Weekly Roundup - Nov 19, 2021
Over the past two weeks, the UCP government has made a series of major announcements related to investment in the province. It’s a positive step for the UCP to get back to their jobs and economy messaging while focusing on recovery for the province. Over $7 billion of new investment was announced that will translate into more than 5,400 jobs across three new projects.
Amazon Web Services announced that they are investing $4.3 billion in Calgary for a new cloud computing operation, making it one of the largest tech investments in Alberta’s history. A second intake period of the Alberta Jobs Now program opened on November 10 with a focus on hiring unemployed Albertans as part of the larger investment of up to $370 million over two years. Finally, Northern Petrochemical Corporation has announced plans to establish a $2.5 billion dollar carbon-neutral ammonia and methanol production facility outside of Grande Prairie that will provide 4,000 jobs during construction and 400 permanent jobs once operational.
In addition, families in the province received good news with the childcare agreement signed between Alberta and the federal government that will see $3.8 billion in funding go towards expanding childcare and reducing costs with fees for parents of children aged zero to kindergarten to be cut in half in early 2022 and an average of $10 per day child care by 2026.
As of November 18, there are 5,384 active cases of COVID-19 in Alberta, with 383 new cases announced. There are 498 Albertans in hospital and 94 in intensive care. There have been 3,209 COVID-19 deaths in the province. As of November 17, 88.2% of Albertans age 12+ are vaccinated with at least one dose and 82.7% of Albertans age 12+ are fully vaccinated. Alberta has received 5,000 doses of the Janssen vaccine as another option for the vaccine hesitant and as of November 15, proof of vaccination with QR code is now required to visit places participating in the vaccine passport program. It is widely expected that vaccines for children aged 5-11 will be approved today, with rollout to eligible Albertans to follow shortly.
Below you’ll find a summary of government legislation, announcements made and Orders in Council passed since our last edition.
Government Legislation Recap
Bill 73: Infrastructure Accountability Act
Stage: Second Reading passed November 18, 2021
Notes: Bill 73 provides accountability and transparency for how government invests in infrastructure projects, encourages businesses to invest in Alberta by legislating a governance framework to guide how capital projects and spending are prioritized and mandates the development and release of a 20-year strategic capital plan.
Bill 74: Advanced Education Statutes Amendment Act, 2021
Stage: Committee of the Whole passed November 17, 2021
Notes: Bill 74 would make a number of amendments to both the Postsecondary Learning Act and the Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship Education Act. These changes would help facilitate the implementation of Alberta 2030, Alberta’s first 10-year strategic plan in over 15 years.
Bill 75: Arts Professions Recognition Act
Stage: Committee of the Whole adjourned November 17, 2021
Notes: This act would formally acknowledge artists’ rights and contributions to Alberta, making their artistic enterprises profitable and sustainable, protect artists’ economic and contractual rights and emphasize in law Alberta’s continued commitment to the freedom of artistic expression. It also models a way for private and nonprofit employers and contractors in Alberta’s economy to uphold the professional nature of artists’ work.
Bill 76: Captive Insurance Companies Act
Stage: Second Reading passed November 17, 2021
Notes: This legislation would expand insurance options in the province by permitting captive insurance. A captive insurance company is an in-house insurance solution where the insurer is wholly owned by the company or entity it insures. In the current insurance market, with limited availability and high prices, a captive is an alternative to traditional insurance.
Bill 77: Municipal Government (Restoring Tax Accountability) Amendment Act, 2021
Stage: Second Reading passed November 17, 2021
Notes: This legislation would provide municipalities with a restored and clarified tool to help them collect overdue taxes from oil and gas properties.
Bill 78: Alberta Housing Amendment Act, 2021
Stage: Second Reading adjourned November 17, 2021
Notes: The Alberta Housing Act outlines the rules and the requirements for the provisions of affordable housing in Alberta. The amendments in Bill 78 would allow the Alberta government to pursue key initiatives under Alberta’s newly released 10-year affordable housing strategy.
Bill 79: Trails Act
Stage: Second Reading adjourned November 15, 2021
Notes: This bill would modernize Alberta’s trails framework and allow for more trails and adjacent areas to be conserved and enjoyed by Albertans while providing greater clarity on when and where off-highway vehicles can be used.
Bill 80: Red Tape Reduction Implementation Act, 2021 (No. 2)
Stage: Second Reading adjourned November 16, 2021
Notes: This bill makes various red tape changes across ministries including allowing municipalities to create entertainment districts, letting cannabis stores sell product online, giving the insurance industry the ability to set and change fees and modernizing human rights commission processes.
Bill 81: Election Statutes Amendment Act, 2021 (No. 2)
Stage: Second Reading adjourned on amendment November 16, 2021
Notes: The legislation makes changes related to elections in the province including banning foreign money in provincial politics, imposing an annual $30,000 limit for donations from third parties or political action committees, and establishing the last Monday in May as election day in Alberta.
