Alberta Hansard — 23 February 2010, Afternoon sitting (13:30) (Legislature 27, Session 3)

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Alberta — Debates (Hansard)

Province of Alberta The 27th Legislature Third Session Alberta Hansard Tuesday, February 23, 2010 Issue 10 The Honourable Kenneth R. Kowalski, Speaker

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The 27th Legislature Third Session Kowalski, Hon. Ken, Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock, Speaker Cao, Wayne C.N., Calgary-Fort, Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees Mitzel, Len, Cypress-Medicine Hat, Deputy Chair of Committees Ady, Hon. Cindy, Calgary-Shaw (PC), Minister of Tourism, Parks and Recreation Allred, Ken, St.

Albert (PC) Amery, Moe, Calgary-East (PC) Anderson, Rob, Airdrie-Chestermere (WA), WA Opposition House Leader Benito, Carl, Edmonton-Mill Woods (PC) Berger, Evan, Livingstone-Macleod (PC), Parliamentary Assistant, Sustainable Resource Development Bhardwaj, Naresh, Edmonton-Ellerslie (PC) Bhullar, Manmeet Singh, Calgary-Montrose (PC), Parliamentary Assistant, Municipal Affairs Blackett, Hon.

Lindsay, Calgary-North West (PC), Minister of Culture and Community Spirit Blakeman, Laurie, Edmonton-Centre (AL), Official Opposition Deputy Leader, Official Opposition House Leader Boutilier, Guy C., Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo (Ind) Brown, Dr. Neil, QC, Calgary-Nose Hill (PC) Calahasen, Pearl, Lesser Slave Lake (PC) Campbell, Robin, West Yellowhead (PC), Government Whip Chase, Harry B., Calgary-Varsity (AL), Official Opposition Whip Dallas, Cal, Red Deer-South (PC), Parliamentary Assistant, Environment Danyluk, Hon. Ray, Lac La Biche-St.

Paul (PC), Minister of Infrastructure DeLong, Alana, Calgary-Bow (PC) Denis, Hon. Jonathan, QC, Calgary-Egmont, (PC), Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Deputy Government House Leader Doerksen, Arno, Strathmore-Brooks (PC), Deputy Government Whip Drysdale, Wayne, Grande Prairie-Wapiti (PC) Elniski, Doug, Edmonton-Calder (PC) Evans, Hon. Iris, Sherwood Park (PC), Minister of International and Intergovernmental Relations Fawcett, Kyle, Calgary-North Hill (PC) Forsyth, Heather, Calgary-Fish Creek (WA), WA Opposition Whip Fritz, Hon.

Yvonne, Calgary-Cross (PC), Minister of Children and Youth Services Goudreau, Hon. Hector G., Dunvegan-Central Peace (PC), Minister of Municipal Affairs Griffiths, Doug, Battle River-Wainwright (PC) Groeneveld, George, Highwood (PC) Hancock, Hon. Dave, QC, Edmonton-Whitemud (PC), Minister of Education, Political Minister for Edmonton, Government House Leader Hayden, Hon.

Jack, Drumheller-Stettler (PC), Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hehr, Kent, Calgary-Buffalo (AL) Hinman, Paul, Calgary-Glenmore (WA), WA Opposition Deputy Leader Horne, Fred, Edmonton-Rutherford (PC), Parliamentary Assistant, Seniors and Community Supports Horner, Hon. Doug, Spruce Grove-Sturgeon-St. Albert (PC), Deputy Premier, Minister of Advanced Education and Technology, Minister Liaison to the Canadian Armed Forces Jablonski, Hon.

Mary Anne, Red Deer-North (PC), Minister of Seniors and Community Supports Jacobs, Broyce, Cardston-Taber-Warner (PC), Parliamentary Assistant, Agriculture and Rural Development Johnson, Jeff, Athabasca-Redwater (PC), Parliamentary Assistant, Treasury Board Johnston, Art, Calgary-Hays (PC) Kang, Darshan S., Calgary-McCall (AL) Klimchuk, Hon. Heather, Edmonton-Glenora (PC), Minister of Service Alberta Knight, Hon. Mel, Grande Prairie-Smoky (PC), Minister of Sustainable Resource Development Leskiw, Genia, Bonnyville-Cold Lake (PC) Liepert, Hon.

Ron, Calgary-West (PC), Minister of Energy Lindsay, Fred, Stony Plain (PC) Lukaszuk, Hon. Thomas A., Edmonton-Castle Downs (PC), Minister of Employment and Immigration Lund, Ty, Rocky Mountain House (PC) MacDonald, Hugh, Edmonton-Gold Bar (AL) Marz, Richard, Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills (PC) Mason, Brian, Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood (ND), Leader of the ND Opposition McFarland, Barry, Little Bow (PC) McQueen, Diana, Drayton Valley-Calmar (PC), Parliamentary Assistant, Energy Morton, Hon.

F.L., Foothills-Rocky View (PC), Minister of Finance and Enterprise Notley, Rachel, Edmonton-Strathcona (ND), ND Opposition House Leader Oberle, Hon. Frank, Peace River (PC), Solicitor General and Minister of Public Security Olson, Verlyn, QC, Wetaskiwin-Camrose (PC) Ouellette, Hon. Luke, Innisfail-Sylvan Lake (PC), Minister of Transportation Pastoor, Bridget Brennan, Lethbridge-East (AL), Official Opposition Deputy Whip Prins, Ray, Lacombe-Ponoka (PC) Quest, Dave, Strathcona (PC) Redford, Hon.

Alison M., QC, Calgary-Elbow (PC), Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Political Minister for Calgary, Deputy Government House Leader Renner, Hon. Rob, Medicine Hat (PC), Minister of Environment, Deputy Government House Leader Rodney, Dave, Calgary-Lougheed (PC) Rogers, George, Leduc-Beaumont-Devon (PC) Sandhu, Peter, Edmonton-Manning (PC) Sarich, Janice, Edmonton-Decore (PC), Parliamentary Assistant, Education Sherman, Dr. Raj, Edmonton-Meadowlark (PC), Parliamentary Assistant, Health and Wellness Snelgrove, Hon. Lloyd, Vermilion-Lloydminster (PC), President of the Treasury Board Stelmach, Hon.

Ed, Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville (PC), Premier, President of Executive Council Swann, Dr. David, Calgary-Mountain View (AL), Leader of the Official Opposition Taft, Dr. Kevin, Edmonton-Riverview (AL) Tarchuk, Janis, Banff-Cochrane (PC) Taylor, Dave, Calgary-Currie (AL) VanderBurg, George, Whitecourt-Ste. Anne (PC) Vandermeer, Tony, Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview (PC) Weadick, Greg, Lethbridge-West (PC), Parliamentary Assistant, Advanced Education and Technology Webber, Hon.

Len, Calgary-Foothills (PC), Minister of Aboriginal Relations Woo-Paw, Teresa, Calgary-Mackay (PC), Parliamentary Assistant, Employment and Immigration Xiao, David H., Edmonton-McClung (PC) Zwozdesky, Hon. Gene, Edmonton-Mill Creek (PC), Minister of Health and Wellness, Deputy Government House Leader Officers and Officials of the Legislative Assembly Clerk W.J. David McNeil Clerk Assistant/Director of House Services Louise J. Kamuchik Clerk of Journals/Table Research Micheline S. Gravel Senior Parliamentary Counsel Robert H.

Reynolds, QC Senior Parliamentary Counsel Shannon Dean Parliamentary Counsel Stephanie LeBlanc Sergeant-at-Arms Brian G. Hodgson Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms Chris Caughell Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms Gordon H. Munk Managing Editor of Alberta Hansard Liz Sim

February 23, 2010 Alberta Hansard 235 Legislative Assembly of Alberta Title: Tuesday, February 23, 2010 1:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 23, 2010 [The Speaker in the chair] head: Prayers The Speaker: Good afternoon and welcome. Let us pray. We confidently ask for strength and encouragement in our service to others. We ask for wisdom to guide us in making good laws and good decisions for the present and future of Alberta. Amen. Please be seated. head: Introduction of Visitors The Speaker: The hon. the Premier. Mr. Stelmach: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to introduce to you and through you to all members of this Assembly some visitors from Saxony, Germany, including the Hon. Stanislaw Tillich, who is the Minister President of the Free State of Saxony; Mrs. Veronika Tillich, the Minister President’s wife; His Excellency Dr. Georg Witschel, who is the ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, in his first official visit to Alberta; Mrs. Andrea Dombois, vice-president of the Parliament for the Free State of Saxony; State Secretary Johann-Adolf Cohausz, who is the spokes- man for the government; Mr.

Hansjörg König, State Secretary of the Ministry for Higher Education, Research and the Fine Arts; Dr. Roger Mackeldey, head of the division for international relations, state chancellery; Mrs. Jutta Wolf, division for international relations, state chancellery; Ms Melanie Ottenbreit, head of the press division; and a good friend of ours, Mr. Bernd Reuscher, honorary consul of Germany in Edmonton. Mr. Speaker, earlier today President Tillich and I signed an agreement to renew the Alberta-Saxony co-operation for another five years.

We both agreed that this agreement will further streng- then ties between our two jurisdictions, and we also agreed that we should get it signed before Canada plays Germany this afternoon. This agreement will provide us a platform for exploring new opportunities for collaboration. Germany is the largest economy in Europe. Alberta’s relationship with this economic powerhouse will help us build a stronger position in a global marketplace and increase our province’s competitive advantage. We also look forward to working with Ambassador Witschel and his staff to further enhance the ties between Alberta and Germany.

Mr. Speaker, our honoured guests are seated in your gallery, and I would ask them all to rise and receive the traditional warm welcome of this Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Calder. Mr. Elniski: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my pleasure to introduce to you and through you to all members of this Assembly someone who is indeed no stranger to us, the current Member of Parliament for Edmonton-St. Albert, the hon. Mr. Brent Rathgeber.

Those of you who may know Brent will realize, of course, that in recent times he was the former MLA for Edmonton-Calder, until the electorate ultimately decided that they needed a taller one. It’s a rare opportu- nity for Mr. Rathgeber to be here today, which may or may not have anything to do with Parliament currently being prorogued. I would invite him to stand and receive the traditional warm greeting of the Assembly. head: Introduction of Guests The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Health and Wellness. Mr. Zwozdesky: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

It’s a pleasure to introduce to you and through you to all members of the Assembly another group of outstanding young students from Donnan elementary school in my constituency. Forty-seven of them are here today, including teachers and group leaders Mr. Jason Knight, Mr. Gerry Hawkes, and Mr. Sheldon Sitter. I would ask them all to please rise, and the rest of us can welcome them with a thunderous round of applause. Thank you. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Ellerslie. Mr. Bhardwaj: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

It’s an honour to rise today and introduce to you and through you a group of grade 6 students from Holy Family Catholic school in my constituency of Edmonton-Ellerslie. I had the privilege of meeting them moments ago, and I hope they’re having a good time at the Legislature. They’re sitting in both galleries today. I ask them along with their teachers, Mrs. Marlene Norsworthy and Mrs. Isabel Pinto, to please rise and receive the traditional warm welcome of the Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills. Mr. Marz: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It’s a pleasure to introduce to you and through you to all members of the Assembly today three gentlemen who are seated front and centre in the members’ gallery. We have Jim Bowhay, president of the Feeder Associations of Alberta, who is a cattle rancher from Sundre; Mr. Reg Schmidt, general manager of the Feeder Associations of Alberta and a cattle feeder from Thorsby, and I’m told by my hon. colleague from Drayton Valley-Calmar that that’s in her constituency; and we have Pat James, who is a 40-year member of the association and who has a ranch in Olds known as EV Ranches.

