Alberta Hansard — 24 August 2006, Afternoon sitting (13:30) (Legislature 26, Session 2)

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Alberta — Debates (Hansard)

August 24, 2006 Alberta Hansard 1681 Legislative Assembly of Alberta Title: Thursday, August 24, 2006 1:30 p.m. Date: 06/08/24 [The Speaker in the chair] head: Prayers The Speaker: Good afternoon and welcome back. I would ask all hon. members to remain standing after prayers so that we may pay tribute to our former colleagues who have passed away since we were last in this Assembly. As we commence proceedings today in this Assembly, we ask for divine guidance so that our words and deeds may bring to all people of this great province hope, prosperity, and a vision for the future. Amen. Mr.

Roy Alexander Farran January 2, 1921, to June 2, 2006 The Speaker: On Friday, June 2, 2006, Roy Alexander Farran passed away. Mr. Farran was first elected on August 30, 1971, and served until March 22, 1979. During his years of service he represented the constituency of Calgary North Hill for the Progres- sive Conservative Party. During his term of office Mr. Farran served in cabinet as minister of telephones and utilities and Solicitor General. Mr.

Farran served on the standing committees on Public Accounts; Private Bills; Standing Orders and Printing; Law, Law Amendments and Regulations; Public Affairs, Agriculture and Education. Mr. Randolph Hugh McKinnon July 22, 1917, to June 10, 2006 The Speaker: On Saturday, June 10, 2006, Ra ndolph Hugh McKinnon passed away. Mr. McKinnon was first elected on June 18, 1959, and served until May 23, 1967. During his years of service he represented the constituency of Strathcona West for the Social Credit Party. During his term of office Mr. McKinnon served in cabinet as the Minister of Education. Mr.

McKinnon also served on the select standing committees on Agriculture, Colonization, Immigration and Education; Priv ate Bills; Standing Orders and Printing; Public Accounts; Public Affairs, Agriculture and Educa- tion; and Railways, Telephones and Irrigation. With our admiration and respect there is gratitude to members of their families who shared the burdens of public office. Family members of Mr. Farran and Mr. McKinnon are with us today in the Speaker’s gallery. Our prayers are with them.

In a moment of silent prayer I ask all members to remember hon. members Roy Farran and Randy McKinnon as you may have known them. Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them. Amen. Hon. members, I would now invite Mr. Paul Lorieau to lead us in the singing of our national anthem. Mr. Lorieau, of course, comes off a very, very successful spring nine weeks, and I would ask all to participate today so that in the event that Mr. Lorieau does what he did this spring the place will not become stone deaf. Hon. Members: O Canada, our home and native land!

True patriot love in all thy sons command. With glowing hearts we see thee rise, The True North strong and free! From far and wide, O Canada, We stand on guard for thee. God keep our land glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. The Speaker: Please be seated. head: Introduction of Visitors The Speaker: Hon. members, it’s an honour for me today to rise to introduce to you guests who are s eated in the Speaker’s gallery. These guests are family members of our former colleagues, and I would ask them to rise as I introduce them. The family of Mr.

Randolph McKinnon, former MLA for the constituency of Strathcona West, represented by Randolph’s brothers Bert McKin- non and his spouse, Janice, and Dick McKinnon and his spouse, Lorraine McKinnon. The family of Mr. Roy Farran, former MLA for the constituency of Calgary No rth Hill, is represented by his daughter Sally Gregg and son-in-law Tim Gregg. If they would rise and receive the warm welcome of the Assembly. head: Introduction of Guests The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Advanced Education. Mr. Herard: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I’m honoured today to introduce to you and through you to members of the Assembly two distinguished members of Alberta’s postsecondary education community who are seated in your gallery. Dr. Ron Bond is the new chair of the Campus Alberta Quality Council, appointed in July. During his 33-year career at the University of Calgary Ron was a professor of English, head of the department of English, dean of the Faculty of Humanities, and most recently provost and vice- president academic. In addition to his work at the University of Calgary Ron has a long track record of serving the national postsecondary community.

His positions include terms as vice-president of the Social Sciences and Humanities Federation of Canada, president of the Canadian Association of Chairs of English, and president of the Canadian Conference of Deans of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. He is a strong advocate for quality education programs, making him an ideal choice to lead Alberta’s agency for the quality assurance of degrees. His impeccable academic credentials and reputation precede him in this very important work, which bodes well for the quality of postsecondary programs in this province. Ron is joined today by Marilyn Patton.

Marilyn is the director of the secretariat for the Campus Alberta Quality Council. She is a respected member of the advanced education team and I’m told does a terrific job. I’d ask Ron and Marilyn to please stand now and receive the traditional warm welcome of the Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Health and Wellness. Ms Evans: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. What an honour today to introduce two groups, one group from Strathcona county and their proud partners in an FCM and CIDA program from Vung Tau City, Vietnam. They are linked in a municipal partnership program. They hope to work in co-operation.

This delegation here will stay for at least two weeks. They will be with the Strathcona officials and focus on areas of co-operation and look at new steps that they can take to advance that co-operation. The officials from Vung Tau are Mr. Long, who is vice-chairman of the People’s Committee of Vung Tau City; Mr. Soan, vice-chief, administrative office of the People’s Committee of Vung Tau City; Mr. Dieu, head of population,

Alberta Hansard August 24, 20061682 Families and Children’s Department of Vung Tau City; and Mr. Cong, deputy principal, Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, who accompanies the delegation as an interpreter. The Strathcona county officials with us today: Kevin Glebe, who is the manager of corporate planning and intergovernmental affairs; Russ Pawlyk, manager of recreation, parks, and culture; Kristen Schindel, the strategic initiative assistant; and Alf Cunningham, the commu- nity liaison officer.

I would ask them now to please rise and for the Assembly to give this special group a warm welcome. 1:40 My second group, Mr. Speaker, are representatives of a company that many of the hon. members of the Assembly are familiar with, Janssen-Ortho Inc. We are privileged today to receive Mark Fleming, who is the national director of government and community relations for Janssen-Ortho. He is based in Toronto. He has held a number of senior leadership positions in sales, marketing, and health economics. He is accompanied by a person who is very familiar to this Assembly, Mr.

Michael Lohner, who is the regional director for western Canada – we congratulate him on his position – and a well- known favourite Brent Korte, who is the regional manager for Alberta. I’d ask those guests to please stand and for us to honour their presence here with a round of applause. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-East. Mr. Amery: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my pleasure to introduce to you and through you to members of the Assembly two of my dear friends who are here in the House today, Rick and Rose Lundy.

Rick and Rose live in Calgary and have recently joined a patient experience committee to help improve patient care in the Calgary health region because of a recent personal tragedy that took place at the Peter Lougheed hospital in Calgary. Rick and Rose are seated in the members’ gallery. I would ask them to rise and receive the traditional warm welcome of the Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Stony Plain. Mr. Lindsay: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m very pleased today to introduce to you and through you to the members of this Assembly the St.

Albert Lilydale White Sox slo-pitch ball team, who are joining us here today along with representatives from Lilydale. The White Sox competed in the over-60 age division of the 2006 national slo-pitch championship which was held August 3 to 7 in Moncton, New Brunswick. In a thrilling fi nal the White Sox captured the championship by defeating a team from Brantford, Ontario, by a score of 4 to 3. In total the White Sox have now won six national championships and are on their way to the Worlds next year.

The members of this team are truly positive role models for the commu- nity and have demonstrated what can be accomplished with a positive attitude, determination, and teamwork. The White Sox success would not have been possible without the generous support of Lilydale. I would like to thank this company for its strong community spirit and many contributions to worthwhile causes. They are seated in the public gallery. Once again, congratulations. I would ask that they rise and receive the traditional warm welcome of this Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Lac La Biche-St. Paul. Mr.

Danyluk: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It is indeed an honour for me to introduce to you and through you to members of this Assembly the Mandrusiak family, who are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the arrival of their ancestors Ivan and Wasylyna Mandrusiak and their two sons, Dmytro and Mike. Ivan and Wasylyna emigrated from Galicia in 1906. They settled on a homestead near Musidora, where they raised 10 children: Dmytro, Mike, Bill, Annie, Nick, Pearl, Alex, Steven, Helen, and Walter. Bill and Pearl are in attendance today. I’d also like to introduce Rose Herard, the spouse of the hon.

Minister of Advanced Educa- tion, who is also a descendant of the Mandrusiak family. The members have travelled here from various locations in Alberta to be with us in the Legislature today. They celebrated their 100th anniversary on Saturday with 180 descendants, and it was reportedly a fantastic event. Located in the members’ gallery and the public gallery, if I could ask the Mandrusiak family to please stand and receive the traditional warm welcome of this Assembly. Thank you. The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Economic Development. Mr. Dunford: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I have the pleasure today to introduce to you and through you to Members of the Legislative Assembly a couple of representatives of the Williams corporation out of Tulsa, Oklahom a. The Williams corporation is currently here, like many businesses throughout the world, continu- ing to look at Alberta for further expansion. With us today we have Lina Taylor, who is the manger of government affairs for Williams and is from Tulsa, Oklahoma. With her is Ken Faulkner, who will be known to Members of this Legislative Assembly and who is with Global Public Affairs in Calgary.

I’d ask them to rise and receive the warm welcome of the members of the Legislature. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Centre. Ms Blakeman: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to introduce to you and through you to all members of the Assembly Jonathan Sharek. Jonathan is a musician, he’s a music educator, he’s a teacher, he’s active with the ATA advocacy, and most importantly to me, he is a constituent. I would ask Jonathan to please rise and accept the warm welcome of the Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Highlands- Norwood. Mr. Mason: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I’m delighted to introduce to you and through you to this Assembly Joe Fallwell and Tim Martin. Joe is 13 years old and is entering grade 8 at Wilma Hansen junior high in Calgary, and Tim is 15 years old, entering grade 10 at Father Lacombe high school also in Calgary. These two bright and intelligent individuals, surprisingly, are the grandchildren of the Member for Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview and are seated in the public gallery. I would now ask that they rise and receive the traditional warm welcome of this Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview. Mr. Martin: Thank you, Mr.

Speaker. It indeed gives me great pleasure to introduce to you and to members of the Assembly Maureen Hindman and Susan Evans. Maureen and Susan are constituents of mine and are here to watch the proceedings of the Legislature. Maureen has been an active volunteer with the Highlands United Church and is pr esently active with the Stollery children’s hospital. Susan Evans has been working with ATCO Gas for the past 26 years and has two children and two grandchildren, with another grandchild on its way. They are seated in the public

August 24, 2006 Alberta Hansard 1683 gallery. I would ask them now to rise and receive the trad itional warm welcome of this Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Red Deer-North. Mrs. Jablonski: Thank you. Today I have the honour of introduc- ing to you, Mr. Speaker, and through you to members of this Assembly two very special and important people who have been an inspiration to me throughout my life. Both are registered nurses, and both are from St. Catharines, Ontario.

First, I would like to introduce my sister, Nicola Kalagian-Sider, who has been a very active community volunteer, a Sunday school teacher, a major f undraiser for her church, the United Way, the March of Dimes, and the Kidney Foundation. Nicki has also been a board member for Canadian Mental Health for eight years. Nicki suffered a stroke in the year 2000 and is now a motivational speaker for stroke survivor groups.

