May 9, 2006 Alberta Hansard 1393 Legislative Assembly of Alberta Title: Tuesday, May 9, 2006 1:30 p.m. Date: 06/05/09 [The Speaker in the chair] head: Prayers The Speaker: Good afternoon. Let us pray. Guide us so that we may use the privilege given us as elected Members of the Legislative Assembly. Give us the strength to labour diligently, the courage to think and to speak with clarity and conviction and without prejudice or pride. Amen. Please be seated. head: Introduction of Visitors Mr. Coutts: Mr.

Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Seniors and Community Supports it is my pleasure today to introduce to you and through you a very special guest who has joined us today in the Assembly. Although originally from Manitoba, Mr. Mike Kaluzniak has spent his adult life in Alberta, but he has never had the opportu- nity to visit the Legislature until today. What makes this particular visit so special is that Mr. Kaluzniak is 100 years of age. Now, given that we are currently celebrating the 100th anniversary of our Assembly’s first sitting, I think that his timing is outstanding.

He’s still an active member of our community. He told the staff of the St. Michael’s Millennium Pavilion, where he currently lives, that he wanted to visit us here at the Legislature so that he could finally see how things work in th e provincial government, so he’s watching us closely. I’m pleased that he’s going to get that opportu- nity today, and I’d like to introduce him and his guests. Along with Mr. Kaluzniak are his sons Marvin and John Kaluzniak; Stan Fisher, president and CEO of the St. Michael’s Health Group; Christine Peterenko, director of the St.

Michael’s Health Group; and Irene Miskiw, manager of the Millennium Pavilion. Mr. Speaker, they are all seated in your gallery, and I ask them to please rise so they can receive the traditional warm welcome of this Assembly. head: Introduction of Guests The Speaker: The hon. Member for Lac La Biche-St. Paul. Mr. Danyluk: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m honoured to introduce to you and through you to members of this Assembly the hardworking members of the Northern Alberta Development Council who are meeting in Edmonton today.

Joining us in the Speaker’s gallery are Carmen Ewing, of Girouxville; Helen Henderson, of High Prairie; Mike Mihaly, of High Level; Michael Ouellette, of Grande Prairie; Williard Strebchuck, of Whitecourt; Maurice Rivard, of Bonnyville; and Harvey Yoder, of Lac La Biche. They are also accompanied by staff members from the Peace River office. Seated in the members’ gallery are the executive director, Dan Dibbelt, Allen Geary, Kim Persaud, Jan Mazurik, Roxanne Heinen, and Jack Kramer.

These individuals are to be commended for their dedication to the advancement of northern development through regional initiatives and partnerships with the private sector and community-based organizations. They are seated in both galleries this afternoon, and I would ask them to rise and receive the traditional warm welcome of this Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Education. Mr. Zwozdesky: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

It is indeed a great pleasure to rise and introduce to you and through you 38 of the very brightest young minds we have in Alberta, all of whom are attending Jackson Heights school in my constituency. They are accompanied today by teachers and gr oup leaders Mrs. Celia Correlje, Mrs. Pam Schenk with parent helpers as well, Mrs. Marina Doyle and Mrs. Emily Sieusahai. I would ask that they now rise and receive the very warm welcome of the Assembly. Thank you. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills. Mr. Marz: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hate to argue with the hon.

Minister of Education, but everyone knows that the brightest young minds come from Trochu Valley high school. It’s a pleasure to introduce to you and through you to members of the Assembly today 18 very enthusiastic students from Trochu Valley high. They’ve already had their picture taken, and they’ve had the opportunity to meet the Minister of Education. They’re accompanied today by Mr. Bill Cunningham, teacher, and Mrs. Brenda Hoppins and Mrs. Diane Doerksen. They’re all seated in the public gallery. I’d ask them to rise and receive the warm welcome of the Assembly. The Speaker: The hon.

Leader of the Official Opposition. Dr. Taft: Thanks, Mr. Speaker. We all here owe our success to any number of other people who have helped us out along the way. It’s my pleasure today to introduce to you and to all members of the Assembly two people who’ve helped me out. They happen to be two of my sisters, one of whom is visiting from Ottawa. They are seated in the public gallery, and their names are Sylvia Gazsi-Gill and Valerie Warke. I’d ask them to please rise and receive the warm welcome of all members. Thank you. The Speaker: They are obviously much younger sisters. The hon. Member for Edmonton-Manning.

Mr. Backs: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m very honoured and pleased to rise today to introduce to you and through you to members of this Assembly the wonderful volunteers that are here today from the Northgate Lions seniors’ centre, which is really the best seniors’ centre in all of Canada, I’m sure. It’s centred in Edmonton-Manning, of course, and it has facilities ranging from a new seniors’ fitness centre just special to seniors, lapidary, woodworking, art, weaving, and many, many other fine, fine facilities. It’s the volunteers that make it work. They’re here with their guide today, Mr. Ian Mathieson.

I welcome them, and I ask you all to welcome them to the Legislature. The Speaker: The hon. leader of the third party. Mr. Mason: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It gives me a great deal of pleasure this afternoon to introduce to you and through you to the Assembly my father, Bob Mason, and my stepmom, Kay Guthrie. My dad is a retired electrical engineer and small business owner. He was a founding member of the Reform Party of Canada, and he likes Preston Manning. But he likes me better, and he’s now a member of the Alberta NDP. My stepmom, Kay, is retired after a long career with CKUA.

She is a writer and very active in the arts community. Both are very active. They attend the Fringe and the Folk Festival every year, and they’ve travelled in the last few years in Africa, South America, and India. This year both of them celebrated their 80th birthdays, Mr. Speaker. I would ask that my dad and Kay now stand and receive the traditional warm welcome of this Assembly.

Alberta Hansard May 9, 20061394 The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview. Mr. Martin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure this afternoon to introduce to you and members of the Assembly Roy Skoreyko. Roy recently won the Norm McLeod award from the Alberta Persons with Developmental Disabilities Provincial Board for his work with them. Roy is very concerned about the lack of funding for disabled people in Alberta and the cutbacks in services that PDD boards are now facing.

I would ask that Roy now stand and receive the traditional warm welcome of the Assembly. 1:40 The Speaker: The hon. Member for Airdrie-Chestermere. Ms Haley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to acknowledge three people from my constituency that are up in your gallery. They’re with the Municipal District of Rocky View Council and are here to meet with a couple of ministers on some very important issues. As you know, Rocky View is one of the fastest growing areas in the whole province, and unfortunately the municipal district has to deal with all of the pressures from all the urban constituencies around it.

I’d like to congratulate them on the work that they do and ask that they please rise. Lois is our deputy reeve, and she’s accompanied by two other members of our council. The Speaker: Are there others? The hon. Minister of Justice and Attorney General. Mr. Stevens: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It’s my pleasure this afternoon to introduce to you and through you to members of the Assembly Courtney Luimes. Courtney will be working in the Calgary-Glenmore constituency office this summer as part of the STEP program.

Courtney has just completed her fourth year of a five-year, two-degree program at the University of Calgary. She’s working towards a bachelor of commerce and a bachelor of arts degree, majoring in marketing and political science. She’s also, in her free time, the president of the University of Calgary Campus Conservative Association. Courtney is here in the members’ gallery, and I’d ask her to please rise and receive the trad itional warm welcome of this Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Rutherford. Mr. R. Miller: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I’m honoured to have the opportunity to introduce to you and through you to all members of this Assembly two of my greatest supporters, both in my professional life and in my personal life. I would like to introduce my mother-in-law, the best mother-in-law in the world, Clara Jonsson, and her husband, Bob Grant. I would ask them to please rise and receive the traditional warm welcome of this Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Energy. Mr. Melchin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a pleasure today to stand and introduce two very capable new members of my staff to the Assembly.

It’s the first time that they’ve had a chance to be able to come to the Assembly and observe these proceedings. The first is Avery Trimble. She’s been with us for a few months now and has joined us from our deputy minister’s office. The second, Sheena McKinstrie, joined us just last w eek. I’d ask them if they’d both stand. Please join us to offer th em the traditional welcome of the Assembly. head: Oral Question Period The Speaker: First Official Opposition main question. The hon. Leader of the Official Opposition. Rod Love Consulting Inc. Dr. Taft: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Premier’s former chief of staff Rod Love seems to make his living selling access to the Premier’s office. FOIPed documents show that Love has moved freely from government contract to government contract, providing inside information through high-priced verbal advice. It’s a money- making scheme at the taxpayers’ expense. To the Premier: will the Premier admit that Rod Love is doing little more in these contracts than selling inside access to the Premier’s office? Mr. Klein: Mr.

Speaker, first of all, to set the record straight – straight, absolutely straight – Rod Love hasn’t had access to my office, and he doesn’t use his consulting business to gain access to my office. He was my chief of staff, yes, absolutely. But his contracts with various government departments or health authorities are entirely up to the ministries or the health authority involved. It has absolutely nothing to do with my office. It has had nothing to do with my office. The Speaker: The hon. leader. Dr. Taft: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again to the Premier: does the Premier recognize that Rod Love is peddling inside information obtained while serving as the Premier’s chief of staff? Mr. Klein: I have no idea what information he is providing to the various ministries or authorities, whether it’s information he gained while in my office, which is very little, by the way – usually the opposition tells me what’s going on – or whether he’s providing other information. I have no idea, nor do I make it my business. The Speaker: The hon. leader. Dr. Taft: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Can the Premier assure this House that Rod Love is not sharing confidential government information with clients, such as PC leadership candidate Jim Dinning? Mr. Klein: Mr. Speaker, I have no idea. I didn’t even know that he was working for Jim Dinning. [interjection] I didn’t. They can moan and groan all they want. Relative to the leadership campaign my policy is hands off, and I don’t give a tinker’s hoot who he works for. The Speaker: Second Official Opposition main question. The hon. Leader of the Official Opposition. Lobbyist Registry Dr. Taft: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

High-paid contracts to people like Rod Love and Kelley Charlebois are merely symptoms of a much deeper problem. This government’s sense of entitlement is so pervasive that it’s no longer capable of even identifying a conflict of interest: the Premier is fielding job offers while in office; a Tory Party VP sits on the government’s Internal Audit Committee; chairs of government committees use their positions to sell PC Party memberships; ex-MLAs get plum appointments. It goes on and on. To the Premier: why does the Premier insist that Albertans don’t

May 9, 2006 Alberta Hansard 1395 have a right to know who’s lobbying this government by his refusal to create a lobbyist registry? Mr. Klein: Mr. Speaker, to set the record straight: again, I have no problems – I have no problems – with a lobbyist registry. I have said that for every upside there is a downside, and I want to make sure that when the Legislature considers a lobbyist registry, they consider the downside and they clearly identify those who are lobbyists and those who are not lobbyists.

Now, I’ve raised the question: if a person who represents a school board or a university or a municipality is asking the government for money, are they lobbyists? I want to make sure that I know that the rules are clear. The Speaker: The hon. leader. Dr. Taft: Thank you. Again to the Premier: given that the Premier’s former chief of staff Rod Love signed on to a juicy contract with the Calgary health region very shortly after leaving his position with the Premier’s office, will the Premier commit to extending the legisla- tive Conflicts of Interest Act to senior public officials? Mr.

