Alberta Hansard — 18 March 2015, Afternoon sitting (13:30) (Legislature 28, Session 3)

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Alberta — Debates (Hansard)

Province of Alberta The 28th Legislature Third Session Alberta Hansard Wednesday, March 18, 2015 Issue 22 The Honourable Gene Zwozdesky, Speaker

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The 28th Legislature Third Session Zwozdesky, Hon. Gene, Edmonton-Mill Creek (PC), Speaker Rogers, George, Leduc-Beaumont (PC), Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees Jablonski, Mary Anne, Red Deer-North (PC), Deputy Chair of Committees Allen, Mike, Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo (PC) Amery, Moe, Calgary-East (PC) Anderson, Rob, Airdrie (PC) Anglin, Joe, Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre (Ind) Barnes, Drew, Cypress-Medicine Hat (

W) Bhardwaj, Naresh, Edmonton-Ellerslie (PC) Bhullar, Hon. Manmeet Singh, Calgary-Greenway (PC) Bikman, Gary, Cardston-Taber-Warner (PC) Bilous, Deron, Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview (ND), New Democrat Opposition Whip Blakeman, Laurie, Edmonton-Centre (AL), Liberal Opposition House Leader Brown, Dr. Neil, QC, Calgary-Mackay-Nose Hill (PC) Calahasen, Pearl, Lesser Slave Lake (PC) Campbell, Hon. Robin, West Yellowhead (PC) Cao, Wayne C.N., Calgary-Fort (PC) Casey, Ron, Banff-Cochrane (PC) Cusanelli, Christine, Calgary-Currie (PC) Dallas, Cal, Red Deer-South (PC) DeLong, Alana, Calgary-Bow (PC) Denis, Hon.

Jonathan, QC, Calgary-Acadia (PC), Government House Leader Dirks, Hon. Gordon, Calgary-Elbow (PC) Donovan, Ian, Little Bow (PC) Dorward, Hon. David C., Edmonton-Gold Bar (PC) Drysdale, Hon. Wayne, Grande Prairie-Wapiti (PC) Eggen, David, Edmonton-Calder (ND), New Democrat Opposition House Leader Ellis, Mike, Calgary-West (PC) Fawcett, Hon.

Kyle, Calgary-Klein (PC) Fenske, Jacquie, Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville (PC) Forsyth, Heather, Calgary-Fish Creek (W), Leader of the Official Opposition Fox, Rodney M., Lacombe-Ponoka (PC) Fraser, Rick, Calgary-South East (PC) Fritz, Yvonne, Calgary-Cross (PC) Goudreau, Hector G., Dunvegan-Central Peace-Notley (PC) Hale, Jason W., Strathmore-Brooks (PC) Hehr, Kent, Calgary-Buffalo (AL) Horne, Fred, Edmonton-Rutherford (PC) Jansen, Sandra, Calgary-North West (PC) Jeneroux, Matt, Edmonton-South West (PC) Johnson, Hon.

Jeff, Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater (PC) Johnson, Linda, Calgary-Glenmore (PC) Kang, Darshan S., Calgary-McCall (AL), Liberal Opposition Whip Kennedy-Glans, Donna, QC, Calgary-Varsity (PC) Khan, Hon. Stephen, St. Albert (PC) Klimchuk, Hon. Heather, Edmonton-Glenora (PC), Deputy Government House Leader Kubinec, Hon. Maureen, Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock (PC) Lemke, Ken, Stony Plain (PC), Deputy Government Whip Leskiw, Genia, Bonnyville-Cold Lake (PC) Luan, Jason, Calgary-Hawkwood (PC) Lukaszuk, Thomas A., Edmonton-Castle Downs (PC) Mandel, Hon.

Stephen, Edmonton-Whitemud (PC) Mason, Brian, Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood (ND) McAllister, Bruce, Chestermere-Rocky View (PC) McDonald, Hon. Everett, Grande Prairie-Smoky (PC) McIver, Hon. Ric, Calgary-Hays (PC) McQueen, Hon. Diana, Drayton Valley-Devon (PC) Notley, Rachel, Edmonton-Strathcona (ND), Leader of the New Democrat Opposition Oberle, Hon. Frank, Peace River (PC), Deputy Government House Leader Olesen, Cathy, Sherwood Park (PC) Olson, Hon. Verlyn, QC, Wetaskiwin-Camrose (PC) Pastoor, Bridget Brennan, Lethbridge-East (PC) Pedersen, Blake, Medicine Hat (PC) Prentice, Hon.

Jim, PC, QC, Calgary-Foothills (PC), Premier Quadri, Sohail, Edmonton-Mill Woods (PC) Quest, Dave, Strathcona-Sherwood Park (PC) Rodney, Dave, Calgary-Lougheed (PC) Rowe, Bruce, Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills (PC) Sandhu, Peter, Edmonton-Manning (PC) Sarich, Janice, Edmonton-Decore (PC) Saskiw, Shayne, Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills (W), Official Opposition House Leader Scott, Hon. Donald, QC, Fort McMurray-Conklin (PC), Deputy Government House Leader Sherman, Dr. Raj, Edmonton-Meadowlark (AL), Liberal Opposition Whip Smith, Danielle, Highwood (PC) Starke, Dr.

Richard, Vermilion-Lloydminster (PC) Stier, Pat, Livingstone-Macleod (W), Official Opposition Whip Strankman, Rick, Drumheller-Stettler (

W) Swann, Dr. David, Calgary-Mountain View (AL), Leader of the Liberal Opposition Towle, Kerry, Innisfail-Sylvan Lake (PC) VanderBurg, George, Whitecourt-Ste. Anne (PC), Government Whip Weadick, Greg, Lethbridge-West (PC) Wilson, Jeff, Calgary-Shaw (PC) Woo-Paw, Hon. Teresa, Calgary-Northern Hills (PC) Xiao, David H., Edmonton-McClung (PC) Young, Steve, Edmonton-Riverview (PC) Vacant, Battle River-Wainwright Vacant, Spruce Grove-St. Albert Party standings: Progressive Conservative: 70 Wildrose: 5 Alberta Liberal: 5 New Democrat: 4 Independent: 1 Vacant: 2 Officers and Officials of the Legislative Assembly W.J.

David McNeil, Clerk Robert H. Reynolds, QC, Law Clerk/ Director of Interparliamentary Relations Shannon Dean, Senior Parliamentary C ounsel/Director of House Services Stephanie LeBlanc, Parliamentary Counsel and Legal Research Officer Nancy Robert, Research Officer Philip Massolin, Manager of Research Services Brian G. Hodgson, Sergeant-at-Arms Chris Caughell, Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms Gordon H. Munk, Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms Janet Schwegel, Managing Editor of Alberta Hansard

Executive Council Jim Prentice Premier, President of Executive Council, Minister of International and Intergovernmental Relations, Minister of Aboriginal Relations Manmeet Singh Bhullar Minister of Infrastructure Robin Campbell President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance Jonathan Denis Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Gordon Dirks Minister of Education David Dorward Associate Minister of Aboriginal Relations Wayne Drysdale Minister of Transportation Kyle Fawcett Minister of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development Jeff Johnson Minister of Seniors Stephen Khan Minister of Service Alberta Heather Klimchuk Minister of Human Services Maureen Kubinec Minister of Culture and Tourism Stephen Mandel Minister of Health Everett McDonald Associate Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ric McIver Minister of Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour Diana McQueen Minister of Municipal Affairs Frank Oberle Minister of Energy Verlyn Olson Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Donald Scott Minister of Innovation and Advanced Education Teresa Woo-Paw Associate Minister of Asia Pacific Relations

STANDING AND SPECIAL COMMITTEES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ALBERTA Standing Committee on Alberta’s Economic Future Chair: Mr. Amery Deputy Chair: Mr. Stier Barnes Dallas Eggen Fox Hehr Kennedy-Glans Luan McDonald Quadri Rogers Rowe Sarich Towle Standing Committee on the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund Chair: Mr. Casey Deputy Chair: Mrs. Jablonski Amery Barnes Ellis Lukaszuk Mason Sherman Smith Standing Committee on Families and Communities Chair: Ms Olesen Deputy Chair: Mr.

Barnes Cusanelli Eggen Fenske Fox Fritz Leskiw Pedersen Quest Rodney Sandhu Strankman Swann Weadick Standing Committee on Legislative Offices Chair: Mr. Jeneroux Deputy Chair: Dr. Brown Blakeman DeLong Eggen Leskiw Quadri Saskiw Strankman Wilson Young Special Standing Committee on Members’ Services Chair: Mr. Zwozdesky Deputy Chair: Mr. VanderBurg Forsyth Fritz Hale Johnson, L. Lukaszuk Mason McDonald Sherman Strankman Standing Committee on Private Bills Chair: Mrs.

Leskiw Deputy Chair: Ms Cusanelli Allen Barnes Bilous Brown DeLong Fenske Fritz Jablonski Olesen Rowe Stier Swann Xiao Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections, Standing Orders and Printing Chair: Mr. Luan Deputy Chair: Mr. Rogers Bilous Calahasen Casey Ellis Kang Olesen Pastoor Pedersen Rodney Saskiw Starke Stier Wilson Standing Committee on Public Accounts Chair: Mr. Saskiw Deputy Chair: Mr. Young Allen Anderson Anglin Barnes Bilous Donovan Hehr Horne Jansen Jeneroux Luan Pastoor Sarich Standing Committee on Resource Stewardship Chair: Mr. Goudreau Deputy Chair: Mr.

Strankman Allen Bikman Blakeman Brown Calahasen Cao Fraser Hale Johnson, L. Mason Stier Xiao Young

March 18, 2015 Alberta Hansard 701 Legislative Assembly of Alberta Title: Wednesday, March 18, 2015 1:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 18, 2015 [The Speaker in the chair] head: Prayers The Speaker: Good afternoon. Let us pray. Holy Creator, we seek Your guidance in helping us to fulfill the responsibilities that come with public office. Help us to make the best decisions possible, that those decisions in turn may help those whom we are pledged to serve in this Assembly. Amen.

Please be seated. head: Introduction of Guests The Speaker: We have some visitors who will be introduced shortly, but in the meantime shall we proceed with school groups first? Let us do that, then. Let us begin with Sherwood Park, followed by Red Deer-North. Ms Olesen: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have the pleasure of introducing to you and through you to all members of the Assembly the students, teachers, and parent volunteers from Woodbridge Farms elementary school. Actually, there are 52 of them, in fact. The teachers are Ms Antonia Triska, Mrs. Carey Cummings, M r. Tyson Parker, and the parent helpers are Mr.

Randy Rosen, Mrs. Karen Dunham, and Mrs. Yvonne Thomas. Located in my constituency of Sherwood Park, Woodbridge Farms is a co- operative community of learners wholeheartedly dedicated to the success of every one of their over 400 students. I would ask that the Woodbridge Farms school group now rise and receive the traditional warm welcome of this Assembly. head: Introduction of Visitors The Speaker: The hon. Premier has some special visitors. Mr. Prentice: Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce to you and through you to the members of this Assembly a friend and passionate Canadian, the Hon.

Bob McLeod, the Premier of the Northwest Territories; in addition, an old friend, the Hon. Michael Miltenberger, who is the Northwest Territories’ Minister of Environment and Natural Resources; in addition, Mr. Gary Bohnet, the principal secretary and executive officer of the Territories; and Martin Goldney, who is the Territories’ Deputy Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations. Premier McLeod and Minister Miltenberger are in our capital city to sign an agreement between Alberta and the Northwest Territories that relates to bilateral water management.

The agreement really highlights our commitment to work toge ther to manage our water and our aquatic resources, particularly in the Mackenzie River basin. As we all know and as we’ve discussed in this Chamber, water is a vital resource, and this agreement will ensure that our governments continue to collaborate to develop water management plans that benefit both our communities and the integrity of our diverse and valuable ecosystems. Alberta and the Northwest Territories have a long history. In fact, there was a time when we were part of the Northwest Territories, Mr. Speaker, as you well know.