Donna Mallette has also been a very active volunteer in her community as a Sunday school teacher and fundraiser for the March of Dimes, the Kidney Foundation, and the Kinsmen fundraiser for the Special Olympics. Donna is a degree RN in Ontario, working for the past six years as a clinical research co-ordinator, specializing in cardiology, diabetes, and stroke prevention and studies. She was also my campaign manager for the nomination. They are both seated in the members’ gallery. I would ask that Nicki give us a wave and Donna stand to receive the warm welcome of the Legislature. The Speaker: The hon.

Member for Edmonton-Calder. Mr. Eggen: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m delighted to introduce to you and through you to members of the Assembly Brian Rozmahel and Len Legault. Brian is an active member in his community of Viking and helped to found a student organization called Augustana Against AIDS. Brian also organized a charity hockey game in Viking to raise funds for the Stephen Lewis Foundation. Len Legault is a community activist in Chauvin and has run for the New Democrats in Battle River-Wainwright.

They are seated in the public gallery, and I would ask that they now rise and receive the warm welcome of this Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Rutherford. Mr. R. Miller: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m not sure whether my guests have arrived yet, but with your permission I would like to proceed with the introduction. Today I would like to introduce to you and through you to all members of the Assembly my son Chris Miller, who, along with a number of his friends, is celebrating his 19th birthday today.

If they’re here, I would ask them to please rise and receive the traditional warm welcome of the Assembly. 1:50 The Speaker: The hon. Member for Drayton Valley-Calmar. Rev. Abbott: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m also pleasured to have with us today my son Taylor Abbott visiting from Drayton Valley. He’s in the public gallery. He’s here this week playing with the NAIT Ooks conditioning camp for hockey, hoping to make a triple- A team this year. I’ll ask Taylor to stand and receive the warm welcome of the House. Also, sitting with him is my Leg. assistant, Theresa Lightfoot, and I’d ask her to stand as well.

If you could all welcome them, please. The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Advanced Education. Mr. Herard: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I have a second honour today and the pleasure to introduce to you and through you to the members of the Assembly employees from Advanced Education, strategic corporate services division, human resources. They’re doing their public service orientation here today, and they are Lisa Urwin, Maegen Beattie, Salha Moloo, Kate Annis, and Connie Scott.

Please join me in giving them the traditional warm welcome of the Assembly. head: Oral Question Period The Speaker: Hon. members, before I call on the Leader of the Official Opposition, just let me note again that I sent a note to all hon. members a couple of days ago that basically indicated that as a result of changes in one caucus membership, the rotation of the question period now will revert to where we were when the spring session began. First Official Opposition main question. The hon. Leader of the Official Opposition. Health Care Services Dr. Taft: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

An unexpected pleasure to be back for all of us, I’m sure. While this government preoccupies itself with its own leadership issues, Alberta’s health regions are facing a crisis. This summer the hospital in Grande Prairie, for example, was forced to repeatedly fly patients to Edmonton for emergency surgery, while intensive care beds, operating rooms, and emergency rooms in at least five health regions had to shut down due to acute staff shortages. The people of this province are being seriously and sometimes catastrophically affected. My first question is to the Minister of Health and Wellness.

Given that the crisis at the Grande Prairie hospital has been boiling for years, why has this government completely failed to sort it out? Ms Evans: Mr. Speaker, there have been many things done throughout Alberta to address the needs of the health regions. Earlier this summer I visited with the doctors in the health region and had an extensive period to meet with the board. I think it boils down to a couple of things.

In North America there is a phenome- non of a lack of a qualified workforce to address the needs of a population that is booming, particularly in Alberta, with some 92,000 people here over and above what we had previously. The other thing, Mr. Speaker: we have had such an influx of people who, as our Premier often references, come without their schools, their hospitals, their families to support them. It adds an extra burden and strain to the region. So I would contend that, for the most part, there have been excessively effective measures in managing the health of Albertans.

In some cases, yes, we’ve had some strains. Dr. Taft: Pure excuses, Mr. Speaker. Pure excuses. Again to the same minister: given that the Grande Prairie region is now without a fully functioning hospital so often, including most of this month, what contingency plans are in place for something like a major bus crash or a major industrial accident? Ms Evans: Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member in the

preamble for his first question noted, the Capital region predominantly has taken off some of the burden by airlifting patients here. Other contingency and disaster plans exist in every region for that hoped never-to-occur

Alberta Hansard August 24, 20061684 tragedy. Disaster planning is part of what every hospital region does in order to get its circumstances in order, and I can confirm that that’s happening because every single region is prepared with its own particular plan for the pandemic. It would not be unlike a plan for any disaster such as the bus accident or something that would be catastrophic that has been cited by the hon. member. The Speaker: The hon. leader. Dr. Taft: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the Minister of Advanced Education: given that Alberta needs more doctors, more nurses, more physios, OTs, lab techs, more health professionals of every kind so desperately, why are institutions under this minister’s jurisdiction turning away fully qualified applicants? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Herard: Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It’s very interesting to look at the numbers that have been published recently with respect to the turnaways in postsecondary.

As I recall reading, 13,000 qualified entrants into postsecondary have been turned away, but when you really look at the numbers, you find out that one-third of those were not in fact qualified and therefore were rejected because of their lack of credentials and marks and so on. One-third of those were from outside of Alberta, and another third had applied to a number of different postsecondary institutions and were accepted by some and rejected by others. So it’s impossible to tell. You’re just a bit early to cry wolf with respect to this.

It’s too early to tell exactly how many students have actually been rejected. The Speaker: Second Official Opposition main question. The hon. Leader of the Official Opposition. Low-income Albertans Dr. Taft: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This morning the National Council of Welfare released a provincial comparison of welfare incomes, and the results were abso lutely scathing for this govern- ment. The report ranks Alberta as the worst province in Canada for the level of support provided to low-income residents, particularly single parents with little kids.

This is a dismal portrait of how this Tory government treats low-income people, particularly little children. To the Minister of Human Resources and Employment: given that Alberta ranks last in the entire country in welfare income for single parents with children, can the minister tell us how these people are supposed to enjoy the Alberta advantage r eceiving only $12,000 a year? I’d like to see the minister survive on that. Mr. Cardinal: Mr.

Speaker, I just received the report, actually, about an hour ago, and basically from what I understand, the report mainly concentrates on the income support rates rather than results. Here in Alberta we try to do the results because – and this is very, very important for everyone here – when you go back to ’92-93, the welfare caseload was 97,000 cases, with 180,000 individuals on welfare, with 5,400 social workers working out there, and 80 per cent of the people on welfare were single people or couples without children that had no business being on welfare.

When we changed the system, that 80 per cent has gone now into the workforce. Today’s welfare caseload is down to 25,000, and only 13,000 of those are going through some challenge. The other 12,000 are people that are able to work and will get back into the workforce because there are a lot of jobs out there. The Speaker: The hon. leader. Dr. Taft: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The minister can’t explain away the treatment of little children here. Again to the same minister: will the minister admit, given the clear evidence in this report, that the Alberta Works program doesn’t work? Mr.

Cardinal: Of course, according to the Liberals, Mr. Speaker, a welfare caseload over 200,000 is probably the thing they’d want to do. On this side of the House, we provide top-notch services. In fact, going back to the day of the welfare reforms – this is so important to the public out there and to the opposition – when I was minister of family and social services back in ’92-93, the four departments that are here today were under one ministry: children’s services, persons with developmental disabilities, aboriginal affairs, and of course family and social services.

Part of the reforms were to have better services for those people in need. Today there are four ministries with big budgets that look after all those high-needs areas. Those are results that Albertans want. 2:00 Dr. Taft: It’s disgraceful, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier. What explanation can the Premier give to the thousands of parents and especially to their children, Mr. Speaker, struggling to survive in the richest province in Canada for the treatment this government prov ides to them, forcing them into the lowest income levels of any welfare program in Canada? This happened on his watch.

How does he explain it? Mr. Klein: Mr. Speaker, unlike the hon. Leader of the Official Opposition I wasn’t looking forward to being back here, and I’m even looking forward less after that question, but I will attempt to answer it. The hon. minister pointed out – and you have to understand historically what happened. Every week the minister of social services was coming in with requests for special warrants to accommodate welfare recipients.

We changed the tone, and we said to the minister, who was the same minister that we have right now, that the emphasis should be on finding work for the employable to instill within those people a sense of dignity and a sense of hope, and he did that. But he also said: for those who are employable and don’t want to work, here’s a bus ticket, and, you know, you can find welfare someplace else, but for those who really want to work and are employable, we will assist you in every way, shape, or form. In other words, rather than a handout, we gave a hand up, and that is the philosophy of this government.

The Speaker: Third Official Opposition main question. The hon. Member for Edmonton-Centre. Health Care Services (continued) Ms Blakeman: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. This govern- ment’s inability to plan for the future, manage our resources, and govern the health system has resulted in what physicians throughout the province consider a crisis. Five health regions experienced unexpected closures this summer, impacting patient safety and quality of care, including Rose and Rick Lundy’s tragic experience in a Calgary emergency room. My questions today are to the minister of health.

Given that physicians have always taken holidays during the summer and we haven’t had the same problems with closures in the past, why has this government failed to anticipate and cope this year?

August 24, 2006 Alberta Hansard 1685 Ms Evans: Well, Mr. Speaker, I would contend that this government has coped very well with the emergencies and other things through- out Alberta this year. We have had a very solid track record throughout the province. To generalize based on a few particular circumstances would be an error. Now, I must say that I felt it was tragic and very regrettable that the Lundys experienced what they did, and I mention that b ecause the hon. member has referenced them. Let’s just talk about what happens when something goes wrong in an emergency situation or in any other situation.

The Calgary health region has undertaken not only to review that but to meet with the Lundys and discuss the issue and look at the issues that surrounded triage and all the other kinds of circumstances. They have finally this week announced the opportunity not only for Mr. Lundy to serve on the patient experi- ence committee but for the Health Quality Council of Alberta to do a thorough assessment as an independent body of the emergencies and to see whether or not there is a crisis. So, Mr.

Speaker, I would contend that everything that we’ve done, including absorbing 1,200 more patients in the emergency depart- ments in Calgary, has been on the track of supporting patient health and patient safety. The Speaker: The hon. member. Ms Blakeman: Thank you. Again to the same minister: given that physicians from throughout Alberta but particularly Grande Prairie and Capital have lobbied the minister specifically with their arguments that the system is on the verge of collapse, why has the minister failed to take action? [interjections] Ms Evans: Well, Mr.

Speaker, in the echo and din of all that let me just say that we have taken action, and we are working with the staff in those areas. We are working not only on the plans that they have provided us but looking at complementary services in other regions to provide assistance. In the nor th the Capital region has involved particular staff members not only to liaise with Northern Lights but with the Peace C ountry. We have provided locum programs. We have increased the dollars, doubled in this year’s budget, for primary care. We have increased the dollars for the ARPs to support the physicians.

I should highlight that if you look at the number of doctors and nurses and other health care professionals that we have added this year, it’s considerably more than many of the other jurisdictions. We’re funding at the highest rate per capita in Canada, and I contend, despite the cries of anguish on the other side, that we have the best health care system in Canada. Ms Blakeman: Don’t diminish Albertans’ experience.

Back to the same minister: why would the minister spend time visiting other countries to learn more about their private health systems when Albertans were experiencing closures in surgical, ICU, renal, and mental health units here in Alberta? Ms Evans: Well, Mr. Speaker, there’s not one shred of evidence that I went exploring private care systems. Prove it, and then we’ll talk about it. But let’s talk about what we’ve been doing here. We have been taking every effort with our health business plan, with our policy framework, with Getting on with Better Health Care, to look at practical ways to improve the system.