Klein: I don’t know if I have the power to do that. I understand that a report on conflict of interest guidelines by the all-party committee that examined this issue will be coming to the Legisla- ture, and I suspect that it will be fully debated in these Chambers. The Speaker: The hon. leader. Dr. Taft: Thank you. Again to the Premier: given that the federal Conservatives are proposing a five-year cooling-off period for ministers, will the Premier commit to extending the mandatory cooling-off period to a minimum of one year for Alberta’s cabinet ministers? Mr. Klein: Mr. Speaker, I have told the hon.

Leader of the Official Opposition that I don’t give a tinker’s hoot whether it’s 10 or 15 or 20 or 30 years. I’m leaving. I’ve said that all I want is to have time to do what I want to do and time to golf and fish. Big deal. The Speaker: Third Official Opposition main question. The hon. Member for Calgary-Currie. 1:50 Tuition Fee Policy Mr. Taylor: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

After more than a decade of policy failure, during which one failed tuition policy gives way to another, each one off-loading more and more costs onto students and their families, the new Minister of Advanced Education and this government are trying now a different approach: make the changes from now on behind closed doors, cloaked in cabinet secrecy, rather than on the floor of the House.

To the Premier: if the Premier is so confident that he can clean up the mess and deliver the most affordable, entrepreneurial, and innovative tuition policy in the nation, why won’t he do it in full public view right here, in this House? Mr. Klein: Mr. Speaker, the hon. Minister of Advanced Education is responsible for bringing forward legislation. I understand that Bill 40, the Post-secondary Learning Amendment Act, will be before this legislative Chamber for debate, so I think it’s premature for the hon. member to ask any questions. Plus, he can in an open, public, transparent fashion debate the issue.

The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Taylor: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Minister of Advanced Education: is it true that his ministry has been telling student leaders that they either go along with this flawed Bill 40 or forget a bout getting a better tuition policy? Mr. Herard: Well, Mr. Speaker, one thing I want to tell students is that the sky is not falling. I’m not aware of any such comments. I think that with your guidance I can speak to part of the act because it is on the Order Paper. The Speaker: Well, hon. minister, please.

We will have second reading of this particular bill coming up, so let’s not debate the bill in question period. Deal with policy issues. The hon. member. Mr. Taylor: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again to the minister: will the minister commit to a joint meeting with me and student represen- tatives before this flawed Bill 40 receives sec ond reading? By the way, his predecessor says that he doesn’t even need to bring in legislation in order to change tuition policy. Mr. Herard: Mr. Speaker, there was so much noise that I could not hear the question. Could you repeat it? The Speaker: The hon. leader of the third party.

Rod Love Consulting Inc. (continued) Mr. Mason: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The culture of entitlement surrounding this government is deeply entrenched. The Premier’s former chief of staff Mr. Love has got himself another juicy contract with another government agency. The Calgary health authority is now paying Mr. Love $350 an hour for heaven knows what. My question is for the Minister of Health and Wellness. It’s very simple. What exactly did the Calgary health authority get for their contract with Mr. Love at $350 an hour? Ms Evans: Mr. Speaker, that’s a question for the health authority.

Today when I saw the report, it’s very obvious that the health authority sets policy and has financial policies and implications and accountability examined by the Auditor General. So I would suggest that the hon. member approach the Calgary health authority and ask the question. Mr. Mason: Mr. Speaker, is the minister suggesting that she does not have ministerial authority for what the Calgary health authority does? Is it not part of her responsibility as Minister of Health and Wellness? Yes or no? Ms Evans: Mr. Speaker, the accountability of the government obviously is very clearly defined.

Regional health authorities have the role and responsibility of engaging contracts as they see fit. They manage those contracts. They’re accountable for those contracts both financially and from a substance perspective. We have very clearly delineated lines of authority in this regard. Mr. Mason: Mr. Speaker, the minister can duck and weave, but she can’t avoid the fact that Mr. Love is getting money for nothing and his perks for free. Now, will the minister please tell this House what exactly Rod Love did for the money he got from her agency.

Alberta Hansard May 9, 20061396 Ms Evans: Mr. Speaker, I am quite convinced that if the Calgary health authority has a contract with a provider of service, like I-3, Mr. Love’s consulting contract, or any other contract, they are getting value for money. They are intelligent people. They make decisions. They will no doubt be able to answer that question.

The first notice I have of it is the newspaper report today, that these things have been revealed, and no doubt the Calgary health authority will share what they wish or can to both the member opposite and, certainly, subsequently to the Auditor General and to the ministry if it’s appropriate. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Lac La Biche-St. Paul, followed by the hon. Member for Calgary-Mountain View. Royal Alberta Museum Acquisition Mr. Danyluk: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. On Monday the Royal Alberta Museum purchased a number of aboriginal items up for auction.

The American Indian Movement has previously expressed concerns about the potential sale of these items and would like them reappropriated. My firs t question is to the Minister of Community Development. Could he please explain why the museum chose to purchase these items and what they will mean to Albertans and our aboriginal communities? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Ducharme: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Royal Alberta Museum was able to acquire 29 of the 39 historic First Nations and Métis cultural artifacts that were put up for auction.

These artifacts, collected by the ninth Earl of Southesk, have exceptional historical significance. These are items from the Canadian Plains from the mid-1800s, and more than a third of these objects are of Alberta origin. The collection was auctioned off piece by piece, which put it at risk of being sold to individual collectors, never to be seen again by the public. I had the opportunity, Mr. Speaker, to sit in at the telephone auction, and I can assure you that the bidding was fast and furious.

The purchase is an incredible opportunity to preserve some very important parts of our history for generations of Albertans to study, admire, and enjoy. Museum staff were very knowledgeable of each item’s history, and visitors to our museums will now be able to see historic items that originated here over 145 years ago. Mr. Danyluk: Mr. Speaker, my first supplemental is also to the Minister of Community Development. How was the museum able to make this purchase? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Ducharme: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The museum worked with a number of partners to secure funding.

The government of Alberta committed $500,000 through the museum, the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation, and Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, and the federal government generously dedicated $600,000 toward the sale. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Danyluk: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My second supplemental is to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development. How has the Alberta aboriginal community re- sponded to the museum’s purchase of these items? Ms Calahasen: Well, Mr.

Speaker, first of all, most of the aborigi- nal community are ecstatic about this purchase b ecause securing these items is connecting them to their past. I commend the museum staff for all the hard work that they did in making sure that they secured First Nations and Métis support. As a matter of fact, they received letters of support from people such as Charles Weaselhead, who is the chief of the Kainai nation, from retired Senator Thelma Chalifoux, the File Hills Qu’Appelle First Nations Tribal Council, Prince Albert Tribal Council, and of course Treaty 7 Management Corporation.

A lot of people across Canada from the aboriginal community were very interested in this collec- tion. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Mountain View, followed by the hon. Member for Calgary-Fort. Contaminated Sites Cleanup Dr. Swann: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Alberta may have paid off its financial debt, but it is taking on a huge environmental debt in hundreds of contaminated sites. Albertans should be outraged. Instead of following the law requiring “maximum protection to human life, health and the environment,” the minister wants to change the law to “manage” the risk posed by these contaminated sites.

This means that we will now cover up contamination, and our children will be forced to deal with future problems. To the minister: can the minister explain how removing the responsibility of industry to properly clean and remediate a site is in the interests of the environment, health, and future generations? Mr. Boutilier: Mr. Speaker, we spoke about this very topic last night till almost midnight in this Assembly under Bill 29, but it allows me the opportunity to say that the

preamble is entirely vacuous when it comes to what was being allocated. Number one, did you know that we are the only province in Canada where we allocated almost $60 million for contaminated sites? In fact, we did a risk assessment, and that risk assessment of managing those contaminated sites, I might add, in terms of working with Albertans, has worked extremely well. So in terms of the wo rds that it is – if I repeat the words – a tragedy what is happening, nothing could be further from the truth. The Speaker: The hon. member. 2:00 Dr. Swann: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Can the minister indicate how allowing industry to transfer contaminated land as a gift to munici- palities is in the best interests of the environment and future generations? Mr. Boutilier: Mr. Speaker, I’m very proud to say that in this province it is the law, and the la w says that the polluter will pay. We, representing the people of Alberta, will hold anyone involved with any type of contamination or pollution to that law. That’s what we’re doing today; that’s what we’re doing tomorrow and well into the future in protecting future generations. The Speaker: The hon. member. Dr. Swann: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Can the minister indicate: when a company defaults on cleanup costs, how often has this department gone after company officers individually as is indicated in the legislation?

May 9, 2006 Alberta Hansard 1397 Mr. Boutilier: Mr. Speaker, I can assure all of the members in this Assembly: the law says that the polluter pays. Let me say it simply: we will continue to go after anyone who is breaking the law to the full extent of the law both in spirit and in letter. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Fort, followed by the hon. Member for St. Albert. Employment Opportunities for Foreign Students Mr. Cao: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Alberta has become a global player in the economy.

Relative to the U.S.A., Australia, and other provinces we are behind in promoting and recruiting foreign students to study in Alberta. Many successful jurisdictions see international students bringing to them economic benefits, fast-track human resource development, as well as good international relations, and they make it their beneficial public policy. My question today is to the hon. Minister of Advanced Education.

Given that foreign students in provinces such as Manitoba and British Columbia can find jobs off campus and work outside their study hours, when will foreign students in Alberta be allowed to do so, and what procedure do they have to follow? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Herard: Thank you very much. The hon. member is right. Foreign students are important to us in this province. We jointly announced with the federal government late last month that interna- tional students in Alberta would now be allowed to work off campus.

We are currently working with postsecondary institutions throughout the province to try and implement this as soon as possible, by June 1. I’m happy to report that presently we have a number of institu- tions that are up and running: the Alberta College of Art and Design, Lethbridge Community College, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Portage College, Red Deer College, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, and the Un iversity of Lethbridge. So you can see that we’re coming up to speed fairly quickly.

In terms of the process, hon. member, international students interested in working off campus can apply to the federal government for a work permit. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Cao: Thank you. My supplemental question is to the same hon. minister. Given that foreign students at our publicly funded institutions are allowed to work off campus, and it is unfair that foreign students at our private institutions are not allowed to do so, Minister, what are you going to do to rectify this unfairness? The Speaker: The hon. minister if he heard the question. Mr. Herard: Yes, I did hear it, Mr. Speaker.

He’s absolutely right. As it currently stands, none of our international students at Alberta’s seven private institutions are able to participate in this program because, I guess, the former federal government did not understand how important those institutions are to the province of Alberta. In my opinion these seven institutions play an important role in the postsecondary system and prov ide good-qua lity education to Albertans.

I’m going to cut to the chase and tell you that I plan to review this process and program and do whatever is necessary to ensure that international student s studying at private institutions become eligible and participate the same way as everybody else. Thank you. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Cao: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My second supplemental question is to the Minister of Human Resources and Employment, who is responsible for workforce matters in Alberta.

Given that the lack of workers has become a crisis for many small Alberta busi- nesses, particularly employers in the service sector, what is the procedure for them to recruit foreign students at our Alberta educational institutions to work for their businesses? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Cardinal: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. That’s a very good question. Of course, one option for employers who would like to recruit foreign students is to contact offices at postsecondary institutions that provide services and support for international students.