On behalf of everyone in the Chamber I would like to say welcome to our esteemed guests, and I would ask the people to rise and receive the traditional warm welcome of this Assembly. The Speaker: Welcome to all of you. head: Introduction of Guests (continued) The Speaker: Let us proceed with Red Deer -North. You have a school group to introduce? Mrs. Jablonski: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure today to introduce to you and through you to all members of this Assembly 58 students from Gateway Christian school in my constituency of Red Deer -North.

These students are among the brightest and the best that Alberta has to offer, and I know that our future is in good hands. They’re accompanied by – you can tell they’re well loved; they’re well supervised – three teachers and their 11 parent helpers. The teachers are Miss Shelley Wiebe, Mrs. de Koning, and Mr. Kooman, and the parent helpers are Mrs. Noble, Mrs. Winczura, Mrs. Trost, Mrs. Demers, Mrs. Karri -Anne Brewster, Mr. Reza Torabi – sorry about the mispronunciation – Mrs. Karen Mullin, Mr. Dean Stutheit, Mr. Christopher Mah, Mrs. Krystal Kromm, and Mr. Jon Wieler. They are seated in the public gallery.

I’d ask them to rise and receive the traditional warm welcome of the Assembly. The Speaker: Are there other school or education groups? Seeing none, let us move on to Edmonton-Decore, followed by the Minister of Health. Mrs. Sarich: Mr. Speaker, it’s my honour and privilege to rise today to introduce to you and through you to all members of the Assembly guests from the Turkish -Canadian Society board of trustees, the Edmonton ANZAC Committee, and the military, who are attending today in remembrance of this year’s historic 100th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli, to be commemorated on April 25, 2015.

The Gallipoli Campaign took place on the Gallipoli peninsula in the Ottoman Empire, known today as Turkey. The commemorations to be held recognize the bravery, courage, huge loss of life, and sacrifices made by the Alli ed forces and the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, ANZAC. Mr. Speaker, my guests are seated in the members’ gallery, and I would ask them to please rise and remain standing as I mention their names: Ms Dilara Yegani, chair, board of trustees, Turkis h- Canadian Society, whose grandfathers fought in the Battle of Gallipoli and the Turkish independence war; Mrs.

Sinem Senol, vice-chair, board of trustees, Turkish-Canadian Society; Mrs. Donna Mae Lewis, secretary, board of trustees, Turkish -Canadian Society; Dr. Hakan Ozdemir, treasurer, board of trustees, Turkish - Canadian Society; Mrs. Gigi Talibi, auditor, board of trustees, Turkish-Canadian Society; Mr.

Bernhard Baker, chair, Edmonton ANZAC Committee, and former member of the New Zealand Defence Force; representing the commemoration of the ANZAC landings, Lieutenant Jason Pascoe, former member of the Australian army reserves and current serving reservist with the Loyal Edmonton Regiment, and Warrant Officer Matthew Parsons, former member of the New Zealand Defence Force and current serving member of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. I would now ask the Assembly to please join me in giving the traditional warm welcome. Thank you. The Speaker: Thank you.

The Minister of Health, followed by Edmo nton-Beverly- Clareview. Mr. Mandel: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my pleasure to introduce to you and through you to this entire Assembly two people here to mark national Dietitians Day. They are Karen Boyd, regional

702 Alberta Hansard March 18, 2015 executive director, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, from Dietitians of Canada, and Doug Cook, registrar of the College of Dietitians of Alberta. March is also Nutrition Month, and these representatives as well as others spent the morning in the rotunda sharing their expertise and educating me and my fellow colleagues on the values that dietitians bring to our health care system. Please join me in recognizing them with the traditional welcome. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview, followed by the Minister of Municipal Affairs. Mr.

Bilous: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m proud to rise today to introduce to you and through you to all members of the Assembly my constituent Jan Buterman. Jan is a founding member of TESA, the Trans Equality Society of Alberta, and the current president. TESA’s mission is to be a witness to and a voice for matters concerning trans Albertans. Jan is active on issues of equality and accessibility.

I wanted to invite him here today to thank him for contributing to the debate on Bill 10, advocating for human rights protecting gender identity and gender expression, and rightfully pointing out that LGBTQ human rights are not only an issue of sexual orientation. I would encourage all members of the Assembly to visit TESA’s website, tesaonli ne.org, to learn about the work that still needs to be done in Alberta for trans equality. I’d ask Jan to rise and receive the traditional warm welcome of the Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Municipal Affairs, followed by Edmonton-South West. Mrs.

McQueen: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m so thrilled to introduce to you and through you to members of this Assembly four very dedicated and hard-working department staff here today from Municipal Affairs. These individuals I’m introducing represent our legislative projects unit, the MGA Review Team, legislative counsel, and the staff that have been working so very hard on Bill 20, the Municipal Government Amendment Act, 2015. They are in the House today to watch debate on Bill 20 in second reading.

I would ask that Brandy Cox, Melinda Steenbergen, Katie Nault, and Eric Martin rise and receive the traditional warm welcome of this Assembly. 1:40 The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-South West. Mr. Jeneroux: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m very pleased to rise today and introduce to you and through you to all members of the Assembly one gentleman seated in the members’ gallery. He’s a national political consultant with clients in seven provinces and at all levels of government, including many here in Alberta.

After four years of working on Parliament Hill, he returned to the private sector to provide political consulting and voter contact services to elected officials, candidates, businesses, municipalities, and advocacy and professional organizations acr oss Canada. This gentleman is the fine-dressed Mr. Jim Ross. I’d ask him to now rise and receive the traditional warm welcome of the Assembly. head: Members’ Statements The Speaker: We have two minutes per person for these. Let us begin with Edmonton-Decor e, followed by the Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition. Battle of Gallipoli Centenary Mrs. Sarich: Mr.

Speaker, in 1915 the shores of Gallipoli in Turkey were the scene of one of the world’s most infamous military disasters, a tragedy which epitomized the horrors of the First World War. The narrow Dardanelles Strait, a critical sea route from Europe to Russia controlled by Turkish guns and mines, needed to be secured by British and Allied forces. On March 18, 1915, the main attack by the Allied battleships tried to break through the strait but failed. At dawn on April 25, 1915, the British and the Australian and New Zealand corps, ANZAC, sent ground forces which landed on the shores of Gallipoli.

Lack of sufficient intelligence and maps of the contoured terrain along with the trained Turkish soldiers defending the high ground with modern weapons like the machine gun hampered the success of their invasion. After eight months of bitter fighting and heavy battle casualties on both sides, including unsanitary conditions, the campaign ended in failure for the British and ANZAC forces. However, an Ottoman victory resulted, which renewed Turkey’s vision for the modern Turkey under the leadership of Commander Atatürk.

The centenary of the Battle of Gallipoli will be remembered and commemorated today and on April 25, 2015, known as ANZAC Day. It is only right that Albertans be encouraged to pause and pay our respects to all the brave soldiers’ sacrifice, including the regiment from Newfoundland – extraordinary heroism prevailed and the valour of not only those from the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps but all t hose who fought and died at the site of the Gallipoli conflict – and also to remember all those who have served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations since that time. Mr.

Speaker, deepest gratitude to the families of the many descendants, who are vigilant to keep alive the memory of their loved ones as they did not return from the battlefield. Rest eternally in peace. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: The Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, followed by Vermilion-Lloydminster. Government Policies Mrs. Forsyth: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let’s take a trip back to 2007.

Spider-Man was number one at the box office, Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone, the U.S. housing bubble was set to burst, the Ottawa Senators were fighting for a chance at the Stanley Cup, and on Parliament Hill the federal Industry minister and now our Premier was waving the flag for Alberta’s proposed royalty review. Alberta’s new royalty regime had a superhero in this Premier. He cheered loudly about how the review strikes the right balance for Alberta and our oil industry. Despite dire warnings from industry the minister and now Premier gave this new royalty regime his unconditional support.

Now let’s hop to 2010. Alberta’s oil and gas industry is devastated by this foolish review, billions of dollars’ worth of investment has picked up and walked away, the members opposite are taking down yet another one of their leaders, and a new political entity is born that stands firmly on the side of our energy industry. I’m not sure why the Premier’s memory is so bad. Either way, this Premier would be wise to remember that he was a critical piece in the creation of Alberta’s royalty review. He wasn’t the culprit, but he was an accomplice. I don’t think his memory is improving either.

Just months ago he said that he’d consolidate Alberta’s budget. He didn’t. He said that he’d balance the bu dget and keep new taxes off the table. Well? He said that he’d stick to Alberta’s

March 18, 2015 Alberta Hansard 703 fixed-election law. Well, we know that’s not going to happen. He’s done everything in his power to wipe out democracy and decimate the opposition. We know this Premier has supported increasing royalties once. What makes us so sure he won’t let it happen again? One thing is for sure, Mr. Speaker. The Wildrose remains the one and only party standing between this Premier and his foolish plans to devastate this province one more time. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Vermilion -Lloydminster, followed by Edmonton-Strathcona. Rural Health Services Review Dr.

Starke: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today the Minister of Health and I were very pleased to publicly release the final report of the rural health services review. So what’s in the report, and more important, what’s going to be done about it? Well, just like every Albertan, rural Albertans expect and deserve high-quality, patient-centred health care. Patient -centred health care means that sometimes sick patients don’t travel to healthy doctors; sometimes the healthy doctor travels to the sick patient. As rural Albertans constantly reminded us, the road goes both ways.

Now, the report also talks about the need for a team of health care professionals, not just doctors but nurses, physicians’ assistants, nurse practitioners, midwives, pharmacists, dietitians, and paramedics. While we’ll continue to need to attract foreign-trained medical and health care workers, we need to do more to grow our own, and it’s time that we devoted the same time and effort identifying and nurturing the next generation of healers as we do hockey players.

Now, EMS remains a major concern, and I would like to acknowledge and thank my colleague the Member for Calgary- South East for his valuable counsel in this critical area. Ambulances need to be used for emergencies, not as taxis, and when a rural crew heads into the city, they need to discharge their patient quickly and head back home. Straight home. We can and we will make better use of underutilized rural health infrastructure. Just ask the local community leaders and health care providers; they’ll tell you how we can breathe life back into rooms that have stood empty and dark for too long.

While we’re at it, let’s ask them for some input into health care planning. Ultimately, Mr. Speaker, it doesn’t have to cost more; it can cost less. But it’s not about money; it’s about care. In medicine you assess the patient, you come up with a diagnosis, an d you institute treatment. The rural health review has done that. It is supported by the Premier and the minister. Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work. The Speaker: The hon. leader of the ND opposition, followed by Calgary-Varsity. Ms Notley: Well, t hank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

That last statement would be a lot more compelling if it wasn’t all focused on fixing the mistakes of this government. Health Care Funding Ms Notley: Now, recently the topic of health care continues to be a major issue for Albertans. We’ve learned that children and their families are showing up for surgeries at Stollery children’s hospital only to discover that their surgery has been cancelled due to overcapacity. We’ve learned that hospitals in Calgary are so jam packed that they couldn’t treat patients in need of dire care 66 times in November alone.

We’ve learned that the government has no problem finding $2 million for a luxury golf course, yet they can’t find $17,000 to bring elevators at the Sturgeon community hospital up to safety code or find $55,000 to buy a lightning rod that the Misericordia needed three years ago. They can’t even find $200,000 that Royal Alex has needed since 2010 for a fire alarm upgrade. It sounds like the PCs need a little help getting their priorities straight.

Today we learned what everybody already knew: that rural Albertans don’t have access to the care they need, that small towns across this province have lost their family doctors, that rural Albertans can’t rely on EMS services when they need them. The PCs will tell us not to worry, that they’ve solved the problem once again – nothing to see here – just like they did last year and last decade and the decade before that. Yet the problems still seem to get worse, Mr. Speaker. The PCs have failed to manage Alberta’s health care system in the good times. They’ve failed to invest in crumbling hospitals.