To the largest extent we have been successful. The Speaker: The hon. leader of the third party. Education Funding Mr. Mason: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. This govern- ment’s long history of guesstimate budgeting has finally come back to bite them, forcing them out of their country clubs and fishing lodges. At the end of the spring sitting the members across were watching the clock like grade schoolers before summer v acation, completely neglecting to adequately budget for things like education, health care, and infrastructure. So here we are in summer session, doing remedial lessons on budgeting.

My questions are to the Minister of Finance. To the hon. minister: despite the fact that parents, school boards, the Alberta Teachers’ Association, and the Alberta NDP repeatedly raised the alarm about crumbling schools, school board deficits, and growing class sizes during the spring budget debate when the Education estimates were being discussed, how is it that the government still failed to remember to adequately budget for Alberta’s 600,000 grade school students? Mrs. McClellan: Well, Mr.

Speaker, first, the hon. member might be interested to know that there was a hailstorm at my country club last night, and that’s where I’ve been enjoying the country clubs. There is going to be an opportunity over the next several days to debate the merits of all of the expenditures that have been brought forward before this House. Frankly, Mr. Speaker, I think that Albertans appreciate the fact that when there is necessary spending coming forward, we attend to it in a timely fashion. We are able to do that thanks to the prudent and conservative budgeting process that we use.

Most governments in Canada would really appreciate being able to deal with some of those issues. On the particular issue of the timeliness on the education funding, I think it would be appropriate to have the Minister of Education, who has been dealing with this issue, as he explained over and over again in the House, with all of the school boards that came up with this plan. The Speaker: The hon. leader. Mr. Mason: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Well, again to the Minister of Finance: did the minister know that school board budgets were inadequate when she brought forward her spring budget, and if she didn’t know, why wasn’t she listening to us? Because we told her exactly that. Mrs. McClellan: Well, Mr. Speaker, if the hon. leader of the third party researched a little bit, he would know that we don’t even get that information from the school boards before the end of June. So, obviously, had I known, more importantly had the minister known, it would have been attended to in the budget that was presented in this House much earlier in the year. Mr.

Speaker, again I would like the Minister of Education just to very quickly explain to the hon. member how it works. 2:10 The Speaker: Sorry. The hon. leader, please. Mr. Mason: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, the minister must have a hearing problem because we all heard the school boards. Why didn’t the minister acknowledge that there was a severe shortage in the Education budget at the time, and will she table all of the correspondence she r eceived from school boards, teachers, and parents before the development of her budget to show that she didn’t know about it?

Alberta Hansard August 24, 20061686 Mr. Zwozdesky: Mr. Speaker, I wish to undertake that question on behalf of the Minister of Finance because I think what has to be clarified here is exactly how much money is already going into this system, the best education system in Canada. That’s undisputed. We also have the highest funded education system, the highest paid teachers. Now, we want to even go further and make it the best education system in the world, and that’s what we’re planning to do.

In order to help get that done, we’re going to be spending close to $5.6 billion this year, which comes out to about $27.9 million each and every school day. Twenty-seven point nine million dollars each and every school day is what we’re spending on the education system. We’re working with the school boards, we’re working with the superintendents, we’re working with parent home and school councils, and we’re working as hard as we can on behalf of the future of this province, our students, and we are getting the results we seek. The Speaker: The hon. Member for West Yellowhead, followed by the hon. Member for St.

Albert. Mountain Pine Beetle Control Mr. Strang: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Recent reports indicated that the mountain pine beetle has spread as far north as Fairview and as far east as Fox Creek. Over the past few years we’ve seen the mountain pine beetle spread across British Columbia and devastate their forests. My question is to the Minister of Sustainable Resource Development. What is your department doing to address the spread of this destructive pest, and especially what are they doing to help our forest industry withstand the impact of this rapidly developing situation?

The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Coutts: Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. We do have 6 and a half million hectares of mature pine forest that are at risk because of the mountain pine beetle. We have been extremely proactive in our efforts to get rid of the mountain pine beetle since it was first detected in 2002. We survey our forests, and we will continue to survey our forests and absolutely burn each and every single solitary tree that we know the mountain pine beetle has infested.

A couple of weeks ago, it is sad to say, with strong prevailing westerly winds the mountain pine beetle came over into the Peace Country. No one could have predicted that, Mr. Speaker. However, we are being very proactive in dealing with that as well. Our strategy has not changed. We will continue to survey, cut, and burn. We will make sure that our forest industry is engaged in that as well because what we’re doing is looking at resequencing harvest plans so that we can harvest the most vulnerable trees possible. We’re receiving plans as we speak to make sure that we deal with them promptly.

The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Strang: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My first supplementary question is to the same minister. What is being done to determine the extent of these new infestations? Mr. Coutts: Mr. Speaker, it’s going to require all Albertans to help us with this. Our forest health officers will conduct examinations based on reports that we receive from staff in the field as well as industry players and the public at large to spot infestations of trees.

We’re looking to make sure that we plan to retain and train our seasonal firefighters so that they can help us with these surveys and do the cutting and burning that is required. We’re also asking all users of the forest, Mr. Speaker, and particularly our oil and gas industry, recreationalists, and survey companies to make sure that if they find trees, they will identify them for us. All Albertans need to take

part in identifying these trees, particularly where they show signs of sawdust around the base or if we have a crystallized honey that is on the surface. Anyone who spots trees with those signs is asked to mark that location and call us at 1-877-927-BUGS. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Strang: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My second s upplementary question is to the same minister. Will the government’s comprehen- sive strategy put an end to the mountain pine beetle in Alberta? Mr. Coutts: Mr. Speaker, scientists have told us that we’re doing absolutely the right thing.

As well, British Columbia, from their experience, has told us to be very proactive, and that’s what this government is doing. By hitting the beetles hard, we think that we can try to prevent them from spreading any further. But the pine beetle is a natural phenomenon, and basically the best thing to get rid of them is about minus 40 degree weather. Nature is a formidable force, and under the right conditions the pine beetle infestation could travel across Canada into the boreal forest if we don’t get that cold weather. There are 6 million hectares of pine forests in Alberta.

Those 6 million hectares are roughly the size of New Brunswick, and to put it in perspective, the tremendous social and environmental and economic loss that would happen to this province is one reason why we cannot give up the fight. The Speaker: The hon. Member for St. Albert, followed by the hon. Member for Grande Prairie-Smoky. Education Funding (continued) Mr. Flaherty: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the year 2001 only 11 per cent of the school boards posted a deficit. In the year 2004-05 this figure skyrocketed to 43.5 per cent.

This is an increase of 300 per cent – 300 per cent – and clearly indicates the failure of this government to adequately fund the education system at a time of great prosperity. Even with the announced increase in spending it’s a drop in the bucket. To the Minister of Education: given the fact that Alberta’s school boards requested over $2.5 billion of capital funding in 2005, how many school boards will still be shortchanged despite this increase in funding that he proposes? Mr. Zwozdesky: Mr.

Speaker, I don’t think any school boards are going to be shortchanged, and I don’t think that the member has properly concluded his question in the way he might have wanted with that word. Let me just say with respect to the overall capital plan that we do have a significant injection of money being added to the K to 12 system, and since having inherited that particular budget from the infrastructure ministry, I should tell the House that we have increases of about $177 m illion this year coming for the school capital funding initiatives.

That will take funding from $195 million previously up to $372 million this year. That will, for example, this year see the completion and the opening of about 13 brand new schools right now and the commencement or continuation of another 51 over and above that, and that’s even before we bring forward the plan for the next five years in the next few months.

August 24, 2006 Alberta Hansard 1687 The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Flaherty: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will this minister finally stop blaming school boards for the government’s failures and take responsibility today for the lack of schools in pl aces across the province, particularly in Calgary and Edmonton, and do something about it? Mr. Zwozdesky: Mr. Speaker, no one on this side is blaming anyone. I don’t know where the member is getting that from, and if he wishes to blame the school boards, then he can do that because it seems like he’s accusing them of a lot of wrongful things.

We’re not blaming or accusing anyone. I’m giving you some straightforward facts. What I would encourage the member to do, which clearly he hasn’t been able to do over the summer, is to take a look at school capital plans such as the ones put out here by the school boards just a few months ago, last spring, and he will learn in there exactly which schools are already being funded, which ones are opening, when they are opening, and where some of their additional needs are because of dramatically shifting and dramatically changing popula- tion numbers and school enrolment numbers. It’s pretty flat province-wide, Mr.

Speaker, but in certain spots they are experienc- ing enrolment increases. I should point out that Alberta is only one of two provinces in Canada that is experiencing that sort of sharp incline, an increase in student populations, and we’re dealing with it. Mr. Flaherty: Talking to school boards, they’re not saying that. Does the minister intend to provide ongoing funding for school maintenance, or is he content to just throw money at the problem each time a crisis like that in Calgary develops in some of the schools across the province? What’s he going to do about it? 2:20 Mr. Zwozdesky: Mr.

Speaker, I’m not sure why the hon. member is trying to be so inflammatory in his comments. He knows full well that we’ve increased operations and maintenance support to school boards by about $28 million. That’s about a 7.5 per cent increase. That’s just in these last few months. It’s going up to $404 million. That’s the largest amount they’ve ever had for operations and maintenance. With respect to infrastructure and maintenance renewal programs, which maybe he’s mixed up between the two, that is going up from $48 million to $200 million this year. From $48 million up to $200 million.

The hon. member should have done some homework over the summer to know that. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Grande Prairie-Smoky, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar. Royalty Programs Mr. Knight: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On Tuesday the Minister of Energy announced amendments to a number of royalty regulations in Alberta. As we know, the energy industry is Alberta’s main economic engine, and Albertans want to be assured that when changes are made that affect the industry, they are not mere tinkering. My question to the Minister of Energy: is this a conclu- sion to the royalty review?

The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Melchin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I’ve said on numerous occasions, this is part of the ongoing review that the Department of Energy does with respect to royalty programs. This isn’t just an event. We’re constantly monitoring changing circumstances, be it here or throughout the world, to make sure that we have the best structures to ensure that Albertans get their fair share of the owner- ship of that resource to which they are entitled.

I’d like to mention that even the tinkering kinds of questions – the royalty programs are going to bring back an additional $186 million to Albertans. I don’t know about in your books, but that’s still a fairly substantial amount of dollars that come back into this province that will be there for the future. Those are made in adjustment to changing circumstances. I’d also like to make one comment about a fair share question. It’s true that the industry is making substantially greater profits today.

In the past we made $3 billion to $4 billion off royalties from the province, this past year just under $15 billion, well surpassing anything that we’ve ever had in that range. As Albertans we, too, are benefiting substantially from the increased profits. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Knight: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Many producers, large and small, would be affected by these changes. My question to the same minister: can he provide the rationale for his decisions? Mr. Melchin: Mr.

Speaker, we will be bringing forward additional information to the public with re gard to these programs and the royalty review in due course. But with respect to the four programs in particular the highlight of some of those is the fact that the price has been part of the question, the horizontal re-entry program. For example, technologies have vastly improved on horizontal well drilling versus the past. It used to be a very new, innovative technology. Now it’s very commonplace. That was reflected in the change. The deep gas royalty program.

That’s to reflect that today where it’s in Alberta’s interest is to help explore the vast resource, and it is a vast resource in the tight sands and shales, substantially or potentially more resource in gas in that than all of the other gas that we have, including the coal-bed methane. So it’s in that respect that we continue to focus our efforts in getting the best value and the most recovery of that resource for Albertans. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Knight: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the same minister. He has suggested that the Alberta royalty tax credit might be terminated. Why has he not done so? Mr.