Employers may also want to place ads on job boards, et cetera. In addition to that, we have 59 labour market information centres across Alberta that provide all forms of services. We’re spending close to $300 million, in fact, to provide those supports. Keep in mind, again, that Alberta students would be given priority. The Speaker: The hon. Member for St. Albert, followed by the hon. Member for Calgary-McCall. Education Funding Mr. Flaherty: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This government seems to have lost the trust of Albertans concerned with education.

With only 2 or 3 per cent increases, school districts, t eachers, and parents are finding out that the education dollars are simply not flowing through to their local schools. This surplus budget will put students in bigger classes and send teachers looking for work. Can the Minister of Education tell this House how many teachers will lose their jobs next year in Edmonton, Rocky Mountain House, Lethbridge, just to name a few of the many boards facing tough decisions this year? Mr. Zwozdesky: Mr. Speaker, I wouldn’t anticipate that any teachers would be losing their jobs.

What I might anticipate is that there might be some teachers who are retiring, perhaps leaving some vacancies in their wake. Let’s remember that within the envelope of $5.3 billion we have provided additional funding in the amount of approximately 3 per cent for one category of educational needs and 2 per cent for another category. Every school board of the 62 should be receiving some sort of an increase in that respect.

Specific to the class size reduction initiative, in our third year we anticipate hiring somewhere between 150 and 200 more teachers over and above the 33,000 or 34,000 or whatever it is that we have in the system right now. So that’s pretty good news. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Flaherty: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister of Education tell us how many support staff, t eacher aides, will lose their jobs next year in Edmonton, Rocky Mountain House, and Lethbridge, just to name a few of the many boards facing tough decisions to cut support staff? Mr. Zwozdesky: Well, again, Mr.

Speaker, I would hope and I would anticipate that there wouldn’t be any of those kinds of job losses. It’s interesting to have the questions coming forward now, when they are clearly at least six or seven weeks premature. We will get the final budgets s ubmitted on or about June 30 of this year.

Alberta Hansard May 9, 20061398 We’ll take a serious look at what those budgetary needs are. We will know better what their enrolment projections were as the budget was being developed over the last few months in comparison with what the actual enrolments will be, where the trends and where the shifts and so on exist, and then we’ll go from there in developing the final budget for September. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Flaherty: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Given that the minister did not keep his promises, can the minister tell us why he didn’t provide adequate time to allow districts to plan ahead for these impending cuts? Mr. Zwozdesky: I’m not sure that I should even dignify the question with an answer; it’s so absurd. I don’t know what sort of promises the member is referring to or what sort of cuts he seems to be referring to. We’ve explained very clearly for the last couple of days, at least for the last couple of days, that there is going to be a funding increase in education.

I’ve also explained, I hope very clearly, that these are preliminary budget targets that are being talked about right now. The final budgets from the school boards will arrive in about six or seven weeks. We will carefully review those. That’s the standard procedure. Then, based on how the shifts have occurred, we will make the appropriate adjustments with those school boards so that come September we are in a pos ition of assurance. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-McCall, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Meadowlark. 2:10 Gasoline Prices Mr. Shariff: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Last Friday I filled up my car with gasoline at $1.06 a litre in Calgary. That same afternoon I was in Toronto, where I filled up my rental car with gasoline at 96 cents a litre. My wife asked me why Albertans pay more for gasoline, considering that we produce it right here in our backyard, and I promised to ask that question of the minister. So my first question is to the Minister of Energy. Why is there so much volatility in the price of gasoline, and in particular, why do Albertans have to pay more than those in Ontario? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Melchin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We’re glad for the comparison shopping that your family is doing around the country and for the information provided to the Legislature. That said, you know, on average over the year Albertans do actually still pay the lowest prices in the country, including in those areas which you said. [interjections] The Speaker: The hon. minister has the floor. Mr. Melchin: I suspect that it’s the lowest prices in the universe. I stand corrected.

With that said, there are a lot of factors that go into why in any one day you’ll have different prices, sometimes within the city, city to city within Alberta, and clearly province to province. There are a lot of factors such as inventory of supply, seasonal variations. In fact, they will purchase an inventory of their fuels at different times, bought at different terms and conditions. There are retail marketing practices that come into this. They sometimes are promoting an area. There are cross kinds of promotions from the stores that also are selling some of their other merchandise.

The inference is that the only oil that comes is from Alberta. Clearly, Alberta is the largest producer of oil in Canada, but when you go to Ontario, for example, they also import a lot of oil from offshore and from other countries of the world. So we’re not comparing even the same sources of oil and purchased at the same price, same times: those factors. They all contribute to why one area in Toronto could be more and/or less than an area in Alberta on any one day. Mr. Shariff: Mr. Speaker, my first supplemental is to the Minister of Government Services.

Given that a number of provinces in Canada regulate gasoline prices, is the minister considering regulat- ing gasoline prices, and if not, why not? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. VanderBurg: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, it was some time ago, a couple of years ago, when the province did have a look at the legislation that other provinces were using. In fact, it was proven then by comparison that Alberta had the lowest prices across this great nation. This ministry has no intent of bringing in price controls. The free market must prevail. Mr. Speaker, I’m going to tell you even more.

You know, yesterday in Onoway at the UFA the price was 99.5. My assistant in the office, Colleen, gassed up in St. Albert: $1.04. Colleen from the office gassed up at Safeway: 96.5 using her discount. I think there’s great market competition in this area. Maybe it’s just in northern Alberta. I can’t tell you that for sure, but we see lots of competition in this area. The Speaker: The hon. member? The hon. Member for Edmonton-Meadowlark, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Strathcona. Department of Gaming Grant Program Mr. Tougas: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Auditor General recommended in his most recent report that the Gaming ministry develop clear guidelines for assessing the mysterious other initiatives program, an $11 million pool of lottery money whose distribution is entirely at the discretion of the Gaming minister. During the Gaming department estimates the minister was asked on at least three occasions if he would comply with the Auditor General’s recommendations, but each time he skirted the issue. My questions are for the Minister of Gaming.

Will the minister act on the Auditor General’s recommendations and produce clear, published guidelines for the other initiatives program? Mr. Graydon: Mr. Speaker, actually, we have addressed the Auditor’s comments. I’m before Committee of Supply tomorrow, and I would think that the Audito r at that point will express his satisfaction with the steps that we’ve taken concerning the other initiatives account. Mr. Tougas: I guess that was an answer, but is that a yes or a no? Are you going to comply with what the Auditor General said? It’s a yes or no question. Mr.

Graydon: I believe the answer was that we already have. Mr. Tougas: Well, when you come up with your guidelines, are you going to allow the general public to enjoy the benefits of this

May 9, 2006 Alberta Hansard 1399 program, or is it going to be entirely an MLA-driven process as it is right now? Mr. Graydon: Actually, I’m before Public Accounts tomorrow morning. I’m sorry. I said Committee of Supply. That was a couple weeks ago, when I answered this same question several times. But before Public Accounts tomorrow we’ll find out the rules around other initiatives. I think it’s a perfect title for that category of grant because it is other initiatives that don’t fit into standard CFEP or CIP boxes, if you will. A good example is an arena that burned down in the community of Viking a while ago.

The community did have insurance, but there wasn’t enough insurance to cover the cost to rebuild that facility. It’s an extremely important recreational facility in that community. What a perfect place to get a grant, from the other initiatives fund. Tuition Fee Policy (continued) Dr. Pannu: Mr. Speaker, this Conservative government wants to make future decisions on tuition behind the closed doors of the cabinet room, far removed from the public scrutiny of this Legisla- ture.

The very lame excuse, justification, so called, for this draco- nian move is because a certain Tory leadership contest makes a fall Legislature session inconvenient for this government. None of the stakeholders of the postsecondary system favour letting cabinet make tuition policy behind closed doors. To the Minister of Advanced Education: given that students fought long and hard to ensure that a tuition policy was entrenched in legislation, how can the minister justify removing this protection through a last-minute change introduced in the dying days of this spring session? Mr. Herard: Well, Mr.

Speaker, I will try and answer the question without talking about the bill itself. The policy is not in the bill, so maybe I can talk about the policy. But to ensure accountability and transparency, I think that hon. members should know that govern- ment departments must always show, when amending regulations, that they have consulted with the affected stakeholders as part of the compliance process. So there’s always a consultation that takes place when amendments to regulations are contemplated, and I plan to consult with our students with respect to this regulation. The Speaker: The hon. member. Dr.

Pannu: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the same minister: given that students are saying that they’ve never been consulted by this minister up to this point on this issue, how can the minister justify the government sneaking this change through without consultation at a time of year when most students are working out there, trying to make money to pay for their next year’s tuition fees? Mr. Herard: Well, Mr. Speaker, what’s the date today?

I think I’ve been the minister now for a month and three days and a few hours, but I do know that there’s been a consultation process that’s been ongoing for 16 months in which all of these students have been participating at all stages, and I can tell them that they’re going to be very happy with the tuition policy. Dr. Pannu: Mr. Speaker, the last question to the same minister: why should this Legislative Assembly give the Tory government a blank cheque to impose whatever tuition fee formula it deems convenient behind the closed doors of the cabinet? Mr. Herard: Mr.

Speaker, by moving the tuition policy from the act into regulation, we are increasing the flexibility to adjust the tuition policy to meet the changes that students need. So instead of trying to show that the sky is falling, why don’t you look at this as continuous improvement? The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Castle Downs, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-McClung. Anticrime Volunteer Groups Mr. Lukaszuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Guardian Angels is a nonprofit group that uses unarmed volunteers to try to catch criminals in the act to deter street crime.

My questions are to the Solicitor General and Minister of Public Security. Since the Guardian Angels have visited our city and Calgary, has the minister consulted with them, and do we have any other local groups that do similar types of work in Alberta? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Cenaiko: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The Guardian Angels were established in 1979 in the United States, and they now have 60 chapters in six different countries around the world. They’re a not-for-profit organization, and they do attempt to act as the eyes and ears in the community for the police.

However, they do intervene in very dangerous situ ations, putting themselves and the public at risk, and this is highlighted by the fact that six Guardian Angels have been killed since 1981 in acts of their volunteerism within the Guardian Angels.

As well, 36 individuals have been seriously injured within the Guardian Angels organization. 2:20 There’s no requirement for such a group to have a relationship with a police service; however, we’re concerned that whether, in fact, the Calgary or the Edmonton police service want those community groups to be involved in the community or they set up chapters here, the fact is that a relationship has to be built between the local police service and the Guardian Angels. This is all about crime prevention. It’s about being vigilant, not a vigilante. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Lukaszuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Since those groups are arriving here as a result of public dissatisfaction with street crime, can the minister see any productive role for those groups to co- operate with police and, indeed, curb crime? Mr. Cenaiko: Mr. Speaker, as the Solicitor General and Minister of Public Security it’s ultimately my role to ensure the safety and security of all Albertans. That’s a priority, the safety of Albertans. In this case we want to look at the issue related to what their goal and their business is. I have reservations about supporting an organization that places volunteers or citizens in harm’s way.