Pat is also a member of the Farm Products Council of Canada, but more importantly Pat has been a long-time riding buddy of mine. We trail ride in the Rocky Mountains, and we’ve had a couple of occasions to try to give riding lessons to the hon. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, with limited success. I’d now ask them to rise and please receive the traditional warm welcome of the Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Buffalo. Mr. Hehr: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a great honour to introduce to you and through you to all members of this Assembly Mr. Duncan Wojtaszek.

Duncan is the executive director of the Council of Alberta University Students, CAUS, which is an advocacy group representing the interests of over 70,000 university students across the province. CAUS has been working very hard for the past year to see the adoption of some of the recommendations from the Chief Electoral Officer’s report on the 2008 election regarding postsecondary students. I will be tabling their report and recommen- dations today, which is entitled Students and Democracy: Improving Post-Secondary Student Voter Turnout in Alberta Elections.

I’d like to ask Duncan to please rise and accept the traditional warm welcome of this Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Airdrie-Chestermere. Mr. Anderson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is my pleasure to introduce to you and through you to all members of this Assembly

Alberta Hansard February 23, 2010236 the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees’ Committee on Political Action. I’d ask them to rise as their names are called. They’re seated in the public gallery. There’s Glen Scott, chair and vice- president; Kathy Cayenne, local 071; Gerald Forbes, local 071; Bill Piggott, local 003; Garry Ritchie, local 003; Christina Sefton, local 048; and David Climenhaga, the staff adviser. Our caucus had a very nice chat with them this morning, and we look forward to working with them as we move forward. I ask all members of this Assembly to give them a warm welcome.

The Speaker: Are there others? Hon. Member for Edmonton- Calder, do you have another one? Mr. Elniski: Yes, I have another one. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a pleasure to rise today to introduce to you and through you to members of this Assembly two individuals from the Children’s Autism Services of Edmonton. One in 150 children are affected by autism, and many of these children are on the waiting list for treatment. Children’s Autism Services of Edmonton has put forward a development proposal to build a clinic to meet the needs of children affected by autism and their families.

I will be discussing more about this organization and their proposal in a member’s statement later this afternoon. For now I would ask them both to rise: Miss Terri Duncan, the executive director of Children’s Autism Services of Edmonton; and Mrs. Marcy Henschel, a mom of twins affected by autism. Please receive the traditional warm greetings of the Assembly. 1:40head: Members’ Statements The Speaker: The hon. Member for St. Albert. Alberta Queen’s Printer Mr. Allred: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Last session I asked a question in question period about the Queen’s Printer and the downloading of copies from the Queen’s Printer website. I’m pleased to say that subsequent to my question the Queen’s Printer is now offering copies of all Alberta statutes from their website at no charge to the public and also, I should add, all Alberta regulations. My thanks to the minister responsible for Service Alberta for the prompt action on this query. This may seem like a small concession and a small issue to many people. It was likely a small concession, but I would suggest that it is not a small issue.

There are over 600 acts and over a thousand regulations that comprise Alberta statute law. We are all deemed to know the law. It is important to know the law, for if one should break the law, you will be brought to justice. To expect everyone to know all of Alberta’s laws and the intricacies of those laws is absurd, yet it is important for government not to erect barriers to a person’s desire to know the laws that affect them in their everyday lives.

Unfortunately, Alberta law is just the tip of the iceberg, for there is also a myriad of Canadian acts and regulations as well as munici- pal bylaws that one must also wish to acquaint themselves with. Fortunately, however, Canadian statutes and many municipal bylaws are also readily available and downloadable from the website, free of charge, I might add. As we all know, the law does not stop with the statutes and bylaws but extends to the many decisions of Alberta’s courts as well as the Supreme Court of Canada.

Again, we are fortunate to have all of those cases, at least all recent cases, readily available on the web. I guess that in conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I just want to say that with the facilities we have through the Internet and with the co-operation of agencies such as the Queen’s Printer, we in Alberta are very fortunate to have all of this important information at our fingertips, convenient and at little or no cost. Thank you. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Calder. Children’s Autism Services of Edmonton Mr. Elniski: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I just want to speak a little bit more about the two people that I introduced earlier from Chil- dren’s Autism Services of Edmonton, or CASE. As a service delivery agency CASE does a remarkable job supporting over 85 families in Edmonton with the challenge of raising a child affected by autism. While they do their best to meet the needs of the children affected with autism in Edmonton, they cannot continue to operate effectively without a proper treatment facility. Staff are spending more time driving to clients and less time with actual clients. Mr.

Speaker, this is not the family-focused treatment we expect in one of the best health care systems in the country. In 2008 CASE started a capital campaign called The Children Can’t Wait, a campaign to grow a treatment centre. The campaign proposes to build a clinic with special equipment that will support the needs and growth of autistic children. With the facility CASE is expected to see a 20 per cent improvement in productivity because they will spend more time with their clients, addressing their needs, and less time commuting to their clients.

Edmonton is one of the only major cities in Canada without a treatment centre of this kind. CASE is hoping to raise $5.5 million to build this facility and are well on their way to doing so. Without our support, however, children affected by autism and parents like Marcy Henschel are unable to get the immediate, life-changing treatment that their children deserve. Hon members, we need to act now to support this cause. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Buffalo. Electoral Reform Mr. Hehr: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Every member of this Assembly is sitting here today because our fellow citizens chose us to serve as their representatives. Some people may be a little jaded about democracy, but I’m still amazed, astounded, and grateful that we live in a nation where people rule themselves. We need not fear tyrants in Canada or in Alberta for our democratic system protects us from would-be dictators and autocrats. We all know that the price of democracy is eternal vigilance, and Albertans have reason to be concerned about democracy in Alberta. This is no external threat but an internal one.

The majority of Albertans have stopped exercising their right to vote, with voter turnout reaching an all-time low of 41 per cent last election. Voter turnout among young Albertans is particularly disappointing, but there are a few young people who are working hard to change that. The Council of Alberta University Students has identified a number of barriers to greater student participation in elections, and they have offered five recommendations to break down these barriers.

First, they feel that students should be allowed to choose between their residence during studies and their family home for the purpose of identifying their ordinary residence; that is, which constituency they can vote in. Second, they would like advance voting stations to be established on postsecondary campuses. Third, they would like advance voting for all electoral divisions at any returning office as well as any advance voting station. Fourth, they feel that returning officers should be selected earlier, a recommendation I think many candidates would heartily endorse.

February 23, 2010 Alberta Hansard 237 Finally, these students would like to have Elections Alberta and individual returning officers work with student unions to increase voter turnout. The key here is accessibility and awareness. Make it easier for students to vote, and perhaps we can kick that voter turnout rate a couple of percentage points in the right direction. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the council of Alberta students for considering these important issues and making these recommen- dations. I hope that this administration will heed their advice. The Speaker: The hon.

Member for Battle River-Wainwright. Bawlf School Eracism Project Achievement Mr. Griffiths: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a special occasion when constituents from anywhere in Alberta are recognized on the world stage, and I’m proud to say that today is one of those occa- sions. It’s my pleasure to be able to rise today and recognize a grade 8 class from Bawlf school, within the constituency of Battle River- Wainwright, for their participation in the Eracism debate. Eracism is an online, world-wide debate with the goal of eradicat- ing racism by starting with students, our future leaders, first.

The countries represented during the debate included the United States, India, China, Qatar, Saudi Arab ia, Australia, and of course from Canada, Bawlf school. For most grade 8 students I’m sure it would be intimidating to debate students from all corners of the world, but the students from Bawlf school believed in themselves and in the resolution they were debating. The resolution was: differences make us stronger. With that belief and a great deal of debating skill Bawlf school advanced all the way to the semifinals, Mr. Speaker. They came down to being one of the last four teams from around the world.

I’m incredibly proud of the students’ success, but I’m most proud of the efforts of the students and the teachers from Bawlf school, who so effectively articulated the values and ideas of Canada and Alberta, and I know I share in the pride of the parents in their children’s achievements. Differences, Mr. Speaker, certainly do make us stronger, and the differences and the diversity within this Assembly are a perfect example of that. After all, it is a combination of our shared experi- ences and diversity that sheds light on new ways of thinking and improving the province in which we live. Mr.

Speaker, I’d like to commend the staff and students of Bawlf school for their participation and accomplishments in the Eracism debates and thank them for representing Alberta so well on the international stage. Thank you. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Montrose. Amanda Lindhout Mr. Bhullar: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It’s indeed a pleasure today to rise and speak about an event that I attended over the weekend. I and the Member for Calgary-East had the honour of meeting Amanda Lindhout, who was held hostage in Somalia for some 15 months. Mr.

Speaker, there is no honour significant enough and no medal or cup or award prestigious enough to recognize her. She put her life in danger because, as she put it, she wanted to bring light to the crisis in Somalia in her own humble way. Despite everything she went through, she says: despite my own suffering in Somalia and without condoning what was done to me, I feel that those inflicting the violence, while certainly not innocent, are deeply wounded and war traumatized individuals. It takes a profound human being to see the perpetrators of such acts in that way.

There is a need in our world today for individuals like Amanda. There’s a need for people that stand up against injustice and recognize that they can do a small

part in bringing more justice in our world. A few hours ago I learned of a Sikh man that was beheaded by the Taliban for being a minority in Pakistan. This world today more than ever needs individuals like Amanda that have the courage, the conviction, and the heart to do something about the injustices that are all around us throughout this world. We need people like Amanda to stand strong, and we need nations like Canada to build a greater democratic and peaceful society around our world, Mr. Speaker. head: Oral Question Period The Speaker: First Official Opposition main question. The hon.

Leader of the Official Opposition. 1:50 Review of MLA Compensation Dr. Swann: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to acknowledge that yesterday afternoon the Assembly unanimously passed the Alberta Liberals’ Motion 501, wh ich called for an independent review of MLA pay. This is a very encouraging step. How this government responds to the passing of this motion will be a true test of its openness and accountability. To the Premier: when will the Premier establish an independent committee to review MLA pay? Mr. Stelmach: Mr. Speaker, we will begin to work on establishing the committee.

Because it was a motion passed before the House, it’s incumbent upon the government to begin those discussions, and I’m open to the opposition taking

part in those discussions just like we have MLAs taking

part in the Members’ Services Committee. We have members of all parties represented. Dr. Swann: Thank you to the Premier. Again to the Premier: what does the Premier envision as the scope of the committee? Mr. Stelmach: I have some ideas. I’m sure the Liberals have some ideas. The other parties have some ideas. Let’s come together and build a committee and bring clarity to this issue. Dr. Swann: Very good. Finally, to the Premier: does the Premier envision the committee being functional by this fall? Mr. Stelmach: Yes. The Speaker: Second Official Opposition main question. The hon. Member for Edmonton Gold-Bar.

Cabinet Policy Committees Mr. MacDonald: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. According to the Legislative Assembly Act in order to be paid for sitting on a cabinet policy committee, three things must happen: payments must be reported, the rate of payment must be set through order in council, and the appointments to these committees must be done by an order in council, by a ministerial order, or by regulation. My first question is to the Premier: why did the Premier appoint 69 government MLAs, that were paid last year $1.4 million, to five cabinet policy committees without issuing an order in council? The Speaker: The hon.

Government House Leader.

Alberta Hansard February 23, 2010238 Mr. Hancock: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. All members on CPCs are paid in accordance with an order in c ouncil that was passed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. Mr. MacDonald: Again, Mr. Speaker, to the Premier: given that we have requested a copy of this order in council going back to December 9, 2009, when will this order in council be made public? Mr. Hancock: All orders in council are published and made public. Mr. MacDonald: It is interesting, Mr. Speaker, that this one to date has not. Now, again to the Premier.

