flurry of bills passed in fall session; date of writ drop remains a mystery

As the fourth session of the 29th Legislature wrapped up, questions began to swirl around when MLAs will return to their seats in the House.

An election must be held on or before May 31, following a 28-day campaign period.

Speaking to reporters in the Edmonton International Airport en route to a first ministers’ meeting in Montreal, Premier Rachel Notley would only commit to ensuring “Albertans have a good ​ ​ understanding of what their options are before we go into the next election and that the election will be held within the times the current legislation suggests.”

Notley says there “may or may not” be a budget.

Reflecting on the fall session, Notley said she is proud of her government work to index income supports for vulnerable Albertans to inflation, cap post-secondary tuition and update family law.

Government House Leader was also coy when asked about the legislature’s ​ ​ future, saying he would likely find out about an election call only two hours before the media.

The NDP government was expected to bring forward a bill this session banning so-called “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ+ youth, but Mason said there were unresolved questions on what the legislation should entail and said the agenda became too crowded.

Mason — who previously announced he would not seek re-election — delivered an emotional speech in the House meditating on his 18 years as an MLA. "I love this place and I'm going to miss it very much,” he said.

“The legislature can get pretty heated at times, but I think we’ve shown a significant and unusual degree of unity over the last number of days and it shows when the chips are down, Albertans set aside their differences and work together,” Mason said, alluding to multi-party support for the oil production cap, as well as other pieces of government legislation.

Meanwhile, opposition parties are keen to get into campaign mode and are calling for the election to be held sooner rather than later.

UCP Leader Jason Kenney said he wants the NDP to call the election on February 1 so it can ​ ​ be held on the first week of March, the soonest the Elections Act allows.

“It would be a huge mistake for them to try to foist on Albertans, as a lame duck government, a budget when their entire fiscal plan is in tatters,” Kenney said of the NDP

He also characterized the NDP’s legislative agenda this fall as “remarkably light” and “uninspired,” calling the New Democrats “a government that is cleary running out of gas.”

Alberta Party House Leader Greg Clark said he wants the government to release the ​ ​ third-quarter fiscal update before the election so voters can know the state of the province’s finances before heading to the polls.

Today’s events

December 7 at 6 a.m. – Montreal ​

Premier Rachel Notley will meet with Prime Minister , other Canadian premiers ​ ​ ​ ​ and national Indigenous leaders at the Marriott Château Champlain. The meeting will focus on economic development, growth and prosperity of Indigenous communities and businesses.

December 7 at 9 a.m. – Edmonton ​ Health Minister will make an announcement about emergency medical services ​ ​ at the Queen Mary Park EMS Station.

December 7 at 10 a.m. – Red Deer ​ Red Deer—South NDP MLA will announce a new Red Deer College facility for ​ ​ children and youth.

December 7 at 1:30 p.m. – ​ Environment and Parks Minister and NDP MLA will be at ​ ​ ​ ​ Lethbridge City Hall to announce new supports to fight the opioid crisis, as well as new housing support to address chronic homelessness.

Topics of conversation

● Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz said the nation will feel the drop in Western ​ ​ Canadian oil prices, but not to the extent it did 2015. ○ “It is already clear that a painful adjustment is developing for Western Canada, and there will be a meaningful impact on the Canadian macroeconomy,” Poloz said in a year-end economic update on Thursday. ​ ​ ○ “That said, given the consolidation that has taken place in the energy sector since 2014, the net effects of lower oil prices on the Canadian economy as a whole, dollar for dollar, should be smaller than they were in 2015.”

● Prime Minister Justin Trudeau capitulated to Alberta and Saskatchewan, agreeing to ​ ​ add the oil price differential to the agenda of today’s first ministers’ meeting, Global ​ ​ News reported. ​ ​ ○ Speaking to reporters Thursday, Notley said the administrative update is not good enough. “The word ‘oil’ has been added to the agenda, but the amount of time allocated to the conversations, in our view, is not adequate. We are in a very, very significant and serious situation.” ○ “Canada needs Alberta to do well,” the premier said. ○ To coincide with the meeting the Alberta government will run its “Keep Canada Working” ads in three Montreal newspapers this weekend.

● UCP MLA apologized for flipping the bird at one of Deputy Premier Sarah ​ ​ ​ Hoffman’s staffers in the hallways of the legislature. ​ ​ ​ ○ “Hey @jkenney, if decorum is so important to you, why did @tanyyao feel it was appropriate to give one of my staff the finger in the hallway at #ableg today. Apparently he was supposed to pass it on to me…” Hoffman tweeted. ​ ​ ○ Yao replied his actions were in jest, but admitted it was “clearly inappropriate” and inconsistent with the tone Kenney was trying to set. ○ “I apologize wholeheartedly and without reservation for this,” Yao said. ​ ​ ○ In UCP Leader Jason Kenney’s end-of-session remarks, he said his party ​ ​ brought decorum to the House via acts like two-handed clapping instead of banging on a desk. ○ Hoffman said she doesn’t have a problem with banging on a desk in the House, but she does have a problem with MLAs going after her staff.

● United Conservative Party members are accusing newly nomination —East UCP candidate of winning the nomination through fraud, bribery, forgery and ​ ​ improper inducement, the Calgary Herald reported. ​ ​ ​ ​ ○ The riding is now open after Independent MLA announced she will ​ ​ not seek re-election. ○ In a news release, the Alberta NDP called on Kenney to refer the fraud to police.

○ Kenney said the party is investigating internally.