This is the concern that I have about community involvement with the police. We have a number of programs that are available in the commu- nity right now through crime prevention units here in Edmonton and throughout Alberta that are related to working with the police, working with the communities. Some are Block Watch, Neighbour- hood Watch, Rural Crime Watch. We have radio watch programs in both Edmonton and Calgary. These are volunteers that work with the police. They sit down and look at various targets, various areas

Alberta Hansard May 9, 20061400 of concern that the police may have within an industrial area or a residential area. So it’s well organized and well orchestrated between those community volunteers and the police. We want to maintain that partnership, maintain that relationship. Obviously, the Guardian Angels is something new that we’re going to have to look at. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-McClung, followed by the hon. Member for Calgary-Shaw. Secondary Suites Mr. Elsalhy: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recently the government released its final report from the MLA Review Committee on Secondary Suites.

Although overdue, it’s better late than never. The use of secondary suites is a primary tool for creating affordable housing solutions and helping some homeowners generate a little income on the side. To the Minister of Municipal Affairs: given the red-hot housing market throughout this province, be it rental or home ownership, and especially in cities like Calgary, Edmonton, and, more profoundly, Fort McMurray, how will this ministry work with municipalities to encourage the development and utilization of secondary suites? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Renner: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There are a couple issues to keep in mind with respect to secondary suites. Municipal Affairs through building codes is responsible for the actual construc- tion codes, and that’s what this report deals with. The municipali- ties, on the other hand, are responsible for zoning and land classifi- cation. So it’s really a two-step approach that will have to take place on this. First of all, we’ll have to make some final decisions on whether or not the recommendations from the committee should be imple- mented into our building code.

Once that’s done, the municipalities will have to decide how they’re going to incorporate this new classification of building into their structure of land planning and R2 versus R1 or whether it becomes R1 and a half. So we’ll work with municipalities on that issue. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Elsalhy: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will this government provide assistance to individuals who want to develop secondary suites as a solution to offer affordable housing and to combat homelessness? Will there be any incentive for them to do that? Mr. Renner: Mr. Speaker, that’s not within the purview of my ministry.

We don’t provide grants of any kind to individuals. I can say that the purpose of this report, though, was to remove some of the cost-prohibitive barriers from establishing secondary suites, and I think the report has done a very good job of doing just that. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Elsalhy: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If the new standards compel existing homeowners to update or upgrade their existing secondary suites, will there be any assistance from the government to recover some of that cost? Mr. Renner: Same answer, Mr. Speaker.

My department is not involved in granting to individuals, but I must say that the present building code does not recognize basement suites, the traditional basement suites. The building code really talks about a duplex, and the requirements for a duplex are really very restrictive. What we are hoping to establish by the implementation of this report are somewhat reduced requirements on the part of the homeowner so that we can in fact legitimize a number of secondary suites that are on the market right now and hopefully encourage some new ones in some new developments in the future. The Speaker: The hon.

Member for Calgary-Shaw, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Rutherford. Drivers’ Licence Photos Mrs. Ady: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand that the Court of Queen’s Bench ruled yesterday that members of Hutterite colonies in Alberta will not have to have photos on their drivers’ licences. My question is for the Minister of Government Services. What are your department and yourself going to be doing about this decision? Mr. VanderBurg: Mr. Speaker, yes, that’s right. In fact, the Court of Queen’s Bench did put out a ruling yesterday, and I had discus- sions with our department on this.

Photos are a very, very important part of our driver’s licence here in Alberta, and we see that as an integral part of the security and of the identification of all Albertans. I understand that this issue may be still in the courts. There may be an opportunity sometime for appeal, but I can tell you that this is a serious matter. I’m going to have some discussions with other ministers on this, and I can tell you that we will ensure that the proper identifications are on our drivers’ licences.

I can tell you again that we will ensure that all Albertans have the ability to use their drivers’ licences as a form of identification as well. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mrs. Ady: Thank you. My first supplemental is to the Minister of Justice. Has your department made any decisions regarding this matter? The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Justice and Attorney General. Mr. Stevens: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe we found out late yesterday about this particular decision, so the decision itself is still being reviewed. I agree with the hon.

Minister of Government Services that it’s absolutely essential that we have photos on our drivers’ licences and that we mainta in that. So I’m sure that the Ministry of Justice will be working with the hon. minister’s depart- ment to ensure that that continues and in the meantime reviewing the matter as it relates to a potential appeal. Mrs. Ady: My final supplemental will be to the Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation. As well, the same question: has your department been dealing with this, and what are they going to be doing about it? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Lund: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As a matter of fact, we just learned about this at about 10 o’clock this morning, so I haven’t had a chance to discuss it with the department. I would have to reiterate, as the other ministers have indicated, that this is very, very important to us, that there be that identification. As a matter of fact, there was a lot of discussion about whether, in fact, the Alberta driver’s licence

May 9, 2006 Alberta Hansard 1401 *See p. 1458, right col., para. 6 may be a vehicle that could be used as far as the border crossing is concerned. There is that confidence with the facial identification on the driver’s licence that it could be very, very secure. So we’ll be discussing an appeal with the other ministers. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Rutherford, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Calder. Government Liabilities Mr. R. Miller: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My questions this afternoon are for the Minister of Finance.

Could the minister please advise this House and all Albertans how much the total Alberta government’s liabilities have risen in the last budget year? Mrs. McClellan: Mr. Speaker, I’m sorry; I don’t quite understand the question. I see the hon. member is looking at his writing to see if he does. I would say this. I have estimates here tomorrow night at 8 o’clock. We’ll have a full two hours, and I certainly look forward to discussing our very positive revenues in this province. I’ll discuss any potential or maybe liabilities that the hon. member maybe alluded to, and, Mr.

Speaker, I would just suggest that we take advantage of that time and have a real good, thorough discussion on this issue. 2:30 Mr. R. Miller: Mr. Speaker, the answer is $3 billion.* It’s con- tained on page 43 of the fiscal plan, and I’m happy to table this later this afternoon. The Speaker: Hon. member, why would you ask a question if you knew the answer? What’s your second question, with no

preamble? Mr. R. Miller: Mr. Speaker, the question is: given that the govern- ment’s liabilities have grown by nearly $3 billion in the last year, can the minister please provide us with the nature of the increasing liabilities? Mrs. McClellan: Well, Mr. Speaker, I’m sure he’ll find that in the fiscal plan as well. I come back to my earlier point. He did not in his first question talk about whether it was in unfunded pension liabilities. He didn’t talk about where it might be, whether it was the perceived liabilities in capital.

So, I mean, this is a rather broad question to come up with and to take the good time of this House in question period. So unless he has the answer on another page in this very thorough fiscal update we presented to the House some four weeks ago, I suggest that we have a real good discussion on this and any other matter in the purview of Finance tomorrow night beginning at 8 o’clock. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. R. Miller: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

They present a very simple graph, so I ask a very simple question: why in this time of unprece- dented revenue is this government allowing Alberta taxpayers to be exposed to such an increase in liabilities? It’s up $3 b illion in a year. Why? Mrs. McClellan: Well, again, Mr. Speaker, as I’ve said many times in this House, there isn’t a government in North America that enjoys the fiscal position of this government. So if we want to have a discussion on liabilities – funded, unfunded; perceived, not per- ceived – I suggest that we have that discussion.

Maybe we can have a little economics 101, a little business administration whatever, and a little general accounting principles discussion tomorrow night, and he might understand it a lot better. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Calder. Royalty Rates Mr. Eggen: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recently Petro-Canada announced a 75 per cent jump in their first-quarter earnings, with a net revenue of $486 million in the first few months of this year. In those same months we’ve suffered price jumps for gasoline and all forms of home utilities.

Meanwhile, this government has been satisfied with an outdated royalty regime and a lengthy royalty review process that does nothing to capture the profit padding of the already thick pockets of the energy industry. My first question is to the Deputy Premier. How much revenue will Albertans have to forgo before this government will institute a windfall royalty regime that best measures the royalty rates as captured around the world? Mrs. McClellan: Well, Mr. Speaker, I think the question on developing royalty rates is more aptly put to the Minister of Energy, who, in fact, has that responsibility.

Our responsibility is to take that rate information and transform it into our revenue picture, so I would invite the Minister of Energy to respond. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Calder, please. Mr. Eggen: Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My second question is to the Environment minister. Gi ven that the price of gasoline is putting pressure on green transportation such as public transit, when will this minister develop a program to direct windfall oil revenues directly to green transportation initiatives? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Boutilier: Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I attended the COP 10 conference down in Buenos Aires and then in Montreal just recently. I think it’s very obvious in my discussions with the Minister of Innovation and Science, the Minister of Energy, and also the Minister of Finance that one of the many options we are contemplating is: what are we doing to incent and to encourage behaviour and helping in terms of environmental practices? I think that is not unreasonable.

I think rewarding industry for technology investment and helping them in making a better environment is far better than a federal Liberal scheme of saying: go buy a carbon credit in another country, and let the money leave Canada. So we’re taking those kinds of very proactive measures. I might add that we’re the only province in Canada with a climate change law. We are not just talking; we are taking action as has been reported in the front pages of newspapers by independent professors of universities that ar e not traditionally friendly to this government. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Eggen: Thank you, Mr.

Speaker. Finally to the Energy minister: if a small but spunky country like Equador has the guts to stand up to multinational oil companies on behalf of its citizens, why won’t this minister fight for Albertans and institute a modest but practical windfall oil revenue initiative?

Alberta Hansard May 9, 20061402 Mr. Melchin: Mr. Speaker, I find it not surprising at all to hear once again from the opposition party that their formula is to make this an unattractive place to which to attract investment. Go to Ecuador. He just mentioned Ecuador.

If that’s the example, the model that he wished to use, I’m here to say that I was at the World Petroleum Congress back last fall, and if you look around the countries of the world that have a better opportunity than we have – and I’d like to know where – if you look around the c ountries of the world that actually are attracting as much investment as we can, that are driving as much opportunity for Albertans in jobs, in profits, in royalties, and in taxes, our province is doing better. But I guess they continu- ally want to have a high, high, high percentage of a small, small piece of pie. That’s their formula.

The Speaker: Hon. members, today we had 92 questions and answers in a 50-minute question period, which is really quite significant. I’ll deal with members’ statements in a moment or two, but first of all we have a little bit of history to deal with. Vignettes from the Assembly’s History The Speaker: Ninety-seven by-elections have been held in Alberta since the first general election of 1905. In our first 50 years 66 by- elections were held, with the first on April 12, 1906. This by- election was necessitated by the resignation of Leverett G.

DeVeber, a Liberal who had been elected in Lethbridge in the general election of 1905. DeVeber had been appointed to the Canadian Senate. W.C. Simmons, a Liberal, is Alberta’s first MLA to have been elected in a by-election. Until 1926 members were required to run for re-election before accepting a ppointment to cabinet. From 1909 to 1926 15 by- elections were held for this purpose, and in nine of these instances the member was returned by acclamation. In Alberta’s second 50 years we have had 31 by-elections, with the most recent by-election held on April 8, 2002.

The incumbent MLA, Butch Fischer, had resigned, and the current Member for Battle River-Wainwright was elected in the then-named constituency of Wainwright as a Progressive Conservative. The current Legisla- tive Assembly has seven members who were elected to this Assem- bly via by-elections. While I indicated earlier that we have had 97 by-elections, the number of different MLAs elected is 95. Two different members were elected on two different occasions in by-elections. On June 29, 1910, C.R. Mitchell, a Liberal, was elected in Medicine Hat as a result of the resignation of incumbent W.T. Finlay.