The Premier set up these appoint- ments; he can answer this question. Who in the Premier’s office decided to set up the cabinet policy committees in such a way that the Legislative Assembly Act was not followed when those appoint- ments were set up? Mr. Stelmach: They’re not committees of the Legislature. The Speaker: Third Official Opposition main question. The hon. Leader of the Official Opposition. Peter Lougheed Centre Beds Dr. Swann: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Two weeks ago we asked the minister of health when the 140 empty beds at the Peter Lougheed hospital in Calgary would be opened to provide relief to the overburdened hospitals in Calgary. The minister said that he had already told Alberta Health Servi ces to look into it, so these questions are to the minister. When can Calgary see these 140 beds opened? Mr. Zwozdesky: Mr. Speaker, what I said was that I would pass that information along to Alberta Health Services, and in fact it’s on our agenda for further discussion tomorrow evening.

I don’t think that a decision will be made tomorrow evening, but it’s up for discussion. It all has to be part of our longer term capital plan, which I said we would have ready on or about March 31. The Speaker: The hon. leader. Dr. Swann: Thanks, Mr. Speaker. According to the March 2009 CEO’s report of Alberta Health Services it was estimated that $48 million to $50 million would be needed in operating funds for the 140 beds at the Peter Lougheed. When these beds are open, will Health Services make this funding part of their permanent operating costs for the next five years, or is this a one-off this year? Mr.

Zwozdesky: Mr. Speaker, the answer in large part will come when we have the five-year funding plan in place. That’ll be starting on April 1, 2010, and those very considerations and concerns that the hon. member has raised will be given the exact discussion that he requested and that I have demanded. The Speaker: The hon. leader. Dr. Swann: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Existing hospitals are already understaffed. How many RNs and LPNs and support staff will be needed if those 140 beds are to be kept open? Mr. Zwozdesky: Well, I don’t have the math in my head, Mr. Speaker.

I visited that particular Peter Lougheed Centre a couple of weeks ago, and I can tell you that the nurses and the LPNs and the docs and the nurse practitioners and the front-line triage people are working extremely hard, and they’re very pleased, as are the patients, to have the new wing open. What we’re looking at now is: what’s the best use of the 140 beds that had to be closed? We’re considering all of that right now. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo, followed by the hon. Member for Calgary-Mackay. Government Caucus Consultation Mr. Boutilier: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Seniors have built this province. MLAs bring ideas from seniors to their respec- tive caucuses. About a year and a half ago I sat on the government side when I brought an idea of a long-term care centre that the government committed to in a commitment to the people of Fort McMurray. New money has been spent, but the old commitments have not been lived up to. My question to the Premier is: why don’t you listen to your backbench MLAs? Mr. Stelmach: First of all, I’ve said this in the House: we don’t have any backbench MLAs; they’re all government members.

Secondly, we take the advice of all of our government members seriously. That’s how we build our capital plan and all of our policies. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Boutilier: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday the Member for Airdrie-Chestermere pointed out that as the budget came forward, the Premier failed to go back to his caucus, so what is disturbing is why he is not choosing to ask his caucus members when changes are being made. This summer he kicked me out of his government caucus without consu lting with his caucus.

My question is: for an MLA doing their job representing seniors, why were you failing to consult with your caucus members this past summer? Mr. Stelmach: Mr. Speaker, I think there’s a huge misunderstanding on that side of the House. If this Minister of Finance and Enterprise disclosed to caucus his budget before he introduced it in terms of all of our projections with respect to natural gas, oil, all of the tax implications or no tax implications, I would have had to fire him. I have great confidence in this minister. He brought in a tremendous budget.

Albertans are supporting it in overwhelming numbers, and I stick to it. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Boutilier: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question now is Calgary MLAs. Of course, a commitment was made to the city of Calgary, commitments again that are now not being honoured. Are MLAs from Calgary going to be kicked out of the caucus for representing their constituents, for doing their job in bringing forward the points that are so important in an MLA’s responsibility? Mr. Stelmach: Mr. Speaker, I believe that he’s referring to the municipal sustainability in itiative.

No province, absolutely no province in the country of Canada supports municipalities like this province. That is guaranteed. Secondly, in recognition of the good, close working co-operation we have with municipalities, we indicated to all municipalities through very open and transparent dialogue that there will be changes in the funding coming this year.

February 23, 2010 Alberta Hansard 239 However, before the end of December we gave them a general knowledge in terms of what their MSI funding would look like. That is, I believe, good co-operation with municipalities, and many have worked that into their budgets and have continued to operate. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Mackay. Homelessness Initiatives Ms Woo-Paw: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs. This minister has talked about the complex issues around homelessness and that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to ending homelessness.

I would like to know what he is doing to address the realities that service agencies face of more demand and less support for assisting the homeless? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Denis: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to thank the hon. member for that question. She’s quite correct: there is not one size that fits all. Just over this weekend I saw an example of the private sector partnering with government and nongovernment agencies through something called project homeless connect, which was held downtown in Calgary at the Suncor Energy Centre.

More than 5,200 people have participated in this over the past eight years. Some of the services that were provided included medical treatment, mental health services, and income support. I also had the opportu- nity to meet with 12 homeless people after they had asked me for a meeting, and they had some very interesting perspectives on this difficult issue. The Speaker: The hon. member. Ms Woo-Paw: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My last question is also to the same minister. Some would perceive that using the word “partnership” could mean downloading onto municipalities and the nonprofit sector.

Groups who protect vulnerable Albertans are stretched financially, and the cuts in this current budget certainly are not helping. What would this minister do to protect the many vulnerable Albertans, including the chronically homeless, who require various services? 2:00 Mr. Denis: I’d like to thank the hon. member for that question, a good question again. At the same time to this House: we’re the only province that has a 10-year plan to end homelessness. We’re just finishing the first year of this plan.

We’re ahead of schedule, where we are looking at going, but at the same time we have looked at some rationalization of some costs. It’s important also to look at the taxpayers who are funding us and give them value for their money. You will see performance measures implemented by my department over the next several months. The Speaker: The hon. member? The hon. Member for Calgary-Currie, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Ellerslie. Municipal Campaign Election Financing Mr. Taylor: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday the Minister of Municipal Affairs responded to my questions by saying that the government wants to “level the playing field” with election financ- ing laws for municipalities. But here’s the thing. The individual wards in Edmonton and Calgary are bigger than many entire municipalities, with 60,000 or more constituents. So what playing field is the minister trying to level, the urban-metro one with 60,000- plus constituents or the rural one with 10,000? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Goudreau: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Certainly, I was reiterat- ing some of the comments that we are hearing from Albertans in general. Albertans are believing in accountability, and they are wanting to see transparency within their local governments. They believe that those issues are important. So part of the process of Bill 203 was the fact that we are trying to have the same rules for every elected official across the province of Alberta. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Taylor: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would think that you would be trying to raise the bar rather than lower the bar.

Given that the city of Edmonton has election financing rules that are already more comprehensive and in some ways stricter than the provincial rules, is the government trying to make Edmonton conform to weakened average provincial rules? Mr. Goudreau: Mr. Speaker, certainly the regulations and the rules and the amendments to the bill that are coming forward will provide some clarity to all municipal elected officials. I recognize that Edmonton has their own rules and regulations. When we do introduce the amendments, it’s going to complement those types of decisions that they’ve made in the past. Mr.

Taylor: Well, Mr. Speaker, I don’t know about clarity, but there’s a big fat catch-22 here. Candidates are individually responsi- ble for their campaign debts, but if the debt is greater than $5,000, they can’t pay it individually because that would contravene the act’s limits. How would the minister advise that this situation be addressed? Mr. Goudreau: Mr. Speaker, I think, you know, aside from disclosing the information that will be coming up after our break, that clarity will be provided when we introduce the amendments. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Ellerslie, followed by the hon.

Member for Calgary-Buffalo. Foreign Qualifications Mr. Bhardwaj: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. New immi- grants are constantly faced with the challenge of getting their international training and credentials recognized right here in Alberta. In fact, it can be so challenging that we hear about potential doctors, engineers, and other professionals working as taxi drivers and at fast-food counters. My questions are to the Minister of Employment and Immigration. What are you doing to help speed up this process so that they can utilize their expertise? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Lukaszuk: Thank you, Mr.

Speaker. Indeed, there are anecdotal stories of doctors driving taxicabs. Any time we have human capital that is underutilized in this province, it is not only unfortunate to that very individual himself or herself but also to our economy and to all of Alberta. In view of that, right now our department is developing the foreign qualification recognition

Alberta Hansard February 23, 2010240 program, assisting self-governing bodies in determining who should and should not practise in Alberta. Let’s keep in mind that it’s not the government, nor is it us here in this House, who should deter- mine who are qualified doctors. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Bhardwaj: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Back to the same minister. Mr. Minister, we hear of so much red tape when it comes to evaluating foreign credentials. So my question is: are associations and other institutions properly equipped to fairly and quickly assess foreign credentials?

The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Lukaszuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I started answering in my first answer, you don’t want government or politicians making a decision on who are qualified doctors. That’s why we task self- governing bodies such as the colleges and other professional organizations and/or employers.

In view of that, my department has put in $2 million to develop tools assisting colleges and other self- governing bodies in processing and setting up expectations so that individuals, even before they board a plane coming to Alberta, can determine what their likelihood is of actually practising in this province in their profession. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Bhardwaj: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My final question is to the Deputy Premier and Minister of Advanced Education and Technology.

Is your department doing enough to ensure that foreign-trained professionals can receive their credentials in a timely manner and resume their careers here in Alberta? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Horner: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re working very diligently to work with international professionals and international students because it is very, very important to our next generation economy. It’s very important to the future of the province.

Our prior learning assessment plan is there for international professionals coming into the province to help them bridge to whatever new credential they may need given their professional body. We stand ready to work with them to create the kind of bridging that needs to happen within the province. Chief Electoral Officer Mr. Hehr: Mr. Speaker, Albertans have been both supportive and proud of our troops serving overseas in the protection and defence of people’s right to vote for a democratically elected representative. Given this backdrop, my question is for the Justice minister.

Why did your government select an individual to run Elections Alberta who does not believe that it’s his job to encourage people to vote, or is this the government’s whole idea? The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Justice and Attorney General. Ms Redford: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s not my understanding that the government did select this individual. I believe that was the purview of this House. Mr. Hehr: I understand that, but we all know who actually selects these individuals to run our departments.

Do you think it’s possible for your department to maybe instruct this individual that their mandate is to encourage active participation in getting Albertans to vote, or are you going to ignore that job? Speaker’s Ruling Questions about Officers of the Assembly The Speaker: Well, hon. member, just for clarification. The person in question, the Chief Electoral Officer, is an officer of the Legisla- tive Assembly of Alberta, not the government of Alberta.

If it came to my attention that a minister of the Crown was actually intervening in the affairs of an officer of the Legislative Assembly, there would be an intervention all right. It would come from me. Third question. Chief Electoral Officer (continued) Mr. Hehr: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker, for that. I guess I just like the old way when the old guy was actually trying to actively promote things and actually get people to vote, but who am I to argue with the process that we have in place here?

I guess my final question for the political minister – I mean the Justice minister – is that given her answers today are what most people already know, are there really any substantive changes coming to the electoral act? Can we see some fixed election dates? Can we see some reform to university students being able to vote at the schools where they’re going to school? Or what’s going on? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Ms Redford: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The first thing I’d say is that if there are people in Alberta that are concerned about the efficiency, the transparency, or the honesty of this system, I would suggest that one of the reasons for that might be because of the sort of informa- tion that’s being propagated through the prelims to these questions. However, Mr.