Melchin: Mr. Speaker, we have also mentioned that it has been the intent in our review to elim inate the Alberta royalty tax credit effective January of this coming year. We have undertaken with industry to give them through the end of this month to provide us with any solid economic reasons or business reasons for the people of Alberta why we should continue that. We are just waiting for the last of the process, which we continue through the end of this month, just another weekend.

It still is our objective once we get that information, unless there’s someth ing substantively new, that we will work towards elimination of that program. Electricity Generation Mr. MacDonald: Mr. Speaker, the failures of electricity deregula- tion along with the total incompetence of this Progressive Conserva- tive government were exposed a month ago today when the Alberta

Alberta Hansard August 24, 20061688 electricity grid was in complete chaos and crisis. Electricity was in very short supply and prices were very high, and Albertans were forced by this government’s flawed policy to endure an electricity blackout. My first question is to the Minister of Energy. Where was all the extra electricity generation capacity this government continu- ally brags about when during afternoon rush hour on July 24 we were at least 250 megawatts short in our electricity supply? Mr. Melchin: Mr.

Speaker, I am thrilled that he chose to bring up this instance as how they continually mischaracterize and misrepre- sent and actually I would say falsely portray to the public that this was a result of market design, i.e. deregulation. This had nothing to do with generation. It had nothing to do with market design under any model. If this was under the old regulated model . . . [interjec- tions] The Speaker: The hon. minister has the floor. Carry on. Mr.

Melchin: If we went back to what they would propose, if we had a fully regulated model, I would be interested how it is that they think they could control three different strikes by lightning, different times, different places, that destroyed the network of transmission, and get the generation available for supply to the consumers. I’d be interested in how they’re going to regulate lightning. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. MacDonald: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again to the same minister. Under the regulated system whenever an operator pushed the button, a generating station would start, but it doesn’t anymore.

Given that the market surveillance administrator’s report lists 265 megawatts as being unavailable on that afternoon for the following reasons – “unit failed to start,” “unit is inoperable,” and unit “not generally available to the system” – can the minister tell us this afternoon if this is the extra electricity capacity generation that the Premier and this Progressive Conservative government continues to brag about? If you push the button, it won’t work? Mr. Melchin: Mr. Speaker, first off, I’m glad that he highlights that we do have excess capacity of generation.

It’s been a complete success of the market design that we have. A complete success. You know, sometimes equipment needs to be brought down for maintenance. Surprisingly, that happened with the old model too. Sometimes, as in this instance too, there’s a mechanical failure. I’d be delighted to see how they’ll regu late that in the future there’ll never be a mechanical failure. Sometimes the wires, which are still regulated today, which are the highways to get that electricity from that plant to you and I as users, break down. In this case they did.

So it doesn’t matter how much electricity generation you have if it can’t get there through the highways, which are regulated today and under the old model. It won’t make any difference. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. MacDonald: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again to the same minister: why are these generation stations counted in our overall Power Pool capacity if they will not start when they’re needed to provide electricity during an emergency? Mr. Melchin: Mr. Speaker, there was plenty of generation available to get to the market.

The r eason was that the tie-line between Alberta and B.C. was out because of a lightning strike. Sheerness 1 and 2 were off because of transmission wire facilities that were not available to give that generation. They put off the generation. It takes time to bring those coal-fired plants back on to stream. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Leduc-Beaumont-Devon, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Rutherford. Labour Supply Mr. Rogers: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My first question is to the Minister of Human Resources and Employment.

Alberta’s hot economy has created a number of challenges, and when I travel around my constituency, the most proliferating sign is Help Wanted. The Alberta government has recently released its long-term la bour force strategy. Mr. Minister, isn’t this plan just a little late for the challenges that are already being faced by Alberta’s businesses? 2:30 The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Cardinal: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Of course, we have a booming economy in Alberta thanks to this good government. Our diversification plan is working.

In fact, within the next 10 years we are going to create over 400,000 new jobs, and with all the training programs in place and other programs we will only be able to supply 86,000 workers. So it’s a challenge. It’s a problem, but many jurisdictions in North America would love to have the problem we have. We are doing many things. In our recent release of our 10-year strategy our first priority, again, is to train and hire local people, Albertans, and then the ability of other Canadians to be able to move to Alberta and work. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Rogers: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My first supplemental to the hon. minister. It’s been reported that the Alberta Federation of Labour was not consulted on this stra tegy. If this is true, can you explain why? Mr. Cardinal: Well, Mr. Speaker, in addressing the labour force challenges and opportunities we have in Alberta, the provincial government alone cannot resolve the challenges and the problems in that area. This is why, in fact, in order to develop the plan, we consulted with industry, education representatives, aboriginal groups, to get their input in this process.

In fact, we met with the Alberta Federation of Labour on February 17 to address and get their input on the strategy that we developed. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Rogers: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final supplemental is for the Minister of Advanced Education. The report sets targets for meeting the number of apprentices. Mr. Minister, can you ensure that your department will see to it that the postsecondary sector can meet this need? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Herard: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

The good news is that we currently have over 53,000 apprentices in this province, and I’m very pleased to say that we have more than 1,400 aboriginal apprentices, which is a growth of about 200 just in the last couple of months. I want to commend employers for really stepping up to the plate because in the last number of months we’ve been registering over a hundred new apprentices per day. That’s because the

August 24, 2006 Alberta Hansard 1689 employers in this province recognize that they need to step up to the plate, and they need to be commended. We’re doing a number of other things also, Mr. Speaker. We continue to offer technical training through distance delivery, mobile delivery, SuperNet delivery, and other methods. We recognize apprentices from other parts of Canada at the same level that they are in their own territory. We promote the registered apprenticeship program, RAP. We recognize tradespeople from other jurisdictions through the red seal program.

We’re working very closely with our aboriginal community, because I think that’s our biggest opportunity in the future. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Rutherford, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview. Budgetary Practices Mr. R. Miller: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. When it comes to failing, this government deserves an A. This government has failed to plan affordable housing in Edmonton. They failed to plan hospital sizes in Calgary. They failed to plan infrastructure in Fort McMurray.

But worst of all, yesterday the Finance minister admitted that this government doesn’t even have a plan to manage Alberta’s massive surpluses, billions of dollars of surpluses. To the Minister of Finance: given that Albertans across this province are asking for a surplus plan, where the heck is it? Mrs. McClellan: Mr. Speaker, I guess the only person who has kind of missed this is maybe the hon. member and maybe some other members of his caucus.

We’ve repeatedly discussed what the surplus plan would be and said very clearly that we had to change our plan for unbudgeted surplus because there was a very important event that occurred in this province that changed that. Previously, unbudgeted surpluses could be used for putting money into the sustainability fund, for debt repayment, and for capital. Well, of course, Alberta being the only jurisdiction in Canada and probably North America that is debt free, we no longer have to do that. So there is an adjustment to the plan that has been in place.

The real people that fail in this room are those people over there that fail to listen. Mr. R. Miller: Mr. Speaker, yesterday the minister admitted that she has no plan for the budgeted surplus, and she admitted that there’s a $6 billion deficit, or debt, to the teachers’ pension f und. Will the minister please tell us how much more of the surplus this government plans to blow before the year is out? Mrs. McClellan: Mr.

Speaker, again a failure, and it has to be a hearing failure or else the member failed to be in the same scrum I was because, frankly, the only question on pension that came up at all was in reference to a document from Standard & Poor’s, who happens to be one of our rating agencies, who I met with in Toronto in June. On August 22 Standard & Poor’s – it’s very timely – released their rating of the province of Alberta, where they said: triple-A ratings affirmed on extremely low debt.

The question came in the scrum: “Well, then, do they consider pension debt in that?” which is off line for us in our budget b ecause there’s a long-term plan to address it. I should say, though, that the tax-supported debt as a share of GDP is 1.6 per cent, which is very low, which is expected to go to 1.3. Mr. Speaker, I will table this document because I should table it.

But there’s one line, if I could have your permission to quote it: The provincial government’s conservative and prudent budgetary practices, which seek to protect Alberta’s strong financial perfor- mance against potential volatility in resource revenues, through the use of its fiscal sustainability fund and the capital account, which is where we deal with surplus dollars. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. R. Miller: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the Minister of Finance again: given this government’s complete inability to manage the province’s surpluses, why doesn’t the department do the responsible thing and adopt the Alberta Liberal surplus plan? We have one. We’ve done the work for you. Why don’t you adopt it? Mrs. McClellan: Well, Mr. Speaker, a very good question. [interjections] The Speaker: Question period is about government policy. It’s turning into a bit of a debate here in the last question and answer. If the minister wants to proceed. Mrs. McClellan: Mr. Speaker, a very good question.

Frankly, if we had adopted that plan from the opposition, we would not have put $1.3 billion into health facilities last year. We would not be building the number of schools that we are. Their plan limited the amount of capital expenditure that you could have in one year. We did not do that because we recognized that there was a requirement for more capital, and while our savings are very close to what their plan wanted, our spending on schools, hospitals, and other government infrastructure is higher. I rest my case. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview. 2:40 Rental Increases Mr.

Martin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is a severe housing crisis in the province of Alberta. Working families and students find themselves in increasingly precarious housing situations, and the number of homeless people in the province has doubled. It doesn’t matter whether we hear from Calgary, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, or other centres. This crisis, frankly, is a predictable result of this government’s own reckless, growth at all costs, short- term thinking and lack of planning.

As an example, I received an e- mail last week from a single mother living in Edmonton whose rent has increased 33 per cent, $300 per month, in just the last few months. My question is to the Minister of Government Services, who’s supposed to be looking after the renters. To the minister: what do we say to this woman and other hard-working Albertans who are spending over half their income on housing in this over- heated economy and cannot even afford the basics? Mr. VanderBurg: Mr. Speaker, you know, the member opposite is absolutely right. We are facing unpr ecedented growth in this province.

In areas like Calgary, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, and Fort McMurray we hear from people that are faced with rental issues. I’d ask this member to provide me with the name and the circumstance. We have landlord/tenant protection in this province. Give me the circumstance, and I’ll take care of it directly. We’ll do it tomorrow. We’ll do it today for you. Mr. Martin: Well, Mr. Speaker, that’s one person. I’d be glad to send it over to the minister, but the reality is that there are thousands of Albertans facing this situation. What’s he going to do: look after all of them? I want to be specific to the minister.

What is he prepared to do with these exorbitant rental increases that are occurring over the province, that are coming about not just for one person but for thousands?

Alberta Hansard August 24, 20061690 Mr. VanderBurg: Again, Mr. Speaker, we do have legislation in place to protect renters, but if this member is asking if I am going to introduce rent controls, the answer is no. Mr. Martin: Mr. Speaker, I’m sure that all the renters in the province will be glad to hear about that. I would ask the minister: why is he not prepared to look at caps, as is done in British Colum- bia, as is done in Ontario, where it’s basically to the cost of living? Why is he not prepared to look at that? There are thousands of people being impacted in this province. Mr. VanderBurg: Mr.

Speaker, we’ve been through this in this province before. You know, there were rent controls at one time throughout this country. It proved not to work. There were people who wanted to invest, and they sa id that they’re pulling back that investment money and they’re not building those rental accommoda- tions. I don’t want to go back to a situation where we prove that it did not work. We have to look at other options. I will assure this member and all Albertans that I will talk with my colleagues in cabinet. I’ll talk with them seriously to find a way that we can find more housing, more land to develop.