Mitchell lost his seat in the general election held April 17, 1913, to Nelson Spencer, a Conservative. George Lane, the Liberal incumbent in Bow Valley, then resigned his seat, and Mitchell ran in the by-election held June 12, 1913, and won by acclamation. Don Getty returned to the Alberta Legislature via a by-election held on December 11, 1985, after being elected Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party and Premier in the fall of 1985. Getty had been elected originally in 1967 in the constituency of Strathcona West. He was re-elected in 1971 and 1975 in Edmonton- Whitemud.

He did not contest the election of 1979. Premier Getty was re-elected in 1986 but then suffered personal loss in the general election of 1989 to Liberal Percy Wickman in Edmonton-Whitemud. Brian Downey, the Progressive Conservative incumbent, resigned his seat in Stettler, and Don Getty was re-elected in that seat by way of a by-election held on May 9, 1989. By way of summation Alberta experienced 66 by-elections in its first 50 years and 31 in its second 50 years; 95 different members were elected in these 97 by-elections, with two members being elected twice in by-elections.

There are currently seven members in this Assembly elected in by-elections. The first member to provide me the correct order of the seven will receive a grand prize an- nounced tomorrow. head: 2:40 Members’ Statements Search and Rescue Volunteers Mr. Snelgrove: Today I rise to recognize that May 6 was Alberta Search and Rescue Day and to talk to you about the importance of search and rescue volunteers in the province. Alberta’s search and rescue membership is a hundred per cent volunteer driven, and it relies on the support of the community to make its service delivery possible.

Across the province each year hundreds of volunteer Albertans put their lives at risk to help work with search and rescue teams. Last year about 1,200 volunteers gave their time to respond to more than 250 search and rescue incidents that occurred in Alberta. The flooding last June emphasized the important roles all members of our emergency response teams play during crisis. Search and rescue volunteers from 15 search and rescue organiza- tions assisted Alberta’s municipalities during the flooding to co- ordinate a community response.

On August 14 it will be one year since when search and rescue teams were called to assist in the rescue of my constituent and friend Keith Martin, who fell into the waters of Muriel Lake, a rescue which ultimately turned into a search operation. Let me tell you: never in my life have I experienced first-hand the persistence and intensity of the volunteers and other search and rescue personnel, volunteers who for almost two weeks literally lined the shores of the lake to find this man.

Within my constituency since 1959 the town of Vermilion has been home to the Alberta fire training school, a training centre that has brought expertise and a global audience, a school which has set the standard for firefighting inst ruction, attracting students from across the continent and from around the world. This past Saturday, May 6, was Alberta Search and Rescue Day. The day was established in 2000 to highlight search and rescue activities in the province and to recognize the contribution of volunteers. I am pleased to acknowledge those who are dedicated to this vital work.

Alberta communities provide search and rescue response of more than 100,000 hours of volunteers dedicated each year to emergency response, training, and education of delivery programs and program funding. Today I commend these exceptional personnel for their efforts, for their commitment to saving others, and for the risk to their own lives in doing so. To all of you across this great province, thank you. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Lac La Biche-St. Paul. National Nursing Week Mr. Danyluk: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today in recognition of Nursing Week, which is celebrated across Canada and around the world from May 8 to May 14. This year the theme is Nursing: Promoting Healthy Choi ces for Healthy Living. This theme reflects the essential role that nurses play as promoters of health and wellness. This role is so important in our health care system. Nurses are capable of treating patients in a time of need, and as the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Nurses know a lot about good health and as front-line workers are in the best position to pass this information on to citizens. One very

May 9, 2006 Alberta Hansard 1403 good example of this is the work that nurses do in the Alberta government’s Health Link call centre, where Albertans are able to call in for extremely valuable health information 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Many nurses are also very active in helping governments to develop information and awareness materials. It is very important for us to take the time to appreciate all the hard work and dedication that nurses put in to all aspects of our society.

For this reason, I ask all Albertans to go out of their way this week to thank a nurse for the job they do every day both in the areas of healing and prevention. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Lougheed. Compulsory Drug and Alcohol Treatment for Youth Mr. Rodney: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Along with our hon. health minister and the co-chair of the Crystal Meth Task Force, Dr. Colleen Klein, I was honoured to open the Capital health Stronger Together conference last Thursday.

AADAC was well represented that day, and staff members had been working hard every day to prepare for new addictions services for youth under the new Protection of Children Abusing Drugs Act, or PCHAD, coming into effect July 1. This act provides an additional avenue of support together with the AADAC range of services currently offered to parents and guardians whose children are abusing alcohol or other drugs, including crystal meth, in a way that severely endangers them or others and who resist or are not seeking voluntary help for their severe addiction.

The considerable press coverage recently from AADAC’s announcement of this new legislation was very positive. AADAC announced the locations of the protective safe houses, the program structure, and the number of beds being established in support of PCHAD. There will be 20 beds dedicated to the program in Calgary, Red Deer, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, and Picture Butte. To further support youth and families and to support the expansion of services, 24 additional staff members will be hired throughout the province.

AADAC will also be adding another 24 voluntary detox and residential beds later this year in both northern and southern Alberta to ensure access to follow-up services. In closing, I’d like to thank the hon. members for their support of AADAC and encourage them and their constituents to access further information on aadac.com. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: The hon. Member for West Yellowhead. Alberta Forest Week Mr. Strang: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. May 7 to May 13 is Alberta Forest Week, a time for Albertans to recognize and celebrate the importance of forests and forestry to this province.

We have a lot to be thankful for, including in my constituency of West Yellowhead, which looks to forest s as the building block for our communities. In my constituency, as in many others in Alberta, forests are a significant contributor to the high standard of living we enjoy today. These forests provide us with recreational playgrounds, clean water, clean air, and habitat for a rich abundance of fish and wildlife, and they attract investment and employment in the forest products manufacturing industry, an industry that is the third largest in Alberta.

When Albertans first started to celebrate the values represented by our forests in the 1920s, this special time was known as Forest Fire Prevention Week. Today this special week celebrates more than the fine work done by Sustainable Resource Development to protect our forests from fires. Today it’s about recognizing how our trees and forests are an integral part of life in Alberta and how we have a responsibility to be good stewards of our forests in order to ensure that our forests are sustained and continue to benefit all Albertans.

So it’s especially appropriate that the theme of this year’s Alberta Forest Week is Stewardship: It Starts with You. Mr. Speaker, this week there are events throughout the province to celebrate our forests and the benefits all Albertans derive from them. I hope that everybody else contributes and understands that the forests are the future for Albertans. Thank you. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Calder, then the hon. Member for Edmonton-Glenora. Proportion of First Nations Persons in Jails Mr. Eggen: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Last week in the Solicitor General’s budget debate the minister informed this House that despite making up only 7 per cent of Alberta’s population, aboriginal people make up 30 per cent of adult in-house correctional centre counts and approximately 38 per cent of young offender in-house correctional centre counts. As legislators we are compelled to ask some very difficult questions about this very serious state of affairs. There is obviously some sort of discrimination at work here.

Even if it is not the intention of government policy to create a gross overrepresentation of aboriginals as inmates in our provincial correctional facilities, the consequences are here for all to see.

In his presentation to Manitoba’s 1999 Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission, Chief Louis Stevenson, then of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, said, “It is these substandard living conditions, unfair and unequal opportunities, unequal education, chronic high unemployment, and inadequate housing which generates the frustration and anger that leads to offences and criminal activity.” The recent talk federally and from members of this government about getting tough on crime and building more prisons illustrates a wrong-headed approach to this problem.

As legislators we have to face a choice: focus our efforts on building a just society, or ignore the problems and continue to build a potential powder keg. Opening and filling more jails is hardly a way to deal with this problem. The NDP is committed to fighting for justice for First Nations peoples in this province. This includes pushing to equitably settle unresolved land claims, such as those brought forward by the Lubicon Cree.

We also want to work with aboriginal communities to create and implement economic development strategies, including targets for aboriginal employment in construction, resource develop- ment, and the public sector. The government approach has not worked. We need proper management to ensure that aboriginal people are not overrepresented in correctional facilities. Thank you. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Glenora. 2:50 Excellence in Teaching Awards Dr. B. Miller: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Last Saturday evening I had the privilege of attending the 2006 excellence in teaching awards banquet, where 23 t eachers were presented with awards. I was particularly pleased by the fact that 13 teachers from my constituency of Edmonton-Glenora were finalists, and three teachers from Edmonton-Glenora won this prestigious award.

Alberta Hansard May 9, 20061404 I want to take a moment to congratulate all the winners and especially congratulate those from my constituency. First is Lorel Marie Trumier from St. Vincent elementary school, who has provided tremendous leadership in shaping a stimulating learning environment at St. Vincent. I wish to also congratulate two winning teachers from Ross Sheppard high school. Deborah Stirrett is an outstanding chemistry teacher, making an incredible impact on student achievement in chemistry, supporting the curriculum in science 10 and also science 20 and 30 programs.

Scott Bezubiak, the department head of athletics at Ross Sheppard, is a very creative and dedicated teacher, preparing innovative curriculum resources for teachers both at Shep and other high schools. I must also congratulate the principal at Ross Sheppard, Jennifer Lawley, for the fact that seven teachers from her school were finalists and two were winners of these excellence in teaching awards.

These great teachers have achieved a very high level of excellence and deserve our praise and our gratitude despite aging buildings, despite overcrowded classrooms, despite school board deficits, despite dwindling resources such as teachers aides, and despite the failure of this government to adequately fund education in this province. My wife was an elementary school teacher, who was also highly valued by her students and colleagues, but she retired after 15 years of teaching in part because doing her job had become more difficult each year.

There were simply not enough resources or support, and teachers were and still are required to take on a wide range of time- consuming and exhausting tasks not directly related to teaching, such as administration and fundraising. I’m worried about our educational system. I’m especially worried that we may lose outstanding, creative teachers whose patience might just run out. What we need is a greater infusion of both money and vision from this government. If it does not happen soon, we will no longer be able to boast about Alberta’s educational system.

We will gradually slip behind, and it will be a great tragedy for this province and especially for our children. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: I would like to congratulate the hon. Member for Lac La Biche-St. Paul. Thirty seconds were left in the time frame, used up by everybody else, but that was good work today. head: Introduction of Bills The Speaker: The hon. Member for Stony Plain. Bill 39 Energy Statutes Amendment Act, 2006 Mr. Lindsay: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I request leave to introduce Bill 39, the Energy Statutes Amendment Act, 2006.

The following nine acts will be amended: Oil and Gas Conserva- tion Act, Oil Sands Conservation Act, Coal Conservation Act, Petroleum Marketing Act, Mines and Minerals Act, Gas Resources Preservation Act, Natural Gas Price Administration Act, National Gas Pricing Agreement Act, and the Gas Utilities Act. These amendments will ensure that Albertans’ benefits from resources are optimized and will enable both industry and government to continue to operate efficiently and effectively. Thank you. [Motion carried; Bill 39 read a first time] The Speaker: The hon. Government House Leader. Mr.

Zwozdesky: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I would move that Bill 39, being the Energy Statutes Amendment Act, 2006, be moved onto our Order Paper under Government Bills and Orders. [Motion carried] head: Tabling Returns and Reports The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Infrastructure and Transporta- tion. Mr. Lund: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday the Leader of the Opposition was talking about the $40,000 vehicle that the Minister of Education was driving. That fact is that that is a $20,000 vehicle. The fact is that people who don’t have a government vehicle have the ability to charge mileage.