Speaker, as I have said on more than a regular basis, we will be introducing amendments to the Election Act based on the recommendations of the Chief Electoral Officer, both the current one and the previous one, as a result of lessons learned from the past two elections that are printed in published reports. I think we’ll have a great debate in the Legislature. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, followed by the hon. Member for Lethbridge-East. Provincial Achievement Tests Mr. Marz: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday we heard in the Assembly that the number of teachers has increased in the province by 10 per cent while at the same time the student popula- tion has only increased by 1 per cent. My question to the Minister of Education is: have student achievement test results seen a corresponding rate of increase during that same time frame? Mr. Hancock: Well, Mr. Speaker, I think the short answer to that would have to be no. The PAT results, or the standard of excellence, have remained relatively stable during this time frame. There was a slight decline since 2005-2006.

We saw improvement at the acceptable and excellence levels in 2008 and 2009. But I’d have to say that student outcomes have not increased commensurate with the investment in the class size initiative. Mr. Marz: Mr. Speaker, we’ve repeatedly heard that high class sizes produce low test results. Then wouldn’t it be logical to assume

February 23, 2010 Alberta Hansard 241 that lower class sizes should produce better test results? Why is this not the case? Mr. Hancock: Well, Mr. Speaker, I think it’s fair to say that there are a number of factors that go into it. Having said that student outcomes haven’t increased in a commensurate way is not to say that there haven’t been a lot of good things happen as a result of the class size initiative. Teacher satisfacti on, parent satisfaction with the education system has improved significantly. Obviously, the ability of teachers to do their jobs has improved significantly.

With respect to the question of outcomes I think it’s fair to say that the research and the literature suggest that cla ss sizes themselves in the higher grades do not make a significant difference, but it does at K to 3. 2:10 The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Marz: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Then my final question to the same minister: what’s this minister doing to improve test results aside from just trying to reduce class size? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Hancock: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I do want to say that in this year’s budget we have reprofiled the class size initiative money so that it is focusing on increasing the number of teachers at the K to 3 level, where the research shows that it does make a significant difference, and at the high school level with respect to the credit enrolment units for courses where it makes a difference; in other words, courses where safety is a factor or class size is a factor. The other thing we have to realize is that there are differences in class sizes across the province, and what we report on are the averages of school boards. The Speaker: The hon.

Member for Lethbridge-East, followed by Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood. Peace and Police Officer Training Centre Ms Pastoor: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We speak of the extreme importance of oil and gas in Alberta and to Albertans, but we can’t lose sight of Alberta south of Calgary. The promised police college is very important for police services, retaining our rural culture, and fostering economic diversity in our rural communities. To the Solicitor General. Fort Macleod has had this carrot dangled in front of it since 2006. Why has the minister waited so long to provide them with answers? Mr. Oberle: Well, Mr.

Speaker, I haven’t waited all that long. I’ve been in the position for about a month. The hon. member w ill know the cond itions under which this college was first suggested, that being that it gets private funding and it’s operationally self-sufficient. Given the fact that I can’t identify private funding to that level, I have no public f unds to proceed. Given that, I will do everything I can to make this project proceed, but I can’t make any promises at this time. Ms Pastoor: Thank you for that. I think that’s a tiny little door that’s opened.

My next question is: can we expect a concrete, well-prepared, long-term implementation strategy or evidence of any sort of planning? What kind of work has been done to actually attract private? Should we maybe rethink private? Mr. Oberle: Well, we can rethink private if we want, Mr. Speaker, but the fact remains that I don’t have any public funds available to me right now. As the hon. member pointed out, we need long-term planning. I think we have a capital plan that stretches out for a very long term. In order to pull this project off, I would need to find a way to reprofile that, and I can’t do that right now.

Ms Pastoor: Okay. My next question to the same minister: I guess, given those answers, what I’d like to hear is that there is a pledge that it will be built. Mr. Oberle: I’ve made about the clearest pledge I can make, Mr. Speaker, and that is that I will work very hard for the citizens of Fort Macleod and the MLA that represents this area. I feel for their position. I will do everything I can to make that college happen. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Highlands-Nor- wood, followed by the hon. Member for Lacombe-Ponoka. Long-term Care Funding Mr. Mason: Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker.

Alberta’s NDP caucus has heard from Albertans what they want from their health care system, and as we’ve mentioned in the report of what people want, long-term care is a top concern. This government’s move to close long-term care beds in favour of private assisted living facilities allows operators to charge outrageous fees for services that are covered under long-term care. Here’s an example from one in Edmonton: if you need to be escorted to the dining room, $300 a month extra; $125 a month for help with putting on your support stockings; $75 a month to get your bedsheets washed.

Why is the minister of health closing long-term care beds in this province and forcing people into private facilities? Mr. Zwozdesky: Mr. Speaker, I’m not aware of any long-term care beds that are being closed. In fact, the opposite is true. We’re actually looking at building more long-term care spaces. We have about 20,000 such sp aces in Alberta today. We have a bout 9,000 acute-care spaces. We need more. We have about 2,000 addiction treatment beds in this province, and we’re working on increasing that as well. So it’s really kind of the opposite to what the member is saying. Mr. Mason: Mr.

Speaker, it’s not kind of the opposite. In fact, many long-term care beds have been closed in this province since the last election despite a previous promise to build 600 more. Here are some more costs: incontinence management, $175 a month; oxygen, $175 a month; medication assistance, $200 a month. This is basic care, Mr. Minister, and public long-term care facilities do not charge extra for it. Why can’t the minister of health see that forcing seniors to pay these kinds of fees for basic care could send grandparents to the poorhouse? Mr. Zwozdesky: Mr.

Speaker, we’re going to be building more long-term care facilities. I think everybody knows that. The hon. member may have missed the announcement that there’s a $100 million bond issue right now, and all of that money is going to go toward that. Plus we have a long-term plan coming out on or about March 31. It’s called the health facilities capital plan. There will be, I anticipate, some additional good-news announcements in that package of goods as well. Mr. Mason: Mr. Speaker, I want to be clear that this minister understands the difference between long-term care and assisted

Alberta Hansard February 23, 2010242 living because we’re talking a bout assisted living. We released a report showing the government’s plan to eliminate many of the long- term care beds in this province. Now, $300 a month for meal escorts, $150 a month for night checks, and $100 a month for a weekly bath is way too much for ordinary seniors and their families to be able to afford. Why won’t the minister be clear that long-term care beds, where things are not charged for, are in fact what the government is intending to build? Mr. Zwozdesky: Mr.

Speaker, I’m sharply aware of some of the fundamental differences between long-term care and assisted living or daily assisted living or supportive living or whatever. I know that under the long-term care arrangements, for example, we must have 24/7 supervision by a registered nurse

whereas in some of the other facilities registered nurses might be on call but not necessarily staffed at the facility. Nonetheless, the issues that he has raised are those that are on the table for discussion right now. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Lacombe-Ponoka, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Centre. Primary Care Networks Mr. Prins: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week I met with a group of doctors on the management team of the Wolf Creek Primary Care Network. They, along with all Albertans, feel strongly about making improvements to our health care system.

They support innovation and creative solutions that positively address faster access and better availability of services. My question is to the hon. Minister of Health and Wellness. Since primary care networks are proving to be very effective in my area, can the minister assure us that they will continue to be funded? Mr. Zwozdesky: Mr. Speaker, we have about 32 of these so-called primary care networks in Alberta that involve a team-based ap- proach. Those teams vary; they could be a doctor, a pharmacist, a registered nurse, a dietitian, a physiotherapist, or any combination thereof.

They’re doing a very good job, in my view. My hope is that the PCNs will, of course, be continued, and that’s what we’re striving so hard to do. The funding, however, is going to be part of the discussion, depending on how the contract negotiations go. Those are coming up very soon, so my hope is there. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Prins: Well, thank you. Albertans also want more emphasis on prevention and wellness. My question is again for the Minister of Health and Wellness.

Does the minister have any plans to expand primary care networks so that more Albertans will be able to benefit from this team-based approach for primary health care delivery? Mr. Zwozdesky: Mr. Speaker, in addition to the 32 that we already have up and running that are proving very successful, I’m aware of at least 11 others that are under development. I expect at least six of those to come on stream very soon. Now, the issue of the funding. This is all part of the five-year funding plan, so we just have to be patient until April 1 comes along, and then they’ll have the details they seek.

The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Prins: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In Lacombe the Wolf Creek Primary Care Network, which includes Lacombe, Ponoka, Rimbey, and Sylvan Lake, does an outstanding job for constituents in central Alberta. Is there anything the minister can do to increase the effectiveness of primary care networks in terms of facilities and equipment that they require? Mr. Zwozdesky: Mr. Speaker, Wolf Creek PCN is one of the more recent ones. They have a treme ndous response network there for diabetics in particular. I want to say on record how pleased I am with what they’re doing in the Wolf Creek area.

In total we see about 39 family physicians in eight clinics serving more than 80 per cent of the residents in that network’s catchment area. That’s a very good thing. As for the equipment part, that, too, will come forward in the April 1 budget. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Centre, followed by the hon. Member for Battle River-Wainwright. Carbon Emissions Reduction Ms Blakeman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Walking and cycling have been used throughout the world to reduce car usage, road wear and improve citizen health and community connectivity.

This govern- ment is doing the oil and gas sector a disservice in terms of meeting our emissions targets when it insists on spending billions on one big- ticket CCS but ignores the smaller initiatives that can have signifi- cant, enduring effects. To the Minister of Environment: what is the province doing to encourage more people-oriented initiatives like building cycling lanes and walking trails? 2:20 Mr. Renner: Well, Mr. Speaker, while I appreciate that there may be some environmental benefits to cycling and walking, I’d suggest that the benefits probably accrue more to the cyclers and the walkers.

She may want to address that question to the minister of health. Ms Blakeman: Well, I think that if they’re walking or cycling, they may not be driving, and that should help us. To the same minister: given that the municipal sustainability initiative has been cut two years in a row and given all the other areas this wonder-fund is supposed to cover for cities, how does the minister expect cities to extract money to pay for environmental programs which are more the minister’s responsibility? Mr. Renner: Well, Mr.

Speaker, we just recently a nnounced a $2 million contribution to a project jointly managed by AUMA and AAMD and C that will create a centre of excellence for municipali- ties large and small throughout the province to find opportunities for them to significantly increase their energy efficiency and at the same time decrease their environmental footprint. So while we’re not expecting that we’ll pay for the initiatives, we certainly w ill give them the expertise that they need to find the direction that they’re going. Ms Blakeman: To the same minister. Well, here’s an opportunity.

Why doesn’t the minister amend the Green TRIP program to include incentives to expand walking and cycling infrastructure? Mr. Renner: Well, Mr. Speaker, I wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to doing such a thing, but I do want to point out that the Green TRIP program is designed to reduce in a significant way the carbon footprint. And while I said at the outset that there may be some

February 23, 2010 Alberta Hansard 243 marginal benefits from this, I don’t think that’s the best bang for the buck for this program. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Battle River-Wainwright, followed by the hon. Member for Calgary-McCall. Chronic Wasting Disease Mr. Griffiths: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Along the east side of the border hunting is a critical element of the economy. Particularly within the constituency of Battle River-Wainwright hunting is a significant economic driver. As such, ensuring a healthy deer and elk population and plenty of hunting experiences is critical.

