Alberta Hansard — 18 March 2019, Afternoon sitting (15:00) (Legislature 29, Session 5)

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Alberta — Debates (Hansard)

Province of Alberta The 29th Legislature Fifth Session Alberta Hansard Monday afternoon, March 18, 2019 Day 1 The Honourable Robert E. Wanner, Speaker

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The 29th Legislature Fifth Session Wanner, Hon. Robert E., Medicine Hat (NDP), Speaker Jabbour, Deborah C., Peace River (NDP), Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees Sweet, Heather, Edmonton-Manning (NDP), Deputy Chair of Committees Aheer, Leela Sharon, Chestermere-Rocky View (UCP), Deputy Leader of the Official Opposition Anderson, Hon. Shaye, Leduc-Beaumont (NDP) Anderson, Wayne, Highwood (UCP) Babcock, Erin D., Stony Plain (NDP) Barnes, Drew, Cypress-Medicine Hat (UCP) Bilous, Hon. Deron, Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview (NDP) Carlier, Hon. Oneil, Whitecourt-Ste.

Anne (NDP) Carson, Jonathon, Edmonton-Meadowlark (NDP) Ceci, Hon.

Joe, Calgary-Fort (NDP) Clark, Greg, Calgary-Elbow (AP), Alberta Party Opposition House Leader Connolly, Michael R.D., Calgary-Hawkwood (NDP) Coolahan, Craig, Calgary-Klein (NDP) Cooper, Nathan, Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills (UCP) Cortes-Vargas, Estefania, Strathcona-Sherwood Park (NDP), Government Whip Cyr, Scott J., Bonnyville-Cold Lake (UCP) Dach, Lorne, Edmonton-McClung (NDP) Dang, Thomas, Edmonton-South West (NDP) Dreeshen, Devin, Innisfail-Sylvan Lake (UCP) Drever, Deborah, Calgary-Bow (NDP) Drysdale, Wayne, Grande Prairie-Wapiti (UCP) Eggen, Hon.

David, Edmonton-Calder (NDP) Ellis, Mike, Calgary-West (UCP) Feehan, Hon. Richard, Edmonton-Rutherford (NDP), Deputy Government House Leader Fildebrandt, Derek Gerhard, Strathmore-Brooks (FCP) Fitzpatrick, Maria M., Lethbridge-East (NDP) Fraser, Rick, Calgary-South East (AP) Ganley, Hon. Kathleen T., Calgary-Buffalo (NDP), Deputy Government House Leader Gill, Prab, Calgary-Greenway (Ind) Goehring, Nicole, Edmonton-Castle Downs (NDP) Goodridge, Laila, Fort McMurray-Conklin (UCP) Gotfried, Richard, Calgary-Fish Creek (UCP) Gray, Hon. Christina, Edmonton-Mill Woods (NDP) Hanson, David B., Lac La Biche-St.

Paul-Two Hills (UCP) Hinkley, Bruce, Wetaskiwin-Camrose (NDP) Hoffman, Hon. Sarah, Edmonton-Glenora (NDP) Horne, Trevor A.R., Spruce Grove-St. Albert (NDP) Hunter, Grant R., Cardston-Taber-Warner (UCP), Official Opposition Deputy Whip Jansen, Hon. Sandra, Calgary-North West (NDP) Kazim, Anam, Calgary-Glenmore (NDP) Kenney, Hon. Jason, PC, Calgary-Lougheed (UCP), Leader of the Official Opposition Kleinsteuber, Jamie, Calgary-Northern Hills (NDP) Larivee, Hon.

Danielle, Lesser Slave Lake (NDP), Deputy Government House Leader Littlewood, Jessica, Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville (NDP) Loewen, Todd, Grande Prairie-Smoky (UCP) Loyola, Rod, Edmonton-Ellerslie (NDP) Luff, Robyn, Calgary-East (Ind) Malkinson, Hon. Brian, Calgary-Currie (NDP) Mason, Hon. Brian, Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood (NDP), Government House Leader McCuaig-Boyd, Hon. Margaret, Dunvegan-Central Peace-Notley (NDP) McIver, Ric, Calgary-Hays (UCP), Official Opposition Whip McKitrick, Annie, Sherwood Park (NDP) McPherson, Karen M., Calgary-Mackay-Nose Hill (AP) Miller, Barb, Red Deer-South (NDP) Miranda, Hon.

Ricardo, Calgary-Cross (NDP) Nielsen, Christian E., Edmonton-Decore (NDP) Nixon, Jason, Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre (UCP), Official Opposition House Leader Notley, Hon. Rachel, Edmonton-Strathcona (NDP), Premier Orr, Ronald, Lacombe-Ponoka (UCP) Panda, Prasad, Calgary-Foothills (UCP) Payne, Brandy, Calgary-Acadia (NDP) Phillips, Hon. Shannon, Lethbridge-West (NDP) Piquette, Colin, Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater (NDP) Pitt, Angela D., Airdrie (UCP), Official Opposition Deputy House Leader Renaud, Marie F., St. Albert (NDP) Rosendahl, Eric, West Yellowhead (NDP) Sabir, Hon.