They’ve failed to provide services. They couldn’t even fix an elevator, for crying out loud. Now that the price of oil has dropped, now that bud gets are tighter, does the Premier really expect Albertans to trust him to fix health care now? The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Varsity. Child and Youth Mental Health Ms Kennedy-Glans: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In Calgary -Varsity we receive a lot of questions from people supporting a loved one who’s suffering from mental illness.

To deepen and widen our outreach on these queries, we hosted a town hall in our constituency last month, inviting a panel of local experts to guide us. O ur constituency has been a long-standing champion for dementia care, a disease suffered primarily by seniors in our communities. Of course, dementia remains a priority, but what we realized through this recent outreach was the critical need for child, yout h, and student mental health research. 1:50 Here are some of the facts. About 50 per cent of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14 and 90 per cent by the age of 25.

Psychiatric illnesses – schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety – are the major chronic diseases of young people. Adolescents with psychiatric illness are at an enormously increased risk of suicide. The province, our postsecondary institutions, and K to 12 educators have been collaborating to support youth and s tudent mental health services and research, but the historical gap between the need for and the availability of both researchers and clinicians is great. This fact was reinforced this week in meetings with student leaders from CAUS and ASEC.

Research need s to be deepened and widened to all levels of investigation from understanding, for example, how cannabis use affects the brain, through the best strategies to identify youth who are becoming unwell, through health system research to make the services for youth more efficient. While there has been investment and action, many believe this commitment is not commensurate with the magnitude of the problem or with the long -term cost to society of not addressing the problems of mental health in our most valuable resource, Mr. Speaker, our youth. Thank you.

The Speaker: Thank you. head: Oral Question Period The Speaker: Hon. members, you are reminded you have 35 seconds to pose a question, 35 seconds to bring forward a response, and at that point I’ll have to cut you off if you exceed that. I hope

704 Alberta Hansard March 18, 2015 the clock is working today. We’ve had troubles with it for the past few days, but it should be okay today. Let us start with the Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition. Government Policies Mrs. Forsyth: On a day many are calling Bloody Tuesday, about 500 people lost their jobs at Nexen and Talisman Energy. It’s the worst possible news for those laid off and their families. I feel for them, Mr. Speaker, and we wish them all well. The question they now face is: how will they manage their family finances with massive tax increases looming on the horizon?

Premier, raising taxes o n these Albertans is not fair, it’s not right, and it’s not necessary. Why do you insist on doing that? Mr. Prentice: Mr. Speaker, the loss of any job is one too many, and we’re all saddened by what we’re seeing, particularly in the energy economy, with ad ditional job losses announced today. This is something the government is very sensitive to. It speaks to why we need to manage our finances carefully as a province. It speaks to why we need to ensure that we diversify our economy.

As a government we will c ontinue to work with any Albertan that has lost their job, to try to get them back into meaningful employment using every method we can. This is of concern to the government and should be to all Albertans. The Speaker: First supplemental. Mrs. Forsyth: Thank you. It’s clear that the government’s priorities are completely out of whack. The CBE, U of A, and AHS have all given their former presidents half-a-million-dollar severances within the last year.

On the same day that the Wildrose released information about severances at the AGLC, with one executive receiving a payout worth three times their annual salary, thousands of Albertans find themselves unemployed. Premier, you’ve refused to take action on severances at agencies, boards, and commissions. What are Albertans to think as they face unemployment and punishing tax hikes? The Speaker: The hon. Government House Leader. Mr. Denis: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It seems to me that this member is receiving a $627,000 severance herself when she retires from this Chamber. Which way is up?

The Speaker: Final supplemental. Mrs. Forsyth: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Golf courses, golden handshakes, and corporate payouts: these are all PC priorities while Albertans are hurting. Massive severance payouts across hundr eds of agencies, boards, and commissions; a bloated bureaucracy; and the most expensive government in Canada: these are the priorities this Premier wants Albertans to pay for with the largest tax increase in Alberta’s history just when they’re hurting most . Premier, nothing could hurt the economy more than more tax increases.

Will you commit to fixing this mess in your own backyard without taxing Albertans? Mr. Denis: Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, $627,000 is what this member is receiving as a severance when she retires from here. Perhaps, maybe, she’d like to elaborate on that. The Speaker: Second Official Opposition question. The Member for Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills. Provincial Elections Mr. Saskiw: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday the Premier laughed off questions when asked if the government handing out $28 million to the Chief Electoral Officer meant that an early, unnecessary, and illegal election is on the horizon.

Albertans are losing their jobs, worried about higher taxes and making ends meet. They didn’t think that was funny. In the real world Albertans aren’t talking about election games or asking their government to break their own law. Premier, can you just stop it with the political games and tell Albertans if you’re breaking your own law, and if so, what is the election date? Mr. Prentice: Well, Mr. Speaker, in the week ahead the Minister of Finance will rise in this Chamber, and he will introduce a budget that amounts not just to a budge t for the next year but a 10-year fiscal plan for the government of Alberta.

This responds to the circumstances that we face as a province. It will be fair. It will be balanced. It will be a measured response to what this province needs in the circumstances that we’re in. No one in this Chamber is responsible for the collapse of oil prices and the government revenues, but this government will deal responsibly with these. Mr. Saskiw: Mr. Speaker, he didn’t answer the question. That answer isn’t credible. Albertans aren’t stupid. They know that $30 million for the Chief Electoral Officer means an election is coming. Here are the facts.

That money could help keep the largest tax increase in Alberta’s history off our backs. It could help pay off the debt or support core government services. I’ll ask again: Premier, are you breaking your own promise to keep Alberta’s fixed election law? Can you stop the games and tell Albertans when the election date will be? Just answer the question, Premier. Mr. Prentice: Mr.

Speaker, there will of course be an election in due course, but the real question Albertans have relates to the policies of the member opposite and his party, policies such as blocking and stopping the Keystone pipeline, commencing a royalty review, and, mos t recently, a suggestion that they will, in order to generate revenue for the government, issue some sort of funny bonds that don’t have to be repaid. These are the kinds of economic policies that Albertans can expect from the opposition. Mr. Saskiw: Point of order. The Speaker: Thank you. Hon.

Opposition House Leader, your point of order has been noted at 1:57 during this last exchange. Let’s go on to the last supplemental. Mr. Saskiw: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I realize that the Premier, when he was running for the leadership of the PC Party, promised free tuition for everyone. There are all sorts of promises that he’s made. There’s no question there’s a cost to democracy, but there’s a cost to breaking the law and not keeping your promises. Fixed election laws are designed to be a contract between voters and their government.

The PC MLA for Highwood once said that we need fixed election dates so that elections are, and I quote, not held at the convenience of the governing party. End quote. Premier, do you agree with your colleague? If not, can you tell Albertans what the election date will be? Which one is it? The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Finance. Mr. Campbell: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. We dealt with this in estimates yesterday. I think if you turn to Hansard, which is dated

March 18, 2015 Alberta Hansard 705 Friday, December 5, 2014, in which the Chief Electoral Officer approached Legislative Offices about his increases for the next fiscal year, he talked about needing new electoral boundaries, he talked about having to put more balloting in place, he talked about the fact that he wanted to look at electronic voting, and he talked about the investigations he has going on. If you look back in the history of this province, it’s always been the emphasis of Legislative Offices to look at what the electoral officer has asked for two years in advance. The Speaker: Thank you. The hon.

Member for Calgary -Mountain View , followed by Edmonton-Strathcona. Investigation into Release of Information Dr. Swann: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last year the PC government was rocked by allegations that a cabinet minister leaked a $20,000 phone bill from the Member for Edmonton-Castle Downs, who was then running against the current Premier for the PC leadership. To make matters worse, a citizen’s privacy was allegedly violated through the fraudulent use of his name to send that leaked phone bill to the media.

The Premier at the time was so outraged that he ordered an in ternal investigation into this very serious matter six months ago. Can the Premier update the Assembly on the status of this internal investigation? The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Finance. Mr. Campbell: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. This matter is very serious, and we take it very seriously. As a matter of fact, the office of the Privacy Commissioner has taken over the investigation.

As we know, the office operates independently and will conduct its own investigation, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the results will be when she’s finished her investigation. The Speaker: First supplemental. Dr. Swann: Thanks, Mr. Speaker. The Calgary Police Service also began its own criminal investigation into alleged violations of the Criminal Code for fraudulent impersonation of a Calgarian’s identity in order to leak the phone bill to the media on the day of the PC leadership debate.

Shortly after the PC leadership race ended and before any results were made public, the Calgary Police Service shut down the invest igation. Another question to the Premier: did the Premier or any member of his government have any discussion with the police about this investigation, and can he tell us why it suddenly went cold? The Speaker: The hon. Government House Leader. 2:00 Mr. Denis: Thank you again, Mr. Speaker. Matters dealing with law enforcement, of course, operate fully independently of government.

I would suggest that this member, if he has any further questions, contact the appropriate law enforcement authorities. Dr. Swann: Mr. Speaker, last year the Premier showed he is capable of striking secret deals with his opponents when he convinced the former Leader of the Official Opposition to cross the floor. We’ve learned his preference is to bring potential political issues into his caucus and out of the public eye. Can the Premier assure Albertans that there was no deal with anyone at Calgary Police Service to make this investigation go away? Mr. Denis: Again, Mr. Speaker, the same answer.

The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton- Strathcona, leader of the ND opposition. Rural Health Care Ms Notley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Three years ago the Health Quality Council of Alberta reported that constant reorganization of our health care system causes chaos for patients and front -line workers and recommended stability. Hmm.

We’ve had boards, then we had regions, then we had bigger regions, then we had one big region, then we had a central board, then they fired the board, then they had a deputy minister, then a CEO, and now they’re hiring the board again, and now they’re redecentralizing the government’s centralized health care system. My question is to the Premier. Why should anyone trust your government on yet another health care reorganization? Mr. Mandel: Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for the question. All we’re doing is setting up an organizational structure to allow Alberta Health Services to operate more effectively.

This is not as much a reorganization as an operating model which will allow them to operate more effectively, deliver services to rural areas in a more efficient manner, and deal better with the residents of our province. Ms Notley: Sounds to me like a redisorganization, Mr. Speaker. Today’s report on rural health care makes it clear that health care in r ural areas isn’t serving the interests of Albertans. It’s unacceptable for people to have to drive 600 kilometres for a five- minute consultation. It’s unacceptable that people are dying because dialysis is too far away.

It’s unacceptable that rural communities are losing people and business because they can’t keep a family doctor. Again to the Premier: will you admit that your government’s original centralization was and is an abject failure for the people of this province? Mr. Mandel: Mr. Speaker, I’d like to say that in this country many jurisdictions are looking to go to a centralized health care system, but centralization doesn’t mean just one particular entity; it means finding a best operating model, which is what we’re putting in place.

We’re trying to make sure we relate to our communities to give them the kinds of health services they all desire, and that’s what we’ll be doing. Ms Notley: Mr. Speaker, this report outlines hardship and dangerously low or completely absent basic health care services outside of Edmonton and Calgary. Whether it’s obstetric care, mental health, dialysis, seniors’ care, in almost every way this government has let down rural Alberta. The problem is this: almost every meaningful recommendation in that report costs more money.

So how can Albertans trust this government to provide safe health care in a time of fiscal restraint when they neglected and abandoned rural Alberta health care when times were good? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Mandel: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We b elieve a new, more decentralized system will allow it to be a better system, less costly, with greater care. We think the new system we’re putting in place will give Albertans a better opportunity to have access to care, and we’ll continue to do that. The Speaker: Thank you. The hon.

Member for Rimbey -Rocky Mountain House -Sundre, followed by Calgary-Mountain View.

706 Alberta Hansard March 18, 2015 Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Mr. Anglin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The majority of scientists around the world are in broad agreement about the occurrences, causes, and consequences of climate change. Supposedly AEMERA, Alberta’s environmental monitoring service, is created on this foundation of broad scientific agreement, yet on Monday the Minister of Finance stood in this Assembly and defended the burning of coal and justified greenhouse gas emissions.