The fact is that for people that do have vehicles, it’s not a freebie completely. The fact is that there is an annual charge for the vehicle for income tax purposes. When you calculate it all out, in Alberta the vehicles are not costing more than the mileage would cost. As a matter of fact, every province and the federal government provide cars, and in two provinces, Ontario and Quebec, they provide chauffeurs along with the cars. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar. Mr. MacDonald: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I have tablings this afternoon.

These tablings are in regard to questions that I have been asking for almost the entire session in regard to the ring road developments in Calgary and in Edmonton. The first one is a memorandum dated February 9, 1982, from Alberta Environment. The second tabling I have is a presentation to the Metropolitan Affairs Cabinet Committee, and it’s regarding the ring road. The third document I have is a memorandum from Alberta Executive Council dated November 21, 1984, and it is also in regard to the ring road development area land purchases.

My last tabling this afternoon is also a memorandum from Alberta Environment, dated January 7, 1981, and it is concerning the Edmonton and Calgary restricted development area for the ring roads. Thank you. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Rutherford. Mr. R. Miller: Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have only one tabling this afternoon. I’m pleased to rise and table the appropriate number of copies of a document produced by Mr. Maurice Fritze of Edmonton expressing his concerns about Bill 208, which is currently before this House.

He reminds all Albertans that there is a parallel between Bill 208 and the Jim Crow laws. “Jim Crow laws were a number of laws enacted mostly in the Southern United States in the latter half of the 19th and early half of the 20th centuries that restricted most of the new privileges that had been granted to African-Americans after the Civil War.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Varsity – Calgary- Varsity. Sorry. Mr. Chase: Thank you for that very important correction, Mr. Speaker. I have four sets of tablings.

The first tabling is the program celebrating the 40th anniversary of ACTRA, at which Harry Freedman, Bonnie LeMay, Sandra Redmond, Roland “Roli” Nincheri, Joyce Doolittle, and John Scott were recognized with life memberships.

May 9, 2006 Alberta Hansard 1405 The second tabling is the Calgary Community Land Trust’s North Hill launch program, which was a beneficiary of the estate of Leo and Goldie Sheftel, providing the land upon which Habitat for Humanity will soon be building homes. My third tabling is the Calgary program of the Mayor’s Luncheon for Business & the Arts, at which both artists and patrons were recognized. A challenge was issued to Conservative leadership candidates to make funding for the arts a key commitment of their party.

My fourth and final tabling is the promotional postcard of the Cerebral Palsy Association, which is celebrating 30 years in Alberta and which held its 20th anniversary cerebral palsy bikeathon on April 30 in Red Deer; on May 7, last Sunday, in Calgary; and will hold its event this Sunday, May 13, in Edmonton. This is, inciden- tally, cerebral palsy week. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Strathcona. Dr. Pannu: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise to table five copies of a document. It’s a media release by the president of the students’ union of the University of Alberta.

It’s entitled Bill 40 Clouds Future on Tuition: Students Demand the Bill be Rescinded. It adds: “We were never consulted about this. If the Minister had bothered to ask, he would know that we are categorically opposed to the de- legislation of the tuition policy.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Decore. Mr. Bonko: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had the opportunity of going to the kickoff for Visit the Country . It’s an Edmonton countryside agricultural experience magazine that’s encouraging people to go to the country, to discover the farms, ranches, and rural life.

I’ve got the appropriate number of copies. Thank you. head: Tablings to the Clerk The Clerk: I wish to advise the House that the following documents were deposited with the office of the Clerk. On behalf of the hon. Mr. Stevens, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, pursuant to the Legal Profession Act, the Law Society of Alberta annual report 2005. On behalf of the hon. Mr.

Ducharme, Minister of Community Development, a copy of a petition signed by 11 Cold Lake residents urging the government to introduce measures to effectively curtail the substantial increase in teenage smoking in Alberta. head: 3:00 Orders of the Day head: Committee of Supply [Mr. Shariff in the chair] The Deputy Chair: Hon. members, we’ll call the committee to order. head: Main Estimates 2006-07 Restructuring and Government Efficiency The Deputy Chair: As per our Standing Orders the first hour will be allocated between the minister and members of the oppos ition, following which any other member may participate.

The hon. Minister of Restructuring and Government Efficiency. Mr. Ouellette: Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. It’s my pleasure to move the Ministry of Restructuring and Government Efficiency business plan for 2006-2009 and our budget estimates for 2006-2007. By now I hope that all of you have a better idea of what Restruc- turing and Government Efficiency is about, and let me say that I’ve certainly appreciated all of your support over the last year, the first full year of operation for Restructuring and Government Efficiency.

This afternoon I would like to give you a brief overview of some of our accomplishments to date, my vision for the future of this ministry, and of course the budget numbers. Over the next few minutes I hope to answer most of your questions and tell you about my vision for this ministry, which includes government operating as one single entity for Albertans. I hope that you each have a copy of our business plan and budget, and I would like to take you through what I consider to be the highlights. Before I get to that, however, I’d like to introduce some folks in the gallery.

They have been working very hard developing our plans for the coming years. I’m pleased to mention that a number of Restructuring and Government Efficiency staff are here for an opportunity to learn about what goes on in Committee of Supply. They all work hard to keep the ministry running smoothly, and I’m glad they could join us today to watch the proceedings. I’d also like to point out some members from my executive.

There’s Paul Pellis, my deputy minister; Cheryl Arseneau, his executive assistant; Cathryn Landreth, assistant deputy minister of business services; Brian Fischer, assistant deputy minister of financial services – so if you don’t like this business plan, he may be in trouble – David Bass, assistant deputy minister of technology services; Jeremy Fritsche, communications director; and Jason Ennis, my executive assistant, that most of you know. If you’d all stand, I’m sure that we’d show you a welcome here today. At this time last year I talked about how we were just getting our feet wet, and truly we were.

We have undergone significant change within our own operations since that time. We’ve tried to improve the services that we provide to our ministry partners, and we have initiated work important to Albertans. That, I believe, was the Premier’s vision: to improve and simplify the operation of govern- ment and for all ministries to focus on the work that they are intended to do. I’ve said it before: my department and its valuable work is not necessarily the sexiest ministry going. However, our work creates efficiency across ministries, and that means a better way of doing things across government.

Over the last year I hope we’ve made it clear that the Minister of Restructuring and Government Efficiency is cutting a clear path toward doing things better. To that end, we recognize the need for organizational change within our own ministry. That’s why I have a new executive in place. They along with the 1,100-plus staff they represent are the backbone of Restruc- turing and Government Efficiency. This is a great team, and the combined expertise is already paying great dividends for government and, ultimately, for Albertans.

If I could throw a little title on Restructuring and Government Efficiency’s budget and our plans as we go forward, it would simply be: a better way of doing things. What better place to start than with regulatory reform, a highlight for ’06-07, one that I hope will reduce complexity and regulations and processes for Albertans and for those who conduct business in this province.

I will say that the MLA Regulatory Review Steering Committee, led by the MLA for Foothills-Rocky View, has a big task ahead of it, but the group is enthusiastic, and I know that th is government will give those members the support they need.

Alberta Hansard May 9, 20061406 As far as funding regulatory reform, I want to stress that this is an important initiative to this government and, in particular, to my ministry. It’s part of our business plan, and it is part of the mandate of our ministry. We have some good employees in our department who will be dedicating their talents and time to this initiative. Their task will not be easy, but at the end of the day my goal is quite simple: to lessen the impact of regulations on Albertans. I believe that the number of rules and regulations that a government has on its books isn’t all that important.

What’s key here is that the rules, regardless of how many there are, don’t unn ecessarily burden a business or stand in the way of Albertans getting on with their priorities. It’s about harmonization and making it easier for our citizens to interact with their government, and it’s about keeping Albertans publicly informed. Another key project for my ministry is our ICT service co- ordination initiative, which is well under way. This is a project that will create a private/public partnership between government and leading ICT service providers, re sulting in cost efficiencies and improved services.

We all know that the costs of maintaining and upgrading computer systems continue to go up in both the private and public sectors. In fact, the government’s ICT costs are going up by more than 10 per cent a year. When we have more than 25,000 computers and servers and printers, that equates to big bucks. If we’re spending millions of dollars on IT, let’s make sure that it’s money well spent. This is about controlling these costs and getting the biggest bang for the taxpayer’s dollar. It is important for members to know that we are not reinventing the wheel here.

Research tells us that many organizations have in recent years revisited their service delivery models and have used consolidation and corporate alignment to improve the value of their ICT investments. For the government of Alberta that means that departments work with each other and not within their own silos. This initiative is about recognizing that each ministry has common ICT needs, and there are opportunities for us to leverage those needs while helping to facilitate specialized requirements.

To that end, I want to publicly acknowledge and thank the ministries that have joined Restructuring and Government Efficiency on this initiative and are providing important insight as we proceed. We know that there is potential for operational efficiency and savings if we adopt a strategic, more aggressive cross-government approach to standards and shared infrastructure. We’ve made considerable progress to date. We recently reached a significant milestone by completing the industry/ministry consultation process, and like with regulatory reform, I look forward to giving you updates as we progress.

Keeping with IT for a minute, privacy matters over the last couple of years have certainly heightened the importance of ensuring that information kept by government is secure. First and foremost, I want to stress that protecting Alberta’s personal information is a priority for this government and, certainly, for Restructuring and Government Efficiency.

My department is responsible for protect- ing people’s privacy in two important ways: first, when it comes to accessing government services electronically; second, ensuring that necessary information stored on our equipment is secure from those who should not be accessing it. I’m pleased to say that Alberta is one of the few governments to have IT staff devoted to this cause. In fact, there are several key projects under way that will help ensure the protection of personal information for Albertans.

Protecting people’s private information is a cross-ministry initiative led by Government Services and Restructuring and Government Efficiency. The purpose is to develop principles and policies to further protect personal information. The Alberta secure access service was created to enhance the protection of personal informa- tion while online with government. It’s designed to provide additional security for new online applications and the personal and confidential information that Albertans submit. 3:10 Educating our employees is important too.

Restructuring and Government Efficiency has established a government-wide informa- tion security awareness program. It covers everything from selecting an effective password to protecting your computer from viruses. Since launching this program in November, our security awareness e-course has been accessed by government users over 11,000 times. Survey results show that this program is a highly effective tool, with satisfaction rates in the 90 per cent range. We continue to move forward to ensure privacy by designing software that protects personal information.

While my department concerns itself primarily with online or internal ICT security, Government Services also plays an important role, particularly as it relates to identity theft and authentication. I look forward to working with the hon. minister on those issues. We’ve also seen a new addition to our ministry. As of April 1 Restructuring and Government Efficiency is proud to be the new home of the Queen’s Printer, formerly part of the Public Affairs Bureau. Switching ministries is never easy, I’m sure, but for these dozen employees we’re sure trying our best to make them feel right at home.

The publishing, distribution, and information services provided by the Queen’s Printer are a good fit b ecause they are all well aligned with the shared services function we already offer, and we’re happy to have them. Their $1.9 million budget is reflected in your budget documents. Mr. Chairman, whether it’s Valleyview in the constituency of Grande Prairie-Wapiti, Mountain View in the constituency of Cardston-Taber-Warner, or even Spruce View in my riding of Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, these are just a few of the hundreds of Alberta communities that now have access to high-speed Internet thanks to SuperNet.