The threat of chronic wasting disease is a worry to many of my constitu- ents concerned about their livelihood. To the Minister of Sustain- able Resource Development: now that hunting season is over, can you provide me and my constituents with an update on the manage- ment of the CWD issue? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Knight: Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. You know, we have got, I think, a very solid monitoring program and process in place. After the last hunting season we confirmed that 10 new cases of this disease were found as a result of the program.

Now, the disease boundaries have shifted slightly this year a bit south of highway 1 in one case and again a little further west near Wain- wright. But the concentration of the disease is still situated around Empress and Edgerton and remains there. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Griffiths: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Hunters have long advocated that they’re the best tools the government has to ensure that deer and elk populations are managed appropriately, which in turn controls the spread and therefore the threat of CWD.

I believe they are correct since utilizing them ensures economic stimulus for the region and manages the population. Can the minister indicate if there are any plans to change the policy of utilizing local hunters in the management of CWD? Mr. Knight: Well, Mr. Speaker, in a word, no way. We really believe that hunters have played a very positive role in this, and Alberta hunters have been key to the surveillance of the disease. The last hunting season they submitted about 4,500 heads for testing, and 4,166 of those have been tested.

The proof of that is that hunters’ value to the province of Alberta relative to the results that we’re getting and relative to mitigating the circumstances around this disease is very positive for us. We will continue to work with that fraternity. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Griffiths: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That’s excellent news. We all know that chronic wasting disease is a difficult disease to manage and control, but with more information and monitoring we may increase the chance of successful management.

It’s important to know, however, whether the CWD has been contained to border communities or if it continues to spread. Is the province expanding its monitoring practices further beyond the border hunt zones to ensure that management practices are in line with the disease and its potential spread? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Knight: Well, thank you very much. Again, the only wild deer in Alberta that have tested positive for chronic wasting disease have been within about 80 kilometres of the Saskatchewan border total, most of them within 20 kilometres of the Saskatchewan border.

The majority of testing is done along the Saskatchewan border. We have to understand also, Mr. Speaker, that testing this disease occurs throughout the province of Alberta with receipt of these heads, and any deer that our officers find that show symptoms of disease are tested also. We continue to monitor this, and we think that with the help of our hunting community we will be successful. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-McCall, followed by the hon. Member for Whitecourt-Ste. Anne. Signage on Highway Rights-of-way Mr. Kang: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Driving from Calgary to Edmonton, one can’t help but notice a variety of signs on private property, from semi-trailer billboards to the hay bale towers advertising feed, yet this minister specifically targets antinuclear signs, and his answers have not cleared things up. This issue is not just about removal of signs on private property; it is about a situation where of all the signs out there on the highways of the Peace Country only the signs against nuclear power were specifically targeted. To the minister: why? Mr. Ouellette: Mr. Speaker, I’ve got to tell you that this hon. member is absolutely wrong.

Look, I’ve told him many times that this department has a policy that we do not allow signs within our right-of-way, and they’re noncompliant 300 metres on private land outside the right-of-way. On outside the right-of-way signs we send out letters telling people that they’re not compliant and to remove the signs, but we don’t remove them. Inside the right-of-way it doesn’t matter what’s on the sign. If they’re not compliant, we will remove them. Mr. Kang: Mr. Speaker, this is about expressing freedom of speech, and it has nothing to do with the right-of-way.

It is not right that only the signs expressing opposition to a government policy are removed. We haven’t had an answer on this. Perhaps the minister doesn’t know why his department is having this removal done. What investigation of this has he undertaken? Mr. Ouellette: Mr. Speaker, this policy has absolutely nothing to do with freedom of speech. It has to do with noncompliant signs within a right-of-way, and if the signs are noncompliant, it doesn’t matter what’s written on them; they’re going to be removed. Mr. Kang: Those signs were not in noncompliance, Mr. Speaker.

When can we and the people of the Peace Country expect to see a public formal review and report on this matter? Mr. Ouellette: Mr. Speaker, we’re looking into some of the claims, but I’ve got to tell this hon. member: they are noncompliant. We don’t allow signs in the right-of-way. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Whitecourt-Ste. Anne. Mountain Pine Beetle Control Mr. VanderBurg: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Wood shipments out of Alberta are increasing, and the price of dimension lumber is slowly getting better.

So much optimism in the forest industry right now, but also so many concerns coming to me from my mills in Whitecourt-Ste. Anne. My question is to the Minister of Sustainable

Alberta Hansard February 23, 2010244 Resource Development. Can you tell me and give me the assurance that you and your department are doing everything you can to make sure on the ground – not here in Edmonton but on the ground – that work is being done to fight the pine beetle? Mr. Knight: Well, Mr. Speaker, yes, I can assure the member that everything that we can do is being done relative to mountain pine beetle. Of course, this situation changes on a daily and, certainly, yearly basis depending on a number of factors.

The hon. member knows very well that influx and in-flight of beetles into Alberta is a major problem that we’re faced with. But, yes, we are continuing to put a lot of dollars into this and to put front-line people and staff on the ground. They’re there today as we speak, and we continue to work with this problem. Mr. VanderBurg: Well, again to the same minister. This concern is not just in Alberta. It’s in terprovincial, and there’s a federal responsibility. What are you doing with the federal government to assure that there’s some partnership in the dollars needed to fight this emergency? Mr. Knight: Well, Mr.

Speaker, again, we work very hard to try to convince the federal government that they should have a program in place. In fact, to my knowledge the federal government doesn’t have a mountain pine beetle mitigation program. They’ve come at it with a bit of an ad hoc situation that helps us, to be sure. Very grateful for what they have done. But we continue to work very hard with the federal government, with our department people, dealing with them to try to get them to understand that if this problem leaves the province of Alberta and goes farther east, the federal government does have a very serious problem.

The Speaker: The hon. member? The hon. Member for Calgary-Glenmore, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Strathcona. 2:30 Health Care Decision-making Mr. Hinman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week the minister of health announced a surge in a few medical procedures. My question focuses on the ideas that can help cure long-term wait-lists, not Band-aids. This government made a flawed decision to centralize health care decisions in the hands of a few appointed bureaucrats. When will this government realize that taking away decision-making power from local health care administrators was wrong? Mr. Zwozdesky: Mr.

Speaker, people at the local level have every opportunity to speak to their MLAs to bring those issues forward. They have every opportunity to speak with their local health advisory councils. There are over a dozen of those in pl ace. They have every opportunity to pick up the phone and call my office. There are a number of ways that people can still have direct input. I should also add that I’m on a very aggressive tour of all of Alberta right now, so I’m meeting with a lot of these people, and they can speak to me directly when I arrive there. There are just so many ways to do this. Mr.

Hinman: Well, that’s interesting, but if they don’t change this centralized health care system, Albertans will change this govern- ment. When this government centralized health care, it blocked competition and innovation. To the minister: does he know that the efficiencies and innovation that his superboard wants to achieve actually came from leading local health care administrators? Mr. Zwozdesky: I think I said yesterday, Mr. Speaker, that I’m not so concerned with where good ideas come from.

If there’s a good idea and we have a chance to review it and we can cost it out and we can look at the benefits of that costing and it makes sense and it improves services and people are happy with that and we can move waiting lists down and we can improve access and we can unclog the system, you can count on us to do that. But it doesn’t all happen overnight. One of the great things that we have right now, of course, is the five-year funding plan, which will assure us that the deliver- ables we seek will be worked on and diligently pursued until they are delivered. Mr. Hinman: Well, Mr.

Speaker, those are nice words, but he’s still missing the point. He places more trust and authority in the hands of a few government-appointed bureaucrats than he does in local health care administrators, who see the flaws and the opportunities in our health care system every day and are blocked when trying to implement new ideas and procedures. Would the minister agree that when the superboard interferes with the implementation of these local initiatives, patient care suffers? Mr.

Zwozdesky: Well, no, I won’t agree because I can tell you with great assurance and with some authority that the people who are working to deliver those important health services are doing a darn good job, and they should be commended for what they’re doing. With this six-week rollout we have doctors working extra weekends voluntarily. I mean, we’re paying them for it, but they volunteered their service time to step up to the plate. We have people who were working full-time who are working some overtime, we have other people who were working part-time that are working more time, and they should be thanked as well.

The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Strathcona, followed by the hon. Member for Calgary-Lougheed. Foster and Kinship Care Spaces Ms Notley: Thank you. Mr. Speaker, we know that 592 foster spaces were lost in Alberta as of March 2009 while 630 new spaces were found. That makes for a net increase of 40 foster and kinship care spaces in Alberta as of March 2009, seven months into the 18- month period discussed by the minister yesterday. Now, talking about spaces that are created without acknowledging those that are lost leads people to draw the wrong conclusions.

Will the minister of children’s services admit that her claim of 900 new spaces for children in government care . . . The Speaker: The hon. minister. [interjection] The hon. minister has the floor. Mrs. Fritz: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can be very clear that permanent placement for children is a priority for this ministry and that over the past 18 months the foster care spaces and the kinship care spaces, which, you know, is when a grandmother or an aunt and uncle or whoever is kin to that family looks after the child, are well over 900 spaces.

I can get the information, though, for this member over the last number of years and equate that and go through it if you’d like to see a statistical analysis of that. Ms Notley: Well, Mr. Speaker, to defend this government’s cuts to children’s services, the minister yesterday led this House to believe that the availability of foster and kinship care spaces had grown enough to accommodate a $30 million cut in her ministry. Talking about increases without talking about losses is only half the story.

February 23, 2010 Alberta Hansard 245 There’s an old Yiddish saying that sometimes a half-truth can be a whole lie. Will the minister admit that she only gave us half the truth yesterday? Mrs. Fritz: Well, Mr. Speaker, I can tell you very clearly that, as I said previously, foster care spaces have increased, kinship care spaces have increased, and permanent adoptions have increased. In fact, the whole change with the child and family enhancement act is working, and that is where, as you know, previously a worker would go into a home, would remove that child, and often the child would remain in care for a very long time

whereas now they work immedi- ately with the family to assist th e child being in the home. Those kinds of services are working. Ms Notley: Mr. Speaker, it’s deceptive to report an increase of 900 new foster spaces without telling people exactly how many sp aces have been closed in the same time frame. Now, with nowhere near 900 additional foster spaces – who cares if they’re new or old? – the minister’s plan to save money on the backs of these fictional homes can’t be real. Will she admit that she has no plan to cut $30 million without hurting the kids she is responsible for taking care of? Mrs. Fritz: Well, Mr.

Speaker, I want you to know that the children and youth that are being cared for through this ministry are going to continue to be cared for in the way that they were yesterday, the way they are today, and they will be in the future.

Because of the good work that’s being done out in the community – there has been so much that has happened with this ministry that I am learning about that has created really something that is just profound for children and youth out in the community, and that’s through foster care, kinship care, adoption placement, good support services programs, and as I said, I’ll get you the statistical analysis. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Lougheed. Trade Mission to Washington, DC Mr. Rodney: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Alberta plan for economic recovery includes a push to become one of the most competitive jurisdictions to do busin ess in the world. Obviously, I’ve spoken to many Albertans, as I’m sure my colleagues have, who are very supportive of this, but I’ve also spoken r ecently with constituents who are a little concerned about how this can be achieved in a time of recession. My first question is to the Minister of International and Intergovernmental Relations.

My constituents understand that there may be value in meeting with U.S. officials recently in Washington, DC, but in today’s tight ec onomic times how is this a prudent use of tax dollars? Ms Evans: Mr. Speaker, it’s been over a year since a member of the cabinet has actually been to Washington to meet with officials, and we attended, with the Council of the Federation and governors from several states, meetings to talk about the ways that we can expand our interests in energy. We met with others thanks to the ambassa- dor, Gary Doer, and the officials of the White House.