To the Premier: do you accept the scientific majority findings that the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere poses the greatest risk of irreversible climate change? The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Municipal Affairs. Mrs. McQueen: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. We take climate change very seriously in this province, and the work that is done by AEMERA, with the arm’s-length agency, is very important work for us, and that is why we implemented that arm’s -length environmental monitoring agency.

I can tell you that we’ve worked with the federal government on our coal regulations, and as we work to phase out the coal regulations and bring more cleaner energy into the province, that’s very important. The minister spoke about that, and he spoke about the phase-out of coal. Mr. Anglin: Yeah. But you took 11 climate change deniers. I needed to know.

Given that this government claimed credit for reducing greenhouse gases by 146,000 tonnes from a Bonavista gas plant in 2012 and given that this same gas plant’s records reveal that it only produces 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases annually, how can this government claim to save 146,000 tonnes when there are only 50,000 tonnes to begin with? Is somebody falsifying documents? The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Municipal Affairs. Mrs. McQueen: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a great deal of examples on the climate change file where we’ve met our commitments. We set targets in 2010, and we’ve met those.

We’re working on our renewed climate change strategy, and we will make sure that we have that shortly. This government, this Premier take very deep con cerns with regard to the work we’re doing with climate change, and we will continue to move that file forward. Mr. Anglin: Boy, do we gotta get back to basic math.

Given the reputable audit firm of KPMG has failed greenhouse gas reduction projects because there is no verifiable proof of any reduction and given the Minister of ESRD has overruled more than one KPMG audit without explanation and taken credit for reductions, how can the international markets have any confidence in Alberta’s carbon offset system when it appears that the ministry is just fabricating our greenhouse gas reduction numbers? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mrs. McQueen: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have 34 offset protocols with ESRD with the climate change strategy.

We’re seeing reductions on the targets that we set. We’re meeting those reductions. We have a number of ways that you can pay into a fund. You can use offset credits. This government is working very hard on the climate change file, and we will continue to move that file forward. The Speaker: Thank you. Let’s curtail our

preambles from this point onward when it comes to supplementary questions. Let’s start with Calgary -Mountain View, and then Bonnyville-Cold Lake. Investigation into Release of Information (continued) Dr. Swann: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last year the office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner also launched her own investigation into Service Alberta about how the release of the $20,000 phone bill of the Member for Edmonton-Castle Downs may have vi olated the FOIP Act. Conveniently, the minister who was then responsible for Service Alberta was also the Premier’s leadership co-chair.

He was also the person the media reported was allegedly involved in shopping the same phone bill to opposition parties. To the Minister of Service Alberta: can the minister update the Assembly on the status of the Privacy Commissioner’s investigation into his ministry? The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Service Alberta. Mr. Khan: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the hon. mem ber for the question. The office of the Privacy Commissioner is an independent office. They are currently investigating this case. I’ve spoken with the commissioner and given her the assurance that she has our full co-operation in this case.

The Speaker: First supplemental. Dr. Swann: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, to the Minister of Infrastructure. Can he tell us if he’s had any discussion with the Privacy Commissioner about this investigation, or has this case gone cold, too? The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Infrastructure. Mr. Bhullar: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. That’s an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly.

I would suggest that members opposite and all members in this House respect the autonomy of institutions like independent officers of the Legislative Assembly, institutions like our police services, respect their autonomy, allow them to do their job. That’s what we believe in here, the rule of law. The Speaker: Final supplemental. Dr. Swann: Thanks, Mr. Speaker. I think there’s a real danger here that Albertans won’t get to see the results of any of these investigations before the next election.

Will the Minister of Service Alberta commit to a public disclosure of all information about this investigation before the election? Mr. Khan: Again, I’d like to thank the hon. member for the question. I’ll remind the hon. member that the office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner is an independent office. I believe it would be inappropriate for me to influence the investigation. We’ll co-operate, as I said, with the investigation, but the timeline is in her hands. Thank you. The Speaker: Thank you. The hon. Member for Bonnyville -Cold Lake , followed by Livingstone-Macleod.

March 18, 2015 Alberta Hansard 707 Rural Health Services Review Mrs. Leskiw: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today the rural health report was released, and I’m so happy to hear that the recommendations will improve health care in rural Alberta. The report contains recommendations that Alberta Health Services be split into eight to 10 org anizational districts. Although these districts seem like a good idea, I have some concerns with their implementation.

To the Minister of Health: with the recom - mendations of implementing new organizational districts, is the Minister of Health admitting th at the centralization of health services in Alberta isn’t working and that we are returning to regions? The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Health. Mr. Mandel: Thank you, and thanks for the question. Absolutely not. We are keeping a centralized system, but t he operating model of that will be the nine districts, eight districts, 10 districts as they go through the system of evaluating what we need to do.

I can assure the member that we’ll be able to do more and better service at the local level under the system. Alberta Health Services is committed to making sure this works and delegating the kind of authority to the districts to make the system very effective. 2:10 Mrs. Leskiw: Given that we have gone through organizational changes in the past, can the Minister of Health confirm that these districts will have real authority, or is it just another letterhead exercise? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Mandel: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Whoa, letterhead exercise. Anyway, yes.

Alberta Health Services will be delegating budgets. They’ll be setting up facilities’ plans. They’ll be having the patient- first model. They’ll be setting up their advisory councils. This will all be done at the district level under the supervision of Alberta Health Services. This will be mean ingful delivery of service, and responsibility and accountability by these districts for this service will be done in a very efficient manner. Mrs.

Leskiw: Given that, ultimately, this review needs to benefit Albertans, how can the minister be sure that the recommendation in this report will actually have a positive impact on patient care? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Mandel: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, we’re taking steps. We’re putting new operating districts in place, the new EMS delivery model system, new local advisory committees, limiting the time that EMS vehicles can spend when they’re in urban areas, and enhancing mental health services by expanding telephone programs.

I can assure the member that we will be more effectively delivering health care in rural Alberta. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Livingstone-Macleod, followed by Little-Bow. Mr. Stier: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the last set of questions, by the way. Ever since this PC government tried centralizing health care seven years ago, our rural health care system has been struggling to provide timely, quality care for Albertans, as we’ve kn own. Now this government is finally recommending 10 operational districts to improve regional access.

So to the minister: that being the case, how exactly and precisely with today’s announcement will you change the authority and centralization of powers that still exist in AHS? The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Health. Mr. Mandel: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we’ve said before, this will be a delegation of authority to these districts as an operating model. They will be able to implement different programs. T hey will set up facility programs, modelling for their advisory councils, et cetera.

This will be a very effective model, which we believe will help encourage better health delivery in rural Alberta, and we hope to have it operational by July 1. The Speaker: First supplemental. Mr. Stier: Well, thanks again, Mr. Speaker. To the minister. This rural health care review recommends relaunching AHS but this time with standards and expectations, I understand. I know the numbers are bad, but do standards and expec tations really not exist under your government’s current framework? Really? Precisely which ones are going to be addressed as the very first, immediate priorities?

The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Mandel: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a delegation of authority. This is an operating model. Standards will be across the board the highest in Canada. Alberta Health Services will ensure that all Albertans will get the best health care possible in this country. The Speaker: Final supplemental. Mr. Stier: Well, thanks again, Mr. Speaker. Again to the minister. With respect to rural EMS we’ve been raising these issues for two years to see meaningful changes in ambulances.

Now that the government has again admitted that we need to address transportation issues in the ambulance system, how exactly and precisely are you going to implement changes, at what cost, and when exactly will we see these overdue nonemergency transfer units in place that I’ve been talking about for two years? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Mandel: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We’ll be putting in place protocols to make sure that ambulances coming out of rural Alberta that go into major urban centres with particular patients will be able to off-load their patients and then go back to their communities as soon as possible. We’ll also be putting in place programs in which local areas can begin to move people through nonambulance facilities in order to make them move smoother, so not using up our paramedics and ambulances for that. The Speaker: Thank you. Let us move on to Little Bow, followed by Calgary -Mountain View. Rural Emergency Medical Services Mr. Donovan: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

For years rural Alberta has voiced their concern with ambulance services. Many Albertans feel centralized on the dispatch of the ambulance service to our local rural areas. The undue stress to our health care providers, our hospitals: our rural Albertans have had enough of it. With today’s release of the rural health care report, I feel it’s time to ask the minister some of the same questions that he’s been asked already.

708 Alberta Hansard March 18, 2015 One of the issues facing emergency medical services is that ambulances are being used to shuttle nonemergency patients. How is the minister going to end this absurd practice from happening for the emergency personnel in emergency situations? The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Health. Mr. Mandel: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

With this specific situation Alberta Health Services is increasing its ability to us e nonambulance transfer vehicles such as wheelchair -equipped vans for basic transfers that don’t require heavily trained paramedics, to help free up rural ambulances for emergency response. When the rural health group went out and talked to Albertans, they were concerned about their ability to control their ambulance service. We need to work with people in rural Alberta to make sure that they feel comfortable with what we’re doing, and we will do that. Mr.

Donovan: To the same minister: given that we have a limited number of ambulances and staff and that their time is best spent responding and delivering patients to hospital yet they’re stuck in emergency rooms for up to hours waiting for their patients to be admitted, how is this minster going to make sure emergency personnel are back in the field, where they belong? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Mandel: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’ll be putting protocols in place to ensure that once an ambulance goes into an urban area, it must return as soon as possib le to its home base.

This will make sure that there’s safety and security in the rural community. The Speaker: Thank you. The hon. member has one final supplemental. Mr. Donovan: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Given that rural ambulances belong in rural areas yet when they finish a call in major centres such as Edmonton, they’re tasked to do shuttling services around the city instead of returning to their base, what is this minister doing to make sure that ambulances return to the communities where they’re needed the most? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Mandel: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We will put in place, again, a protocol to ensure that once the ambulances come into the cities, whether it’s Edmonton or Calgary or Red Deer, they will have to return immediately to their communities. They will not be allowed to b e reassigned to local duties. They have to be able to support their own communities. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary -Mountain View , followed by Leduc-Beaumont. Childhood Immunization Dr. Swann: Thanks, Mr. Speaker. The Minister of Health can’t seem to get his story straight. First he told the Assembly that he’s not going to make vaccines in schools mandatory.

Then he said that he needs to consult with someone about them somewhere at some time. The government also uses the excuse that mandatory vaccines infringe on the rights of parents and school boards. To the Minister of Health: are you saying no to mandatory vaccinations, or are you still consulting? Which is it? Mr. Mandel: Mr. Speaker, across our province we have a program in place to encourag e families to vaccinate their children, and my personal belief is that people should vaccinate their children. We have not mandated that, and we will have to evaluate whether that should be done or not. Dr.

Swann: Given that almost every health expert, doctor, and even his own ministry agree that vaccines save lives, who exactly does the Minister of Health need to consult with before taking the necessary next steps to protect the health and safety of schoolchildren? Mr. Mandel: Maybe Albertans, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: The hon. member. Final supplemental. Dr. Swann: Thanks, Mr. Speaker.

Given that last week this government proved that parental and school board rights do not trump the safety and protection of our children – that’s the GSA bill you just passed – does the Minister of Health not see that his own government has already debunked this consultation argument when it comes to GSAs? So why is he still using it? To protect the health and safety of children requires this in potentially life -threatening situations. The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Mandel: Yeah. Mr.

Speaker, we’ve had information come in to us that there are jurisdictions that make it mandatory, but their coverage and their vaccination, immunization is much lower than ours. So there are different ways we can look at it and different ways in which we can ensure that our communities, our children are safe. It isn’t as simple as the hon. member would like to think. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Leduc-Beaumont, followed by Edmonton-Calder. Food Processing Development Centre Mr. Rogers: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

With an uncertain resource- based economy Alberta has been diversifying for decades and in 1984 opened the Food Processing Development Centre in my constituency of Leduc -Beaumont, the only facility of its kind in Canada. The food and beve rage industry is now Alberta’s largest secondary manufacturer, generating in excess of $10 billion in annual shipments. My question is to the newly minted associate minister of agriculture. For his maiden question: what is the government doing to support and leverage state-of-the-art facilities like the Food Processing Development Centre to help grow our economy?