Irfan, Calgary-McCall (NDP) Schmidt, Hon. Marlin, Edmonton-Gold Bar (NDP) Schneider, David A., Little Bow (UCP) Schreiner, Kim, Red Deer-North (NDP) Shepherd, David, Edmonton-Centre (NDP) Sigurdson, Hon. Lori, Edmonton-Riverview (NDP) Smith, Mark W., Drayton Valley-Devon (UCP) Starke, Dr. Richard, Vermilion-Lloydminster (PC) Stier, Pat, Livingstone-Macleod (UCP) Strankman, Rick, Drumheller-Stettler (Ind) Sucha, Graham, Calgary-Shaw (NDP) Swann, Dr. David, Calgary-Mountain View (AL) Taylor, Wes, Battle River-Wainwright (UCP) Turner, Dr. A.

Robert, Edmonton-Whitemud (NDP) van Dijken, Glenn, Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock (UCP) Westhead, Cameron, Banff-Cochrane (NDP), Deputy Government Whip Woollard, Denise, Edmonton-Mill Creek (NDP) Yao, Tany, Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo (UCP) Vacant, Calgary-Varsity Party standings: New Democratic: 52 United Conservative: 25 Alberta Party: 3 Alberta Liberal: 1 Freedom Conservative: 1 Independent: 3 Progressive Conservative: 1 Vacant: 1 Officers and Officials of the Legislative Assembly Merwan N.

Saher, Clerk Shannon Dean, Law Clerk and Executive Director of House Services Stephanie LeBlanc, Senior Parliamentary Counsel Trafton Koenig, Parliamentary Counsel Philip Massolin, Manager of Research and Committee Services Nancy Robert, Research Officer Janet Schwegel, Managing Editor of Alberta Hansard Brian G. Hodgson, Sergeant-at-Arms Chris Caughell, Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms Tom Bell, Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Link, Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms

Executive Council Rachel Notley Premier, President of Executive Council Sarah Hoffman Deputy Premier, Minister of Health Shaye Anderson Minister of Municipal Affairs Deron Bilous Minister of Economic Development and Trade Oneil Carlier Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Joe Ceci President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance David Eggen Minister of Education Richard Feehan Minister of Indigenous Relations Kathleen T.

Ganley Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Christina Gray Minister of Labour, Minister Responsible for Democratic Renewal Sandra Jansen Minister of Infrastructure Danielle Larivee Minister of Children’s Services and Status of Women Brian Malkinson Minister of Service Alberta Brian Mason Minister of Transportation Margaret McCuaig-Boyd Minister of Energy Ricardo Miranda Minister of Culture and Tourism Shannon Phillips Minister of Environment and Parks, Minister Responsible for the Climate Change Office Irfan Sabir Minister of Community and Social Services Marlin Schmidt Minister of Advanced Education Lori Sigurdson Minister of Seniors and Housing Parliamentary Secretaries Jessica Littlewood Economic Development and Trade for Small Business Annie McKitrick Education

STANDING AND SPECIAL COMMITTEES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ALBERTA Standing Committee on the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund Chair: Mr. Coolahan Deputy Chair: Mrs. Schreiner Cyr Dang Drever Ellis Horne McPherson Turner Standing Committee on Alberta’s Economic Future Chair: Mr. Sucha Deputy Chair: Mr. van Dijken Carson Connolly Coolahan Dach Dreeshen Fitzpatrick Gotfried Horne Littlewood McPherson Piquette Schneider Starke Standing Committee on Families and Communities Chair: Ms Goehring Deputy Chair: Mr.

Smith Drever Fraser Goodridge Hinkley Luff McKitrick Miller Orr Renaud Shepherd Swann Woollard Yao Standing Committee on Legislative Offices Chair: Mr. Shepherd Deputy Chair: Ms Payne Aheer Cooper Horne Kleinsteuber Littlewood McKitrick Pitt van Dijken Woollard Special Standing Committee on Members’ Services Chair: Mr. Wanner Deputy Chair: Cortes-Vargas Babcock Cooper Dang Drever McIver Nixon Piquette Pitt Westhead Standing Committee on Private Bills Chair: Ms Kazim Deputy Chair: Connolly Anderson, W.

