The Weekly Roundup - March 14, 2023
The Alberta Legislature continues to sit this week with the Estimates process continuing until Thursday. In Ottawa, MPs are on a constituency week with party leaders traversing the country.
Below, you’ll find the top federal and provincial stories of the week, key announcements made and legislation introduced since our last edition.
Top Federal Stories of the Week
Just because it’s a constituency week doesn’t mean the story of alleged Chinese interference in Canada’s electoral process will be going away. Opposition members of the Procedure and House Affairs Committee continue to try to use the committee as a vehicle to get the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff to appear and answer questions about what intelligence briefings she received regarding election interference. In the meantime, if you have ‘emminent Canadian’ listed on your resume, it’s time to submit it to the Liberal government. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acquiesced to calls for further study into election interference by announcing he would name a ‘special rapporteur’ in the coming days to study the issue and recommend whether a formal inquiry or other form of review is the best next step. Meanwhile, the federal government has begun a two-month public consultation on the development of a Foreign Influence Transparency Registry.
As expected, Federal Finance Minister late last week revealed Budget Day 2023 - it will be tabled in the House of Commons on March 28. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre lay the groundwork over the weekend of what his party is looking for in the Budget - saying they want to see taxes cut, spending capped and increasing the number of affordable houses.
Top Alberta Stories of the Week
Estimates for all government ministries continue this week, with the Premier appearing at Executive Council estimates on Tuesday afternoon. Official Opposition Leader Rachel Notley’s strategy at the meeting may indicate some of the key points the NDP will hope to highlight during this spring’s election campaign.
Speaking of Rachel Notley, we’ve been given a bit of a hint at some of the tactics the NDP may use to introduce the NDP Leader to undecided voters. The irreverent tone used in a TV ad aired during Sunday night’s Oscars broadcast and the language of ‘Believing/Building a Better Future’ at the rally held for Notley accepting her nomination for the Edmonton-Strathcona constituency this weekend hints at a different side of the leader being showcased. The NDP have a deep advertising budget to continue pushing niche, targeted ads throughout the campaign at undecided voters in the province.
Government Legislation Recap
Bill 8: Alberta Firearms Act
Stage: Second Reading passed March 9, 2023
Notes: Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro introduced this legislation to clarify provincial jurisdiction regarding firearms in light of the Trudeau government’s Bill C-21 that has the potential to collect restricted firearms. Bill 8 would enable the provincial government to create regulations in response to federal firearm legislation including the ability to license seizure agents and formally defines the role of Alberta’s Chief Firearms Officer in law.
Bill 9: Red Tape Reduction Statutes Amendment Act, 2023
Stage: First Reading passed March 8, 2023
Notes: Continuing with other red tape reduction legislation the UCP government has introduced, this iteration of omnibus legislation would make changes across a variety of ministries to reduce red tape, including amending trespass legislation to clarify the right of landowners to control access to their property and amending the Workers’ Compensation Act to expand presumptive cancer coverage to all firefighters who served during the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire. A full overview of the changes can be found here.
Bill 10: Financial Statutes Amendment Act, 2023
Stage: First Reading passed March 9, 2023
Notes: This legislation would implement many of the technical measures introduced in Budget 2023, including legislating a new fiscal framework to mandate balanced budgets, making changes to Alberta’s charitable tax credit rate to come into effect for 2023, implementing a two per cent cap on tuition increases and creating a new agri-processing tax credit program.
Key Government Announcements
Federal Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra approved the acquisition of Sunwing Vacations and Sunwing Airlines by WestJet Airlines.
The cost of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion continues to climb with the company releasing a revised cost estimate late last week of $30.9 billion with the project now 80 per cent complete. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland clarified that no additional public money will be invested in the project.
Orders in Council were passed proclaiming sections of the Health Statutes Amendment Act and making the Medical Suitability Criteria Regulation for organ and tissue donation.
Alberta’s government will match funding up to $1 million for humanitarian aid to help Türkiye and Syria after multiple earthquakes caused massive loss of life and severe damage to infrastructure.
The Alberta government highlighted more pieces from their Budget, including $330 million over three years to increase wages and administrative funding in the social sector, funding more than $820 million over the next three years to support enrolment growth in schools, providing a funding boost of $15 million over three years to Apprenticeship Learning Grants, investing $10.7 million to support Women Building Futures to increase the number of women in the skilled trades, growing and diversifying the province’s aerospace, aviation and logistics sectors with an additional $11 million in funding, supporting first responders and emergency health-care workers dealing with post-traumatic stress and investing almost $200 million to expand post-secondary health care programs to train more than 3,400 additional health care professionals.
Minister of Jobs, Economy and Northern Development Brian Jean issued a statement on the February 2023 Labour Force Survey that saw Alberta continuing to add full-time jobs.
Justice Minister Tyler Shandro issued a statement following the Federal, Provincial and Territorial meeting on bail reform where Federal Justice Minister David Lametti committed to making targeted reforms to Canada’s bail system and the Criminal Code.
Alberta’s government is partnering with the federal government to invest more than $1.4 million for a pilot project with the Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association to help immigrant women start or grow careers as certified early childhood educators.
A second Alberta is Calling campaign is launching to attract more skilled workers from across Ontario and Atlantic Canada.
Upcoming Events Calendar
March 23-24, 2023: U.S. President Joe Biden makes his first official visit to Canada.
March 22-24, 2023: Canada Strong and Free Conference held in Ottawa where conservatives including Federal CPC Leader Pierre Poilievre, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and former Prime Minister Stephen Harper will speak.
March 28, 2023: Federal Budget 2023 will be tabled in the House of Commons.
May 29, 2023: The next Alberta Provincial General Election is scheduled to be held
The provincial pre-election period acts as a rare, opportune moment for organizations to be heard. As the UCP and NDP look to the May 29th election, both sides of the aisle are listening — and listening hard. It will be instrumental for companies across the province to engage with and catalyze the support of champions from both parties, with the help of a strong and strategic government relations plan.
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