The Speaker: The hon. associate minister. Mr. McDonald: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to the member for the question. The development centre that we have in Leduc is an extremely exciting centre that does culinary work all over Alberta. In fact, six development associations have graduated already and invested $50 million in capital across Alberta. 2:20 The Speaker: First supplemental. Mr. Rogers: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have one final supplemental for that same minister. Mr.

Minister, with the current revenue shortfalls are you planning any initiatives in the near term to use this facility to boost value-added opportunities for Alberta’s agricultural sector and, by extension, contribute to Alberta’s economic future?

March 18, 2015 Alberta Hansard 709 The Speaker: The hon. associate minister. Mr. McDonald: Thank you, again. Well, obviously, this facility has been expanded twice already, in 2002 and again in 2007. It’s already 140,000 square feet. We’re always looking for opportunities, we’re always looking for ideas, and we welcome all comers. Thank you. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Calder , followed by Medicine Hat. Deaths of Children in Care Mr. Eggen: Thank you, M r. Speaker. On Friday the Premier said that the death of every child in care or receiving services is investigated.

We know that that is simply not true. For example, a one-page coroner report with a signature is not a proper investigation into the death o f a child. To the Minister of Human Services: will the minister admit that the Premier misspoke and that this PC government is in fact not investigating the deaths of all children in care? The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Human Services. Mrs. Klimchuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The death of a child in care is one too many.

Every critical incident, as I said the other day, or death is examined internally and externally depending on the situation, internally through the department as well as externally through the good work of the Child and Youth Advocate, the council of quality assurance, the Family Violence Death Review Committee, the medical examiner, and the fatality inquiry when necessary. [interjection] Mr. Eggen: Well, Mr.

Speaker, given that a round-table concluded last January that investigations into children’s deaths in care should be standardized and that more than a year later we still see no progress on this, to the Minister of Human Services again: why does this minister not take the obvious solution to this problem, which is to fund the office of the Child and Youth Advocate properly and allow them to investigate the deaths of children in care? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mrs. Klimchuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have to say that the investigations the Child and Youth Advocate does with his staff – he does excellent work as well. He does have the capacity to do that and, of course, work with Human Services to make those investigations. [interjections] At the end of the day for me, if we lived in a perfect world, there’d be no children in care, no children hurt, no accidental deaths or medical deaths. It’s up to the Ministry of Human Services to ensure those deaths are looked into, and we will continue to be transparent. The Speaker: Thank you. Hon. members, do your best to yield the floor to whoever has been given it.

Let’s hear your final question. Mr. Eggen: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Given that the government has laid down so many layers of bureaucracy in Human Services that both the minister and the Premier can’t even get their story straight on what constitutes an actual investigation into the death of a child, to the minister again: why doesn’t this PC government stop the empty rhetoric, reverse their nonsensical cuts to the office of the Child and Youth Advocate, and let the professionals do the job of helping children at risk? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mrs. Klimchuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have to say that the work of the oversight committee, led by Tim Richter, and the good work that he has done, including all the other work that goes on in Human Services – all of this work is continuing. All child ren who die in care will be investigated. Again, it goes back to: if we lived in a perfect world. We wish these things wouldn’t happen, but they are going to happen. At Human Services we will continue to investigate and be transparent and open in that regard. The Speaker: The hon. member for Medicine Hat, followed by Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview. Medicine Hat Addiction Treatment Facility Mr.

Pedersen: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my constituency the Medicine Hat detoxification and residential treatment centre is an innovative facility that is being built to serve all residents through southeastern Alberta. It is unlike any other detox centre available to these Albertans and will offer an aftercare program to each of its patients. My constituents have expressed concern that due to government budget pressures this facility may not open as scheduled. My question is for the Minister of Infrastructure. Given the current fiscal pressures can you confirm that this centre will be built as originally planned?

The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Infrastructure. Mr. Bhullar: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the member for the question. Addiction is a very serious issue in our society. I can confirm to the member that that is a project that is going ahead. The construction has actually commenced. It’s a very important project for his particular region, and we intend to ensure that it is completed. The Speaker: First supplemental. Mr. Pedersen: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Given every detox centre requires highly trained professionals in order to properly run their programs, does the Minister of Health plan on replacing the necessary qualified staff with less -experienced staff so that AHS doesn’t have to pay them as much? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Mandel: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are no plans to reduce recovery services at the detox facility. The detox facility fills an important need in Medicine Hat, and its services are critical for helping people recover from drug and alcohol addictions.

You know, staff continue to care for patients in a temporary eight -bed facility. We’ll continue to do that after the 18-bed facility opens this year. Once the permanent facility opens, existing staff will move over, and we anticipate the number of staff will have to be increased as well with the increase in the size of the facility. I’d also like to recognize the member for his community’s great efforts on homelessness. Mr. Pedersen: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Minister, for recognizing their awesome work.

Again to the Minister of Health: in planning for this new, permanent facility, will there be any cuts to the original number of staff members with the aftercare program, which would undermine this innovative facility? The Speaker: The hon. minister.

710 Alberta Hansard March 18, 2015 Mr. Mandel: Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The temporary detox facility has six detox beds and two additional beds for people attending the day treatment program in Medicine Hat. The facility is currently staffed with two supervisors, six nursing staff, four addictions counsellors, eight client-care assistants, and one recreational therapist. Once a permanent recovery centre opens in Medicine Hat later this year, it will continue to offer the existing eight beds, and it will add 10 more beds for residential treatment.

Again, we expect an increased number of staff working at the facility and existing staff to remain employed. Additional staff will be brought in to work in this facility. This is a very important addition to this community. We thank the member for his question. Early Childhood Development Mr. Bilous: Mr. Speaker, late last year we learned that this PC government cancelled the five- year, $16 million early childhood mapping project, which provided vital data about the development of our children. The pr oject’s final report shows some stunning results.

Less than half of the 70,000 kids included in the study are developing appropriately physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. To the Minister of Human Services: how can Alberta have a bright future when your government is so clearly failing the children of this province? The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Human Services. Mrs. Klimchuk: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. The mandate that the Premier has given me focuses on early childhood development. The early childhood mapping project is incredibly important information. That’s why it was continued until December 2015.

It’s important to note that the Minister of Education and the Minister of Health are currently working on this together, and we will continue to work in the area of early childhood development. Mr. Bilous: Mr.

Speaker, given that the ECD mapping project helped to pinpoint the areas where Alberta’s kids have the highest needs and given that these studies estimate that for every dollar spent on early childhood education and development programs, $8 is returned to individuals and to society later in life, will the Minister of Huma n Services commit to increasing investment in early childhood development, and if not, why not? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mrs. Klimchuk: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m glad the hon. member agrees with me on how important early childhood development is in helping our children.

We need to get to the root cause. We need to help children. We know that there’s great work going on with the Norlien Foundation with brain development. My concern is getting at children from zero to 5, before they get to kindergarten, so we can help them get out of poverty, have proper nutrition, and give family supports when they’re needed at home. Mr. Bilous: My concern is your lack of answer. Mr.

Speaker, given that the ECD mapping project paints a particularly troubling p icture for children who are in underprivileged socioeconomic environments and given that the childhood poverty rate has barely changed in the last 25 years in this province, with almost 150,000 kids living in poverty, to the same minister: why won’t this government make good on the 2012 promise to end child poverty that you were elected on? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mrs. Klimchuk: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. It might be perceived as a lack of a question.

I think it’s important to note the good work of the seven cities across Alberta, the good work we’re doing with Mayor Iveson on the task to end poverty, that I’ve been privileged to be able to be a part of. Ending poverty is a work for all of us. We also want to support families with the primary care networks, that are now open in the evenings so that families can get medical attention they need. There are a whole number of areas, including parent link centres, including all of the supports that we provide for families. The Speaker: The hon.

Member f or Calgary-East, followed by Edmonton-Centre. 2:30 Home-care Services Mr. Amery: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recently I have been contacted by several constituents of my riding of Calgary-East who depend on assistance from home care and Alberta aids to daily living or self-managed care. However, they are concerned with the rising costs of their care and have heard that in Edmonton these services are fully funded. To the hon. Minister of Health: is there an explanation for these perceived funding differences between Edmonton and Calgary? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Mandel: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I can assure you that funding levels are set in Edmonton and Calgary and all regions of the province. Putting clients first is always our priority. AADL is funded the same across the province, though the cost to individuals can vary depending on the individual’s circumstances. For example, low -income Albertans and those receiving AISH or income support are not required to share the cost of equipment and supplies provided by AADL. There are some differences for home care and self -managed care between Edmonton and Calgary that AHS is working to standardize. The Speaker: Supplemental. Mr. Amery: Thank you, Mr.

Speaker. To the same minister: also, Mr. Minister, I have heard from constituents who suggest that the hourly wage for AHS health care workers is higher in Edmonton than in Calgary. Can you explain these perceived wage differences? Mr. Mandel: Mr. Speaker, I again want to assure this member and his constituents that the rate paid by AHS for contracted home-care services is exactly the same in Edmonton and Calgary. AHS oversees contract providers to ensure that safe, quality health care is provided but does not determine wages for individual staff members.

Alberta Health Services’ home-care worker pay follows collective agreements, and the pay scales are identical in both cities. The way in which home-care clients are assessed in Edmonton and Calgary is very similar, though there are some differences that AHS is working to standardize. The Speaker: Final supplemental. Mr. Amery: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Also to the same minister: in regard to self -managed care funding, how are funding needs assessed by Alberta Health Services? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Mandel: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

AHS uses an internationally recognized assessment tool to develop an individualized care plan

March 18, 2015 Alberta Hansard 711 for clients accessing home-care programs, including self-managed care. This care plan helps AHS to determine the funding for all home-care clients, including those eligible for self -managed care. Self-managed care rates are comparable between both cities, with Edmonton’s set only 3.5 per cent higher than Calgary’s. This is an historical difference between the two cities and is a small difference when we look at the actual funding numbers. We understand that some families or individuals who depend on self-managed . . . The Speaker: Thank you, Mr. Minister.

Let’s move on to Edmonton-Centre, followed by Lethbridge - West. Postsecondary Education Funding Ms Blakeman: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The Liberal caucus has been meeting with postsecondary students, and they have confirmed our suspicions. Because of this governme nt’s chronic underfunding of our institutions, they’ve been forced to invent new ways to fund what the government doesn’t, all this while Alberta has the lowest postsecondary participation rate in the country because we fund the lowest number of seats.

Doe s the Premier believe that having the fewest postsecondary graduates in the country sets the province up for a knowledge-based economy? Mr. Dirks: Mr. Speaker, I can tell you that we, of course, need skilled workers in Alberta, and our government has no intention of slowing much-needed training, apprenticeship training in particular, in Alberta. We’re just going to continue to ensure that we are providing the kinds of services to apprenticeship training applicants, providing our province with skilled workers.

That’s why we make every effort to ensure that opportunities are available at our technical training and postsecondary institutions to address the very issue the member opposite has just raised. Ms Blakeman: The minister cannot seriously be trying to te ll me that increasing and supporting opportunities for trades apprenticeship and skilled workers is answering my questions about postsecondary education that leads to a creative economy. Are you seriously expecting me to believe that? Mr. Dirks: Goodness me, Mr. Speaker.

If anybody thinks that apprentices are not important in our province and they don’t contribute to a knowledge economy, I’m shocked. All postsecondary training is important in Alberta. University training, college training, apprenticeship training in our trades institutions: we support all of that. We believe that’s very important to the future of our province. We want to see it continue. The Speaker: Hon. member, you’ve sent in your point of order at 2:35, during that last exchange. It has been noted. Ms Blakeman: You didn’t answer my question, and you know it. Back to the Premier again.