Babcock Drever Drysdale Gill Hinkley Kleinsteuber McKitrick Rosendahl Stier Strankman Sucha Taylor Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections, Standing Orders and Printing Chair: Ms Fitzpatrick Deputy Chair: Ms Babcock Carson Coolahan Cooper Goehring Gotfried Hanson Kazim Loyola Miller Nielsen Nixon Pitt van Dijken Standing Committee on Public Accounts Chair: Mr. Cyr Deputy Chair: Mr. Dach Barnes Carson Clark Gotfried Hunter Kazim Littlewood Miller Nielsen Panda Payne Renaud Turner Standing Committee on Resource Stewardship Chair: Loyola Deputy Chair: Mr.

Drysdale Babcock Clark Dang Fildebrandt Hanson Kazim Kleinsteuber Loewen Nielsen Panda Payne Rosendahl Schreiner

March 18, 2019 Alberta Hansard 1 Legislative Assembly of Alberta Title: Monday, March 18, 2019 3:00 p.m. 3 p.m. Monday, March 18, 2019 The Sergeant-at-Arms: Order! All rise, please. The Clerk: Good afternoon. [The Clerk read the Royal Proclamation dated March 8, 2019, summoning the Members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta to convene on this date] The Clerk: Please be seated. [The Sergeant-at-Arms left the Chamber] The Sergeant-at-Arms: Order! Order! Mr.

Speaker. [Preceded by the Sergeant -at-Arms, the Speaker, accompanied by the officers of th e Assembly, entered the Chamber and took the chair] The Speaker: Good afternoon, hon. members. Four years passes very quickly. I would ask that we all lower our heads for one minute in remembrance of the tragic deaths in New Zealand. head: Prayers The Speaker: I would now ask that each of us in our own way pray or reflect.

This afternoon as we come together on traditional Treaty 6 territory in a province shared with numerous indigenous nations, bands, communities, settlements, and peoples, let us search ou r hearts and minds and, for some of us, our souls to contemplate how our experience of these last four years may have influenced our relationships with our indigenous brothers and sisters. Let us continue to diligently work towards kinship and dialogue, moving forward together. May we remember to listen first and give every opportunity for the essential stories of the unheard to be told.

May we educate our children and grandchildren to remember the past and inspire them to be better than we may have been. Ladies and gentlemen, I would now invite Cara McLeod, accompanied by the Royal Canadian Artillery Band, to lead us in the singing of our national anthem. Please join us in the language of your choice. Hon. Members and Guests: O Canada, our home and native land! True patriot love in all of us command. Car ton bras sait porter l’épée, Il sait porter la croix! Ton histoire est une épopée Des plus brillants exploits. God keep our land glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. The Speaker: Please be seated. head: Entrance of the Lieutenant Governor [The Premier, the Clerk, and the Sergeant-at-Arms left the Chamber to attend the Lieutenant Governor] [The Mace was draped] The Speaker: Hon. members, ladies and gentlemen, the RCA Band will now play a brief musical interlude. The piece to be performed is The Earl of Oxford’s March. William Byrd, perhaps the finest composer of the Elizabethan age, composed The Earl of Oxford’s March. It was the first movement of Byrd’s late 14th-century work called The Battell.

Byrd originally titled the movement Marche Before the Battell , which later became known as The Earl of Oxford’s March. The RCA Band, Canada’s oldest regular army band, was formed in Quebec City in 1879. It was subsequently stationed in Montreal and Halifax and reconstituted in this our capital in 1997. It has been in service in both world wars and in Korea and has travelled across Canada and indeed beyond our borders.

Please enjoy t oday’s performance by the Royal Canadian Artillery Band brass ensemble under the direction of Captain Chris Embree. [The Sergeant-at-Arms knocked on the main doors of the Chamber three times. The Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms opened the doors, and the Sergeant-at-Arms entered] The Sergeant-at-Arms: Ladies and gentlemen, all rise, please. Mr. Speaker, Her Honour the Honourable the Lieutenant Governor awaits.

The Speaker: Sergeant-at-Arms, admit Her Honour the Honourable the Lieutenant Governor. [A fanfare of trumpets sounded] [Preceded by the Sergeant -at-Arms, Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, Lois Mitchell, CM, AOE, LLD, and Honorary Colonel Douglas Mitchell, their party, the Premier, and the Clerk entered the Chamber. Her Honour took her place upon the throne] Her Honour: Please be seated. head: Speech from the Throne Her Honour: Fellow Albertans, welcome to this, the first day of your Legislature.

We gather today on the traditional territory of Treaty 6 and acknowledge the Métis people of Alberta, who share a deep connection to this land. In this Chamber and throughout this province we are proud, humbled, and blessed to be Albertans. Alberta is a beacon of hope, opportunity, and justice. On these 662,000 square kilometres in northern North America we have built one of the world’s great societies, 4.3 million of us, from all walks of life and every part of the globe.

