AB Today – Daily Report June 22, 2020 Quotation of the day “It would just drown us out.” Alberta Urban Municipalities Association president and Brooks Mayor Barry Morishita told ​ ​ ​ ​ CBC if a referendum was held concurrent with municipal elections, local issues would be ignored at the ballot box. Today in AB On the schedule The house is scheduled to convene today at 1:30 p.m. During private members’ business, MLAs could debate UCP MLA Richard Gotfried’s Bill 201, ​ ​ ​ ​ Strategic Aviation Advisory Council Act, at third reading. UCP MLA Tany Yao could also ​ ​ introduce Bill 204, Voluntary Blood Donations Repeal Act. ​ ​ Per the order paper, MLAs could also debate five government bills, including the following legislation at second reading: ● Bill 21, Provincial Administrative Penalties Act, which decriminalizes first-time impaired ​ driving offences and sets up an online traffic court system; ● Bill 23, Commercial Tenancies Protection Act, which puts a temporary ban on ​ commercial evictions; and ● Bill 24, COVID-19 Pandemic Response Statutes Amendment Act, which makes a series ​ of changes to allow the government to carry on with emergency measures without having to renew the state of public health emergency. Tow bills could be debated at committee of the whole: ● Bill 15, Choice in Education Act, which protects parental rights in various educational ​ options; and ● Bill 16, Victims of Crime (Strengthening Public Safety) Amendment Act, which broadens ​ the scope of eligibility for the Victims of Crime Fund. Committees this week The Standing Committee on Public Accounts will meet Tuesday morning to discuss outstanding recommendations from the Office of the Auditor General on the Treasury Board and the Alberta Treasury Branch. The Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members’ Public Bills meets simultaneously to discuss Bill Pr1, The Sisters of the Precious Blood of Edmonton Repeal Act, ​ ​ which dissolves the non-longer existent corporation, and NDP Labour critic Christina Gray’s ​ ​ Bill 203, Pension Protection Act. ​ The brand-new Select Special Public Health Act Review Committee meets for the first time Wednesday evening. The bipartisan committee was struck following criticism of UCP overreach over changes to the Public Health Act. ​ On Friday morning, the Standing Committee on the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund meets. Premier watch In response to UCP MLA and Fair Deal panel member Drew Barnes’ pro-separatist letter to the ​ ​ ​ ​ premier, Jason Kenney told reporters on Friday you’re either with Canada or you aren’t. ​ ​ ​ ​ “I don’t think this is a clever tactic,” Kenney said, denouncing separatist sentiments. On Saturday, the premier toured hail-damaged areas of Calgary and took a trip with UCP ​ ​ backbencher riding Shane Getson to his riding of Lac Ste. Anne County. ​ ​ New cash for pandemic-scarred small municipalities Premier Jason Kenney and Transportation Minister Ric McIver announced $200 million in ​ ​ ​ ​ grant funding for municipal capital projects. The grant funding for bridges, roads, airports and water treatment facilities is expected to create 1,800 jobs, according to a government news release. “As we move ahead with Alberta’s relaunch, this additional investment will go a long way to helping rural municipalities get back on their feet and back to work,” Kenney said. The funding will be divided into two main groups: Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Program funding of about $50 million that will go toward 69 projects, and $140 million for 55 water infrastructure projects. The water projects will see $137 million go to the Alberta Municipal/Wastewater Partnership and $13 million earmarked for the First Nations Water Tie-in program that will connect the Ermineskin Cree Nation to the Ponoka regional water pipeline. NDP Municipal Affairs critic Joe Ceci says the funding announcement falls short of the $1 billion ​ ​ request by the Opposition, which would represent a doubling of Municipal Sustainability funding, and offers no certainty for the Green Line LRT funding in Calgary, which the UCP has delayed. Kenney said more funding for larger urban municipalities is on the way. Funding announcement follows pushback over referendum timing Speaking with the CBC, Barry Morishita, president of the Alberta Urban Municipalities ​ ​ Association, panned the UCP’s plan to hold provincial referendums on the same ballot as the ​ ​ next round of municipal elections in October 2021. Following the release of the Fair Deal panel report, Kenney promised to hold a referendum on equalization payments, which are a federal jurisdiction. Referendums