I am proud to say that thanks to SuperNet remote parts of Alberta are now a keystroke away from the rest of the world. This is important because SuperNet and the first mile are critical to the future success of rural Alberta. With the SuperNet build completed, our goal now is to promote the power of this incredible infrastruc- ture. Hardly a day goes by without an

article of some sort about the advantages of SuperNet for our schools, our hospitals, our libraries, and our government offices, and now rural businesses and residences are jumping on board, tapping into the system and realizing the benefits of downloads and other services that are virtually immedi- ate. In addition to these major projects on the go, along with dozens if not hundreds of smaller projects, it might be fair to say that shared services are still the backbone of this ministry. The vast majority of our ministry’s 1,100 employees help deliver shared services across government.

I have some numbers that I think you’ll find quite amazing. We handle about 25,000 training registrations and deliver over 800 cross-government training courses annually to public servants, who improve the efficiency and quality of service to Albertans as a result. We manage over 26,000 telephone land lines and 7,000 cellular phones. Annually Restructuring and Government Efficiency ensures that over 22 million pieces of mail are delivered in a timely manner, and over 39 million documents ar e printed. We process over 375,000 invoices annually, ensuring that vendors receive payments in a timely manner.

Restructuring and Government Efficiency supports over 26,000 government computers. Since 2004 we have donated over 7,000 computers to the computers for schools program. In fact, last fiscal

May 9, 2006 Alberta Hansard 1407 year surplus sales either sold or donated over 106,000 items, with a value of almost $5 million. Despite this activity, you’ll note that the budget for delivering shared services to other ministries has gone down slightly over the last year, from $211 million to $204 million. There are two main reasons for this. We are finding efficiencies where possible without affecting the quality of services, and we’re simply providing these services in-house rather than billing back to the ministries.

I think the shared service model is working well along with the billing methods, but as is the case with everything that we do, I’m more than happy to explore, as I suggested off the top, a better way of doing things. Restructuring and Government Efficiency is geared to make government work more smoothly by providing these day-to- day shared services, and they will always be considered a priority for the entire organization.

As you might have guessed from all those shared services numbers, Restructuring and Government Efficiency continues to work closely with all government ministries to assist in streamlining new and existing programs and services. Since the formation of Restructuring and Government Efficiency a year and a half ago we’ve taken

part in a number of cross-government efforts that produced many positive results. In fact, it’s safe to say that Restruc- turing and Government Efficiency is actively engaged, working on a number of initiatives that are going to impact the government and Albertans. For example, Restructuring and Government Efficiency is supporting the provincial plan for a possible pandemic by assisting in the planning efforts, everything from vaccine pr oduction and distribution to keeping Albertans up to date.

We’re working with the Solicitor General in a cross- ministry initiative to create an Alberta police and public safety radio communications system. This wireless network will improve communications for public safety responses and allow for a variety of organizations and enforcement agencies to communicate with each other on a regular and an emergency basis. We’re developing and implementing new standardized ID cards for all government employees to enhance security.

With Alberta Justice and Infrastructure and Transportation, Restructuring and Government Efficiency is developing an aban- doned vehicle disposal program. This program will work with police and towing and storage operators to deal with the 11,000 vehicles abandoned on our highways each year. Restructuring and Government Efficiency is partnering with Health and Wellness and Education to make sure that an effective cross-ministry video conferencing standard is in place that uses the SuperNet. With that, let’s take a look at the budget numbers.

Starting on page 355 of the estimates, the 2006-2007 budget for this ministry is $255 million, similar to, but even a little less than, last year. Allow me to break that down into our core budget programs. The cost of running the ministry is a bout $7.3 million. This includes the corporate management budget for things like finance, internal IT costs, human resources and communications, and it also includes my office and the deputy minister’s office. I’d like to point out that this cost is $1.7 million less than it was in ’04-05.

This is because we’ve streamlined processes, re-engineered services, and become more efficient internally. We’ve allocated $6.7 million to business innovation. This is where we identify and deliver innovative change opportunities to improve delivery services to Albertans, pay for the operating costs of SuperNet, and conduct the regulatory review initiative. Also, $32 million is planned for cross-ministry initiatives such as the focus on privacy, as I mentioned earlier, and the development and implementation of IT standards.

It also covers the continued operation of the government’s corporate, financial, human resource, and procurement systems. The largest part of our budget is set aside for providing shared services in the areas of administration, finance, human resource employee services, and IT and network services. Of this $204 million budget, $31 million is for amortization of the ministry’s capital assets, including SuperNet. 3:20 As a point of interest, over $103 million of our budget is charged back to ministries for services we provide.

If you’re keeping track, that leaves about $152 million of the $255 million total budget which pays the portion of shared services that we provide in-house. We are really demonstrating leadership in delivering shared services by standardizing processes, meeting and exceeding service expecta- tions, and looking at options where we don’t have to charge ministries for all the services we deliver. Those, in a nutshell, are the budget numbers. Overall we’ll be operating on a voted budget of $255 million, of which $103 million is charged back to ministries for services that they require.

Thank you for your interest in Restructuring and Government Efficiency. You know, just to prove efficiencies here, I’m sure that we could just call the question now since I explained my ministry so well, and we would save all this time and effort. Really, I’m sure that it takes a little while to get through to across the House there, so we may as well let you have some time now to ask some questions, and I’ll try to answer them for you. Thank you very much. The Deputy Chair: Hon. minister, you had a good try, but we do have more than two hours allocated for this business. The hon. Member for Edmonton-McClung. Mr.

Elsalhy: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It’s indeed my extreme pleasure to rise and participate in this debate on this budget estimate, personally as a citizen and as an elected official but also on behalf of my hon. colleague the Leader of the Official Opposition, who is officially the critic for Restructuring and Government Efficiency. I must start by thanking the hon. minister for his introduction and also to acknowledge and say hello and appreciate his most able staff.

Whether or not we approve of this ministry’s purpose or its reason for existence, we must also acknowledge that the staff make things happen, and they’re the reason why things click the way they do. So I just wanted to get that out of the way in the beginning. Capturing some of what the hon. minister spoke about, I must say that when it comes to Service Alberta, as a service we definitely rely upon it, and we use it increasingly every day.

For most of the constituents who walk into the constituency office and ask questions or have concerns, I must confess that the first place I look is Service Alberta, and 80 per cent of the time I can find an answer fairly quickly. If not, it has the usefulness to actually direct me in the right direction to look for that answer elsewhere. So I find it very useful, and I think it’s money well spent.

This ministry has acquired certain services or certain responsibili- ties from other departments that existed before it did, and in trying to put it together, it now appears that the ministry is busier than it used to be a year ago. We mentioned SuperNet. We all know that in September or October of 2005 there was the announcement that bragged about the SuperNet having been completed. We know that the SuperNet is a very useful program and a very useful development. I have certain little questions with respect to the SuperNet. Did it really in fact arrive at or reach the 429 communities that were identified in the

Alberta Hansard May 9, 20061408 announcement? We know now that 16 per cent of those, or 37 of those 429, were only connected via wireless links. That’s not the fibre-optic connection that was basically agreed upon or that people were under the impression they were getting. So I need to ask the hon. minister if that is in fact allowed in the contract or whether this is an area where a suboptimal service was provided.

We need to know if this was agreed upon in the contract and there’s no breach, or whether this was agreed upon after and it was allowed to happen, or whether everything is where it’s supposed to be and how it’s supposed to be. With that, I also ask: why wireless when everybody you talk to tells you that wireless is less secure and less reliable than an actual physical fibre-optic link? For example, here in the Legislature we do not use wireless Internet even in our own offices, whether on site at the Legislature or at the Legislature Annex.

We don’t allow wireless because of its vulnerability and the threats that it might be exposed to. If we don’t allow it here, why are certain communities being asked to rely on a wireless link that is not reliable in perfor- mance and that might be susceptible to breaches and penetration? Also, Axia in their agreement with the government promised guaranteed speeds and network performance, or committed access rates. They call them CARs. How is the ministry and how is the hon. minister’s department monitoring that those committed access rates are in fact being delivered at those rates and consistently?

We need to assure Albertans that they are getting what they are paying for. Also, I must say that I was really extremely pleased when I wrote an e-mail to the hon. minister’s staff asking for a list of the com- pleted sites, the sites which were connected to the Internet, the 4,200 sites which were announced in September. Between themselves they took a day or so to ask him if it was all right to share it with an opposition member, and he replied that, yes, it was all right, that they have nothing to hide, so give it to the hon. member.

I really appreciated this, and I felt very good that an hon. minister of that calibre is willing to share this information. Again, it’s public information: 4,200 sites were connected; 4,200 sites appear on a list that is printed and shared with everybody who asks for it. However, I noted that in the agreement which we FOIPed earlier, under

schedule G 6,304 locations were identified as potential targets for connectivity. So it went down from 6,304 to 4,200, and I need to know from the hon. minister where this discrepancy came from or, you know, why it exists. On the issue of the SuperNet as well, I have two distinct concerns that were raised with the opposition. For example, we have spoken to some students in rural Albert a who say that the SuperNet has actually arrived at their campus, at their college or institution, but it is not shared with the student body.

For example, you might not have SuperNet access in the student l ounge or everywhere on campus, but you definitely have it for faculty and you have it for the support staff. These students said: you know, if it’s right there, why not allow access even if it’s restricted? They don’t need to access all of the information that the dean of that school or the library staff have access to, but utilizing the high-speed connection there would at least be a cost saving for them, and it would allow them to conduct their research more efficiently. So that’s one question. The other question is with respect to costs.

I can quote, for example, a library in one town in rural Alberta which declined the invitation to hook up onto the SuperNet. They said: “We don’t need it. We’re going to actually get our high-speed Internet from the municipality.” They told us that they were actually paying $1,000 per year for high-speed Internet versus a cost of about $1, 800 had they been on the SuperNet. How can we demonstrate that the SuperNet is actually cost-efficient for everybody who are asking to be on it? So that’s that. The minister also spoke about the plan to update or issue ID cards for all government employees.

I’m thinking aloud here. Is this going to be something similar to the new Alberta driver’s licence? Is it going to be as secure? If so, are we also going to use the Canadian Bank Note Company to provide us with those? Whether or not we’re going to go that route, I need to get some indication of a cost estimate. 3:30 Security, of course, is on everybody’s minds, and I totally agree that government employees’ ID has to be secure. It has to be trusted. It has to be reliable. But what cost are we looking at? Is this cost going to be phased over a number of years, or is it going to be like a one-time lump sum?

How is it going to be updated? The minister also mentioned efficiency. He referred to it as operational efficiency, which means that the ministry is investigating ways to improve services: delivery of services for the public, efficiency in terms of partners that the government utilizes, and so on. What steps are being taken to actually assess and determine areas of potential efficiencies? I’m not just talking about the top- down approach, where people are told what to do and how to think.

I’m also thinking about a bottom-up approach, encouraging staff and ministry employees and people in government to each look within their area of competency and within their responsibility to identify efficiencies that are not being realized fully and to potentially report back to the minister and staff, saying: this is an area we think needs attention. Then the ministry can actually compile all those local or microinvestigations into a bigger scheme. What indicators or criteria does this minister use to test if government is, in fact, becoming more efficient?