We have different aims in life and hold competing political viewpoints, but we are joined by universal values such as freedom, equality, and justice. In Alberta it doesn’t matter who your parents were, where you went to school, whom you love, or to whom you pray. All that matters, all that should matter is the content of your character. Now, of course, building a great society t his far north, in these temperatures has not always been easy. From this land’s first inhabitants onward it has taken incredible determination and foresight, and we have been tested many, many times.

We are reminded of that every time we walk past the wall of honour in this Legislature commemorating lives lost in war; we are reminded of that whenever we listen to our fellow citizens who lived through the Great Depression; we are reminded of that every time, with increasing frequency, our harsh climate takes its toll with floods, droughts, and fires; and we are reminded of that every time an economic boom turns to an economic bust, a cycle that is all too familiar and frequent. It’s on this last point that I would like to reflect for a moment. When your gove rnment was elected in 2015, Alberta was in the

2 Alberta Hansard March 18, 2019 midst of one of the most dramatic oil price collapses in generations. A boom had turned to bust, tens of thousands lost their jobs, billions of dollars were being bled from the treasury, and Albertans tasked a new government with steering us through and protecting what matters. For decades governments in Alberta responded to economic busts in a predictable way. They made things worse, and everyday Albertans paid the price. The middle class got squeezed, and the most vulnerable were left behind: one Alberta for the few, another Alberta for everyone else.

This time, however, with a new government in Edmonton things would be different. Everyday Albertans – our families, our communities, our jobs – would come first. Your government would not pay lip service to honest government and then build sky palaces. We would clean up government and put democracy back in the hands of the people. Your government wouldn’t just talk about economic diversification; we would do som ething about it. Your government wouldn’t just get angry about pipelines; we would fight for them with a determined and strategic plan to build a national consensus.

And every step of the way your government would defend our schools, hospitals, and public services while keeping Alberta’s budget on track to balance. Let’s take a closer look at each in turn. Restoring Trust in Government For too long governments in Alberta worked for political insiders, well-heeled special interests, and the superrich. We set out to fix this. Corporate and union donations have been banned, laws around lobbyists have been strengthened, and we have increased transparency across government. Politician travel and hospitality expenses have been slashed by 80 per cent.

Millions of dollars in waste and entitlements have been cut such as taxpayer-funded golf club memberships and way-out-of-proportion salaries for CEOs of government agencies. Today, thanks to determined efforts to invite more Albertans to apply, agencies, boards, and commissions are now more diverse, with an equal number of women and men. We have also sought to provide more budgetary information to the public. According to the C.D. Howe Institute Alberta today is one of only two provinces to receive top marks, an A plus for two years in a row, for fiscal transparency and accountability.

The message is clear: your government is here to work for you, not for itself. Sky palaces are part of our past, not our future. Over the next year we will introduce new measures that will further strengthen democratic reform and make sure democracy in Alberta belongs to all. Creating Good Jobs in a More Diversified Economy Let’s turn to your government’s efforts to create good jobs. From day one we have worked to help our economy re cover and make sure everyone shares in the recovery.

With people in need of work, interest rates low, and much of our provincial infrastructure still in need of modernization or replacement we put people to work building Alberta. As a result, our province is on a stronger foundation. Across the province the schools our kids go to are better equipped to help them meet the challenges of the world ahead. From Grande Prairie to Medicine Hat, Lethbridge to Slave Lake, more than 240 badly needed schools have been built or upgraded. The hospitals our loved ones need when they are sick or injured have benefited from strategic new investments.

The Calgary cancer centre is well under way, and a new hospital is under development for Edmonton’s growing south. We are i mproving patient safety and shortening wait times by fixing our deteriorating lab system. Work on a major new high-tech lab is now under way, which will benefit Albertans for generations. We are building long-overdue water infrastructure to help ensure that First Nations in Alberta have access to clean, safe, reliable drinking water. It is a disgrace that this work failed to happen during the last oil boom.

We are repairing and building nearly 4,700 affordable homes for seniors and people in need, exceeding our original commitment and helping to make sure everyone can count on a roof over their head. And thanks to a forward-looking capital plan, highways, bridges, light rail, and interchanges are creating good construction jobs, helping people get around more easily, and unlocking economic potential in exciting and growing areas of our province. New Infrastructure Investments As we look forward, we are continuing to build Alberta for the future.

Your government will continue to make sure our kids learn in safe, modern classrooms by moving forward with building, expanding, and modernizing more schools. With our population growing and more kids entering our public schools every year, we have to keep looking forward and funding the construction of new schools. This includes fully funding long -awaited projects such as a major new high school in north Calgary. This year we will move forward with a badly needed expansion of the Red Deer regional hospital.