We’ll do that quickly. Vignettes from the Assembly’s History The Speaker: Hon. members, before I call on the first of six, a little historical vignette for the day. A number of Alberta MLAs have had a town, village, or post office named after them. Boyle is named after John Robert Boyle, a Liberal, who served in the Alberta Legislature from 1905 to 1924 representing the constitu- ency of Sturgeon. Mr. Boyle was a leader in the revolt which ended Alexander Rutherford’s service as Premier.

Holden became a village in 1905 and is named after James Bismark Holden, a Liberal, who represented Vermilion in Alberta’s first two Legislatures, from 1905 to 1913. Mr. Holden also served as the mayor of Vegreville for various terms between 1914 and 1945. Jean Côté was named after Jean Leon Côté, a Liberal, who represented the constituencies of Athabasca then Grouard between 1909 and 1921. He was appointed to the Senate in 1923 and died in 1924.

Douglas Corney Breton served in Alberta’s sixth Legislature, from 1926 to 1930, as the United Farmers of Alberta MLA for Leduc and saw Breton named in his honour in 1927. He served in India and Afghanistan during World War I. George Hoadley served as a Conservative MLA from 1909 to 1921 representing Okotoks, from 1921 to 1930 as the UFA MLA for Okotoks, and from 1930 to 1935 as the UFA MLA for Okotoks-High River. The post office in Haverigg was renamed Hoadley in 1924. Vernor Winfield Smith served as a UFA MLA from 1921 to 1935, representing the constituency of Camrose.

Smith was Alberta’s Minister of Railways and Telephones when the Lacombe and Northwestern Railway named the siding of Winfield after him. Henry Elbert Debolt represented the constituency of Spirit River as a Social Credit MLA from 1940 to 1952. He had become the first postmaster in an area known as American Creek in 1923, and in that year the post office became known as DeBolt. The first member of Ukrainian heritage elected to this Assembly was Andrew Shandro, who represented the constituency of Whitford from 1913 to 1926 as a Liberal. The locality of Shandro is named after him.

Some members might remember Henry Mancini’s music about Peter Gunn. The hamlet of Gunn bears the name of Peter Gunn, the Liberal MLA for Lac St. Anne from 1909 to 1917. Gunn was the sheriff for Athabasca and Peace River districts. In the fall of 1947 residents gathered in the Notikewan River Valley to discuss a new name for their area. They endorsed the name of Manning for their post office after Ernest Charles Manning, Alberta’s Premier. In 1951 Manning became a village, and in 1957 it became a town.

A number of Alberta recreation areas, streets, and roads also bear the names of former and current MLAs, as do a number of Alberta constituencies. In 30 seconds I’ll call upon the first of six members. head: Members’ Statements The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-East. Rick and Rose Lundy Mr. Amery: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today in the members’ gallery we have two people whom I introduced earlier today. Like all people they have experienced many difficult challenges through- out their lives.

Recently they have been caught in a media spotlight surrounding a deeply personal tragedy at the Peter Lougheed hospital in Calgary. Few of us here today can imagine the challenge faced when one faces a miscarriage. I know that the deepest sympathy of all hon. members goes out to Mr. and Mrs. Lundy on their loss and the difficulties surrounding that night at the hospital. Today, Mr.

Speaker, the Lundys f ace new challenges and old ones, the questions of why and how and what types of services and steps could have been taken to alleviate their discomfort and what were the appropriate procedures that could have been in place to assist them, the questions of a process-oriented nature. No process, no review, and certainly no remedial action by anyone will ever truly make up for the situation that they confronted that night. For the Lundys it cannot be a matter of simply the process and procedures of our health care system.

It is to be, however, about a system that must become more responsive to the needs of individual Albertans in crisis. We as Albertans expect things of our health care system, expecta- tions that are not always easily met, and when they are not, we need to ask the question, “Why not?” not just with the interest to define right and wrong but to define the appropriate course of action in the future. Mr. Speaker, during this terrible ordeal the Lundys have shown a lot of courage, and their strong character has been prevalent throughout this situation.

I’m glad that they have accepted the appointment to the patient experience committee. I know that they will do their best in making an ongoing contribution to produce better patient care for all Albertans. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Red Deer-North. Alberta Summer Games Mrs. Jablonski: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Many people said that they were the best Alberta Summer Games ever. From July 27 to the 30th 3,100 coaches, athletes, and officials gathered in Red Deer for the largest ever Alberta Summer Games.

At the games Alberta’s youth were given the opportunity to compete in 17 different sporting ev ents as well as cultural events, including a legacy sculpture and a downtown street gala. Congratu- lations to the city of Red Deer, the Red Deer county, and the Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks & Wildlife Foundation for hosting the 2006 Alberta Summer Games.

August 24, 2006 Alberta Hansard 1691 The Summer Games were made possible by the hard work and dedication of 2,600 volunteers. These volunteers worked tirelessly to prepare meals, provide transportation, and deal with a massive array of logistics related to hosting an event of this magnitude.

This hard-working group of volunteers was led by the tireless effort of the chair, Lauralyn Radford, and the board of directors: Cheryl Adams, Patti Anderson, Greg Atkinson, Debbie Bonnett, Darin Doel, Carol Dyck, Carrie Farnell, Bob Grainer, Hugh McPherson, Marg Phelan, Rinn Purnell, Jared Sayers, Ron Schuster, Greg Scott, Rick Tofani, Rob Willms, and Fred Zucker.

The board also had a great support- ing team and wished to express their huge thanks to games manager Barb McKee and her staff members. 2:50 The Summer Games allow the youth of Alberta to showcase their various talents, to form friendships that will last a lifetime, and to learn the value of sportsmanship, teamwork, and fair play. Those who exemplify these values are recognized with the spirit of sport award that was won by zone 4, Parkland. Congratulations to zone 6, Edmonton, on winning the minister’s cup for the most points overall, and zone 4, Parkland, for winning the Alberta cup for most improved zone.

Congratulations to all those who participated in Alberta Summer Games. Win or lose, everyone who participated should take pride in their accomplishments and cherish the many memories that they’ll take home with them. Alberta wishes Medicine Hat all the best in hosting the 2008 Summer Games. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Nose Hill. Westbourne Place Dr. Brown: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to recognize a unique senior citizens’ institution in my constituency of Calgary- Nose Hill.

Westbourne Pl ace is a senior citizens’ apartment complex with a warm Christian atmosphere situated on the hill above 64 Avenue N.W. It’s adjacent to the West bourne Baptist church, with which it is connected by a walkway and a multipurpose room. The residents also enjoy amenities including a social room, a pool room, a gift store, a garden, and an out door barbecue. The residents receive home care and daily health care services. I can truly say that Westbourne Place is a friendly and welcoming community. It’s much enjoyed by the residents who live there and by those who come to visit.

A unique feature of Westbourne Place is the individual style and artwork that many of the residents bring to their own apartments and their doorways, which adds to the cheery and homelike atmosphere. Reverend David Ferguson is the administrator of Westbourne Place, and I want to take this opportunity to salute him and all of his staff as well as all of the residents of Westbourne Place for making this complex in my constituency of Calgary-Nose Hill a great place to live and a great asset to our community. Canadian Forces Mission in Afghanistan Mr. Bonko: Mr.

Speaker, today I address this House in order to recognize and celebrate the loyalty, the dedication, and the heroism of our men and women in uniform. To date over two dozen Canadians have lost their lives while serving in Afghanistan. These heroes died to protect Canadian freedoms; they died to extend those freedoms to the people of Afghanistan. They gave their lives as ambassadors of goodwill and Canadian values. Thousands of other Canadians continue to put themselves at risk on a daily basis to ensure that our mission in Afghanistan succeeds.

Their loyalty and their commitment to the ideals that made our nation great are cause for celebration. We must continue to give all of the support that we can to our men and women in uniform. The yellow ribbon that many Canadians wear to show their support to our troops is a powerful symbol of our respect and gratitude to these exemplary human beings. With courage, compassion, determination, and hope they have ventured into the world’s most dangerous places at great personal risk.

They do so because they are willing to put their lives on the line for the highest ideals of humanity: peace, freedom, and our ultimate goal, universal understanding and brotherhood. The families and friends of these brave and loyal soldiers are dealing with great loss and sorrow, and while no words of mine could possibly ease their suffering, I hope that this acknowledgement of the heroism of their loved ones will at least serve to let them know that the people of Alberta and Canada are profoundly grateful to the lost ones. Thank you. The Speaker: Hon. members, before I call on the hon.

Member for Cardston-Taber-Warner, I was advised by way of request from the hon. member’s office several days ago that the hon. member was going to be making a member’s statement today. He sought permission to provide all members of the Assembly with two cobs of corn from his area, which I presume is what the subject matter of his statement is, and I gave such permission. However, I did not give permission for him to circulate to all hon. members vanity fridge magnets with his name on them. So if you want to send these back to me, I will have them recycled with my name on them. Taber Cornfest Mr.

Hinman: It was there for a good idea, so I hope you all do that. Mr. Speaker, today is a special day as it marks the beginning of the annual Taber Cornfest. Cornfest is a celebration of more that just the corn harvest. It is a celebration of the hard work, dedication, and vision – which, by the way, is the variety of corn which you received today – of countless Alberta families. Today’s bounty would not be possible if not for the innovation of irrigation, transportation, and processing. In 1915 the area landown- ers voted to establish the Taber irrigation district.

Soon after constructed dams, canals, and reservoirs became the backbone of the needed infrastructure. This is an example of how wise use of our resources is paramount to our present and future economy. The railways were used to bring machinery and equipment into the area to attach southern Alberta to world markets for their harvest. It is a shame today to see these great assets of railway lines being demolished rather than remaining a vital link for our rural economy.

Current crop and forage production in the area consists of sugar beets, corn, potatoes, beans, wheat, canola, alfalfa, and timothy, just to list a few. Before oil and gas this province’s economy was based on forestry and agriculture. Even today agriculture continues to contribute greatly to our economy. Many of the oil and gas workers are farm grown. It will be detrimental to the future of Alberta to have our economy based and focused only on one sector. Ours is the responsibility to ensure that our economy continues to be diversified. Mr.

Speaker, for the members of this House who have not had the opportunity to sample fresh Taber corn, I feel privileged to provide samples for all the members. It was picked fresh this morning at 4. I request that all members of the House eat their fresh Taber corn. It will add sweetness to their soul, and they’ll have a tender heart for at least 10 minutes. As the harvest continues throughout the province, I pray that we

Alberta Hansard August 24, 20061692 can all remember to thank our farmers and ranchers. Corn does not grow in a can, a carton does not produce milk, and beef is not produced behind the beef cooler. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: I don’t know; I’ve got eight magnets now. If anybody has some corn they don’t want to use, I’m going home later this afternoon, so send it up as well. The hon. Member for Wetaskiwin-Camrose. Montana First Nation Satellite RCMP Station Mr. Johnson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I recently attended the opening of the Montana First Nation satellite RCMP station on the Hobbema First Nations reserve. Led by Chief Carl Rabbit, this event was met with much support from the community, as was demonstrated by both good attendance and celebration throughout the day. By introducing an additional satellite RCMP station, the commu- nity will benefit from crime prevention associated with an additional nine RCMP officers in the commun ity. This presence within the community will help ease the community’s law enforcement challenges.