I am particularly referring to a conversation that happened in Public Accounts, where the minister hinted or admitted that the indicators were unrealistic and that they were sometimes subjective. So will there be indicators that are, in his opinion, realistic for this fiscal year or for the one coming after? The minister also spoke about the regulatory reform angle, or the red tape review. We definitely support c onducting a full and thorough red tape review. The burden of red tape is basically greatest on small business.

If you’re using the terminology or nomenclature of the business world, it’s the SMEs, the small to medium enterprises, not the larger or more established firms. So the small businesses, independent most of the time, are the ones that actually bear the burden of the red tape and the difficulties it poses. What are we doing to try to focus our review on the small to medium businesses rather than going across the board, where, in fact, larger businesses, with their established status – and they have their armies of lawyers and accountants – are the ones that don’t mind it?

In terms of efficiencies and studying whether this government is efficient or not, I mentioned the SuperNet. I need to also cover something that is personally inte resting and troubling at the same time. By that I mean the ambulance service. Last year and to some extent earlier this year the question arose of who should be responsi- ble for an ambulance service. Is it the municipality where it’s hosted, or is it the government centrally? I would urge the minister to actually look at this from an efficiency standpoint and study it.

Look at other models, look at other jurisdictions and determine whether, in fact, there should be one system that is implemented across the board or whether we would go with several models for several communities. Another thing which I can’t help but ask – and I asked it in Public Accounts, and the minister has promised to look into it – is about the newly created ministry of the Associate Minister of Infrastructure, and then we put capital planning in brackets. How efficient is this? How efficient will it be a year from now, especially after staff is

May 9, 2006 Alberta Hansard 1409 added, resources are included, equipment is bought, and all that stuff? We need a sort of before-and-after study to compare what things were and how they were conducted before that ministry was created and then after because, of course, the size of government and the size of cabinet is worrisome, and we need to ascertain that we’re getting value for the taxpayers’ dollars. Some financial points, Mr. Chairman. Line 1.0.2, dealing with the deputy minister’s office, that budget is increasing by $80,000. What can we show for it basically?

How is this money going to be utilized, and what are the deliverables, the end results which we can tell taxpayers are the result of this increased expenditure? Line 4.0.3 on page 359 talks about inventory purchases of $3.8 million for information technology and network services. I need more clarification as to what the $3.8 million is going to cover and what things we are paying for. On page 360 there is no capital investment in this year’s budget. I know that the minister has talked about extending the SuperNet, making sure that everybody has access to it and can utilize it.

In the business plan it talks about promoting the potential of government. There is no capital expense. I’m not necessarily arguing that there should be, but I’m just saying, you know: should people in busi- nesses waiting for the Internet through the Alberta SuperNet assume that no capital investments this year means that no improvements are expected this fiscal year? Are we telling them to wait a year, basically? That is the question here. The Auditor General highlighted the fact that the ministry did not have performance measures, or if they did, then they weren’t satisfactory.

The Auditor General recommended that the ministry “clearly define” its performance measures and targets and “develop systems” to monitor those performance measures and targets. We know that the government has accepted it, but what exactly has been put in place already, and what is going to be put in place within this year or within sort of the foreseeable future? If there are perfor- mance measures in place now, are they going to be funded through this budget, or where is the funding coming from?

Moving on – and I promise to be brief because I know that my hon. colleagues after me want to rise and participate – the link to the government of Alberta strategic business plan.

One of them is goal 8, “Alberta will have financially stable, open and acc ountable government.” It talks about “prioritization of opportunities to streamline, restructure and gain efficiencies for the business of government” and “sharing corporate information and communica- tions technology and administrative systems and processes.” This is all great, and there is no quarrel here, but where does that fit with the open and accountable government part of that goal? It doesn’t talk about it, and I’m interested in finding out from the hon. minister how his ministry is going to promote openness and transparency.

The other goal which is listed, goal 14: “Alberta will have supportive and sustainable infrastructure that promotes growth and enhances quality of life.” SuperNet is the one that is highlighted here, again with the 429 communities, but if people are not being able to access that or if, in fact, some of those Internet service providers are offering inferior service or they’re experiencing delays, then is there a role for the government, for this ministry to intervene and to accelerate connection?

Also, the minister spoke about protecting people’s private information, which is a noble and laudable goal, and I truly support him on that. Then he mentioned, you know, information that is either hosted or housed on government computers or information that is accessible from outside sources. I know that the government has many partnerships with software developers. I note the hon. minister’s trip to the U.S., where he met with Microsoft, and we know that IBM is another partner and so on.

How are we ascertain- ing that the software that we buy is not itself infested with spyware, for example, or harvesting code that might maliciously access and transmit information to third parties without our knowledge? 3:40 The PATRIOT Act comes to mind, Mr. Chairman, where software developers at one point were told that if their firm is targeted, they would have to relinquish control over their code and allow the agency in charge, like the FBI or the CIA for example, to tamper with that code to allow it to harvest information.

So however many staff that the minister mentioned that actually sit there and monitor, you know, threats and hack attacks and attempts, how much of that effort is dedicated towards making sure that the software that we buy is secure enough? Also, the minister in his submission mentioned invoices being paid electronically. I’m looking at page 319 of the business plan for 2006-09, and it says that in last year’s actual 960,000 invoices were paid online. This is amazing.

This is very positive because now we’re allowing people to be at home, for example, sitting at their keyboards and paying government bills, you know, taking care of their business from home. Mr. Ouellette: I don’t know whether to thank you for all those questions or what because you were so all over the map that I don’t know if I can follow you. I’m not sure, from some of your last questions, that you haven’t watched quite too many TV shows about hackers and whatever you were talking about there. Mr. Lund: Well, commit that you will answer any questions, any that are relevant to the discussions. Mr.

Ouellette: Oh, no. I will answer his questions. Anyway, I’ll try to go back to the beginning, 20 minutes ago. One thing I will talk about a little bit is SuperNet. I mean, it’s one of the very best rural economic development initiatives this government has ever come up with. I will say that for that contract that you’re talking about, when you go back to

schedule G and the 6,304 connections and all that stuff, you have to remember that the SuperNet contract – what we had planned on doing was connecting 429 communities, and in those 429 communities we were going to connect every government office, every school, every hospital, and every library. What was added after that were the municipal offices if they applied for a grant, and they could apply for grants with Municipal Affairs to get that covered. It was a movement in progress, all while we were paying $193 million to get connected what we wanted connected.

We weren’t going to pay any more or any less, and we haven’t. That’s what our contract was: $193 million. It turned out that there were only 4,200 connections, but that went up and down as schools were built and some weren’t built. All of those are connected today. You were asking about different connections within a school. That really has nothing to do with us supplying the infrastructure of the SuperNet. That probably should’ve been asked of the Education minister on whether they control that. I’m guessing that it’s the school boards that completely control that. We put the infrastructure there.

The school board now pays us even though Education gives them a budget to do that. I’ve got to beg to differ with you on the security of wireless. Yes, in our contracts wireless was allowed. There were areas we knew we would never get fibre connected to. It was just way, way too expensive to go do one spot out of the way. But with today’s technology they tell me that they can secure wireless as good as they can secure whether a hacker can come into your computer that’s

Alberta Hansard May 9, 20061410 going down the SuperNet or not. I mean, as long as there are crooks, you’re going to always find – you would almost think that crooks should be not quite as bright as the guys coming up. You’d think: if they were that bright, why wouldn’t they go make their money legally instead of being crooked? But it seems to work out that the crooks are always finding a better mousetrap to be able to get you, so that’s why we have to have so many people behind them working on that. You were also asking about the budget going into SuperNet. There was never any more budget planned for SuperNet.

We were to do that main infrastructure – and that was our policy – and let private enterprise develop the last mile. I’ve started calling it the first mile because of how important it is to small business and businesses and homes in rural Alberta. That is developing very, very quickly. We’ve got well over 50 Internet service providers right now. We’ve got over 135 communities connected; people can actually get onto the SuperNet. There are new technologies out there working with satellite, and I’ve been talking to a couple of different companies on that. They won’t necessarily connect to SuperNet immediately.

They will go out and from satellite do the high-speed connections, and when they get enough people in an area signed up that it pays them to put in a wireless wired into the SuperNet – let’s say 30 customers or whatever – then they’ll transfer those customers onto their wireless connection, which will bring their speed up and bring their costs down. You were also saying: how do we monitor it? I will have to actually get someone from my department to contact you on how they actually monitor it.

I know that Axia SuperNet has a broader, wider band than anything else out there right now, and they can give you just about any speed you want. The nice thing about this is that the really high-speed stuff used to be only reasonably priced within the cities. Axia tells me that they will supply a full megabit, which is probably more than you would get on your coaxial at home unless you upgrade it, for, like, $50 a month. When you talk about libraries that say to you – and I have municipalities telling me the same thing.

You’ve got to remember that their train of thought hasn’t been geared yet to what the capabilities of that SuperNet connection are. They don’t know yet what applications they want to run on it, but they could run all kinds of applications on that SuperNet access that they can’t run on their Shaw Cable or whatever they’re getting their old high-speed Internet on. Maybe all they’ve got now is high-speed Internet.

Maybe they think that that’s all they need, and maybe it is, but if they did a little broader thinking and thought of di fferent applications they could use, they could build that sma ll-town library into a lot bigger business for them to make their library actually survive. That’s where they make up that difference in cost, going from $1,000 to $1,800. So a lot of it is that they just don’t realize yet, because they haven’t been educated, the application capabilities that they have by using the SuperNet connection rather than using the other connec- tion. 3:50 You had mentioned a little bit about ambulances.

I have to say that I think that we have just an excellent health minister in this province, who works very, very hard at making sure that all aspects of health care are looked after. She has an ambulance advisory task force out there right now reviewing what the ambulance situation is, so I think I’ll let the questions about ambulances come to our wonderful health minister another day. You talked about what we were doing with standardized ID cards. The cards will enhance security all across government with greater control around the request tracking and retrieval of the ID cards.

The card format will be consistent. Everyone’s will be the same now, so they’ll be a lot harder to forge. The new standardized ID card is expected to be launched in June of ’06, with the rollout and distribution process to last several months. Ministries in phase 1 of the rollout include us, of course, PAO, IIR, Children’s Services, Human Resources and Employment, Seniors and Community Supports, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development. Ministries in phase 2 of the rollout will be approximately a month later. That’s when Education, Infrastructure, and I and S will come on board.

Initially, the card will be for identification purposes only. So that’s all they’ll be used for: identification. The next stages of the card are expected to include electronic authentication and secure building access, and that will all get rolled into that same card. Whatever the cost of that card it is all within the budget that we have. We don’t have to go out and get any more financing or anything for that card. You were asking about a little bit of an increase in the deputy minister’s department.

As you know, a while ago I think it was probably you guys that raised a lot of kerfuffle about the big raises that the deputies got. Well, we had to put extra money in those budgets to cover those deputies’ salaries. Most of that $80,000 was used up in increases in staff in the deputy minister’s office. You were saying – and I’m not very quick at going through my book – that there was no capital. I don’t know where it is exactly in front of me, but we do have $4.5 million in capital in there some- where. Now, that isn’t for SuperNet. A lot of that is to upgrade our data centres. As you know, we have