This work will expand the emergency room, establish a car diac catheterization lab, and expand other services to ensure this vital part of central Alberta is ready to care for generations of patients and families. In Calgary the Peter Lougheed Centre has one of the busiest emergency rooms in the province and needs renovations to ease congestion. We will fix this problem with renovations to the emergency, mental health, and laboratory spaces. A new children’s mental health hospital in Edmonton will move ahead, helping kids from across our north.

In Calgary your go vernment will make major improvements to Deerfoot Trail, reducing congestion and improving safety for travellers. We are committed to keeping the people of Calgary safe, which is why we will continue to invest in crucial flood mitigation work, including the Springbank dam. We will continue to build more affordable and supportive housing. Building on Alberta’s first -ever affordable housing strategy, over the next four years we will build and repair 4,000 more affordable housing units.

We will increase and accelerate our work to make sure every First Nation in Alberta has clean, safe, reliable drinking water, delivering this vital human right faster to more communities. Finally, for a modern province like ours rural broadband should not be considered a luxury. It is a necessity, and we will invest in a rural broadband strategy, helping people in rural areas get the same fast, efficient Internet services as people in urban centres.

Defending Energy Jobs While your government has worked to help Albertans recover from the oil price crash, we have also worked to defend the jobs of our energy workers and defend the value of our resources. Your government has fought to get new pipelines built, but due to the failures of successive federal governments Alberta’s resources remain landlocked. Canada’s inability to build new pipelines is costing the entire economy, both within Alberta and across the country. Albertans know this, and the frustration this issue has caused for workers and families is real.

March 18, 2019 Alberta Hansard 3 To be sure, despite setbacks we remain firm in the belief that the Trans Mountain pipeline will get built, and we will not let up until it gets built. Trans Mountain remains in play because we compelled the federal government to step up and buy it. Through a strategi c and determined effort, with the facts on our side, we have travelled the country, working to build a durable national consensus on the need to build new pipelines. When we started, a minority of Canadians supported the need for new pipelines.

Today a strong and growing majority of Canadians agree we need new pipelines, and that includes a majority of our neighbours in British Columbia. In the best interest of all Albertans and all Canadians your government will continue to keep the pressure on, keep Canad ians informed, and get Trans Mountain built. In the meantime we are not sitting around and waiting. Reducing Oil Backlogs and Getting Our Resources Moving Our lack of export capacity caused major backlogs of our resources. In extensive consultation with industry your government had to take the temporary action to curtail oil production.

We cannot remain in this position and must end the curtailment as soon as possible. As the market responds and conditions change, we will continue to allow production to increase. To help make sure the backlog continues to decline, we signed an agreement to help Alberta producers ship more oil by rail. We did our homework, consulted widely, and when the differential crisis hit, we were ready to respond. Beginning this July we will lease up to 4,400 rail cars, moving an additional 120,000 barrels a day.

The importance of this deal became even clearer recently, when it was announced that Enbridge’s line 3 replacement would face a new, six -month American delay. Not only will th is investment make money for Albertans; it will help people get back to work, it will help us get production up so we can bring curtailment to an end, and it will do so without affecting shipments of our agricultural goods. More Value for the Resources Albertans Own In addition to fighting for pipelines, your government has a duty to get every last bit of value from our resources.

After receiving recommendations from two expert panels, last spring we established our made -in-Alberta energy diversification p lan, the single largest energy diversification effort since the days of Premier Peter Lougheed. We put $3.5 billion on the table and said to investors: show us a responsible, fully costed project, a validated plan with a clear return on investment, one tha t gets more value from our resources, and we will work with you. Investors are responding.

With only the first third of that plan, $1 billion in royalty incentives and loan guarantees, we have leveraged nearly $13 billion in new private -sector refining an d upgrading investments in Alberta, creating more than 8,500 new jobs. The head of a major energy company put it well recently, saying: what was once ultimately being burned and sent up the chimney is now being turned into one of the most valuable, recyclable plastics in the world. That’s exactly what we want to see in Alberta.

Let’s stop burning our resources for nothing and start delivering on the full potential of this province, with more refining, more upgrading, more value, and more good jobs for people across our economy. Diversifying beyond the Energy Sector In addition to getting more value for our resources, we are actively diversifying, with industries such as high tech, manu - facturing, tourism, film and television, agrifoods, renewable energy, and more. Much work has gone into this important task.

We cut the small - business tax by a third, provided access to capital during the downturn to help businesses hire and expand, introduced a range of tax credits for entrepreneurs, and we have maintained Alberta’s $11 billion tax advantage over the next lowest taxed province. In agriculture we are helping the Agrivalue Processing Business Incubator expand, which will make it the largest centre of its kind in the world. Our manufacturing sector is strong and growing, with the Conference Board of Canada forecasting 8.8 per cent growth for Alberta manufacturers this year.