We really focused our attention on those people that could provide us assis- tance. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Rodney: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Minister. I understand the minister met recently with Lisa Jackson, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA has stated that it may go it alone, so to speak, if the U.S. Congress cannot pass climate change legislation. My question is to the same minister. What are the implications right here in Alberta? Ms Evans: They could be dire if we, in fact, didn’t do our due diligence.

Ms Jackson spoke to us about the carbon intensive reductions that are necessary. So carbon intensive industries, she indicated, would require reductions. She spoke very eloquently about the fact that the Obama administration and her department, which has some 17,000 workers that are responsible for environmen- tal protection, intend to keep environment front and centre even though jobs and health care are huge for the administration in the United States at this time. Mr. Rodney: My final question is to the same minister.

As part of the COF mission the minister attended two round-tables with Premiers and DC policy groups on border management, energy, and the environment. I’m hoping there were concrete benefits or insights that were gained that would help Alberta. Was that indeed the case? Ms Evans: In fact, Mr. Speaker, I think it certainly opened my eyes to the large challenge we have to make sure that America is fully cognizant of our needs here.

You know right away when you walk into a room and someone talks about the tar sands that they may not be friendly or disposed towards listening to the kinds of things that we’ve already done with the clean air technology strategy. We indicated at all junctures that we supported our Prime Minister and the President of the United States to discover better technology, to on a go-forward basis make sure that we followed through with what the Minister of Environment currently is doing, and that is making sure that we’re as clean and green and sustainable as possible.

The Speaker: Hon. members, 19 individual members were recog- nized today. There were 110 questions and answers: 12 came from the opposition, seven from private government members. In 30 seconds from now we’ll continue with the Routine. 2:40 head: Members’ Statements (continued) The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Glenmore. Water Management Mr. Hinman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In many ways human behaviour is predictable. We want to progress, but we want to do it in the easiest way possible, just as water. But there are conse- quences when we do not think things through.

Our forefathers settled close to sources of readily available water so they could survive. They found ways to store water so that during drought times they had a source of water that would sustain them. This government’s water for life strategy is flawed and lacks the vision and commitment of our forefathers because it does not address the growth of Alberta or the changing climate and the need for increased water storage. We have more water over a shorter period of time and must build the infrastructure to capture and store this precious resource.

Unlike this government, who only focuses on the next election, our forefathers focused on the next generation. When you look at the regions in southern Alberta that have grown and thrived, they have been able to do so because of the ability to capture the value and energy of Alberta’s water resources. Calgary, Lethbridge, Fort Macleod, Medicine Hat are just a few of those communities. The diversification and innovation in southern Alberta through water storage and distribution canals has allowed people in industry to

Alberta Hansard February 23, 2010246 flourish in a part of the province that is semi-arid. We produce a tremendous amount of produce and food products that Albertans enjoy, everything from cattle and corn to grains, legumes, sugar, and potatoes. Sadly, Mr. Speaker, our future food security is often overlooked. It’s just as critical as our air, water, and land. This government needs to focus its infrastructure storage on water, H2O, not the storage of CO 2. Albertans know how to do this.

We are good stewards of the land, air, and our water, and we know that a government that does not focus on the future food sources, clean air, and water will undermine our quality of life. As we recognize Scout Week, we need to be mindful of part of their law, to be wise in the use of all resources. I would encourage all the members in this House to visit the website aipa.org from Alberta Irrigation so that we can make sure that every drop counts and that we are able to enjoy farm-fresh Alberta products. head: Presenting Reports by Standing and Special Committees Dr. Brown: Mr.

Speaker, in accordance with Standing Order 99 the Standing Committee on Private Bills has reviewed the petitions that were presented on Monday, February 22, 2010. I can advise the House that the petitions comply with Standing Orders 90 through 94. Mr. Speaker, this is my report. head: Tabling Returns and Reports The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Buffalo. Mr. Hehr: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have one report to table, the appropriate number of copies of Students and Democracy from the Council of Alberta University Students and their five recommenda- tions on how to improve democracy and improve voter turnout amongst our university students. Thank you. The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Education and Government House Leader. Mr. Hancock: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I am pleased to table the appropriate number of copies of a report entitled The Learning Mosaic: A Multiple Perspectives Review of the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement as well as a

summary report of that report. Just so people have an idea what the report is about, the conclusion says that AISI is an impressive change st rategy that is perhaps without parallel in the world today. It contributes to teacher development and educational change in a manner that is stable, steady, and credible among the educators it most seeks to impact. AISI leadership is transparent, responsive, and trustworthy. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Highlands-Nor- wood. Mr. Mason: Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker. I have two tablings today.

First, the appropriate number of copies of a document from the Churchill Retirement Community, an assisted living facility in Edmonton. The document provides a list of fees charged to residents for various services. Also, Mr. Speaker, I’d like to table the appropriate number of copies of a report by the NDP caucus entitled Alberta’s Health Care: What People Want. The recommendations in the report are based on public hearings which we held in seven communities ar ound the province.

Participants at those hearings showed strong support for maintaining health care services that are both publicly funded and publicly delivered. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar. Mr. MacDonald: Yes. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I have three tablings today. The first tabling is with permission from Mr. Keith Wilson on 56th Street and 90th Avenue in Edmonton. Mr. Wilson is writing urging the government to not cut funding for our schools. The second tabling I have is also with permission from the author, Janice Stefancik, and it was sent to me and the hon. Minister of Education and the hon.

Premier. It, too, is urging the government to not cut funding for our schools. The third tabling I have is a letter that I wrote on December 9, 2009, to the hon. the Premier regarding the cabinet policy commit- tees and how they were set up and requesting the order in council, that the Minister of Education agreed to table in this House forthwith today. Thank you. Mr. Hancock: Point of order, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: Point of order. The hon. Government House Leader. Point of Order Factual Accuracy Mr. Hancock: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Under Standing Order 23(h), (i), and (j), the hon. member in tabling indicated that I had agreed to table an order in council. I did nothing of the sort. That’s a total misrepresentation and would seek, at the very least, to engage us in debate. It’s a misrepresentation. I made no such statement. What I did say is that all orders in council are published. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar. Mr. MacDonald: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I find that quite interesting.

Now, I don’t have the benefit of the Blues before me, but certainly in the exchange in question period when I asked the Premier today regarding the appointment to the cabinet policy committees by this government, I thought that I had heard the hon. Minister of Education, who was responding for whatever reason, I don’t know, on behalf of the Premier, indicate that not only was there an order in council to set up the 69 individuals to the cabinet policy committees, where we spent $1.4 million last year paying them, but that it was a published document and was certainly public. My

interpretation was that the hon. Minister of Education certainly had no problem tabling that at the appropriate time in the Assembly so that we could see once and for all how this process works. I don’t really think that there’s a point of order here, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. The Speaker: Well, I think it’s certainly clarified now by the words that were used, and the words will be printed in Hansard, so all can read that. Just a couple of points before we go to Orders of the Day.

Tomorrow during Tabling Returns and Reports it will be my intent to table with the Assembly the interim report of the Electoral Boundaries Commission. I will not make it available to anyone prior to my tabling it in the House tomorrow during the appropriate mechanism of Tabling Returns and Reports. So, please, hon.

February 23, 2010 Alberta Hansard 247 members, don’t venture down to my office hoping to get a copy. You’ll all get one at the same time, which I think is the fair and open and transparent approach with respect to this matter. There was a bit of a disruption here in this Assembly during question period today. Pages were totally inappropriate in delivering a bunch of paper because it was delivered without my permission or my knowledge. That should not be taking pl ace, will never take place, and there will be some clarification made by way of an educational process to ensure that doesn’t happen again.

Members are here in this Assembly to pay attention to one another, to focus on the subject at hand, to be civil and courteous to one another, and not to be disrupted by the movement of paper and people moving and walking behind them in the lanes in which they sit. The hon. member who asked them to distribute the information was not following the traditional protocol of this Assembly. 2:50 head: Orders of the Day head: Government Bills and Orders Second Reading Bill 5 Appropriation (Supplementary Supply) Act, 2010 The Speaker: The hon. President of the Treasury Board. Mr. Snelgrove: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It’s my pleasure to move second reading of Bill 5, the Appropriation (Supplementary Supply) Act, 2010. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Riverview. Dr. Taft: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise to ensure that some concerns and questions are put on the record concerning the supplementary supply estimates. It’s a lot of money, as the President of the Treasury Board realizes, I’m sure. One of the concerns I’d like to get on the record is how this number has grown over the years. You know, it’s not realistic to expect budget perfection. I think we all aim for it, and this president might get there. I don’t know.

An Hon. Member: He’s a good man. Dr. Taft: He’s a good man. He’s a good man. We do have some concerns about the trends with supplementary supply estimates. [interjection] Well, there always has to be a qualifier there. If you were to go back, Mr. Speaker, over the years, you would see that the general trend is quite dramatically upward, although it’s not always even. Sometimes it spikes and drops and spike and drops. But if you look at it over the last decade or so, it’s more often that this supplementary supply estimate is in the range of a billion dollars or more than it used to be.

The extreme would have been 10 years ago when the supplementary supply estimate was about $30 million, if my figures are right, which is darn near perfection with budgeting. Now we’re looking at $958 million. That’s not, of course, the record. The record in the last decade or so was about five years ago when we hit over $2 billion. I’m trying to remember if that might not have been a result of BSE or something else. In any case, the general point is that a billion dollars or there- abouts is a terrific fudge factor or a terrific amount of money to have to make up in this sort of supplementary supply.

We’re always urging the government to refine its budgeting processes, to increase its discipline in controlling budgeting. We understand that there are lots of things that might come along: mountain pine beetle, BSE, forest fires, floods, those kinds of natural disasters, H1N1. I don’t think anybody is going to argue with some extra spending on that. But I think we need to always challenge the government to come as close at the end of the year to meeting its budget targets as is possible.

It looks right now like we’re close to a billion dollars off, and it’s possible that there’ll be a second supplementary supply bill before we’re all done. Those are my general comments. I want to, however, Mr. Speaker, give the government some accolades for moving the budget process up a little bit. I have long been a supporter of that, and I’ve urged that kind of action from the government. We were in the habit for many years of not passing the budget until well into the fiscal year that the budget addressed.

We seem to be improving at least that part of the budgeting process, so perhaps that will also be reflected in greater accuracy at the end of the year. By having the budget this year moved through and passed before the beginning of the fiscal year, then all the agencies that depend on that budget may well be able to plan more effectively for their year and, as a consequence, be more accurate in their financial management. I’m going to just speak a little bit about the extra funding requested for Health and Wellness here, Mr.

Speaker, because it’s an awful lot of money, and it’s getting folded in with a very large increase in the budget for next year. I’m glad to see that there are special provisions for the H1N1 flu. See how happy I am, Mr. President? Two compliments there. It’s still the season of Valen- tine’s. I’m glad to see that there is a special allocation for H1N1 vaccine costs because it would have truly been unfair to take that out of the regular operating budget of the health care system.

I think every- body or most of us, at least, in this Assembly understood that that was more akin to a forest fire or a flood or some other natural disaster, that’s dealt with out of separate funds. So that’s a good move. I am concerned with the management of some of the funding for some of the special projects under Health and Wellness, in particu- lar, for example, the surge in expenditures for hip and knee surger- ies. That’s money that’s going to come out of this budget year. It was quite a chunk of money, I believe, a week ago. Now, my concern, Mr. Speaker, is around the administration of those funds.