Since costs to students in postsecondary keep increasing through new approvals for market modifiers and enabling random noninstructional fees, whatever those are, does the government recognize that the tuition cap is effectively gone? There’s only one pocket, and it’s the student’s, and you keep taking out of it. Mr. Dirks: I thank the member opposite for her question, Mr. Speaker. There are no imminent chan ges to tuition. Our goal isn’t to have the cheapest education; it’s to have the best education. Alberta provides one of the highest levels of support to postsecondary institutions.

We obtain almost 50 per cent of operating revenue for these institutions from government funding. This is 5 per cent higher than the national average, 16 per cent higher than Ontario. Tuition from Alberta university students accounts for a lower proportion of operating revenues, 30 per cent, than other provinces such as Ontario and . . . The Speaker: Thank you. Let’s move on now to the hon. Member for Lethbridge -West, followed by Drumheller-Stettler. Seniors’ Guaranteed Disposable Income Mr. Weadick: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There are currently 11,000 Albertans who receive the Alberta seniors’ benefit and live in publicly funded designated supportive living and long -term care residences. Last year this government made a commitment to those seniors to increase the guaranteed disposable income benefit to $315 a month. This means that low -income seniors living in care facilities are guaranteed $315 a month over the cost of housing, food, medical care, and other supplemented costs. I believe our seniors deserve nothing less. My question is to the Minister of Seniors.

Has our governm ent implemented the decision this body agreed upon to ensure that all seniors in care can keep $315 a month? The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Seniors. Mr. J. Johnson: Mr. Speaker, thank you. I thank the member for the question and thank him for the great work that he’s done for seniors in his previous role as Minister of Municipal Affairs. I know he did a lot of work on this file in particular. In July 2014 the social housing accommodation regulation was amended to stipulate that all seniors lodge resident s must be left with a minimal disposable income of $315.

I can confirm for the member that we have followed through on this promise because we’re committed to ensuring that seniors are supported appropriately. The Speaker: First supplemental. Mr. Weadick: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the same minister: are there any circumstances in government -subsidized facilities where seniors will not be left with $315 a month? Mr. J. Johnson: Mr. Speaker, this benefit is designed to ensure that seniors lodge residen ts have a minimum monthly disposable income. There should not be any circumstances where seniors are left with smaller amounts.

If there are cases where this requirement is not being followed, my department would be happy to look into those. The Speaker: Final supplemental. Mr. Weadick: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final question to the same minister: can any of these facilities request that seniors sign waivers so that they are not left with the $315? Mr. J. Johnson: Mr. Speaker, I’m happy to confirm for the member that the Alberta Housing Act stipulates that each senior resident must be left with a monthly disposable income of at least $315. As such, any waivers requesting that seniors be left with a smaller amount would not be valid.

The legislation would supersede any waivers that would be put in front of them. If there are any cases where this is happening, I’d like to know about it. As I said, my department will assist the housing management bodies and look into this if they’re having any difficulty administering the program appropriately.

712 Alberta Hansard March 18, 2015 The Speaker: The hon. Member for Drumheller-Stettler. Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council Mr. Strankman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Serious allegations are swirling about the board of the Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council. The old minister appointed public members to this board. Dozens of Albertans applied, but two of the minister’s old law school buddies and one long -time political volunteer made it through. To the minister: do you really think that filling it up w ith PC insiders is the way to make this board work? Mr.

Khan: I’d like to thank the hon. member for the question and for his efforts to increase the awareness of consumer protection that Service Alberta performs for Albertans every day. The AMVIC board is comprised of industry stakeholders, as he says. It’s also comprised of public members. I think it’s completely unfair that the hon. member is taking shots at good, hard-working Albertans . . . Mr. Saskiw: Point of order, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Khan: . . . who perform a good service for Albertans. I believe it’s really unfair, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: First supplemental. Mr. Strankman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Premier committed to merit-based appointments on boards like this. He said, “Political party affiliation is not a relevant consideration.” To the minister: what are you going to do about this board, that is filled with friends of the PCs and is damaging the trust and integrity of the motor vehicle industry? 2:40 Mr. Khan: Mr. Speaker, I’ve met with the AMVIC board just recently. I want to assure this House that the board is filled with Albertans who are dedicating their time and their energy to performing this service on behalf of consumers and on behalf of the Department of Service Alberta.

If this hon. member has a specific issue with a person, I think he should have the courage to mention that. Mr. Strankman: Mr. Speaker, it’s not personal; it’s about Albertans. Considering this minister refuses to release a report into what really happened at AMVIC, I’m left to wonder why the reasons for the delay relating to the relationships of board members. Will you do the right thing, quit the stalling, and release this overdue report immediately? Mr. Khan: Mr.

Speaker, the member across the aisle refers to a draft report of some issues that we’ve identified from Service Alberta, from the department, in our efforts to support AMVIC in doing their job, in performing consumer protection for Albertans. This is a draft review. We’ve talked to the board. We’d like to give the board an opportunity to respond to us. It is my intention to make that draft review public. The Speaker: Hon. members, we do have another question here. Let’s go to Whitecourt-Ste. Anne. Energy Industry Update Mr. VanderBurg: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

With this morning’s announcement of oil at $42 a barrel and of the dollar slipping, I’m wondering if the Minister of Finance can answer: does this slip in the dollar and the slip in oil match our revenues, or are we going to be short again? Mr. Campbell: Well, Mr. Speaker, you know, we’re down to $42.27 a barrel, and the Canadian dollar is down around 77 cents. While the low Canadian dollar helps us, it doesn’t make up for the fact that oil is trading as low as it is. It is going to cause us some grief in our budget coming forward on March 26. The Speaker: Thank you. Mr.

VanderBurg: To the Minister of Energy: now, today with this announcement and the differential that we’re having with the price of a barrel of oil, what are you expecting to do in the budget? Is this going to cause you some grief as well? The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Energy. Mr. Oberle: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Minister of Finance pointed out, we’re headed for challenging times indeed. At $42 oil we are seeing an additional discount against west Texas intermediate – that will be $12 or $13 today – and even west Texas intermediate is discounted off the world price.

We are cushioned somewhat by the low dollar but not anywhere near sufficiently. Absolutely, we have challenging times ahead in all of our budgets. Mr. VanderBurg: Access to tidewater has been an issue for all of us in Alberta and in our industry. Could the Minister of Energy tell us if we’re any closer to getting a pipeline to the east coas t, to the west coast, to the north coast, to the south coast? Where are we? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Oberle: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can tell the member that we’re working very diligently on market access. It is the number one item in my mandate letter.

He’ll know, as all members do, what the situation is with the Keystone XL and the President’s insistence on letting the process go all the way through. We are making great progress on Energy East in talks with Ontario and Quebec and in addressing their concerns there, and we are making progress on talks to access the west coast. It is my number one mandate item. I’ve got a lot of people working on it. The Speaker: Thank you. Hon. members, what an interesting day: 112 questions and responses today. Congratulations. That was well done. Hon. Member for Lac La Biche-St.

Paul-Two Hills, your point of order at 2:39, during the exchange between the Minister of Service Alberta and the hon. Member for Drumheller-Stettler, has been noted. Thirty se conds from now we shall continue with the final member’s statement, and we’ll hear from Chestermere-Rocky View. head: Members’ Statements (continued) The Speaker: Hon. members, let us hear a member’s statement for two minutes from Chestermere-Rocky View. Chestermere High School Basketball Mr. McAllister: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to applaud the unprecedented success achieved by the basketball teams at Chestermere high school in the riding of Chestermere-Rocky View. This has been a remarkable year of accomplishments. It really has, and I’ll lay it out for you.

March 18, 2015 Alberta Hansard 713 The school has four teams, junior boys and girls and senior boys and girls. All four of these teams going into the zone finals tournament ranked number 1 or number 2, the top of the heat, Mr. Speaker. After all was said and done, the junior girls won the zone tournament. There are no provincials for them. If there were, I’m sure they would chase that title down. The junior boys did lose a heartbreaker in the first game of their tournament, but they went on to rebound and win the consolation bracket.

The senior girls and senior boys both played in the zone finals; the boys taking gold, the girls taking silver. Both of these teams, though, are off to provincials this weekend. The boys will be in Fort McMurray. The girls will be playing in Taber. Now, the senior boys’ team has been undefeated all year. In fact, Mr. Speaker, this streak extends back to November of 2013, made all the more impressive by the fact that their two star players were hu rt for a third of the season, and they still succeeded. All of these teams have demonstrated the tradition of success at Chestermere high school.

Excellence is an expectation at this school. By setting the bar high and putting in the hard work, these four teams continue the tradition of success at Chestermere high. I wish both these teams the best of luck at provincials on the weekend, and I applaud their athletic director, Brian Utley, along with their coaches. There are four of them: Rob Wilson, Erhayat Ozcan, Dan Isbister, and Howie Leong. They have done a tremendous job with this group of kids.

To my colleagues in the Legislature as well I’d like to say: should your teams be playing the Chestermere Lakers at provincials or at any other time, buckle up your chinstraps because we’re bringing our A game, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: Thank you. head: Presenting Petitions The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Glenmore. You have a petition? Ms L. Johnson: Yes, I do, Mr. Speaker. I stand today to present a petition with over 1,100 signatures. This petition was organized by the Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils.

The petitioners are urging the government to consider increased funding for public education. The Speaker: Thank you. head: Introduction of Bills The Speaker: The hon. Member for Lac La Biche-St. Paul -Two Hills. I understand you have a bill that wish to present. I invite you to do so. Bill 208 Alberta Human Rights (Commission Accountability) Amendment Act, 2015 Mr. Saskiw: Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a great privilege to rise today and introduce my last bill as an MLA.

As an opposition member this is the only way which I can introduce legislation that is important to my constituents, and it is an indictment of this PC government that they have limited debate in this House so much that it is unlikely this bill will even come close to second reading. This bill, the Alberta Human Rights (Commission Accountability) Amendment Act, 2015, seeks to restore and protect the right to free speech that all Canadians enjoy. It seeks to hold the Human Rights Commission accountable and put an end to frivolous and vexatious claims that unfairly target people for their personal beliefs.

Fo r example, my constituents believe that their priests should be able to teach freely from the Bible in church on Sundays. They also believe that you are free not to go to church if you don’t want to. My constituents believe that everyone has the right to be offended, to voice their opinion, to proudly share their values, and that they should have these rights without the fear of government prosecuting them. We will never have a society that agrees on everything. This bill recognizes that we are not all goi ng to agree all the time on every issue, and that’s a good thing.

This bill recognizes that we as Albertans should be able to have free, open, and fair debate in our communities without the fear of persecution or prosecution. I urge all members to support this bill, and when I am no longer in this House, I urge all members to fight for the freedoms Albertans deserve: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and freedom of conscience. In closing, I would like to remind all members of our provincial motto, Strong and Free. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. [Motion carried; Bill 208 read a first time] 2:50 head: Tabling Returns and Reports The Speaker: The hon.

Member for Edmonton-Calder , followed by the Government House Leader. Mr. Eggen: Thanks, M r. Speaker. I would like to table the appropriate number of copies of an e -mail sent to me by a constituent to raise awareness for Worldwide EndoMarch 2015. March is Endometriosis Awareness Month. Endometriosis affects more patients than asthma, diabetes, and breast cancer combined. We are trying to raise awareness here with EndoMarch and trying to attain nonprofit status for this group and to raise money to assist women who are afflicted with this disease. Thank you. The Speaker: The hon.

Government House Leader, followed by Edmonton-Centre. Mr. Denis: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to table five copies of a letter on an

article which I referred to yesterday during debates as required. It is an

article called Wildrose Leadership Candidates Face Off in Telephone Town Hall, March 16, by James Wood of the Calgary Herald. It refers to, among other things, someone who is standing for leadership of that caucus, Linda Osinchuk, who . . . Mr. Mason: Point of order, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Denis: . . . would like to go forward with opposing the Keystone pipeline and also thinks that it’s time that we look at the royalty formula. I’ll table five copies with the page. The Speaker: Thank you.