on pulling out of the Canada Pension Plan and creating a new provincial police force are also being floated. Morishita, who is also mayor of Brooks, argued referenda could overshadow local issues and lead to municipal candidates running on a referendum question. “There are serious issues that the premier speaks about and they deserve their own place, and so they should be held separately so Albertans can concentrate on those important questions,” Morishita told CBC. Today’s events June 22 at 9 a.m. – Edmonton ​ Service Alberta Minister Nate Glubish will announce the top baby names of 2019, an ​ ​ announcement that was previously delayed due the pandemic. June 22 at 9 a.m. – Edmonton ​ The UCP’s priorities implementation committee will meet in the Windsor Room of the Federal Building. June 22 at 4 p.m. – Edmonton ​ The Treasury Board committee will meet in the cabinet room of the legislature. Topics of conversation ● As of Sunday, there were 31 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Alberta, bringing the total number of active cases in the province to 534 — 112 more active cases than this time last week, or a 26 per cent increase. ○ There are 33 people hospitalized, including seven in intensive care. ○ To date, 152 people have died. ○ Alberta has conducted 389,405 tests. ● All four Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidates have promised the Canadian Taxpayers Federation they would repeal the federal carbon tax. News briefs Virtual harm reduction pilot project scrapped ● Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Jason Luan cancelled a pilot project ​ ​ that would have allowed a peer operator to monitor opioid users by phone and dispatch ​ an ambulance if they overdosed. ○ Luan told the Calgary Herald the project was dangerous, saying it was not clear ​ ​ ​ ​ how long operators would remain on the line and whether clients would have access to naloxone. ○ “For Luan to say this is about safety is completely dishonest,” NDP critic for Mental Health and Addiction Heather Sweet said in a news release. “It’s ​ ​ ridiculous to suggest an Albertan using opioids by themselves in their home is safer without someone monitoring their condition who can dispatch help if needed.” ○ The province’s quarterly opioid surveillance report shows 142 Albertans died of ​ ​ accidental opioid poisoning in the first three months of 2020, a 14.5 per cent increase from the fourth quarter of 2019 when 124 people died. ○ In Edmonton 68 per cent of overdoses occurred at the individual’s home address. In Calgary it was 44 per cent, according to the report. Appointments and Employments Alberta Investment Management Corporation ● Mark Wiseman was named chair of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation. ​ ​ ​ ○ Wiseman, the former president and CEO of the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, said he would donate any compensation to the United Way. ○ He was recently the head of BlackRock, but was fired for violating the company's ​ ​ relationship policy. ○ AIMCo is facing an independent review by KPMG after its investment strategy led to $2.1 billion in losses this spring. Provincial Court Nominating Committee ● Leighton Grey resigned from the Provincial Court Nominating Committee after ​ questions were raised about his social media posts. ○ CBC reported that some of the posts included comparing COVID-19 pandemic ​ ​ response to the Nazis, stating Bill Gates “would have every single man, woman, ​ ​ and child vaccinated and digitally marked, like a tattoo at Auschwitz” and said video of George Floyd, a Black man killed by police whose death reignited the ​ ​ Black Lives Matter movement, was a “leftist lie” controlled by George Soros. ​ ​ ○ Doug Schweitzer said he only became aware of the posts recently, but the CBC ​ said it gave copies to the justice minister’s office “weeks ago.” ○ When the NDP previously brought up comments made by Grey, who said “If Lady Justice is truly blind, then why does she see gender?” Schweitzer responded, “this line of questioning is absolutely disgusting.” University of Alberta ● Charlene Butler and Sett Policicchio were appointed for three-year terms to the ​ ​ ​ University of Alberta’s board of governors. Fatality Review Board ● Dr. Vonda Bobart was reappointed for a two-year term and was designated chair of the ​ Fatality Review Board. Health Disciplines Board ● Karena Apps Eccles, Dr. Peter Jamieson and Kevin Kelly were appointed for ​ ​ ​ three-year terms to the Health Disciplines Board. Eccles was also designated deputy chair. ● Craig Hrynchuk was appointed chair of the board. ​ ● Patrizia Valle was appointed for a two-year term. ​ .