Building on Alberta’s strengths in the health, environment, energy, food, forestry, and emerging technology sectors, Alberta Innovates continues to help researchers and entrepreneurs grab hold of new opportunities. Today, thanks to the climate leadership plan, Alberta is the most sought-after market in Canada, if not on the entire continent, for renewable energy investments. By 2030 we will see 5,000 megawatts of green electricity generation, about $10 billion in new private investment, and the creation of 7,000 jobs.

And, finally, your government is taking significant steps to secure Alberta’s place as a global high-tech leader. Researchers in Alberta are ranked third in the world in artificial intelligence and machine learning, Google DeepMind has built its first lab outside of England right here in Edmonton, and other key global high-tech companies have set up across the province. To build o n this momentum, we are investing $100 million in a technology diversification plan and following through on our five-year plan to create 3,000 new high -tech training seats in our universities and colleges.

A Province that Works for Everyone Finally, we must make sure Alberta remains a place that works for everyone, with strong schools, hospitals and stable, reliable public services. But strong public services require sound fiscal planning. That’s why we provided stable, predictable funding to public serv ices, laid out a responsible and achievable path to balance, and prevented reckless cuts to schools, hospitals, and the services people rely on. As of the province’s third-quarter report the deficit is down by $1.9 billion, beating our targets for the second quarter in a row and the second year in a row.

We remain on track to balance the budget by 2023, with the best balance sheet in the country, and we are doing this without making reckless cuts to the services all Albertans rely on. Health Care We will c ontinue to stand up and say no to American-style health care, and we will keep our hospitals and health centres available to everyone who needs them. Today Alberta has more nurses and doctors working than ever before. We cancelled unfair health premiums.

W e have increased home care and community care and can officially advise Albertans that we have met our commitment to build 2,000 long-term and dementia care spaces. In Fort McMurray, after years of false starts and political wrangling we stopped the dithe ring, made a decision, picked a location, and finally got shovels in the ground on the new Willow Square continuing care centre. We have opened new hospitals in Edson and High Prairie and opened dialysis units in Whitecourt, Lac La Biche, Hinton, and elsewhere.

Families in Airdrie now have access to 24/7 urgent care, and we have expanded care in many other communities such as Sylvan Lake.

4 Alberta Hansard March 18, 2019 We have significantly expanded mental health and addiction services, and we are transforming the way primary care is delivered in Alberta. We have brought in tough new laws to protect women seeking important reproductive health services such as abortions, making sure others cannot film them, heckle them, or intimidate them. We are investing to put more ambulances on the road and make sure our EMS professionals have the tools and training they need.

At the same time, we have significantly reduced wait times for breast cancer surgery, and we have among the best wait times in the country for radiation therapy and hip fracture repair. But we need to do more. This year your government will introduce new measures to reduce wait times, strengthen the rights of women to get critical health services, and reduce the costs seniors pay for the drugs they need. Finally, Bill 1 before this legislature will be

An Act to Protect Public Health Care. This act will strengthen our ability to defend Albertans from American -style health care creeping into our province. Education In addition to defending public health care, we are also defending public education. Rather than cutting classroom supports, we invested in our classrooms, our teachers, and in relevant, modern education. It matters that our kids have a firm foundation in the basics such as mathematics and writing.

It matters that our ki ds are provided with a science education that prepares them for a rapidly changing world, including the real and present threat of climate change. It matters that our kids leave school with an understanding of our history as Canadians, especially the importance of truth and reconciliation with indigenous peoples, and it matters that all our kids can feel proud of who they are and feel safe at school. That’s why we are working with parents and educators to bring our curriculum out of the pre -Internet age.

That’s why we funded enrolment growth and put 4,000 new teachers and support workers in classrooms. We reduced school fees for parents, saving families more than $50 million, and made sure our schools are safe and inclusive for everyone, especially for thos e who identify as LGBTQ2S-plus. And when our kids graduate from high school, if they choose to go to university or college, we have made sure there is an affordable, accessible space for them in one of Alberta’s world - class postsecondary institutions.

Whe re once we were the most expensive province in the country to get an advanced education, now we are among the most affordable. This year your government will help more Albertans get their high school diploma as well as the English language learning training they need to get a great job. And we will bolster Alberta’s classroom improvement fund to make sure our classrooms are able to respond to the specific needs of each and every young student.

Child Care Not only are we taking steps to make sure public ed ucation is defended and postsecondary education is accessible; we are also making child care more affordable for families. Just a couple of weeks ago we saw reports that ranked child care costs in Alberta as some of the highest in the country, often exceeding rent costs and mortgage costs. They are a major roadblock for a lot of young women who want to rejoin the workforce after having a baby. That’s why we established a $25-a-day child care pilot program and expanded it to 7,300 spaces across 122 licensed child-care centres.