The Member for Edmonton-Highlands -Norwood has raised a point of order at 2:51:30 in response to and during, I assume, the tabling that was being given by the Government House Leader. We’ll hear about that shortly. Let’s move on to Edmonton-Centre on behalf of Calgary - Mountain View. Ms Blakeman: Yes. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’ve had a number of these sent back, and I apologize. I haven’t been tabling these very well on behalf of my colleague the leader of the third party opposition. So here we go.

714 Alberta Hansard March 18, 2015 These all pertain to the questions that the Member for Calgary - Mountain View was asking today. There are copies of articles by the Edmonton Sun. The Premier is concerned about the leak of one our member’s roaming bills.

Also from the Edmonton Sun: Calgary police investigating impersonation following leaked Alberta Tory documents; Alberta PC leadership candidate for Castle Downs racked up bills over cabinet minister’s personal dispute; former Service Alberta minister – I’m at a loss here; I’m sorry; that will get filled in; I don’t want to say his name in the House – told opposition parties to FOIP the Member for Castle Downs’ expenses; staff members say Alberta Liberal leader, the member for Meadowlark, questioned over Castle Downs’ wireless leak; opposition want Alberta’s Privacy Commissioner called in after the phone leak; Alberta’s Privacy Commissioner looking into the leaked phone bill; and, Mr.

Speaker, PCs facing questions of fairness after the previous chief of police for the city of Calgary is appointed as the Calgary-Cross nominee. Did I get through that with all the right names? If you just give me one second, I’ll get the name that I was missing. That would be the Minister of Infrastructure, the Member for Calgary-Greenway. Thank you very much. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Vermilion-Lloydminster. You have a tabling? Dr. Starke: Yes, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. It’s my pleasure today to file the requisite number of copies of the final report of the rural health services review.

This effort came about, really, as a result of a team effort, and I do need to thank a number of people. I’d like to, first of all, thank the Premier and the Health minister for giving me this task although there was the odd time where I wasn’t quite so thankful. I’d also like to especially give thanks to the six committee members that I was blessed to work with. These are outstanding individuals, very, very dedicated in their own capacities both as nurses, doctors, and health care advocates for rural Alberta. As I said in my member’s statement, I’d like to thank my colleague the Member for Calgary -South East .

With his experience as a paramedic the advice he gave me on the EMS

section of this was invaluable. I’d especially like to thank all rural Albertans that came and met with the committee. Their passion and their caring for the community was palpable, and we appreciated it. Thank you. The Speaker: Let us move on to points of order. I believe we have four points of order or clarification, whatever the case might be today. Let us begin. There was a point of order raised at approximately 1:57 during the exchange between Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills and one of the ministers. Let’s hear the point of order, please, Lac La Biche- St. Paul-Two Hills.

Point of Order Referring to Party Matters Mr. Saskiw: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise according to Standing Order 23(h), (i), and (j), and it was with respect to a comment made by the Premier regarding royalty review changes and so forth. It provides the opportunity, I think, most of all, to provide a clarification. I guess I should go back to an

article that was written on October 30, 2007, which states that the federal Industry minister, the current Premier, “threw [his] support behind Alberta’s controversial new oil royalty regime Tuesday, giving Premier Ed Stelmach a much -needed political boost.” It goes on to say: “Speaking to reporters in Washington, [the current Premier] said he believes the Alberta government struck ‘the right balance’ by sharply raising the province’s take of oil revenues.” It’s odd, Mr. Speaker, tha t he’s criticizing it now when you consider his straightforward support of it.

Actually, I’ll quote from him. “I think that the premier” – this is referring to Premier Ed Stelmach at the time – “and his government have worked to strike the right balance in the interests of Albertans as the owner of the resource.” The quote goes on. “I know it’s been a challenge and a difficult process to arrive at that balance, but I think they have ” – get this – “succeeded in doing that.” This is in regard to Stelmach’s proposed royalty increases.

It goes on to say that the Calgary MP at that time “dismissed as alarmist warnings by some critics that Stelmach’s move would bring an end to Alberta’s long -running economic boom.” He said that by increasing the royalties at the time, Alberta would continue to prosper and do very well. Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to point that out, that the Premier is talking about, first off, that the problem is party matters, and he’s complaining about some proposed royalty increases, but his comments here are crystal clear. Back in 2007 he fully supported Premier Ed Stelmach’s royalty increases. It’s plain as record.

Maybe that was then. It’s now, now, or whatever. Mr. Speaker, I would suggest to you that there was a warning yesterday provided to the government that they should not be speaking about party matters. You gave them the warning, yet they continued and persisted in talking about it. So if you’re going to give warnings and they don’t do anything about it, maybe you should do something about it right now and ask that they retract that statement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: The hon. Government House Leader. Mr. Denis: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

With respect, I’m not prepared to withdraw that statement on behalf of the Premier. I know, first off, that my colleague opposite from Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills failed to mention any citation in the standing orders or any other of the constating documents of this Chamber. I again state that the document that I have tabled here is exactly what the Premier was referring to, that a leadership candidate for this party, Linda Osinchuk, talked about raising royalties. She talked about how she was against the Keystone pipeline. These are facts.

These may be inconvenient truths to this member, but again there simply is no point of order here. The Speaker: Anyone else on this point? Mr. Mason: Why not, Mr. Speaker? The Speaker: Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood, please be brief. Mr. Mason: Yes. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, I note that there was no citation as well. I think that it’s quite reasonable to put forward information with respect to the position of a leadership candidate in a leadership race. I think that the matter of the royalties under Premier Stelmach has been mischaracterized by the Wildrose.

The current slump in world oil prices has nothing to do with the royalty regime that was put in place under Mr. Stelmach unless he’s suggesting that Mr. Stelmach sits around the cabinet table in Saudi Arabia. Otherwise, I would suggest that it has absolutely nothing to do with the current drop in oil prices. The Speaker: Thank you. Hon. members, I’m looking at the Blues that have been provided here, and if I have the right spot, I’m going to reference it in a moment, then make a ruling on this.

March 18, 2015 Alberta Hansard 715 But in the meantime I thought I heard citation 23(h), (i), and (j). Did I hear that? I thought I did. I don’t know if the microphone picked it up, but, hon. Member for Lac La Biche-St. Pa ul-Two Hills, that’s honestly what I thought I heard. If I’m wrong, then correct me. 3:00 Mr. Saskiw: That’s correct. The Speaker: Thank you. Okay. So let us move on. Citation 23(h), (i), and (

j) you already have. We’ve referenced them many, many times. It’s similar to the point of order that was raised yesterday, and I am not going to take a lot of time on this. I would encourage you to read pages 686 and 687 of Alberta Hansard from March 17, yesterday, just to become more acquainted with this. It will help shorten up my comments right now. I would also encourage you to look at a couple of sections in House of Commons Procedure and Practice , second edition, regarding replies to oral questions. I won’t restate them all here right now.

But it is frequently the case that someone says something in the middle of the debate, either as a question or as a response, and then hon. members sometimes react to it and there’s a bit of disorde r created or a little bit of a hubbub or something like that. In the end what happens in most cases is hon. members are encouraged to stand up and explain and clarify their position. Rarely is it a point of order, and I don’t find it to be a point of order here.

I think both sides have spoken and clarified on the record what their positions on this are, so we’re going to conclude that matter and move on to the next point of order. Point of Order Allegations against a Member The Speaker: I believe the next point of order was somewhere right around 2:34 or somewhere in there. Anyway, proceed Edmonton- Centre. Ms Blakeman: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

During the exchange between myself and the Minister of Education, although I have to admit that I was not a ble to hear the end of the sentence, certainly the tone and the direction he was moving in and the first part of what I heard him utter would be enough for me to rise on a point of order and point out to him that in – specifically, he was talking about how I or my colleagues did not view apprentices as important.

I will just point out on page 508 of House of Commons , under Replies to Oral Questions: “According to practice, replies are to be as brief as possible, to deal with the subject matter raised and to be phrased in language that does not provoke disorder.” Now, clearly, when a minister stands up and accuses a member of the opposition of not respecting a certain group or a certain postsecondary institution, it’s meant to create disorder. It’s meant to get me mad.

I’ll also note in Beauchesne’s 410(4) that “decorum is of importance,” and it’s expected that in responses to questions, in the replies to questions, that decorum should be respected and disorder should not be raised. In 417 of Beauchesne’s again it mentions that answers to questions should deal with the issues and “not provoke debate”. Finally, Mr. Speaker, under Standing Order 23: A Member will be called to order by the Speaker if [the member] . . . (

h) makes allegations against another Member, which certainly was what was happening, and (

j) uses abusive or insulting language . . . likely to create disorder. So I would ask that the member please withdraw his commentary, especially since I’m sure the member knows that most of the members of my family have graduated from apprenticeships in the trades and I would be less likely than many to be disrespecting those particular institutions. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: Maybe just before I hear from the Government House Leader or somebody on behalf of him, I could just refresh everyone’s memory as to what was said. Unless, Government House Leader, you are prepared to do something now.

Mr. Denis: Mr. Speaker, this is more of a point of clarification. I appreciate the member’s comments. I know she’d never want to create disorder in this Chamber. The recollection that I have – and I don’t have the benefit of the Hansard or the Blues – is that the Minister of Education had talked about: if anyone had said. Because he did not impugn another member or a member’s caucus or anything, I don’t believe that he is offside, making allegations against a member or false or unavowed motives, again, to another me mber. That’s key. I don’t believe that he named another member, Mr. Speaker.

That was my recollection. The Speaker: Thank you. I hope there’s no one else on this point. It’s very straightforward. I’ll read to you, first of all, the exchange according to the Blues. The Member for Edmonton-Centre rose at approximately 2:34 and said the following: The minister cannot seriously be trying to tell me that increasing and supporting opportunities for trades apprenticeship and skilled workers is answering my quest ions about postsecondary education that leads to a creative economy. Are you seriously expecting me to believe that?

The Minister of Education stood in response and said: Goodness me, Mr. Speaker. If anybody thinks that apprentices are not important in ou r province and they don’t contribute to a knowledge economy, I’m shocked. All postsecondary training is important in Alberta. University training, college training, apprenticeship training in our trades institutions: we support all of that. We believe that ’s very important to the future of our province. We want to see it continue. I would agree, on one hand, that the Minister of Education did not directly comment as to who had uttered that feeling.

He said: “if anybody thinks.” I think that’s where the Gov ernment House Leader is coming from. However, on the other hand, I think it was fairly clear that the minister was responding to, if not perhaps looking at, the Member for Edmonton-Centre. As you know, in all matters that come to the Speaker’s attention, context, tone, all of those environmental things in terms of speech, are taken into account. So I think there is a point here, hon. Government House Leader, that can be dealt with very easily if we just on behalf of the member do the right thing, and I’ll allow you the floor. Mr.

Denis: I’ll withdraw the comments on behalf of the Minister of Education. The Speaker: Thank you. That is officially withdrawn and dealt with, and that matter is concluded.

716 Alberta Hansard March 18, 2015 Point of Order Allegations against a Member The Speaker: Let us move on to the third point of order. I believe the third point of order was at approximately 2:39 p.m. and that it was Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills who rose during an exchange that involved the Minister of Service Alberta answering a question posed by Drumheller-Stettler. So let’s hear the citation and the point of order. Mr. Saskiw: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise according to Standing Order 23(h), (i), and (j), specifically 23(h), and that’s a point of order when a member makes an allegation against another member. The background here is that the minister in question stated, and I quote, that the hon. Member for Drumheller -Stettler was taking shots at an independent board. Mr. Speaker, that’s a serious allegation. The minister has made an allegation against the hon. Member for Drumheller -Stettler that he was taking shots against an independent board. That is very serious. These independent boards, as the minister had stated, are independent.

