AB Today – Daily Report March 2, 2020
Quotation of the day
“This shows that we’re winning.”
Climate activist Greta Thunberg says a sexually explicit decal from Red Deer-based X-Site Energy Services depicting her image shows those who oppose her work are getting desperate.
Today in AB
On the schedule The house will convene at 1:30 p.m. On Mondays, MLAs discuss private member’s business.
Richard Gotfried’s private member’s bill, Bill 201, Strategic Aviation Advisory Council Act, was referred to committee on Thursday.
There are several non-government motions that could be discussed.
The following government bills could be debated at second reading: ● Bill 1, Critical Infrastructure Defence Act; ● Bill 2, Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Amendment Act; ● Bill 3, Mobile Home Sites Tenancies Amendment Act; and ● Bill 4, Fiscal Planning and Transparency (Fixed Budget Period) Amendment Act.
Finance Minister Travis Toews could also introduce Bill 5, Fiscal Measures and Taxation Act, which is related to budget implementation.
Committees this week UCP MLA for Calgary—Fish Creek Richard Gotfried’s private member’s bill, Bill 201, Strategic Aviation Advisory Council Act, will be discussed at the Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members’ Public Bills in the Rocky Mountain Room of the Federal Building on March 3 at 7:15 p.m.
Budget estimates will be heard at committee this week in the Rocky Mountain Room and Parkland Room on the second floor of the Federal Building from Monday through Thursday.
Premier watch Premier Jason Kenney joined former Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall at the 69th Calgary B’nai Brith Canada charity dinner on Thursday evening after the budget release.
Rallies against public sector cuts occur as fallout from Budget 2020 continues Protesters gathered in multiple cities across the province on Saturday to demonstrate against the government’s cuts to the public sector in last week’s budget.
NDP Leader Rachel Notley joined roughly 1,200 protesters in Calgary to speak out against budget cuts. Similar rallies were held in Medicine Hat, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Fort McMurray and Banff, organized by Alberta Can Forward, the same group that organized protests at the legislature on Thursday.
“Two wrongs don't make a right,” Notley told reporters at the rally. “You don’t pile on private sector job losses by creating public sector job losses. That’s actually going to accelerate economic decline.”
Alberta Federation of Labour says budget does nothing to create jobs Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan said the budget won’t create jobs in the private sector and will directly cut 1,400 jobs, with 244 lost in education, 277 lost in agriculture and 136 lost in community and social services.
“Any freeze in a growing economy is a cut, and that’s exactly what the UCP government is doing with health care and education,” he said in a news release. “By not keeping spending in line with inflation and population growth, the government is actually cutting nearly 15 per cent from these two areas. In areas where there are cuts, not freezes, this budget will be disastrous.”
Post-secondary institutions announce job cuts The 2020 Budget included a base cut to post-secondary institution funding of six per cent, with some institutions hit harder than others.
Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) announced it will cut 230 jobs as a result.
University of Alberta president David Turpin said his university is facing an 11 per cent cut, on top of a 6.9 per cent cut announced in last fall’s budget.
“Now we must redouble our efforts and we recognize there are more difficult decisions to come, including further job losses,” Turpin wrote in a blog post on the university’s website.
Physicians angered over new compensation model Several doctors, angered at the province’s new compensation model, joined the rally in Calgary.
Alberta Medical Association president Christine Molnar issued another letter to her membership saying the government’s description of the new deal as a pay freeze is “misleading.”
“What they call a freeze is a massive cut of 20 per cent or more for many physicians — including those in hospital-based practices and those providing primary care in medical homes (most acutely in rural Alberta),” Molnar wrote. “These changes will be tremendously harmful to physician practice, the Alberta health care system and, most importantly, Alberta patients.”
AUMA says key to rebuilding Alberta Advantage is partnering with municipalities Alberta Urban Municipalities Association president Barry Morishita said the AUMA and government have a common goal of getting Albertans back to work, but said the downloading of costs onto municipalities will make life more unaffordable for Albertans.
“Despite the provincial government freezing spending in the education sector, it appears they are collecting an additional 4.1 per cent, which is equivalent to about $102 million from taxpayers,” Morishita said in a news release. “Let’s call this what it is: a tax increase that’s making life more unaffordable for Albertans, and one that has been downloaded to municipalities to collect as part of municipal property taxes.”
Edmonton and Calgary chambers of commerce optimistic The Edmonton and Calgary chambers of commerce issued a joint statement, saying they are optimistic about what the budget means for job growth and the economy.
“Budget 2020 recognizes that Alberta’s job creators are the economic engine of our province,” said Janet Riopel, president and CEO of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce. “Budget 2020 keeps us on the path towards balanced budgets while putting the focus squarely on what Alberta needs most — jobs.”
Today’s events
March 2 at 7:30 a.m. — Calgary Finance Minister and Treasury Board President Travis Toews will speak at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce breakfast.
March 2 at 8 a.m. — Edmonton The UCP caucus will meet in the Windsor room of the Federal Building.