I’m concerned that there be the strictest possible conflict-of-interest policies in place around the allocation of funds to surgeries done in private, investor-driven facilities. That would include organizations like HRC and the cataract surgery clinics in Calgary and some other locations. My concern is that a substantial part of that money is getting steered toward private, for-prof it clinics by people in the public system who actually have a vested interest in those clinics. It’s poor management, and it invites abuse.

I hope that we have a government here that will bring in strict conflict-of-interest policies because I’m going to be working hard to ensure that those conflicts of interest are not allowed to occur. It would be really helpful if the President of the Treasury Board could give us some more detail on where the Health and Wellness funding is going. How much, for example, is going to things like air ambulance, municipal ambulance? How is that whole ambulance transfer process going? Is that costing more? Is that driving up some of the costs? Is that one of the issues behind this extra allocation?

What’s happening to pharmaceutical costs and drug costs? Those historically have been inflating. What about lab costs? Some of those will be probably caught up in the H1N1 allocation, but what’s happening in other lab costs? Why are we seeing such a

Alberta Hansard February 23, 2010248 need for extra funding for Health and Wellness over and above the H1N1 issue? There’s one other issue that I would like to get on the record. I see there’s another $73 million, almost $74 million, for Transporta- tion. I’m a little surprised at that because, after all, we’ve heard so much about how estimates for a lot of that work are actually coming in way below what was budgeted.

I would be curious if the President of the Treasury Board might be able to explain exactly the dynamic behind the increase in expenditures in Transportation, particularly when we’re in a period of real financial restraint. With those comments, Mr. Speaker, I’ll take my seat. Thank you. 3:00 The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar. Mr. MacDonald: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Certainly, it’s with interest that I rise to participate in the debate on Bill 5 this afternoon. We were having a discussion last week on supplementary supply, and it was unfortunately cut short. I, too, like the hon.

Member for Edmonton-Riverview, have questions surrounding the allocation, first off, of $243 million to Alberta Health and Wellness. Now, it’s only last fall that all hon. members from the Assembly and taxpayers read with startled interest the Auditor General’s report and realized that there had essentially been an override of financial accountability at Alberta Health Services when the budget in the business plan had not, as I understand the Auditor General’s report, been authorized. Now, we know the fiscal dilemma that Alberta Health Services is in.

We know this allocation here is for funding through to March of this year. We know that last year there were also one-time alloca- tions. One only has to look at

part 1 of the Alberta Health and Wellness annual report to recognize that there were additional monies allocated. I believe, and I could stand corrected, that it was in the neighbourhood of 300-plus million dollars. The majority of it went to the old Calgary health authority in one form or another. This seems to be a persistent, ch ronic pattern of this government. Health care services and the delivery of those services certainly is not improving, but we’re being asked to give more and more money. Now we’re finding out that amounts of this money, Mr.

Speaker, are being used to channel health services or health procedures to private facilities. How much of this is going to go through this $243 million allocation to private hospitals is a good question. Also, can the minister responsible, in this case the hon. President of the Treasury Board, be confident that the Auditor General’s recommen- dations from last fall have been implemented to ensure that the budgeting process is now being followed?

Certainly, whenever you look at the Alberta Health Services Board and the fact that it may meet for 35 to 40 minutes in public on a monthly basis, that’s not good enough, that short period of time. They’re spending 9-plus billion dollars, and they should be account- able through the ministries to the Assembly and then through to the taxpayers. When we look at the past practices, I for one don’t have a great deal of confidence in this government to deliver public health care efficiently and effectively. They have failed to date. The hon.

Member for Edmonton-Riverview has certainly detailed this in the past and detailed it with considerable accuracy, to the point where citizens are now directly questioning whether this government is capable of managing the biggest budget of any respective depart- ment. Now, Mr. Speaker, I also have questions around – and this goes back to the 2008-09 annual report, where on page 3 it is noted that at the end of March last year, in 2009, there was $1.5 billion from fourth-quarter results that was transferred.

If we go to page 16 of the same report, we will see where in the sustainability fund, another great Liberal idea . . . [interjection] You may laugh, hon. member, but it was past Conservative caucuses that initially rejected that sound fiscal economic idea. Fortunately, one Conservative caucus had the sense to see that it was needed, and you are living on that savings account as we speak. The additional cash of $1.5 billion from 2008-09 fourth quarter results will be deposited in the fund in 2009-10. So here we have essentially a $1.5 billion allocation. I understand that a portion of this was investment income.

I would be grateful to know if that was investment income from the general revenue fund or where exactly that investment income has come from. I would like a breakdown of that $1.5 billion in the course of this debate as to how much was left over or unexpended from various government ministries or programs in that year and brought forward to this year. Now, that money has been brought forward, Mr. Speaker, but at the same time we are looking for a considerable amount of cash here, in total close to a billion dollars, $920 million. So that’s a lot of money.

At one point in the budget year we’re getting this amount reallocated or put in the sustainability fund, and then probably six months after the annual report is published, we’re before this House looking for two-thirds of that amount back to pay for programs in Health and in Culture and in Employment and Immigration. One, again, can see the significant negative effects of the reces- sion and why there would be additional funding needed for Employ- ment and Immigration. Tourism, Parks and Recreation is looking for $12 million.

That’s at least the amount, if not more, that we will spend at the Winter Olympics promoting this Conservative govern- ment. I see it, Mr. Speaker, as a promotion of the government, not of this fine province. Sustainable Resource Development for other reasons is getting additional money for forest fires. Housing and Urban Affairs. Transportation is certainly an interesting one.

I would like to point out that with the Transportation department when you look at the annual report from last year – and hopefully I can get an explanation in the course of the debate from the President of the Treasury Board – in 2008-09 Transportation had unexpended amounts of $550 million. Now, again, this is taking from Peter to pay Paul. That money was reallocated or shifted ahead into the next year for capital projects, as I understand it, some of it, at least. But here they’re looking for $73 million, Mr. Speaker. So how exactly does this work?

If you go to the front of the annual report, you will see where some of the funds that were left over in 2008-09 are set aside for projects that are going to take place in this year and the following year as well, but not all of that money. So I would like an explanation. Transportation wouldn’t be the only department. Infrastructure certainly had a significant amount left over, $505 million according to my research. Of course, not all of that was turned back into the general revenue fund, but some of it must have been.

I would like to know as we debate and we discuss this advance or supplementary supply: how much does the President of the Treasury Board expect will be left over in unexpended amounts this year? We went through this process last year, and we see quietly in the footnotes $1.5 billion that was found and put in the sustainability fund. I’m not saying it’s a bad idea, but I would just like to have full disclosure of these amounts. 3:10 Again, Mr.

Speaker, to the President of the Treasury Board: how much do you anticipate you will have left over at the end of next month, March 31, 2010, from this budget year to put back in the

February 23, 2010 Alberta Hansard 249 sustainability fund? I’m not talking about extra investment income or money from the sale of oil and gas leases; I’m talking about unexpended amounts from each and every respective ministry. How much will it be, and will it be an amount equal to or greater than the supplementary budget that we are discussing here this afternoon? Thank you. The Speaker: Standing Order 29(2)(

a) is available. Comments, questions? The hon. Member for Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood. Mr. Mason: Yes. Thank you very much. The Speaker: Are you on the 29(2)(a), or are you on your own? Mr. Mason: I’m on my own. The Speaker: Okay. Go for it. Mr. Mason: Yeah. Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased to rise and speak to Bill 5, Appropriation (Supplementary Supply) Act, 2010. This bill is requesting nearly a billion dollars in supple- mentary supply for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2010. That in itself is a breathtaking figure.

We’re used to using billions when we talk about the finances of our province, but that’s a very large amount for supplementary supply. It includes Advanced Education and Technology; Culture and Community Spirit; Employment and Immigration; Health and Wellness, of course, $176 million there; Housing and Urban Affairs; Municipal Affairs; well, pretty much every department. Advanced Education and Technology is requesting $30 million for student loan disbursements, but at the same time, Mr. Speaker, we’re seeing tuition fees rise around the province.

The government, I think, has an inkling how much extra debt they are asking students to take on in this province, but they’re cutting funding in the 2010 budget. They want an extra $270 million for the University of Alberta centre for interdisciplinary studies. In general, much of the costs are being passed on to students. We’ve already seen, if I can turn to Employment and Immigration, where the ministry wants an extra $129.7 m illion for income supports due to a higher caseload and a higher cost per case. January already saw the highest income support caseload since 1997.

All of these budget lines are cut in next year’s budget, especially the line that went most over budget; that is, for people expected to work or working. The budget relies, then, on vague hopes that the recession will end and people will no longer need the same govern- ment resources. What guarantees do we have that the government will not be coming back and asking for funding to come back the next year? Mr. Speaker, I brought this to th e attention of the Minister of Transportation last night in estimates.

What we’ve seen in a lot of cases is cuts in one year’s budget for specific programs of specific departments and then supplementary estimates to make up, in some cases exceed, the cuts that were made in the budget. So it makes it very hard for us to see what exactly the budget numbers mean. I at one point said to the Minister of Transportation: what do the numbers in the budget mean? When you cut it in the budget and then you go back and you replace it with supplementary supply and then you cut it again in the budget the next year, what does the budget actually mean?

I think there is in some cases a misuse of supplementary estimates in order to create the impression in a budget that spending is actually under control. The government is cutting spending in some areas and then replacing the money after the budget is approved. I think that many of these programs require more funding. Not all, but many of them do require funding, especially when you’re in a recession and people are hurting. It doesn’t make sense to me to use supplementary estimates in this way.

Using Transportation as an example, they want an extra $73 million, much of which is going to programs which were cut last year and will be cut again in next year’s budget. So are these cuts being used to hide what the government is actually spending? I don’t think that that’s an appropriate thing to do. There are many programs that deserve proper funding, and I would like to see those things funded but funded, you know, up front and in an honest manner. Mr. Speaker, we’ve got $150 million for Sustainable Resource Development, including $130 million for firefighting. That’s similar to a figure last year.

I think it’s a fair assumption to make that we’re going to have forest fires most summers, and if it’s an ongoing, predictable expense, it should be included in the budget and not just used by supplementary supply. Mr. Speaker, I’m not going to go into detail on all of these departments, but I do think that the government needs to reduce its dependence on supplementary supply b ecause I think it masks a bigger problem, which is the inability to budget accurately and then live within the budget that’s provided. It’s an excuse for, I think, a little bit of breakdown on discipline.

In saying that, I’m not suggesting that we need to make widespread cuts to important services that people need or any cuts at all. I am simply saying that it means that the government is getting sloppy in its budgeting process and that it undermines the value of a budget document. Mr. Speaker, with those comments, I will take my seat. Before I do, though, I wonder if I could request of you permission to distribute . . . The Speaker: Why don’t we deal with 29(2)(

a) and get the bill out of the way, and then I’ll recognize you. Mr. Mason: Thank you. The Speaker: Okay. Standing Order 29(2)(

a) is available. Additional speakers? Then the hon. President of the Treasury Board to conclude the debate. Mr. Snelgrove: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to acknowledge the constructive comments from the Member for Edmonton- Riverview, and in fact I do take very seriously the opportunity to maintain a very close watch on government spending.

It is easy to ascertain from this particular document that if you take out the spending from the ’08-09 accumulated health deficit ending March 31, ’09, if you take out the capital that was used in most cases to access federal funding programs, deal with the H1N1 and the fires, we are dealing with less than half of 1 per cent of our budget. It’s actually smaller than that, but just given that the opportunity for math is not something that they need to waste much more time on, I would at this time close debate in second reading. [Motion carried; Bill 5 read a second time] The Speaker: The hon.