Members should not be attacking them like that, and I wo uld just simply ask that the hon. minister withdraw the comment, and we can get on with things. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: The hon. Government House Leader on this point. Mr. Denis: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I think, again, this is more of a point of clarification. To say someone is taking shots, it’s just simply taking questions, not making accusations or allegations. That’s the spirit of question period.

I don’t think that the Member for Drumheller -Stettler did anything wrong, but similarly, with respect, neither do I think that the Minister of Service Alberta did. The Speaker: Hon. Minister of Service Alberta, you wish to clarify briefly what you intended there? It would help, perhaps. Mr. Khan: If I may, Mr. Speaker. It happens from time to time in this House that there are people who cannot defend themselves, as you know, in this House, and, as you also mentioned, the context and tone of particular questions also say as much often as the question. I’ve worked with this board.

The board is comprised of quality people who are doing quality work on behalf of Albertans. I felt that the Member for Drumheller -Stettler was being very critical of this particular board, and I felt it was my duty to defen d the board. That was my

interpretation of the comments, and I’ll leave it at that. The Speaker: Thank you. Is there anyone else on this? Lac La Biche-St. Paul -Two Hills, briefly. Mr. Saskiw: Yeah. I’d like to just quickly respond. I mean, the minister had himself criticized the same board in a letter that was written earlier this week. Of course, the question, if you look at the context, was criticizing the minister’s appointment process, not the actual members in question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. 3:10 The Speaker: Thank you.

Hon. members, this happened less than half an hour ago, and unfortunately we don’t have the Blues available to us, so I can’t really go into the verbatim exchange. But I’m going to take both sides at their word here. I listened carefully to what I thought I heard the Member for Drumheller-Stettler saying, and I did not think that he was specifically taking a shot, as it’s called, at the particular board in question. He m ay have been taking a shot at the government. I’m not sure. We’ll have to read that. Nonetheless, what he uttered seemed within the rules.

The Minister of Service Alberta, of course, did stand up and say something about shots being taken at the same particular board and I think was trying to defend people who are not here, as he has already stated. I think that clarifies the matter. We’ll all watch our language going on. We know that we’ve got another week or so before the break. Perhaps we can sharpen up our comments and questions and answers in the next few days ahead. That leaves that point as clarified and now closed. We will move on to the final point of order for today. I believe it was the hon. Member for Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood.

You had a point of order during a tabling. Mr. Mason: Yes. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, unfortunately, I’m unable to obtain a copy of Beauchesne’s and therefore unable to provide you with a citation, so I don’t really have a point of order. The Speaker: Thank you very much. That concludes that matter. We can move on. head: Orders of the Day head: Government Bills and Orders Second Reading Bill 18 Appropriation (Interim Supply) Act, 2015 The Speaker: The hon. Deputy Government House Leader on behalf of the Minister of Finance regarding Bill 18. Mrs. Klimchuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It’s my pleasure to move second reading of Bill 18, the Appropriation (Interim Supply) Act, 2015. The Appropriation (Interim Supply) Act, 2015, will provide funding authority to all the offices of the Legislative Assembly and to the government for the period beginning April 1, 2015. It is anticipated that funding authority for the entire fiscal year ending March 31, 2016, will be tabled in the House before that date. Approval of i nterim supply estimates is required whenever spending authority is required to bridge the gap between the last fiscal year and passage of a new budget.

I respectfully urge my colleagues in this House to support this bill. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: Thank you. The hon. Member for Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills. Mr. Saskiw: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a pleasure to rise to speak to Bill 18. You know, when you look at the interim supply in particular, this is dealing with expenditures made from April 1, the day after the fiscal year-end of the government, until the passing of the budget, which typically takes maybe a month, I guess, maybe even a little less.

My question yesterday was with respect to the $28 million that’s being allocated to the Chief Electoral Officer in this interim supply. My question would be: what could occur in that time period, from April 1, 2015, to about the middle of May of 2015, that would require the expenditure of $28 million by the Chief Electoral

March 18, 2015 Alberta Hansard 717 Officer? What could that possibly be? I’m trying to wrack my brain on this. Maybe he’s got some – I’m not sure what the Chief Electoral Officer would need all that money for during that period of time given that the President of Treasury Board indicated that the fixed election date is in 2016. It’s very difficult. You know, we’re debating this. We’d like to know what the response is. Like, why would we need to give the Chief Electoral Officer all this money? What expenditure is he going to make? Are there some capital expenses that he has to make?

What would he need that $28 million for? You know what? In fact, there’s a coincidence, Mr. Speaker. The Chief Electoral Officer said that to run a provincial election, it would be roughly $28 million. So I’m just wondering if during that time period, that six-week period, whether – what could it be for? Mr. Speaker, I’m going to suggest that it’s for an election. But, unfortunately, the President of Treasury Board said again and again that the fixed election period is a three -month period in 2016. You know, we debate large amounts of money in this Assembly. T his bill is no different.

In fact, there’s a substantial amount of money. The minister should be required to provide details on how that money is going to be spent. The President of the Treasury Board did not do that; he failed in doing that. Mr. Speaker, how are we supposed to vote on a bill when the minister is not willing to provide us with any information? The minister said that, you know, the Chief Electoral Officer is going to upgrade some electronic voting systems and that kind of thing, but he neve r gave any estimates on that. I was on the committee that hired the Chief Electoral Officer.

He never at any point indicated it would cost $28 million to upgrade the electronic voting systems and so forth. I think that would be a massive amount of money to do such a project. Of course, if that huge project was going to be done, clearly the President of the Treasury Board would want to tell the Assembly here what roughly $30 million project the Chief Electoral Officer had in mind in the next month, but he didn’t have an answer to that.

For us in the opposition to debate on these substantial amounts of money, you would think it would be incumbent upon the minister to provide us with some information on whether we should vote yea or nay. These votes are very important, Mr. Speaker. In conclusion, there’s not enough information here that’s been provided by the government for us to make a conclusive decision on this. They never separated the monies between operational and capital and financial in any of the departments. You know, it would be nice, Mr.

Speaker, if they gave us an honest answer, in particular, to why that $30 million is going to the Chief Electoral Officer. Just get it off their chest, and we can breathe a sigh of relief here in the Assembly that we’d finally know what was going to happen during that time period. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Those are my comments. The Speaker: Thank you. The hon. Member for Edmonton-Centre, followed by 29(2)(a). Ms Blakeman: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I have to admit that this gives me great concern. I have never seen an interim supply budget that asked for money in an interim supply act for the entire year.

I have seen 19 budgets now and probably 14 or 15 interim supplies, which tells you a lot about the on-time ability of this government to produce a budget and get it passed before the fiscal year-end. It’s somewhere close to complete failure. I’ve seen a lot of these interim supply acts. For people that are following along, this interim is meant to cover the period of time between the 1st of April, when cheques need to be cut – people need to be paid; programs and services, contractors, all of this has to go on.

So the government has to have permission to cut those cheques, to spend that money, and they haven’t passed a budget; they don’t have the permission. Thus, you have an interim supply act. What I’ve seen is that generally they would give themselves about 40 per cent of any department’s budget, which I always questioned them on, why they needed 40 per cent for essentially three months. But some departments are certainly front-end loaded; for example, ESRD with firefighting. Their costs tend to come in the summer. There are others with employment programs that tend to come up in the summer.

A lot, obviously, of the construction, transportation, infrastructure: that money tends to be spent more in the beginning part of the year than in the latter part of the year. So there’s some good standard reasoning behind certain departments but certainly not all departments to have that much money allocated to them for three months’ worth of expenditure. 3:20 I’ve always seen interim supply that ceased. In other words, the permission to be running on an interim supply act ceased at the end of June. So they would give themselves money from the 1st of April through April, May to the end of June.

That was the end of it. It was expected they would have a budget by then. This, Mr. Speaker, is giving them permission to spend this money without a budget until the end of the next fiscal year, which is pretty outrageous when you think about it. What it’s indicating just on the factual face of it is that we won’t get a budget. We may not get a budget at all. There may be no budget debate or any kind of explanation up front about how the government is spending its money because this is it. This is it. No explanation, no votes, no – well, they don’t do roll-down votes anymore, anyway.

But that’s it. [The Deputy Speaker in the chair] So you want to know what’s being spent in Aboriginal Relations? Well, $51 million and change for expense and $6 million for capital investment. Financial transactions: $19 million. End of discussion. That’s it. That’s all you get. This is deeply troubling, and I’m quite concerned that this is a trick, and it ’s a bad one. It’s a trick being played on all Albertans that the government would come forward with an interim supply bill that says: we’re going to have interim money, between now and then money, for the whole year, until the end of March 2016.

Twelve months’ worth of expenditure, and this is the explanation. Just let me help you here. That’s it, folks. That’s it. That’s it. So why has this changed? I’d like to hear from the Minister of Finance on this. Why has this changed? Why have we now gone to an interim supply that gives the government permission to run on this till the end of March, March 31, 2016, an entire fiscal year? Now, I had enough problems with the government giving itself permission to spend money between the 1st of March and the end of June. But from the 1st of March, 2015, to the 31st of March, 2016, on this? Based on this?

This is a mockery of this entire Assembly. It’s a mockery of every financial officer that works for the public service. It’s a mockery of every Albertan out there that expects there to be accountability and integrity in the way this government goes about producing a budget. Mr. Mason: Oh, I don’t think there are many left. Ms Blakeman: Yeah. Well, my colleague from Edmonton - Highlands-Norwood believes there aren’t many left, and nobody is meeting my eyes. That’s always really interesting when that doesn’t happen, Mr. Speaker. This is bad enough. This is serious.

I want to hear from the Finance minister why this is being done because this is unusual.

718 Alberta Hansard March 18, 2015 Why is the government giving themselves permission to go without a budget, without any kind of explanation or understanding except for a four -page document that – sorry, six pages. My mistake. A six-page document. And just in case anybody has forgotten, there’s this really, tr uly bizarre way of explaining budgets now in which they give a budget amount for the Legislative Assembly, but here are the real goods. There is from general revenue an operational budget that is shown as

section

Section 3 is capital investments. That’s a separate line.

Section 4 is financial transactions. God help us, what does this mean, Mr. Speaker? And

section 5 is lottery fund payments. So you’d better have your calculator with you because you have to add all of these up in order to understand what’ s actually being spent in any given department because it doesn’t tell you that. It doesn’t give you the bottom line. It says: here are all the four different ways that they now allocate spending without actually telling us what the total is. The note tha t I’d made to myself when I was thinking about interim supply was how angry I am with this government and how I’m angry and I’m disappointed because there’s so much potential in this province.

There is so much innovation going on out there in the private sector. There are so many people ready to do amazing things, and this government is lazy. Lazy. You have too much money, and all you do is dump money on something to solve the problem. It’s lazy. You’ve done that for years and years and years. We had a lit any of examples that were brought up by my colleague from Edmonton-Strathcona during question period today.

You know, why does this particular scandal or problem get money dumped on it when we can’t get $500,000 more for the Auditor General, who is actuall y trying to keep tabs on what’s going on here? Over and over and over again she gives you explanations and examples of where the government has decided not to fund health care, children, all kinds of things, but they do find money, a lot of money, to pay f or a golf course in Kananaskis. You would think that for all the problems you guys had created for you with that bloody golf course, you would never mention those words again.

But then we look in supplementary supply, and there are millions of dollars that are being spend on flood . . . An Hon. Member: Mitigation. Ms Blakeman: Thank you. . . . mitigation plus extra money to the operators to actually pay them for the nonoperation of the golf course while this mitigation is going on. Unbelievable. We have l aziness, throw money at problems, don’t spend money on other things, a total lack of imagination, and a lack of rigour, frankly. I am angry with that. There ar

Document details

Collection	Alberta — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	20150318
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	L28 S3 20150318 1330 01 han.pdf
Language	en
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