March 2 at 11 a.m. — Leduc Premier Jason Kenney and Energy Minister Sonya Savage will make an announcement at Savanna Well Servicing about the government’s “Blueprint for Jobs” plan.
March 2 at 11 a.m. — Lethbridge Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer; Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Jason Luan; UCP MLA for Lethbridge—East Nathan Neudorf; Assistant Chief Judge Derek G. Redman; Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team CEO Dwayne Lakusta; Edmonton Drug Treatment Court manager for the John Howard Society Grace Froese; and Robin James, a person with lived experience, will speak at an announcement for a drug-related crime and addiction treatment announcement at the Lethbridge police station.
Topics of conversation
● Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, 17, reacted to news that Red Deer-based oil company X-Site Energy Services made stickers of a cartoon version of her being sexually assaulted by saying the decals show the desperation of those who oppose the movement to address climate change. ○ In a news release, RCMP “K” Division spokesperson Fraser Logan said the RCMP would not be pursuing charges. ○ “In consultation with police officers whose expertise includes the sexual exploitation of children, Red Deer RCMP determined that the decal does not meet the elements of child pornography,” Logan wrote. “Nor does the decal depict a non-consensual act that would be a direct threat to the person.” ○ MLAs from both the UCP and NDP denounced the decal.
● A group of Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs, whose opposition to the Coastal GasLink pipeline have led to countrywide protests, reached a tentative agreement with the federal and British Columbia governments on Sunday that will acknowledge their land title rights. ○ The hereditary chiefs said they remain opposed to the pipeline and warned that they would continue to fight against its construction. They also said they consider the land title agreement — which still must be approved by the Wet'suwet'en
community — to be an important breakthrough and that negotiations between the parties will continue. ○ Coastal GasLink, which has approval to build the pipeline from Wet'suwet'en elected band councils along the route, said in a statement that it was grateful for the progress and that it will resume construction on the pipeline Monday. ○ Premier Jason Kenney said his government introduced new legislation increasing penalties for demonstrations that disrupt essential infrastructure in direct response to blockades that emerged across Canada as part of protest actions in support of the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs.
● The Ponoka Secondary high school was put in lockdown after threatening racist videos were posted online and a related “altercation” in Ponoka that led to the arrest of three men and two youth. ○ Indigenous Relations Minister Rick Wilson said he was deeply disturbed by the incident. ○ “I have spent the past day on the phone and in meetings with local First Nations leadership,” Wilson wrote on Twitter. “This is my riding, I grew up here and am deeply hurt and upset. We are going to emerge stronger and more unified. This incident brings to light the work and education ahead.” ○ “In this fraught moment in history, I call upon the leaders of central Alberta reserves, municipalities, and cities to condemn acts of racism and to educate themselves on the issues facing Indigenous people, including knowledge of the Treaties,” Ermineskin Cree Nation Chief Craig Makinaw said in a news release. “Much of the anger that drives these young men is from biased media that seeks to separate us further without teaching us how to move on together.” ○ On Sunday, Maskwacis Cultural College student Mekwun Moses led a peace rally in Maskwacis in response.
● The province delayed the release of a climate change report that found Alberta is warming more rapidly than the rest of the planet, Global News reports. ○ The report, Alberta’s Climate Future, was backdated and put on the government’s open data portal six months after the final draft was released. ○ Freedom of Information requests from the Alberta Federation of Labour and Global News for the report were denied. ○ The report was commissioned by former NDP environment minister Shannon Phillips. ○ UCP Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon’s press secretary Jess Sinclair said the government takes climate change seriously and is tackling it through its Technology, Innovation and Emissions Reduction program. ○ Sinclair told Global the province needed to backup the data before publicly releasing the report.
● The Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations issued a scathing statement on the “Buffalo Declaration,” stating the Conservative MPs who are threatening separation from Canada have no right to do so and slammed their hypocrisy. ○ “The audacity to select the very four-legged being that your ancestors attempted to wipe out in an effort to annihilate our existence, is an insult to our people,” the statement reads. ○ The statement calls the declaration “a clear display of ignorance and moreover a thoughtless claim of support to your inequalities” and said the Treaty 6 nations have been excluded from prosperity from resources belonging to Indigenous people.
● Finance Minister Travis Toews issued a patent for Tetra Trust Company as a special purpose non-deposit-taking provincial trust corporation through an order-in-council last week.
● The Alberta Court of Appeals issued a written version of Justice Jo’Anne Strekaf’s oral decision that granted a stay on the ruling that would have required cabinet to approve or deny Prosper Petroleum’s Rigel project. ○ The stay was granted until a hearing on April 27 in Edmonton. ○ The Fort MacKay First Nation applied to be an intervenor in the case. ○ Prosper sued the Government of Alberta over the long wait time — 19 months — for a cabinet decision on the mine, which had previously received regulatory approval. On February 18, a chambers judge acknowledged that cabinet owed Prosper a decision and ordered the executive council to tell the company whether it would approve the project within 10 days.