The new satellite station marks the fulfillment of the signing of the community tripartite agreement this past March between the federal and provincial governments and the local reserve. During the opening ceremonies of this event, I was impressed with the prominent and conspicuous role the Hobbema cadets played. One year ago the RCMP began a comprehensive crime prevention initiative aimed at disrupting gang activity. Following this, the RCMP formed a partnership with the Hobbema community to implement the First Nations Community Cadet Corps program.

Today the cadet corps has more than 650 members from Hobbema’s four bands. These cadets, aged eight to 18, have decided to proactively shape their community ’s future. Not only is this movement giving these young people a sense of strength and solidarity; it is engaging the community against crime. The Hobbema cadets reflect the inspirational direction of the community. I am pleased to see Hobbema’s youth actively seeking to secure both their future and the future of the following generations.

I commend Hobbema First Nations reserve for their initiative in crime prevention through the new satellite police station and the cadet corps movement, which will enhance the quality of life and safety of this community. Thank you. head: Presenting Petitions The Speaker: The hon. Member for St. Albert. Mr. Flaherty: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m tabling 271 petitions today urging the government “to move the northwest leg of the Anthony Henday Drive ring road south of the current proposal” to reduce noise, increase safety measures, as well as “minimize the environmental impact of the road.” Thank you, Mr.

Speaker. head: Notices of Motions The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Centre. Ms Blakeman: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Pursuant to Standing Order 30 I’d like to give notice that I will be rising at the appropriate time to move that ordinary business of the Assembly be adjourned to discuss an urgent matter; namely, the imminent risk to the health and safety of Albertans due to the failure of the govern- ment to provide the resources required for Alberta’s health regions to operate essential health services. Thank you. 3:00 The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Highlands- Norwood. Mr.

Mason: Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker. I rise to give notice that at the appropriate time I will be rising to move a motion of urgent and pressing necessity under Standing Order 42.

Be it resolved that the Legislative Assembly [of Alberta] does not have confidence in the government b ecause it has failed to ade- quately plan for the infrastructure, housing, education, health, and environmental needs of the province in a period of rapid growth. The Speaker: A notice of motion, hon. Government House Leader? Mr. Zwozdesky: Yes. One notice of motion. I just want to give oral notice regarding the following motion.

Be it resolved that when the Assembly adjourns to recess the summer sitting of the Second Session of the 26th Legislature, it shall stand adjourned until a time and date as determined by the Speaker after consultation with the Lieutenant Government in Council. head: Tabling Returns and Reports Mr. Herard: Mr. Speaker, I’m pleased to table five copies of the Campus Alberta Quality Council’s second annual report. Thank you. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview. Mr. Martin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to table copies of a letter from Arlene Stephen.

Ms Stephen is a single mother whose rent has recently increased by $300 per month. She’s asking for a limit on how quickly rent can be increased and other strategies for affordable housing. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar. Mr. MacDonald: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. I have a tabling this afternoon, and it’s in regard to the questions I asked earlier in question period today. This is the Market Surveillance Administrator’s report on the events of July 24, 2006. Further to my questioning, it certainly indicates here that a unit owned by ATCO in Rainbow Lake failed to start. It’s an old unit.

Another ATCO unit was unavailable as the unit is inoperable, and the Rossdale generation stations 8, 9, and 10, owned by EPCOR, were not generally available to the system slow-start units. Then there’s another unit here that also failed to start as it is an old unit. I would urge all hon. members of this Assembly to have a look at this document. Thank you. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Ellerslie. Mr. Agnihotri: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to table an e- mail from my constituent Bev Burgess, whose daughter was bleeding for nine hours while she miscarried at the Grey Nuns hospital.

It’s a very similar story to Calgary. Thank you.

August 24, 2006 Alberta Hansard 1693 The Speaker: Are there others? The hon. Member for Edmonton-Rutherford. Mr. R. Miller: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise this afternoon to table a copy of a letter from a constituent, Daniel Langdon, to the hon. Minister of Seniors and Community Supports. Mr. Langdon was employed over the past year by a PDD-funded organization and is expressing his concern that the government hasn’t recognized the severity of the situation faced by such organizations. He’s urging the government to increase funding and conduct a full review of PDD funding. Thank you. The Speaker: Hon. members, pursuant to

section 4(2) of the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act I’m tabling with the Assembly the annual report of the Chief Electoral Officer for the calendar year 2004. The report includes this office’s financial statements for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004. Before we move on to the next segment, might we revert to Notices of Motions? [Unanimous consent granted] head: Notices of Motions head: (reversion) The Speaker: The hon. Government House Leader. Mr. Zwozdesky: Thank you, and my apologies. I’ll be brief, Mr. Speaker.

I rise pursuant to Standing Order 34(3) to give notice that on Monday, August 28, I will move that written questions 28, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, and 35 be dealt with that day. I’m also giving notice that on Monday, August 28, I will move that motions for returns 27 through 36 be dealt with on that day. There being no additional written questions or motions for returns appearing on the Order Paper, there are none to stand and retain their places. 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.

Mrs.

McClellan, Minister of Finance, pursuant to the Government Accountability Act the government of Alberta 2005-06 annual report; pursuant to the Members of the Legislative Assembly Pension Plan Act the Members of the Legislative Assembly pension plan annual report for the year ended March 31, 2006; pursuant to the Securities Act the Alberta Securities Commission 2006 annual report, the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research endowment fund financial statements dated March 31, 2006, the Alberta heritage science and engineering research endowment fund financial statements dated March 31, 2006, the Alberta heritage scholarship fund financial statements dated March 31, 2006, the ATB Financial annual report 2006, the Credit Union Deposit Guarantee Corporation 2005 annual report.

On behalf of Mr. Liepert, chair, Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund Committee, the Alberta heritage savings trust fund 2006 annual report for the year ended March 31, 2006. head: Projected Government Business The Speaker: The hon. Opposition House Leader. Ms Blakeman: Thank you. I would ask the Government House Leader if he could rise and share with us the projected government business for the week beginning the 28th of August through the 31st of August. The Speaker: The hon. Government House Leader. Mr. Zwozdesky: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On Monday afternoon we’ll deal with private members’ business.

On Monday evening from 8 to 9 we’ll deal with Motions Other than Government Motions. There is one, Motion 512, scheduled. At 9 p.m. we will proceed to Government Bills and Orders, Committee of Supply, in anticipation of that being day 2 of 2, and we will seek to revert to Introduction of Bills, assuming that everything goes okay, and hopefully ask for first reading of the Appropriation (Supplementary Supply) Act, 2006 (No. 2). On Tuesday afternoon we will pro ceed, we hope, with second reading of that particular supplementary supply act. On Tuesday evening second reading again.

Should it be n ecessary, we’ll continue on the supplementary supply act and otherwise as per the Order Paper. On Wednesday afternoon Committee of the Whole is anticipated on the supplementary supply act, and, if necessary, Wednesday evening we’ll continue with Committee of the Whole on the supplementary supply act. On Thursday, August 31, we should have third reading of the Appropriation (Supplementary Supply) Act, 2006 (No. 2). head: Request for Emergency Debate The Speaker: Hon. members, before proceeding, we have to deal with the application re Standing Order 30. The hon. Member for Edmonton-Centre.

Health Care Funding Ms Blakeman: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I would like to move: Pursuant to Standing Order 30

be it resolved that the ordinary business of the Legislative Assemb ly be adjourned to discuss a matter of urgent public importance; namely, the imminent risk to the health and safety of Albertans due to the failure of the government to provide the resources required for Alberta’s health regions to operate essential health services. That motion has been distributed, I believe. In my arguments on the urgency of this issue, Mr.

Speaker, I reference Marleau and Montpetit 584, which is requesting that the issue be specific, that it be urgent and important, and that it be a “matter requiring urgent consideration.” I would argue that when a citizen’s access to health care is imperilled, it is urgent, and it requires the immediate attention of this House. Since April the health system in Alberta has experienced a progression of crises with closures of beds, both in-patient and in surgical, renal, and mental health, plus a reduction in diagnostic services and in beds in one particular ICU. This has affected five health regions, Mr.

Speaker: Capital health, Calgary region, Aspen, Peace Country, and Palliser. I note that Marleau and Montpetit 585 also supports an urgency argument and asks that issues be “immediately relevant and of attention and concern throughout the nation.” We know that the issues around access to health and wait-lists and provision of resources, planning, and policy is a matter of discussion that is arising in a number of places. To the argument on urgency I refer to the parameters set out in

Alberta Hansard August 24, 20061694 Beauchesne 387 to 398 on emergency debates. I note that this issue is not currently before the courts. If I look at a number of the other tests that have been either noted in those sections in Beauchesne or in precedents in this House, that would include the throne speech as an opportunity to explore a subject.

Well, the throne sp eech was some time ago, and the timing of the next one is unknown but would not likely be before another six months have passed. 3:10 I have examined the Order Paper, and there is no bill that would address this issue on the Order Pa per or, indeed, outlined in any press release or media release from the government regarding this fall session or generally. We are scheduled for a supplementary supply budget, but I note, Mr. Speaker, that we have a total of 210 minutes in which to debate some 15 ministries and almost $1.4 billion.

That’s 14 minutes tops if we divide every ministry into equal time, and I would argue that at a rate of $6.6 million a minute and 14 minutes a ministry, that is not a sufficient amount of time to debate a complex issue like this. Fourteen minutes is not conducive to a thoughtful debate on access and waiting lists and the closure of a number of different units in health regions across the province. There is no other reasonable opportunity for debate, Mr. Speaker. Oral Question Period is not enough time to debate a complex issue, and the Speaker is often admonishing us not to create debate during question period.

We did indeed ask our primary and our third- position questions today on exactly this issue but were not able to get satisfactory answers from the minister. I’ve looked at the written questions and motions for returns that are on the Order Paper and were just noted by the Government House Leader, and these do not cover the subject that I am seeking debate on. There are no private members’ bills on the Order Paper on this issue, and there are no motions available on this issue, either a government or a private member’s motion.

The Premier blew off this opposition’s request for an independent inquiry, and we note that Calgary health has teamed with the Quality Health Council for a report which would possibly be released sometime after May next year, which is not immediate enough given the issues that have arisen in the last five months.

I would argue, using the arguments in Beauchesne 389, that this issue is “so pressing that the public interest will suffer if it is not given immediate attention.” Indeed, we have people that have been brave enough to join us in the gallery and to travel some distance to bring their story to light and to try and work beyond that to improve the situation so that others do not have this same experience. Under Beauchesne 390 “the public interest demands that discus- sion take place immediately,” and I think a number of us or all of us can attest to a demand from our constituents that this issue be addressed.

I argue that the government’s failure to provide planning, policy, and resources required to operate Alberta’s health regions is posing an imminent risk to the health and safety of Albertans. I argue that our Standing Order 30 request meets the tests that are set out, and I urge the Speaker to rule in favour of our request. Thank you for the opportunity to present the argument. The Speaker: Hon. members, under Standing Order 30(1) and (2) the chair will allow for brief arguments from additional members. The chair will recognize the hon. Minister of Health and Wellness on this procedural point. Anybody else?

The hon. House leader for the third party, and then we’ll just proceed. Ms Evans: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would appreciate the opportunity to respond to the motion that has been raised, and while it would be tempting to cite the number of accomplishments that would in fact show that we have been improving the system for the future, I will just focus on the need for the emergency debate. Mr.

Speaker, I would entreat you that while this is an important issue, an emergency debate would just serve to lengthen the time before we could table our supplementary estimates and get on with the debate relative to the funding and the important work that would be done in providing additional funding for the health system.