Member for Edmonton-Highlands-Nor- wood. Mr. Mason: Thanks, Mr. Speaker. I would respectfully request permission to distribute copies of the report prepared by the NDP caucus called What People Want, health care in Alberta. It is a result of public hearings that we conducted in seven cities around the

Alberta Hansard February 23, 2010250 province in the fall and a number of public meetings that we’ve held recently ar ound the province. It represents the views of many individuals and organizations that are involved in the health care field in our province. 3:20 head: Statement by the Speaker Distribution of Items to Members The Speaker: Hon. members, the background to this is that a little while ago, before we had Orders of the Day, I rose and I basically said that a certain thing had happened in the House today.

One of the things that’s really important is how we deal with decorum in the House, and there are a variety of ways that groups and agencies and individuals get their message to us. Sometimes you’ll receive in your offices prior to 1:30 of the day a ribbon, a pin from a group, a cause: it’s HIV day, it’s awareness day, it’s daffodil day, it’s Red Cross day, or something like this. We wear these ribbons, and we wear these pins. Sometimes they come to my office and ask me to put them on the desks of hon. members, and depending what they are, we invariably say yes because they’re small and they’re not disruptive.

But on other occasions there are bigger packages that groups want to have delivered to MLAs. We had a situation yesterday with the Girl Guides. Basically, they said that they wanted all members to have some cookies, so we said: sure, th ey could be circulated. But they could only be circulated after, essentially, Orders of the Day were called so that it was not disruptive during the Routine and anything else. Then there are some other things that, basically, I’ve said, no, can never be put on members’ desks.

Now, I’ve had requests made by individuals in the past to have samples of tainted meat put on the desk of every member to highlight a cause. When the pork industry was really, really down and piglets were literally being given away, I had groups advocating their promotion of the price of pork to give every MLA in this Assembly a piglet, and would I allow them to put it on their desks in the Assembly? One other member in the past has come very genuinely, very enthusiastically, saying: “Look, we have to do everything we can to promote the SPCA.

I’d like to give every MLA a kitten and have it placed on their desks.” Well, okay. The answer to those was no, but there are other ways of doing this. Now, there’s a great way of getting the message through. If an individual member wants to convey an envelope of information to other members, ask my office, let me make sure that it’s appropriate, and we can deliver it after Orders of the Day are called so that there’s no major interruption and disturbance of the Routine. You’re all supposed to be focused on question period and listening to one another and all these other things that are very, very important.

Unfortunately, something got through. A member went and got the pages to go and do it, which was not the way it was supposed to have been done, so then the pages had to go back and retrieve these documents. The Sergeant-at-Arms, you must have them under lock and key someplace, under an embargo. Well, first of all, would you have them returned to the hon. Member for Edmonton-Highlands- Norwood now?

He’s dutifully asked for the appropriate process, he’s got all of his envelopes back, and we’ll ask the pages now to distribute them to all members so that they’re least disruptive and interruptive of the process of the Routine in the House, and love will prevail. Second thing. I’ve now had an opportunity to look at the Blues with respect to the exchange, the point of order from the Govern- ment House Leader and the hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar. Hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar, the Government House Leader is absolutely correct.

There’s absolutely nothing in the Blues that suggests that he said that he was going to be tabling any OC. When you stood up, you said you understood. Okay, we deal with it. But the point was correctly raised by the Government House Leader, and a point of order would have been upheld. Again love is in the air, so let’s go forward. head: Consideration of His Honour the Lieutenant Governor’s Speech Mr. Bhardwaj moved that an humble address be presented to His Honour the Honourable the Lieutenant Governor as follows. To His Honour the Honourable Norman L.

Kwong, CM, AOE, Lieutenant Governor of the province of Alberta: We, Her Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Legislative Assembly, now assembled, beg leave to thank Your Honour for the gracious speech Your Honour has been pleased to address to us at the opening of the present session. [Adjourned debate February 18: Mr. Hancock] The Speaker: The hon. Government House Leader. Mr. Hancock: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do want to take the opportunity to afford a few comments with respect to the Speech from the Throne delivered most graciously by His Honour the Hon. Norman L.

Kwong, the Lieutenant Governor, and start, as others in the House have done, by thanking the Lieutenant Governor for his years of service to this province as Lieutenant Governor and for providing both a sense of humour and graciousness to the office that has really served the office well and, therefore, served Albertans well. Mr. Speaker, the Speech from the Throne addressed a number of topics that I think are very important not only to my constituents but to all Albertans.

One of the first substantive portions of the Speech from the Throne deals with Alberta’s resource-based economy, which “brings with it one of the most volatile revenue streams in North America, providing surpluses in good times but prone to sudden economic reversals.” I think that statement in the throne speech is extremely important for us, positioning us as we go forward, first of all, to recognize that we do have a resource-based economy in the province, that the oil and gas industry particularly but also the forestry industry are subject to world-based commodity markets and are subject to a high volatility not only with respect to price but also with respect to the quantity that’s needed from time to time in the world economy.

As a prudent government in the province of Alberta with that type of an economy, there are two things that really speaks to. One is to ensure that when the economy is working well and when our resource-based industry, particularly our carbon industry and oil and gas, is in a high-price mode, the revenue which comes from the sale of that asset is used wisely and invested wisely not just for current Albertans but also for future Albertans. I want to speak to that.

The second thing which it points out to us most urgently is the need for us to make sure that we look to the future economy of the province and what the foundation of that future economy will be. More than one constituent has said to me that they wish that we could broaden the base of the economy so that we weren’t so affected by the swings in the oil and gas prices. In saying that, I think it’s n ecessary to clear up one of the fundamental questions that many Albertans ask. They ask: “What happened to the money? Where did the money go?

We had a very solid economy a couple of years ago with a good revenue stream from oil and gas. Why didn’t we save it?” When I talk to Albertans

February 23, 2010 Alberta Hansard 251 who ask that question and tell them what’s actually happened, it’s a message which a lot of Albertans I don’t think have heard, that we’ve actually done a very good job with that revenue stream. When you look at the record, Alberta has paid off $23 billion to $25 billion in debt. That’s an investment in future Albertans. That debt was accumulated in earlier years both in terms of program spending and in terms of spending on infrastructure, but it was a debt which would have burdened future generations of Albertans in terms of paying it off.

So I think getting that debt paid off was a very prudent thing to do. We’ve built $40 billion in enduring infrastructure. We’ve created a platform for the province to move forward in terms of our postsecondary institutions, in terms of our schools, in terms of our transportation infrastructure, roads, particularly. There’s a signifi- cant investment that will help to continue to build the future economy and build the future of the province. There is an appropri- ate place to take money from the sale of an asset, the oil and gas asset that’s owned by Albertans, and invest it in a multigenerational infrastructure.

I think that’s important. We saved $17 billion in the sustainability fund b ecause of the recognition that in a volatile economy there will be downswings and that when there are downswings, Albertans want to be protected from the impact of that downswing over a period of time. The $17 billion that we have in the sustainability fund is doing exactly that right now. We don’t have to have a knee-jerk r eaction. We don’t have to wrench the economy and the community back.

We don’t have to cut back on important areas like health care and education in order to be fiscally prudent and to stop from building that deficit for future Albertans. So the $17 billion is well set aside. Then an additional $8 billion has been contributed to the heritage savings trust fund and associated e ndowments. I’m particularly proud, Mr. Speaker, of the access to the future fund, with a little over a billion dollars – I’d hoped that it would grow to $3 billion by now – which is invested in an endowment fund which will help to fuel future learning potential for young Albertans.

You could say the same about the billion dollars or so that’s been invested in the ingenuity fund and an extra billion, I believe it is, that was invested in the heritage savings medical research fund.

Each of those endowments are funds which drive the future economy by driving our knowledge base, and that’s a very, very important message. 3:30 I think that when you add all that up and see that there’s been $90 billion not wasted, not dissipated but which has served to do exactly what Albertans would have wanted it to do – to pay off the debt, to put us on a sound fiscal footing, to invest in the future infrastructure needed for the future economy, and to invest in the future knowledge base which is needed for the future economy – Mr. Speaker, I think a very good record.

When we start the throne speech and see the comment about Alberta’s fiscal advantage and the acknowledgement of the volatile revenue streams, I think it’s really important to point out that there has been a very, very strong fiscal record in Alberta, using the resources that Alberta has to invest in the future of Alberta. The other piece that I wanted to focus on, Mr. Speaker, is later on under the Increasingly Competitive in a Global Economy

section of the throne speech, the statement that “Albertans know that a good education is an essential foundation to prepare for the future.” That is an exceedingly important statement. We are moving into an era, well, we’re well into the era, well into the 21st century now, 10 years into it, where the world is getting smaller. Alberta has always traded out into the world and always will trade out into the world because we are a relatively small population, but we’re not always going to have the benefit of trading out into the world just with our resource base.

Oil and gas, as we can see now, the carbon-based energy, is increasingly coming under fire with respect to the environmental issues around greenhouse gases and particularly carbon dioxide, and more and more effort is being put into finding renewable sources of energy. As we trade out into the world, it’s not just the export of our oil and gas products. It’s not just the export of raw forestry pr oducts.

It’s what we do with our products and how we use the benefit of those products to prepare our students and our economy to compete in a knowledge-based world – adding value to our resource products, adding value to our agricultural products – but also moving to the biosciences and the life sciences and being able to trade out into the world in the service industries, providing expertise. Again, this is not new for Alberta. Alberta has led the world in the past on environmental technologies. We’ve shipped environ- mental technologies and knowledge a bout environmental sustainability all around the world.

We’ve certainly shipped knowledge with respect to our oil and gas industry, tertiary and quaternary production, to various places in the world where they’ve exploited their oil and gas resources perhaps too quickly, resulting in problems. It’s knowledge from Alberta that has gone to help them to recoup those areas. It’s also knowledge which will a llow us to further exploit those resources that we have because I think it’s fair to say that in most of the conventional fields, not only in this province but right around the world, we’re only able to exploit about 25 to 35 per cent of the resource that’s there.

Technology, including how we increase pressure on oil wells through the injection of carbon dioxide, solving two problems at once, is very, very important to us.

The statement that a good education is an essential foundation to prepare for the future couldn’t be more true than right here in Alberta, and it’s for that reason that we really do need to focus on how we ensure that every single Albertan has the opportunity to maximize his or her potential, that every Alberta child has a good educational opportunity to move from where they are now to where they can be, to find out what they’re good at and to be able to develop that potential. That’s what we’re working towards, Mr. Speaker, in Alberta.

Over the course of the last year we’ve talked extensively about Inspiring Education. Inspiring Education had two basic purposes. The first and perhaps the most important one was to have Albertans talk about the value of education to our community and our society and to understand that wit hout education we are at peril.

Wit hout education in a world that’s moving more and more to technology, where knowledge and information are available to more and more people and where the ability to use that knowledge and information in appropriate ways is becoming so important, those that do not have the capacity or the ability to operate in that type of a world will fall behind. We’ve seen all over the world examples where economies have moved ahead, but not all the people have moved ahead with the economies, so the wide diversity in economic opportunity, the wide diversity in quality of life has created a strain on civil society.

That’s not what we want for our province and for our country. It’s imperative that we have education as a value in our community, education as a value in our families, and education as a value in our province. We have a very cosmopolitan community here, with people with backgrounds from all over the world. We live together here in peace and harmony better than anyplace in the world, and we can continue to do that if we make sure that every Albertan, whether their family has been here for generations or whether they’re just new arrivals, whether they’re new arrivals coming with the benefit of education

Alberta Hansard February 23, 2010252 and the benefit of income or whether they’re coming as a refugee, has that opportunity to find their potential, to maximiz

Document details

Collection	Alberta — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	20100223
Type	hansard
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Language	en
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