But, even still, child care is far too expensive for far too many women and families. That’s why this year your government will undertake a major new program to help young mothers and families save thousands of dollars and help make child care more affordable for everyone. Lifting Kids out of Poverty And, finally, we will continue our efforts to eliminate child poverty in Alberta. Statistics Canada recently reported that Alberta’s child poverty rate has been cut in half since 2015 and is now the lowest in the country: 44,000 kids have been pulled out of poverty.

That’s 44,000 kids who have safe housing, good food on the table, and the means to afford warm mittens and parkas. Importantly, this poverty reduction work happened during the toughest recession in a generation. It happened because your government remained steadfast in our commitment to help people who need help the most. We brought in game -changing poverty reduction measures such as the Alberta child benefit and the enhanced Alberta family employment tax credit, both of which put thousands of dollars into the pockets of young families.

We increased financial supports for Albertans receiving AISH, income support, and seniors’ benefits, legislatively tying those supports to the rate of inflation. We brought in a school nutrition program to make sure more than 30,000 students in elementary schools get a healthy meal. After being tied for the lowest minimum wage in the country, Alberta workers now have the highest minimum wage, at $ 15 an hour. This is of significant benefit to women and young families. In fact, two-thirds of minimum wage earners in Alberta are women, many of them with kids.

Even with this progress in reducing child poverty, one child in poverty is one child too many, especially in a province as resource rich as Alberta. There is much more work to do. Your government is committed to lifting every single child out of poverty. Conclusion Alberta, we are stronger when we stand together as one Alberta, hopeful and optimistic. Together we have done away with the entitled, broken politics of the past. Together we are taking control of our future, breaking away from the devastating cycles of boom and bust, and setting our province on a more diversified, modern, and resilient foundation.

Together we are tackling poverty, supporting education, making sure patients in our hospitals get the care they need, and we are doing all of this while staying on a clear and responsible path to a balanced budget. We cannot, we must not allow two different Albertas to form, one for the wealthy and one for everyone else. Let us always honour the hard work of our parents and grandparents, work that built our modern democracy, defended it against outside threats, and developed our resource weal th. Let us honour the traditions, wisdom, and rights of the indigenous people of this land.

Let us, too, honour our financial, environmental, and democratic obligations to our kids and grandkids. The resources in our ground are tremendous and will generate wealth and prosperity for decades. But let us always remember that those resources pale in comparison to the resources beneath our hats, our turbans, our head scarves, and our headdresses. With the priorities laid out in these remarks – restoring trust in government, creating good jobs in a more diversified economy, and defending the schools, hospitals, and public services that workers and families rely upon – we can raise one another up, making sure

March 18, 2019 Alberta Hansard 5 we are all able to see that same hopeful and optimistic horizon. We stand as one, Albertans to our very core. Thank you, my friends. God bless Alberta. God bless Canada. And God save the Queen. The Sergeant-at-Arms: Order! All rise, please. The Speaker: Ladies and gentlemen, I would now invite Cara McLeod, accompanied by the Royal Canadian Artillery Band, to lead us in the singing of God Save the Queen . Please remain standing at the conclusion. Hon. Members and Guests: God save our gracious Queen, Long live our noble Queen, God save the Queen!

Send her victorious, Happy and glorious, Long to reign over us, God save the Queen! The Sergeant-at-Arms: Order! [Preceded by the Sergeant-at-Arms, Their Honours, their party, and the Premier left the Chamber as a fanfare of trumpets sounded] The Speaker: Please be seated. [The Mace was uncovered] [The Premier returned to the Chamber] The Speaker: Hon. members, ladies and gentlemen, Alberta as a province may have been established 120 years ago, but the original people of this land have been here from time immemorial.

This building, which was constructed with the singular purpose of being a home to represent all of the people of our province, has for far too long not heard enough of the voices of the first keepers of this land. There is much that we can learn by listening rather than simply waiting our turn to speak. Earlier today we unveiled two paintings by an outstanding Albertan, an outstanding indigenous Albertan, Alex Janvier. It’s okay; you can give him an appl ause. [applause] His works are intended to represent the past, the present, and the future of this our great province. These pictures are his story.

I ask you to look at these paintings and then listen as they speak to you. My hope on behalf of this 29th Legislature is that these pieces, in one very small way, help those who will follow us to see a better shared history. The journey that is set out before us as we move forward towards reconciliation and kinship will not be easy. It will not be without its frustrations and setbacks. It will not be a straight line. We must not fail again.

Nonetheless, it is a journey which we must make if as legislators we are to make this province a better place, not just for one group of Albertans but for all of those who c all this great land home. For those of you who are not aware, the Mace that sits in this Chamber was donated some 50 years ago by the provincial employees’ association. This Mace represents a part of our collective history. It therefore seems most appropr iate that today’s Alberta Union of Provincial Employees gifted these two pieces of art to this Legislature, to this province, to this Chamber, on their 100th anniversary.

