AB Today – Daily Report June 18, 2019 Quotation of the day “Someone has to be the top and we will be the top.” Education Minister Adriana LaGrange says Alberta will have the strongest protections for ​ ​ gay-straight alliances in the country. Today in AB On the schedule The House is scheduled to reconvene at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Government House Leader Jason Nixon told reporters the United Conservative Party has ​ ​ staked out a path to pass all currently tabled government legislation before the Stampede constituency break in early July, but acknowledged the opposition has bills it wants to spend more time on. “We’ll probably focus on getting all the low-hanging fruit out of the House,” Nixon said. On Tuesday, the House Leader gave oral notice for two new pieces of legislation — Bill 11, ​ ​ ​ Fair Registration Practice Act, and Bill 12, Royalty Guarantee Act — which could be introduced ​ ​ today, and hinted the UCP is currently working on drafting a 13th bill. ​ “I’m not very superstitious,” Nixon said, when asked about any potential triskaidekaphobia (the fear of the number 13). The following bills could be debated at second reading Tuesday: ● Bill 5, Appropriation (Supplementary Supply) Act; ​ ​ ​ ● Bill 8, Education Amendment Act; ​ ● Bill 9, Public Sector Wage Arbitration Deferral Act; or ​ ​ ● Bill 10, Alberta Personal Income Tax Amendment Act. ​ Bill 2, An Act to Make Alberta Open for Business, could be debated at the committee of the ​ whole. MLAs could debate Bill 7, Municipal Government (Property Tax Incentives) Amendment Act, at ​ ​ third-reading stage. Monday’s votes and proceedings Bill 9, Public Sector Wage Arbitration Deferral Act, was debated at second reading in the ​ ​ evening. At the end of the evening, the UCP moved closure of debate, per the NDP. (Hansard ​ ​ of the debate was not yet available at publication time.) NDP MLA Richard Feehan introduced a private member’s bill, Bill 203, An Act to Protect Public ​ ​ ​ ​ Health care, on Monday. It was referred to the Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members' Public Bills. Bill 203 would amend the Alberta Health Care Insurance Act to ban health-care providers from ​ billing extra for insured services and would block fee-based private clinics from billing for insured services. “Jason Kenney’s plans to privatize public health services will only mean Albertans will wait ​ ​ longer and pay more for the care they need,” Feehan said in a news release. “No Albertan should have to worry if someone will be there to take care of their loved ones when they need it.” MLAs debated and passed UCP MLA Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk’s private member’s Bill ​ ​ ​ 201, Protection of Students with Life-threatening Allergies Act, at second reading. ​ MLAs also debated UCP MLA Mike Ellis’s private member’s bill, Bill 202, Child, Youth and ​ ​ ​ ​ Family Enhancement (Protecting Alberta’s Children) Amendment Act, at second reading. Nixon gave oral notice of an incoming government motion that will notify the House of the province’s plan to launch a constitutional challenge on a federally imposed carbon tax. NDP MLA Kathleen Ganley put forward a motion calling on the government to fully commit to ​ ​ the Springbank Dam flood mitigation project. Premier watch Premier Jason Kenney posted a video late Monday evening outlining a 12-point promise to ​ ​ combat human trafficking. Kenney earmarked $50 million over four years to the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams to tackle domestic violence and stalking crimes. He repeated a promise to introduce the Save the Girl Next Door Act, which would allow victims of human trafficking to sue traffickers and get restraining orders against them. He also announced plans to introduce mandatory anti-harassment training for MLAs and to include consent in the province’s sexual education curriculum, which is scheduled to get a revamp. ‘Yes to TMX’: All eyes on federal cabinet as Alberta campaigns for pipeline expansion With the federal cabinet poised to approve the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project Tuesday, Alberta’s United Conservative government continued its full court press in support of the project, spending $2.75 million on media advertisements in the last week. The front pages of the Ottawa Sun and Ottawa Citizen will feature "Yes to TMX" ads Tuesday ​ ​ ​ ​ as part of a suite of newspaper, digital and poster ads the province has purchased in the Ottawa region since last Wednesday. Sunday’s cover of the Sun reads: “In 2 days, say yes to national prosperity. Yes to TMX Pipeline ​ ​ ​ ​ June 18.” The government placed a similar ad buy in the Citizen on Monday with the words, “Tomorrow ​ ​ Canada will be either better off or worse off.” All ads include the Government of Alberta logo. The province told the Calgary Herald that it spent $1.65 million on the ads in Ottawa and an ​ ​ ​ ​ additional $1.1 million on "digital display