● Ex-Fort McMurray MP and former Wildrose Leader wrote an op-ed in the ​ ​ ​ ​ Calgary Herald calling for creative methods to be used to increase petroleum storage. ​ ○ “The Alberta government should look to the example of the U.S. government’s strategic petroleum reserve, which holds the equivalent of a year’s worth of Alberta’s oil production in salt domes in Texas and Louisiana,” Jean said. ○ Jean said Alberta also has many salt and gas domes that could be used for added petroleum storage capacity.

News briefs - Non-governmental

Alberta Advantage Party Proposed oilsands defamation lawsuit ‘silly’ Alberta Advantage Party Leader Marilyn Burns, who is a civil litigator, says UCP Leader Jason ​ ​ ​ Kenney’s threat to sue environmental groups like for defamation over anti-oilsands ​ messaging is “silly.”

Kenney made the threats at the UCP convention in Red Deer in May, as part of his “fight back” strategy. He also announced he would have a war room to correct misinformation on social media in real time.

Burns said, filing a defamation suit would require the plaintiff — which in Kenney’s proposal would be the Alberta government — to prove it lost money from the alleged defamation. She questioned how such a lawsuit could proceed legally.

“Where would such a lawsuit be filed? In the country or state where the derogatory statement is made? In Alberta? In the state or country where the offending party (defendant) has its head office? Much money could be wasted just arguing where such a lawsuit should be filed,” Burns said in a news release on Thursday.

Burns argued it would be impossible for the courts to decide whether Alberta’s oil is “dirty” or “ethical.”

The party also issued a news release stating it is opposed to oil curtailment.

Funding announcements

Alberta Health Blood Tribe paramedics will be able to take patients to a safe withdrawal management site at the Kainai Transition Society thanks to $2.2 million in funding for two years that will be used for the start-up and operation costs of the program. The site is expected to open in 2019.

Question Period

United Conservative Party Growing unemployment

● UCP Leader Jason Kenney asked the government to admit the past six straight months ​ ​ of growing unemployment was the result of its high-tax, high-debt economic policy.

● Deputy Premier Sarah Hoffman repeated the government’s line that it is fighting for ​ ​ Albertans. She said the province has added more than 100,000 full time jobs since the depths of the recession and repeated, that unlike the UCP, what the government will not do is layoff 4,000 teachers and 4,000 nurses in order to give tax breaks to the top one per cent.

● Government House Leader Brian Mason chimed in during the second round of ​ ​ questions when Kenney asked the same question. ○ “You know, it’s interesting because the previous government was here for 44 years, and they failed to diversify the economy, remaining dependent on a very volatile natural resource for 30 per cent of Alberta’s program spending,” Mason said. “Everyone knows that the price of oil goes up and down, except apparently Conservatives.”

Independent

● Independent MLA continued to hurl accusations at his former party and the ​ ​ government, this time saying the NDP’s election finance reform has led Political Action Committees (PACs) to further drive money underground. ○ “Is the premier aware of reports that PACs are being directly run by Alberta political parties to hide money and get around the law,” Gill asked.

● He followed up with the accusation that UCP leadership candidates received envelopes full of money from PACs to fund their leadership campaigns.

○ “Has the government asked the Election Commissioner to investigate whether PACs were involved in illegal activities in the UCP leadership race?” Gill asked. ○ He asked whether the government had requested the Elections Commissioner investigate $40,000 in suspicious donations he said were given to the UCP to topple defeated UCP candidate Brian Jean. ​ ​

● Deputy Premier Sarah Hoffman said she was not aware and asked Gill to bring any ​ ​ information he has forward. ○ “If he has any information that could bring light to this, I think it is deeply troubling,” Hoffman said. ○ Hoffman suggested Gill raise the issue with the Elections Commissioner. ○ “I think that alleged fraud belongs with the police, and if there are concerns about alleged fraud in political activities, then it should be brought to the police,” Hoffman said. “I think that if the honourable member has concerns about elections, then he should certainly bring those as well to the election officer.”

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 November 30, 2018 – December 6, 2018

● Ramiro Mora, CWell Consulting Inc. ​ o Clients: Savers ​

● Sally Housser, Brent Kossey, 1689986 ALBERTA LIMITED carrying on ​ business as Navigator o Clients: Interac Corp. ​

● Elan MacDonald, Brookes Merritt, Yonathan Sumamo, Global Public Affairs ​ o Clients: DXC Technology ​

● Hal Danchilla, Michael Lohner, Canadian Strategy Group ​ o Clients: Canadian Off High-Way Vehicle Distributors Council ​

● Elan MacDonald, Yonathan Sumamo, Global Public Affairs ​ o Clients: Norquest College ​

● Elan MacDonald, Brian Senio, Global Public Affairs ​ o Clients: Katz Group ​

● Brent Korte, Global Public Affairs ​ o Clients: Lundbeck Canada ​

● Larry Charach, Strategic Results Consulting Inc ​ o Clients: Source Energy Services ​

● Amber Griffith, Doug Noble, Global Public Affairs ​ o Clients: PETRONAS Energy Canada Ltd ​

● Randy Pettipas, Candice Laws, Jordan Pinkster, Global Public Affairs ​ o Clients: Arts Commons ​

● Gary Hart, Jack Janssen, Scott Thon, Ed Rihn, Alta Link Management Ltd ​ o Clients: BHE Canada L.P. ​

Organizations that registered in-house lobbyists from November 30, 2018 – December 6, 2018

● Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd ● Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta ● Sheet Metal Workers International Association Local # 8 ● AltaLink Management Ltd. ● IATSE Local 212 ● The Canadian Institute for Biological Carbon ● Alberta Pulse Growers Commission ● Husky Energy Inc

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

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