AB Today – Daily Report July 17, 2020 Quotation of the day “Our government will not stand idly by while millions in taxpayer funds are missing or misappropriated.” Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Jason Luan announces plans to shut ​ ​ down a supervised consumption site in Lethbridge, thanks to its fiscal mismanagement. Today in AB On the schedule The house reconvenes at 1:30 p.m. on Monday for its final two weeks of the summer session. Thursday’s debates and proceedings Bill 34, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, passed second reading and committee stage. ​ Bill 33, Alberta Investment Attraction Act, cleared second reading. ​ NDP MLA Thomas Dang made a statement in the chamber about Covid-related anti-Chinese ​ ​ racism. This followed a question period exchange between Dang, who is Chinese-Canadian, and Infrastructure Minister Prasad Panda where Panda said, “If the member remembers that ​ ​ there is still a pandemic, he knows fully well when and where it came from.” In the legislature Members of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta were in the gallery to be recognized for the organization’s 100th anniversary. Premier watch Premier Jason Kenney and his fellow premiers reached a deal with Ottawa on a $19-billion ​ ​ “restart” aid package for the provinces. The cash comes with strings attached. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters the funding ​ ​ will cover "things that actually really matter to Canadians" and preparations for a potential second wave of infections over the next six to eight months. That includes bailing out revenue-strapped municipalities, boosting contact-tracing capacity, shoring up the PPE arsenal, and improving elderly and child care. UCP closing Lethbridge safe consumption site following financial audit Associate Minister for Mental Health and Addictions Jason Luan is shutting down Lethbridge’s ​ ​ supervised consumption site, ARCHES, after an audit turned up more than $1.6 million in financial irregularities. An audit of ARCHES, ordered on March 4 and conducted by Deloitte, revealed thousands of ​ ​ dollars in questionable expenditures and a complete lack of records for others. “It is disturbing and extremely disappointing to me that taxpayer funds allocated to this organization in order to serve the most vulnerable in Lethbridge would be used for European conferences, expenses for retreats, entertainment and gift cards,” Luan said. The province will set up a temporary mobile overdose prevention clinic in Lethbridge and has hired three recovery coaches as part of a shift towards the UCPs “continuum of care” model for treating addiction. The audit found $1,617,094 in unaccounted for expenditures from 2017 to 2018, unauthorized overtime and salary hikes, and a lack of proper protections from conflict of interest. Some of the findings of the audit included: ● $342,943 in compensation for a senior executive’s compensation in 2019 — including $70,672 in overtime in 2019-20 — when the the agreed salary was $80,000; ● $2,100 in gift cards purchased for a company owned by a senior executive’s spouse; ● $9,900 in wages for a family member of a senior executive whose resume or personnel file could not be located by auditors; ● $1,617,094 in expenses unaccounted for due to missing documentation from 2017 to 2018; ● $2,205 spent on a television with no receipts; and ● $4,301 for management to attend an international harm reduction conference in Portugal. The choice to shut down ARCHES rather than restructure its leadership team and financial reporting requirements was made because of “systemic” issues within the organization, Luan’s office told AB Today. “The findings demonstrated the organization’s inability to manage public ​ ​ funds or appropriately govern their facility,” a spokesperson said. Luan’s office said the mobile site will be able to match the site’s April capacity, when it received 142 visits per day. However, April appeared to be a slow month for the facility, which recorded a total of 60,098 visits from January to March, according to the government’s opioid surveillance report. In a news release, ARCHES said its board “woke up to this news just like the rest of our community” and did not receive a copy of the audit report before it was leaked to the media. ARCHES’ contract was set to expire in September. Today’s events July 17 at 9 a.m. – Sylvan Lake ​ ​ Premier Jason Kenney, Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon, Agriculture Minister ​ ​ ​ ​ Devin Dreeshen and Transportation Minister Ric McIver will make an announcement about ​ ​ ​ David Thompson Highway upgrades. Topics of conversation ● There were 120 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed Thursday afternoon — the first time more than 100 cases were reported in a single day since May 2. ○ The total number of active cases is 807 — a sharp increase from the 440 active cases the province reported on June 15, the day Premier Jason Kenney ended ​ ​ the province’s public health emergency. ○ Sixty-nine patients are in hospital (up five) and eight are