The Weekly Roundup - October 31, 2022
A memo was sent by Premier Danielle Smith to all cabinet ministers to ensure there is a united front from the Alberta government in all dealings with their federal counterparts. The memo asks for careful consideration of all federal spending and to “hold our ground” when federal funding threatens Alberta’s interests. The Premier has since clarified that the memo does not mean the UCP government will opt out of the federal/provincial child care agreement as the opposition NDP suggested.
The Premier has committed to publicly releasing mandate letters for her cabinet ministers. The documents outline the objectives that ministers are to accomplish and challenges they will address in their role.
Ric McIver, the longtime Calgary politician at both the municipal and provincial levels, has been tapped by the Premier to serve as a provincial liaison between the City of Calgary and Calgary Sports and Entertainment regarding the construction of a new sports arena and event centre.
To accompany the new Ministers sworn into their portfolios last week, a shuffle has happened in the public service with some new Deputy Ministers joining the ranks and others moved to new ministries. The full list can be found here.
The Annual Report of the Office of the Ethics Commissioner was released last week, and showed that from April 2021 to March 2022,
The top lobbied subject matters were:
Health
Energy
Environment
The top government departments lobbied were:
Premier’s Office
Jobs, Economy and Innovation
Treasury Board and Finance
Executive Council
Environment and Parks
The top prescribed provincial entities lobbied were:
Alberta Health Services
Alberta Energy Regulator
Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis Commission
You can listen to New West Partner Keith McLaughlin on CBC’s Alberta at Noon doing a debrief on the UCP and NDP conventions here.
Below, you’ll find a recap of other government announcements made and Orders in Council passed since our last edition.
Government of Alberta Announcements
The Premier issued a statement on mask mandates in schools, stating that her government will not permit any further masking mandates of children in Alberta’s K-12 education system.
Alberta’s final Crop Report of the 2022 growing season indicated significantly higher yields – about 10 per cent above the five-year average.
Alberta Crown Attorneys’ Association members have ratified an agreement with the Alberta government and will be in force until 2024.
Four new judges were appointed to the Provincial Court of Alberta.
An update was provided on the province’s natural gas rebate program, outlining that because prices in November will not exceed the price per gigajoule threshold, the rebate will not be triggered.
Orders in Council
OC 361/2022: Provides for the establishment of new government departments.
OC 362/2022: Makes the Designation and Transfer of Responsibility Regulation, or what ministers are accountable for what legislation and other responsibilities.
OC 363/2022: Designates Acting Ministers of the Crown.
OC 364/2022: Appoints members to the Treasury Board.
OC 365/2022: Appoints Deputy Ministers to Government departments.
OC 366/2022: Amends Orders in Council numbered O.C. 237/2022 and O.C. 333/2021 to remove the positions of “Associate Deputy Minister of Natural Gas and Electricity” and “Associate Deputy Minister, Solicitor General” for salary ranges and to correct an error.
OC 367/2022: Makes the Ministerial Grants Regulation.
OC 368/2022: Makes the Miscellaneous Corrections Regulation.
OC 369/2022: To prorogue, effective October 30, 2022, the Third Session of the Thirtieth Legislature of Alberta, and to convene the Fourth Session of the Thirtieth Legislature of Alberta on November 29, 2022 at 3:00 p.m.
Upcoming Events Calendar
November 8, 2022: Brooks - Medicine Hat byelection
November 29, 2022: Alberta Legislature Session scheduled to resume at 3 p.m. with a Throne Speech