I think this debate in the Committee of Supply will be an appropriate time for us to discuss the issues, and I would hope that the hon. member opposite would be patient with us and find the patience to help us go through the tabling of the supplementary estimates, indicating what sorts of plans we have in place to accommodate funding issues, workforce shortages, and the other kinds of things that have been identified in previous questions today. Also, Mr.

Speaker, I think this debate would only delay a session in which we could more expediently move forward with the supplementary funding that is needed by the regions and will enable them to get on with their job. For all these reasons, Mr. Speaker, I strongly contend that this matter, while important, does not constitute an emergency debate today. The Speaker: Just for clarification and the elucidation of the chair, is the hon. minister saying that when an estimate is submitted to this House, there are dollars for health in it? Ms Evans: Yes. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview. Mr.

Martin: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be brief, but it seems to me that there’s a lot of crisis developing in this province right now. Certainly, health care is a serious matter, and I’ll speak to the urgency. I mean, the reality is that we’ve seen the Sturgeon hospital in St. Albert close its surgery room August 5 to 6. That could be very serious. As already mentioned, this month the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Grande Prairie closed its intensive care unit for a week.

The Foothills hospital has closed beds due to nursing shortages, and of course we’re familiar with the sad experience of Rose Lundy, who miscarried while waiting for a bed in the Peter Lougheed hospital in Calgary. So this is very serious, and I would argue that we really don’t have a good opportunity to debate this issue. The minister says: well, we can talk about it during supplementary estimates. Well, we have 15 departments to go through – 15 departments – and only two days to debate them.

It seems to me hardly reasonable to grapple with an issue as complex as health care reform in such a short period of time. Mr. Speaker, the reality is that if nothing is done, these shortages in these hospitals are not going to get better; they’re going to get worse. We’ve already seen some serious problems develop, and I would say that supplementary estimates in two days – I would argue that probably not even if we were doing it on the regular basis, but with 15 departments in two days it really does not give us the opportunity to fully debate these very serious matters.

So, in conclusion, I would urge you to rule the motion to be in order and hope that we can have an opportunity to thoroughly debate this health care crisis. Nothing bad could come from debating this, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: Hon. members, the representation came from three different sections. I presume that that is what it is then.

August 24, 2006 Alberta Hansard 1695 The chair is prepared to rule on the request for leave for this motion to proceed as in order under Standing Order 30(2). First of all, I would like to confirm that the Member for Edmonton-Centre has given proper notice of her intention to bring a motion under Standing Order 30. Notice was received by the Speaker’s office on Tuesday, August 22, at 1:43 p.m. The subject matter was provided at that time. Therefore, the requirements under Standing Order 30(1) have been met.

Secondly, before the question as to whether the motion should proceed can be put to the Assembly, the chair must determine whether the motion meets the requirements of Standing Order 30(7), which requires that “the matter proposed for discussion must relate to a genuine emergency, calling for immediate and urgent consider- ation.” The member’s proposed motion is to hold an emergency debate on “the imminent risk to the health and safety of Albertans due to the failure of the government to provide the resources required for Alberta’s health regions to operate essential health services.” The relevant parliamentary authorities on the topic of emergency debate are Beauchesne, paragraphs 387 to 398, and House of Commons Procedure and Practice, pages 587 to 589.

Albeit that the debate with respect to this particular motion was rather short, the chair has listened attentively to the submissions from all of the members participating in the debate, and after hearing the arguments before it, the chair does not believe that this request meets the requirements under the standing order for emergency debate to proceed.

One reason, the principal reason, is that the urgency stressed in the standing order is “urgency of debate.” As pointed out and indicated by the Minister of Health and Wellness and in the question period today as well by the Minister of Finance, the main reason that the Assembly has been reconvened is to debate supplementary supply, which, according to the Minister of Health and Wellness, will contain a request for additional funds for the Department of Health and Wellness. These would be the additional resources that, presumably, the Opposition House Leader refers to in her request for leave.

Furthermore, while the chair is aware of the importance of this issue, it is di fficult to conclude that there is something so extraordinary as to constitute a genuine emergency as required under Standing Order 30(7). To reiterate, while the member raises a serious matter – this is a serious matter – the chair does not consider it to be of such urgency to warrant postponing the business of the Assembly this afternoon as it appears that the business of the Assembly this afternoon will be exactly what the motion is all about. So the hon.

Member for Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood on a Standing Order 42 application. head: 3:20 Motions under Standing Order 42 Motion of Nonconfidence Mr. Mason:

Be it resolved that the Legislative Assembly of Alberta does not have confidence in the government because it has failed to ade- quately plan for the infrastructure, housing, education, health, and environmental needs of the province in a period of rapid growth. Mr. Mason: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. An SO 42 application allows a motion in case of urgent and pressing necessity to be made without notice under Standing Order 39. To pro ceed, the motion must receive unanimous consent of the House. I believe that this is an urgent and pressing necessity.

The government has failed to provide even a minimum level of gover- nance to this province. Its competence is also extremely minimal. The government seems genuinely surprised that there are pressures created by economic growth in this province and has not taken adequate steps to prepare the province and protect the people of this province from those pressures.

Many Albertans have been put into an extremely precarious position because on this government’s watch Alberta has been burdened by a growing infrastructure deficit, economic distortions which threaten housing supports, and the government has played politics with our health care and our schools. From Fort McMurray to Medicine Hat working families and municipal leaders have been warning of impending crises in our environment, our school boards, and our hospitals. In the area of infrastructure the lack of adequate planning is evident, particularly highway 63 and highway 19.

Earlier this week in the area of housing, mayors from seven communities made a plea for housing support. They identified a need for $20 million to resolve the crisis. Mr. Speaker, just last year the count of homeless persons found 3,436 homeless people in Calgary. There have been rental increases as high as $1,000 per month in Calgary, and the average rent in Fort McMurray is $1,500 per month for a two-bedroom apartment.

The Alberta School Boards Association in the area of education estimates that base funding to accommodate salary increases for teachers has fallen short by $48 million over the last three years and $13 million in the last year. The ASBA estimates that $1.2 billion. . . The Speaker: Hon. member, please. With respect, the purpose now is to seek the approval of the members, not to give the debate. Once you get the approval of the members, then we’ll recognize the hon. member to really give it the shot. So brevity right now is kind of important. Mr. Mason: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Well, in the area of health, wellness, and environment I would argue that the situation that has developed in our province requires a debate on this issue. We need to see whether or not the people of Alberta support this government or whether this House supports this government. In my view we ought to have the debate. Mr. Speaker, I urge the house to agree to debate this motion because in this very short session there will be no opportunity to thoroughly consider the major public policy issues facing this province.

Indeed, with the exception of some private members’ business on Monday, the only matter the government is bringing forward to debate is a patchwork budget designed to cover over the lack of its vision. There is no real opportunity for debate on a wide range of issues facing the people of this province. The shortcomings of this government are increasingly evident to all people.

To conclude, I would argue on behalf of working people and their families that there is a very urgent need to find out what, if any, plans this government has to ensure orderly and reasonably paced long-term growth and that this remedial sitting of the Assembly will not permit any other opportunity to have such a debate. Mr. Speaker, it’s my submission that we need to debate this motion. This government has lost the moral authority to govern. It has abjectly failed to provide for the needs of this province, and it ought to have done so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker: The chair would like to acknowledge to the hon. Member for Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood that he provided adequate notice, which was very important. It’s a courtesy and appreciated.

Alberta Hansard August 24, 20061696 Hon. members, under Standing Order 42(1), unanimous consent of the Assembly is required in order for us to proceed. [Unanimous consent denied] head: Orders of the Day head: Transmittal of Estimates Mrs. McClellan: Mr. Speaker, I have received a certain message from His Honour the Honourable the Lieutenant Governor, which I now transmit to you. The Sergeant-at-Arms: Order!

The Speaker: Hon. members, the Lieutenant Governor transmits supplementary supply estimates of certain sums required for the service of the province for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007, and recommends the same to the Legislative Assembly. Please be seated. Mrs. McClellan: Mr. Speaker, prior to moving a number of motions relevant to the supplementary supply estimates, I wish to remind the House that I provided the government’s 2006-07 quarterly budget report for the first quarter to all MLAs yesterday morning. I also made this report public as required by

section 9 of the Government Accountability Act. I now wish to table the 2006-07 supplementary supply estimates. These will provide additional spending authority to 15 departments of the government. When passed, the estimates will authorize approximate increases of $1.37 billion in voted expense and equipment/inventory purchases, $149 million in voted capital investment, and $16 million in voted nonbudgetary disbursements. Mr. Speaker, when a second or subsequent set of estimates is tabled,

section 8 of the Government Accountability Act requires an amended fiscal plan. The quarterly budget report serves as the amended fiscal plan. I’m also tabling the first-quarter activity report describing the major achievements of our government during that period. Also being tabled is the first-quarter update for the Alberta heritage savings trust fund. head: Government Motions 24. Mrs. McClellan moved:

Be it resolved that the message from His Honour the Honour- able the Lieutenant Governor, the 2006-07 supplementary supply estimates for the general revenue fund, and all matters connected therewith be referred to Committee of Supply. [Government Motion 24 carried] 25. Mrs. McClellan moved:

Be it resolved that pursuant to Standing Order 61(9) the number of days that Committee of Supply will be called to consider the 2006-07 supplementary supply estimates for the general revenue fund shall be two days. The Speaker: This motion is a nondebatable motion. [Government Motion 25 carried] head: 3:30 Committee of Supply [Mr. Marz in the chair] The Chair: I’d like to call the Committee of Supply to order. head: Supplementary Supply Estimates 2006-07 General Revenue Fund Health and Wellness The Chair: The hon. Minister of Health and Wellness. Ms Evans: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

Today I’m here to request additional support for our health regions in providing essential services to Albertans. While we’ve made great improve- ments in providing a quality and effective health care system, there are many pressure points facing us, some that have been mentioned today. Before I discuss the specifics of supplementary estimates, I would like to provide an overview of the state of our health system, including some of our challenges and innovations that we’re employing to be proactive and forward thinking as we address them not only for today but for the future.

For the first time ever this past spring the Alberta Health and Wellness budget surpassed the $10 billion mark. The approved health budget as it exists for 2006-07 is $10.3 billion, an increase of $735 million, or 7.7 per cent, over last year. Today’s supplementary estimate will put us over the $10.5 billion mark. We’ve the highest per capita spending of all the provinces. Today Health and Wellness spending accounts for 36 per cent of the government’s total expense in 2006 and ’07.

Nearly two-thirds of the Health and Wellness budget is being provided in operating grants to health authorities, and that is a good thing, Mr. Speaker, because it means that Albertans are benefiting directly from health service providers, technology, and treatments. Every hour we spend more than $1.2 million to operate Alberta’s health care system. In our budget this year health authority funding was allocated to address population growth and annual inflation costs ranging from 4.9 per cent for Chinook regional health authority to 8.3 per cent for Northern Lights health region.

We’re investing in the right places to meet our growing and changing population, and we’re excited in the province about Calgary’s new Children’s hospital, which is the first built in Canada in over 20 years. We’re proud of the Mazankowski Heart Institute, which holds great promise for improving health outcomes and is attracting interest from top health professionals. Infrastructure is important to building a strong public health system. Seven hundred and forty-eight million will be spent on health capital this year, including $672 million in capital grants to health authorities.