Bill 82: Mineral Resource Development Act
Stage: Second Reading passed November 18, 2021
Notes: Bill 82 is the Alberta government’s first step in implementing Alberta’s modern critical and rare-earth mineral strategy and action plan. If passed, this act would establish the Alberta Energy Regulator as the full life cycle regulator for Alberta’s mineral resources from exploration through reclamation.
Bill 83: Environmental Protection and Enhancement Amendment Act, 2021
Stage: Second Reading passed November 18, 2021
Notes: If passed, the bill would set the foundation for an extended producer responsibility framework in 2022 for managing single-use plastics, packaging, paper products and hazardous and special products like household pesticides and solvents. This would shift the role of collecting, sorting, processing and recycling waste to the industries that produce products instead of local government.
Bill 84: Business Corporations Amendment Act, 2021
Stage: First Reading passed November 15, 2021
Notes: Bill 84 includes several modernizations and regulatory burden reductions to enhance Alberta’s competitiveness to attract and retain corporations. A full list of the proposed amendments is available here.
Bill 85: Education Statutes (Students First) Amendment Act, 2021
Stage: First Reading passed November 16, 2021
Notes: This legislation would further ensure safety for students, confidence for parents, and accountability for teachers by creating a public online and searchable database of Alberta teacher information including if certificates have been suspended or cancelled for unprofessional conduct or professional incompetence.
Bill 86: Electricity Statutes Amendment Act, 2021
Stage: First Reading passed November 17, 2021
Notes: The legislative amendments proposed under the act follow a consultation period and allow the integration of energy storage into Alberta’s interconnected electricity system in both the competitive electricity market and the transmission and distribution system. There are also amendments to add a requirement for distribution owners to prepare long-term plans as per future regulations and give the Minister of Energy regulation-making authority to provide further guidance around a distribution planning framework.
Government of Alberta Announcements
The government released their plan to reduce emissions and stimulate the economy with the Alberta Hydrogen Roadmap. It lays out opportunities to export hydrogen globally, enable carbon capture, utilization and storage and increase usage of hydrogen in the province.
Multiple investments were made through the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction fund.
A new task force has been formed to address homelessness with work expected to continue until June 2022.
Alberta’s government is investing an additional $21.5 million for Albertans experiencing homelessness and family violence.
Two Métis organizations will legally challenge the federal Oil Tanker Moratorium Act with funding from Alberta’s Indigenous Litigation Fund.
Alberta’s government is partnering with the Canada Infrastructure Bank and 10 irrigation districts to invest a total of nearly $933 million in irrigation infrastructure.
The Coal Policy Report deadline has been extended until December 31 due to the extraordinary amount of feedback received from Albertans.
A consortium, led by Alberta Innovates and Jobs, Economy and Innovation, is investing up to $35 million over three years to attract four accelerators to the province as part of the Alberta Scaleup and Growth Accelerator Program.
Alberta has a renewed forest management agreement with Tolko Industries Ltd. to maintain the right to establish, grow, harvest and remove Crown timber from the forest management area for the next 20 years.
To help grow social enterprises in the province, $2 million is being invested over four years in the UCeed Social Impact Fund.
Almost $35 million in additional federal funding through the Canada-Alberta Early Learning and Child Care Agreement is being allocated to licensed child care programs to help recruit and keep skilled educators, as well as providing one-time COVID relief funding.
A new coaching project with funding of $1 million per year for five years that will assist educators of students with FASD was announced by Minister of Community and Social Services Jason Luan.
Minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation Doug Schweitzer released a statement on the October job numbers that saw an increase of 9,000 full time positions and part time positions decrease in the province.
Orders in Council
OC 311-317/2021: Makes changes through Order in Council to remove Devin Dreeshan as Minister of Agriculture and Forestry and putting Nate Horner in as his replacement while also including the portfolio of rural economic development across various regulations.
OC 318/2021: Makes the Real Estate Exemption Amendment Regulation.
OC 319/2021: Makes the Missing Persons (Expiry Date Extension) Amendment Regulation extending the expiry to November 30, 2026.
OC 320/2021: Makes the Procedures (Public Health) Amendment Regulation increasing the penalty for contravention of a medical officer of health from $2000 to $4000.
OC 321/2021: Makes the Responsible Energy Development Act General Amendment Regulation changing the definition of a facility while using definitions from other legislation for processing plants and pipelines.
OC 322/2021: Makes the Adult Adoption (Expiry Date Extension) Amendment Regulation extending the expiry to November 30, 2026.
OC 323/2021: Makes the Elevating Devices, Passenger Ropeways and Amusement Rides Administration Amendment Regulation including updating some definitions and extending the expiry to April 30, 2027.
OC 324/2021: Makes the Elevating Devices Codes Amendment Regulation.
OC 325/2021: Makes the Elevating Devices, Passenger Ropeways and Amusement Rides Permit Amendment Regulation.
The UCP AGM is this weekend, and we will provide a recap of the event that will set the narrative for Premier Kenney and the party in our next edition of the roundup.