ads in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Surrey and Vancouver, plus print, radio and social media." The ads are part of the “Yes to TMX” campaign that Energy Minister Sonya Savage launched ​ ​ last month; they are not part of the province’s planned $30-million war room to combat environmental groups. In their first weeks in office, Savage and Premier Jason Kenney have each spent significant ​ ​ time outside of the province promoting the province’s oil and gas sector and the Trans Mountain pipeline. Despite a request to speak to reporters about the TMX decision and her out-of-province work, Savage was not made available to reporters on Monday. Opposition Leader Rachel Notley — who was also not shy about pressuring other governments ​ ​ to adopt pro-oil policies — said on Monday that she is hopeful the TMX will be approved. “We’re focused on getting it approved,” Notley said. Most observers expect the project will go ahead, and sources told Reuters the federal ​ ​ government intends to give it the green light. A recent Ipsos poll — conducted for industry group Resource Works — found the pipeline ​ ​ expansion project has the support of 60 per cent of British Columbians. However, B.C. Premier John Horgan reiterated his longstanding opposition. ​ "I talk to people here who live on the Strait of Juan de Fuca," he said. "They happen to be my ​ ​ constituents, they have a decidedly different view from Ipsos Reid but I’m not oblivious to that, this has been a challenging issue from the start." Pro-oil and gas lobby group Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers issued a statement saying not only does the TMX project need to be approved, construction must begin this summer. “If the project gets stalled until after the October election, we will miss the construction season which means at least another year of delay. Not only does this equal additional costs for the project, it further delays the thousands of jobs [the pipeline] will create and compounds the loss of revenues, currently estimated at $80 million per day, to the Canadian economy from lack of market access,” the CAPP statement reads. Some First Nations and environmental groups have signalled they could launch legal challenges if the pipeline is approved. Today’s events June 18 – Ottawa ​ ​ ​ Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet are expected to decide whether to move ahead ​ ​ with the Trans Mountain Expansion project. June 18 at 8:30 a.m. – Edmonton ​ ​ ​ The UCP cabinet will hold a closed-door meeting in the cabinet room of the Alberta Legislature. June 18 at 6 p.m. – Edmonton ​ ​ ​ Health Minister Tyler Shandro will speak at the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation ​ ​ Ambassador's reception in the Westbury Theatre. June 18 at 6 p.m. – Calgary ​ ​ ​ The Best Bar None Calgary Awards will recognize the top nightspots for safety. Provincial Alberta Liquor and Gaming and Cannabis commission board chair Gael MacLeod will be in ​ ​ attendance at the Laugh Shop at Hotel Blackfoot. Topics of conversation ● The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) is paying for a third executive to commute from B.C., the CBC reports. ​ ​ ○ Jeff Moore, who works on the AER’s legal team, has been commuting from his ​ home in Victoria, B.C. to Edmonton. ○ According to a Freedom of Information request filed by the CBC, Moore expensed $11,308.03 between January 2017 and September 2018 for travel-related expenses. ○ This is the third out-of-province executive working for the AER who has made such expense claims. Former AER CEO Jim Ellis and executive vice-president ​ ​ Jennifer Steber filed similar expenses related to their commutes out of the ​ Penticton airport. ● Harm reduction advocacy group Change the Face of Addiction asked Mental Health and ​ ​ Addictions Associate Minister Jason Luan why no quarterly opioid reports have been ​ ​ ​ ​ made public since the UCP government took office. ○ The last report made public was from the fourth quarter of 2018. The reports track opioid-related deaths by the use/misuse of opioids and narcotics in Alberta through public health surveillance. ● NDP MLA Rakhi Pancholi used a member statement last week to respond to what she ​ ​ ​ ​ called a dog whistle from UCP MLA Grant Hunter. During debate, Hunter said a portion ​ ​ of the NDP caucus are “outsiders” to Alberta. ○ Hunter also received backlash earlier this year when he reportedly said long-time ​ ​ locals in his Cardston—Taber—Warner riding are “reared” by “superior stock.” ● B.C.-based researcher Vivian Krause and The Rebel Media reporter Keean Bexte had ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ an unfriendly exchange ahead of a “United We Roll” convoy event in Vancouver. ○ “I’m in disbelief,” Bexte tweeted. “[Krause] threw a fit simply because I was in ​ ​ Vancouver covering a public event. This convoy was my first big beat. I'm not going to leave just because some wannabe celebrity has a tantrum.