These works tell another part of our history. On behalf of all of the members of this Legislature I would like to thank all the AUPE members not only for the donation but for the work that they do to serve Albertans every day. It is my hope for the legislators who will be continuing in this House that you take a continued long look at the Mace and remember its importance as a part of our history.

But I also ask that you now look and contemplate Alex’s art, his story, Sunrise and Sunset, images that reflect new and brighter lights on our collective history. head: Tablings The Speaker: I have the honour to table a copy of the speech graciously provided by Her Honour the Honourable the Lieutenant Governor. I’ll have to talk to her afterwards. head: Introduction of Bills The Speaker: The hon. Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. Bill 1

An Act to Protect Public Health Care Ms Hoffman: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I rise to request leave to introduce a bill, being

An Act to Protect Public Health Care. [some applause] Thank you, colleagues. This legislation will protect public health care by addressing issues associated with fee-based private health clinics that charge upfront membership fees for access to a bundle of health services. By banning billing practices or behaviours used by fee -based private health clinics, the aim is to make sure no Albertan is charged out of pocket for insured medical services, to reflect and reinforce the tenets of the Canada Health Act, and to reduce the risk of preferential access to medically necessary health services.

This legislation will ensur e that all Albertans have access to medically necessary health services based on need, not on their ability to pay. There will be extensive consultation on this bill to make sure we get it right, and it’s already begun, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to move first reading of

An Act to Protect Public Health Care. [Motion carried; Bill 1 read a first time] head: Motions The Speaker: The hon. Premier. Ms Notley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move that the speech of Her Honour the Honourable the Lieutenant Governor to this Assembly be taken into consideration on Tuesday, March 19, 2019. [Motion carried] The Speaker: The hon. Government House Leader. Mr. Mason: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I move that the Assembly stand adjourned until Tuesday, March 19, at 10 a.m. [Motion carried; the Assembly adjourned at 3:58 p.m.]

6 Alberta Hansard March 18, 2019

_____________________________________________________Bill Status Report for the 29th Legislature - 5th Session

(2019) Activity to Monday, March 18, 2019 The Bill sponsor's name is in brackets following the Bill title. If it is a money Bill, ($) will appear between the title and the sponsor's name. Numbers following each Reading refer to Hansard pages where the text of debates is found; dates for each Reading are in brackets following the page numbers. Bills numbered 1 to 200 are Government Bills. Bills numbered 201 or higher are Private Members' Public Bills.

Bills numbered with a "Pr" prefix are Private Bills. * An asterisk beside a Bill number indicates an amendment was passed to that Bill; the Committee line shows the precise date of the amendment. The date a Bill comes into force is indicated in square brackets after the date of Royal Assent. If a Bill comes into force "on proclamation," "with exceptions," or "on various dates," please contact Legislative Counsel, Alberta Justice, for details at 780.427.2217. The

chapter number assigned to the Bill is entered immediately following the date the Bill comes into force. SA indicates Statutes of Alberta; this is followed by the year in which it is included in the statutes, and its

chapter number. Please note, Private Bills are not assigned

chapter number until the conclusion of the Fall Sittings. Bill 1 —

An Act to Protect Public Health Care (Hoffman) First Reading — 5 (Mar. 18, 2019 aft., passed)

Table of Contents Prayers ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 1 Entrance of the Lieutenant Governor .............................................................................................................................................................. 1 Speech from the Throne Restoring Trust in Government ................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Creating Good Jobs in a More Diversified Economy ................................................................................................................................ 2 New Infrastructure Investments ............................................................................................................................................................ 2 Defending Energy Jobs ......................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Reducing Oil Backlogs and Getting Our Resources Moving................................................................................................................ 3 More Value for the Resources Albertans Own ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Diversifying beyond Our Energy Sector ............................................................................................................................................... 3 A Province that Works for Everyone ......................................................................................................................................................... 3 Health Care ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Education .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 4 Child Care............................................................................................................................................................................................. 4 Lifting Kids out of Poverty ................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 4 Tablings .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction of Bills Bill 1

An Act to Protect Public Health Care ................................................................................................................................... 5 Motions........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

Alberta Hansard is available online at www.assembly.ab.ca For inquiries contact: Managing Editor Alberta Hansard 3rd Floor, 9820 – 107 St EDMONTON, AB T5K 1E7 Telephone: 780.427.1875 Published under the Authority of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta ISSN 0383-3623

Document details

Collection	Alberta — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	20190318
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	L29 S5 20190318 1500 01 han.pdf
Language	en
Format	json
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	6955478aed36ae71c613705974bd8f80fda91dc5

Source file is stored in the law ingest library (json).