Spending on the 2006-2009 capital plan will increase by 74 per cent over the previous three-year plan, to $2.9 billion. This includes $2.5 billion for health facility projects, including the Alberta bone and joint institute in Calgary, the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute in Edmonton as well as health facil ities in a number of communities. These projects will add an estimated 2,000 new beds, which by increasing capacity increases access. We recognize that the additional beds will mean additional operating costs.

For 2006- 07 the additional cost is over $14 million, and this additional funding will help address that. We have allocated $1.88 billion to physician services. This allocation includes $75 million for alternate payment plans to allow academic physicians to focus more time on research, education, and delivering speciality care to Albertans and $70 million for primary care initiatives. Now, Mr. Speaker, the primary care initiatives as they grow are a very strong example of how we’re stretching resources, improving scope of practice and the quality of care Albertans receive.

August 24, 2006 Alberta Hansard 1697 If you’ve read our recently updated health policy framework, you’ll be surprised to see that there are now 26 primary care networks operating in Alberta communities, involving 550 physi- cians and providing services to more than 700,000 patients, over a quarter of Alberta’s population. The primary care initiative has led to 24/7 access to primary health care services and will be a new model to lead the future of primary care in Alberta.

That health policy document also identifies that 800 physicians practise under the ARP agreement, allowing for flexibility and improved service. We’re being innovative in this province to attract and retain health care professionals and are reaping the benefits. Over the past five years we’ve had the highest net increase in physicians, 800 in all, more than any province in Canada. Of course, I must also mention the hip and knee replacement project, which decreased wait times for orthopedic surgery from 47 weeks to five weeks and will be a model to reduce wait times for other surgeries and procedures.

We’re doing a lot of things right. However, we must continue to invest in other improvements. We’ve approved regulations to allow pharmacists to prescribe some drug treatments. Mr. Speaker, something they will be looking at modifying and accommodating as much as possible are the regula- tion requests, as they table those later this fall, by the addition of other health professionals to assist in the definition of the final standards. These regulations fall under the Health Professions Act, and overall it’s a strategy to make the best use of health profession- als.

We’ll continue expanding our electronic health record so that patient information will be available to health professions by 2008 from all health authority regions. Regional health authorities will also be required to report how their mental health plans are address- ing mental health services. We’ve set priorities to address other demands. Managing growing costs in emerging technologies and pharmaceuticals, we’re working with our partners to ensure that we have the right mix of providers to meet our system needs. What are our system pressures?

Well, we’re blessed with a healthy economy, and that’s attracting people from all over the world. Recent numbers suggest that 90,000 people have moved to our province in the past year, a huge increase from the mid-90s. Our prosperity, though, remains a challenge to the quality of our health system. With changing demographics, people bringing their aging population with them to accommodate the needs of grandparents and great-grandparents, currently 10 per cent of Alberta’s population is 65 years of age and over, and this percentage is expected to increase to 13 per cent by 2016 and to 20 per cent by 2030.

The province’s population continues to shift from rural to urban centres, with one of the highest population growth rates in Canada at approximately 1.5 per cent per year. Other challenges include the cost of emerging technologies and pharmaceuticals, workforce shortage expectations, increased health spending, broad public health risks, mental health issues and challenges, and addiction issues. I can’t stress too much the fact that Albertans expect a high quality of health, and it is one of the reasons why, Mr. Speaker, we spend more on health than any other province in the country.

Over the next 10 years regional health authorities will be required to recruit 54,000 new workers. The Alberta Medical Association recently reported that the health system needs 1,100 more physicians right now, and this summer we’ve seen health regions struggling to maintain service in the face of staff shortage and increasing de- mands. The Northern Lights health region continues to cope with more than 150 staff v acancies caused by a hi ghly competitive job market in the Fort McMurray area. Some regions have temporarily closed emergency rooms, ICUs, and surgical units to deal with staff shortages.

This week the Calgary health region announced that it’ll be conducting an external review of its emergency care services, which are seeing huge volume incr eases year over year. We are concerned, and we need to take even more action. There is no question that we face enormous challenges. We are fortunate here in Alberta to be in a position to address these challenges. Health and Wellness is requesting $262 million in supplementary estimates for 2006-07.

Additional operating funding totalling $112 million will go to the nine regional health authorities and the Cancer Board to address cost pressures and the impact of the licensed practical nurses’ mediated settlement. In addition, funds totalling $150 million will be used by the RHAs and Alberta Cancer Board for diagnostic and medical equipment.

The operating funding represents an additional 2 per cent budget increase, bringing the overall operating increase that th e health authorities will receive from an average of over 6 per cent a year to just over 8 per cent, for a total of $6 billion to the health authorities. Approving this supplementary funding will help ensure that Albertans continue enjoying the best health system in the country and give confidence to health providers that we are indeed not in crisis. The RHA deficits that have been projected. Well, Mr.

Speaker, business plans for 2006-07 revealed that a $210 million deficit was projected for 10 health authorities, the exception being the Cancer Board, which projected a balanced operating budget. Even with the additional funding of $112 million, only Chinook, Aspen, and the Cancer Board are projected to be in a surplus position at the end of the year. I should point out, however, that even if the health authorities’ operating budgets are increased to an average of 8 per cent, the allocation is still below what the health regions have requested for this year.

The overall average increase requested by the health regions was 16.5 per cent. Operational funds will be used for such things as recruitment and retention, utility expenditures, and other general operating expenses.

Funds have been assigned to the regions on a population-based formula, so you’ll note that the Northern Lights health region, which includes Fort McMurray, will receive the largest percentage, 10.5 per cent in 2006-07, with the rest receiving between 7.4 per cent and 8.8 per cent in total operating funds for 2006-07. 3:40 Questions about the shadow population in Fort McMurray are not relevant when we’re talking operational dollars because as people receive health care services, whether they are in Fort McMurray or in Calgary or if they live in Red Deer, the money follows them.

There are transfers between regions and indeed between jurisdictions beyond our provincial borders. The additional operating funding will mean that the nine health regions receive an average increase of 8.1 per cent, which will go a considerable distance in helping them address their financial challenges. Thirty-one million will be provid ed to RHAs and the Alberta Cancer Board to address the impact of the LPN mediated settlement. The new collective agreement is retroactive to April 1, 2004, and extends to March 31, 2008.

The allocation is based on the number of LPN FTEs reported in each health authority for 2004-05. There are 2,900 LPNs registered in Alberta, and this is an important part of our health professional delivery system as the LPNs are recognized for their ability to make a valuable contribution to the changing needs of Albertans, particularly in long-term care. The capital funding of $150 million will be distributed to the nine health authorities for medical equipment. The health authorities will

Alberta Hansard August 24, 20061698 use the money for the capital priorities. This money is earmarked to purchase a range of diagnostic and medical equipment which will include MRIs, CT scanners, nuclear medicine equipment as well as surgical, patient, and safety equipment. Each RHA prioritizes their region’s equipment purchases. The funding will then help overall access to new or replacement state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging, laboratory, medical, and surgical equipment that can result in reduced wait times, earlier detection, and more effective treatment outcomes.

The capital funding will ensure that health authorities continue replacing medical equipment that has reached the end of its useful life. When we visited the Children’s hospital, we noted how much efficiency can be gained by diagnostics that reach all parts of the hospital through new and updated medical technology. This will save time. This will save money. This will save patients. This will save emergency capacity. This equipment can also be purchased any time with this money in the fiscal year. Accounting for the funds that will be spent under the grant is part of the quarterly financial reporting.

Eligible equipment is in four categories: diagnostic imaging, diagnostic and therapeutic, medical/surgical, patient safety. Not only is equipment important in improving access and outcomes; it’s a very visible outward sign of how we put patients’ needs at the centre of our health system. This capital funding is also important because new tec hnologies can enhance efficiencies in the health system. The regions will be able to use this money to both replace existing and purchase new technologies they don’t previously have. Mr.

Chair, this government wants to strengthen our public health care system, and that takes investment. While we face many challenges and cost pressures, we are in a position, a delightful opportunity here, to fund solutions and to find solutions. The supplementary funding for the health authorities will help fulfill this goal and will help Albertans to be assured that they have the strongest health system possible. Thank you. The Chair: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Centre. Ms Blakeman: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you for the opportunity, the very brief opportunity, I’m going to get to speak to the issue of the supplementary supply health funding in the province of Alberta. Let me start by saying that I appreciate what the minister is saying, that the government inte nds to do well and that they are looking at investment, but from where I’m sitting, that’s not good enough. This is the same government that ramped up the economy, that fired everybody on go, that whipped everyone into a frenzy, that doesn’t seem to be able to cope with any kind of a planning process on any level.

As a result of that, we now have an overheated economy, that the government now admits is overheated, and I maintain that there is a mismanagement of the growth in this province. Yes, we’ve had an enormous number of people move into the province, and some of them have been health professionals. But let’s remember where we started from. This is the very same government who spent most of the ’90s cut, cut, cutting in health care, blowing up hospitals, selling hospitals, particularly in Calgary. Now what do we have in Calgary? A capacity problem. Now we’re trying to build new beds and get new spaces in there.

I look at this and say: where’s the planning? Where’s the forethought? Where’s the foresight in this? If the government, with all of the resources at their disposal, cannot figure out how to plan in advance on this, we are truly sunk, and that does seem to be exactly what the situation is. They lay off all the nurses. They tell them rudely to leave and to go to the States and to get out, and then we’re paying signing bonuses to get them all back because we can’t get enough health professionals back into our system right now. So it’s a situation of money, but mo re than that, it’s a situation of planning.

It’s possible that in this resource-rich province we could get enough money back into the system. It’s still not going to solve our problem because we haven’t done the appropriate planning that goes with it. You need to plan for growth as well as planning for a reduction. I don’t see that kind of consciousness coming from this government. There are a number of issues that come up continually here, and I’m still not seeing them addressed by way of planning and policy from what the minister has just said. I took notes on a number of things, and I’ll refer as I go along.

We have a huge problem with health workforce, and I remind everyone that that is not just about doctors and nurses. It’s also about technicians. It’s about phy siotherapists. It’s about speech therapists. It’s about counsellors. It’s all of our health professionals that make our system work. We particularly have enormous pressures in Medicine Hat, in Grande Prairie, in Peace River, in Westlock. All of those have cited very specifically health workforce problems, and that has led to closures of various units and various beds in the locations that I just mentioned.

I’ve talked about the huge infrastructure capacity problem in Calgary but also a workforce capacity problem. Over the summer what we had happening in Calgary was operating rooms were left vacant. There was no business going on there because of staff nursing shortages. Fifteen beds were closed at the Foothills hospital renal unit from June until mid-September, the entire summer. Also, we were cut back by diagnostic procedures. About a thousand exams were not proceeded with because of a reduction in hours due once again to staff.

We had mental health beds that were closed for a month over the summer: all of this in the Calgary region. It’s not just about pouring more money in there b ecause, frankly, there aren’t the health professionals to hire if we had all the money in the world right now. Again we look to the government and say: where’s your planning on this? How many spaces are you going to open up? Questions today for the Minister of Advanced Education saying: where is this plan of how we’re going to get these people on stream?

I want to also look beyond that and go: okay, if we get enough health professionals in here within, let’s say, five or six years, which is what it’s going to take, what is your planning for year 10, for four or five years beyond that? Do we need to keep increasing at that same rate, or should we be starting to draw back? Government is the only one that can do t

Document details

Collection	Alberta — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	20060824
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	L26 S2 20060824 1330 01 han.pdf
Language	en
Format	json
Source	PROVINCIAL
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