in the ICU. Two new deaths were reported for a total of 165. ○ Next week, the province will shift from “restricted” visitor access in continuing care facilities to “safe access” because residents have seen a steep decline in health due to loneliness, according to Dr. Dina Hinshaw. ​ ​ ○ Families can also access a new appeal process if they are concerned about a decision related to access to a long-term care facility. ○ Indoor trade shows, outdoor concerts, outdoor hot tubs and other activities are now allowed. ● Elections Canada found that the United Conservative Party of Alberta (UCP) violated federal election financing laws when it spent $8,505 to mail out anti-Trudeau bumper ​ ​ stickers during last fall’s federal election campaign. ○ Elections Canada ruled that the UCP was acting as a third-party advertiser by spending cash on partisan messages during the campaign period. ○ The party has since filed a third-party financial disclosure and cleared it up with ​ ​ Election Canada through an official undertaking. ​ ​ ○ UCP president Ryan Becker told AB Today the party believed it was exempt due ​ ​ ​ ​ to the definition of “partisan activity” in the Canada Elections Act. ​ ​ ○ “We were happy to work collaboratively with the commissioner regarding the matter and have reached an agreement,” Becker said. “We consider the matter resolved.” ● Federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson may intervene in a decision on a ​ ​ coal mine following a letter from 47 environmental organizations calling for action on the Vista mine near Hinton. ○ Ecojustice, and other groups, sent a letter on Monday calling on Wilkinson to ​ ​ reverse his December decision to stay out of the approval process of thermal coal mines. ○ Wilkinson told CBC the government will make a new decision on whether to ​ ​ intervene by the end of the month. ● The Alberta Federation of Labour is calling on the government to release the legal advice it received regarding the constitutionality of Bill 32, Restoring Balance in Alberta’s ​ ​ Workplaces Act. ○ AFL president Gil McGowan says he’ll make the legal opinion the AFL received ​ ​ public if the government shows its own advice. ○ The AFL used a FOIP request to seek out the UCP’s legal advice, but it was heavily redacted. The AFL plans to challenge Bill 32 in court on the basis it ​ ​ erodes unions’ rights by mandating how they collect and spend members’ dues. ○ The UCP says the bill will bolster the province’s economic recovery by “restoring balance” between workers and employers. News briefs Government tweaks ambulance regulations ● Health Minister Tyler Shandro announced changes to ambulance regulations, including ​ ​ setting up a second triage level, allowing nurse practitioners to work as medical directors and provide advice to paramedics, and authorizing the use of new types of emergency vehicles rather than just traditional ambulances. NDP says Alberta falling behind in child care ● NDP Children’s Services Critic Rakhi Pancholi said the UCP government’s cuts have ​ ​ led to Alberta lagging behind other provinces when it comes to access to child care. ○ According to a survey by the Muttart Foundation and the Canadian Child Care Federation conducted earlier in the pandemic, more than half of child care centres in Alberta, 55.5 per cent, reported laying off all their staff compared to 18.5 per cent in Ontario and 19 per cent in British Columbia. ○ Of those surveyed, 56.5 per cent of child care centres said they had received none of their normal government funding while being closed due to Covid. ○ Pancholi called for a $2 per hour wage top-up, $25 per day childcare and the establishment of an Early Learning and Child Care Task Force panel. Funding Announcements Ministry of Advanced Education ● Advanced Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides announced financial support for ​ ​ 3,300 unemployed apprentices. The government will give apprentices $1,5000 for classroom instruction, an increase from $1,000 when the Apprenticeship Training Award program began in 2016. ○ The government also announced $3.35 million in capital funding to upgrade the heating and cooling systems in the Paterson Building of Lethbridge College and another $850,000 for Medicine Hat College to replace its electrical substation. Appointments and employments Wildrose Independence Party ● Former Alberta Alliance-turned Wildrose Party leader Paul Hinman was named the ​ ​ interim leader of the new Wildrose Independence Party of Alberta, which was formed from a merger of the Freedom Conservative Party and Wexit Alberta. Question period Taking latitude with a ruling from the deputy speaker, who determined “puppet” was parliamentary language, NDP Service Alberta critic Jon Carson asked a series of questions ​ ​ about the UCP being “puppets.” “They’re puppets of big, profitable corporations, giving them a $4.7-billion corporate handout and leaving the rest of us to pay for it,” Carson said. Finance Minister Travis Toews replied: “When it comes to puppets, I just have to first say this, ​ ​ that the NDP are clearly a puppet of Mr.