News briefs
Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner expands scope of investigation into use of Clearview AI ● Information and Privacy Commissioner Jill Clayton issued a statement chastising the Edmonton Police Service for its undisclosed use of Clearview AI’s facial recognition technology. ○ “Only after a data breach affected Clearview AI’s client list did we find out that, in fact, certain Edmonton Police Service employees had used Clearview AI’s product,” Clayton said. ○ “In addition to an investigation announced last week into Clearview AI’s compliance with Alberta’s private sector privacy law, my office is investigating whether Edmonton Police Service is complying with Alberta’s public sector privacy law.” ○ Clayton announced her office would be investigating Clearview AI last week.
○ The Edmonton Police Service admitted on Friday that three high-level officers had used the technology, without authorization. The news was released following a data breach from the company.
Government makes changes to provincial park system ● The Environment and Parks ministry announced the government is closing or partially closing 20 provincial parks, selling off others, and increasing service fees. ○ The province's assessment of the Alberta Parks system identified 163 of 473 sites that could be removed from the system. ○ The government will propose selling the land or transferring it to First Nations, municipalities or non-profits that would continue to operate the sites.
Fair Deal Panel launches online survey until March 15 ● The Fair Deal Panel launched an online survey until March 15, the latest way the panel is collecting feedback on a series of proposals from the government aimed at giving “Alberta a bigger voice within the Canadian federation.”
Province declares wildfire season ● Agriculture and Forestry Minister Devin Dreeshen declared wildfire season starts March 1 in Alberta, a month sooner than other jurisdiction. ○ Officially, the wildfire season will run until October 31. ○ A government news release said wildfires are starting earlier and are lasting longer but did not mention climate change.
Funding announcements
Alberta Health ● The government announced expanded coverage of Kalydeco, which was previously available since 2014 to patients at least six years old with cystic fibrosis who had one specific genetic mutation. ○ The coverage is now expanded to patients with eight additional genetic mutations and adults who have the one particular mutation.
Associate Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions ● Mental Health and Addictions Associate Minister Jason Luan announced $121 million in mental health and addictions funding as part of budget 2020. ○ $20 million is for the mental health and addictions strategy, $25 million is for treatment and recovery supports for people with opioid use disorder, $8.4 million is for Indigenous Albertans, and $24 million is for harm reductions.
Appointments and employments
Workers’ Compensation Board ● Labour and Immigration Minister Jason Copping made three-year appointments and reappointments to the Workers’ Compensation Board. ○ Erna Ference was reappointed as chair of the board of directors. ○ Mary Phillips-Rickey and Mike Boyle were reappointed for another three-year term. ○ Brian McConkey and Shawna Miller were appointed to a three-year term on the board.
Land Compensation Board and Surface Rights Board ● Tamara M. Bews, Dennis Dey, Timothy S. Meagher, Phil Rowland, Nick Tywoniuk and Ivan T. Weleschuk were each appointed to a three-year term with the Land Compensation Board as well as the Surface Rights Board.
Environmental Appeals Board ● Tamara Bews and Dave McGee were reappointed for a three-year term on the Environmental Appeals Board. ○ Kurtis Averill, Barbara Johnston and Chidinma Thompson were given two-year appointments.
Chief Medical Examiner ● Thambirajah Balachandra was appointed acting chief medical examiner.
Health Disciplines Board ● Dr. Michael John Caffaro and Craig Hrynchuk were reappointed for a three-year term to the Health Disciplines Board.
Public Health Appeal Board ● William (Bill) E. Smith was appointed vice-chair of the Public Health Appeal Board for a three-year term. Vicki Wearmouth was appointed as a board member for a three-year term. ○ The government rescinded the appointment of vice-chair Wendy Yvonne Lickacz and member Barbara Rocchio.
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 February 21 – March 1, 2020
● Denis Painchaud, Baneret Consulting Inc o Clients: AMGAS Services Inc.
● Craig Jangula, Jangula and Company o Clients: Coalition of Western Craft Brewers
● Randy Pettipas, Global Public Affairs o Clients: AltaLink Management Ltd., Olds College, Caregivers Alberta, PWC
● Jonathon Wescott, Alberta Counsel o Clients: Metis Nation of Alberta Association Fort McMurray Local Council 1935
● Barbara Fox, Enterprise Canada Inc. o Clients: Shelter Bay Resorts Ltd., Belloc Birch Ltd., Labatt Brewing Company Limited
● Denis Painchaud, Baneret Consulting Inc. o Clients: Resource Diversification Council
● Barry Campbell, Barry R. Campbell Strategies Inc. o Clients: Submetering Council of Alberta
● Huw Williams, Impact Public Affairs o Clients: Intellectual Property Institute of Canada
Organizations that registered in-house lobbyists from February 21 – March 1, 2020
● Insurance Brokers Association of Alberta ● Alberta Sugar Beet Growers ● Innovative Medicines Canada ● Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers ● The Coal Association of Canada ● Amazon Canada Fulfillment Services, ULC ● Purdue Pharma (Canada) ● Primerica Financial Services (Canada) Ltd ● Economic Development Lethbridge ● Methanex Corporation ● Calgary Chamber of Commerce ● Desjardins General Insurance Group