Alberta Hansard — 17 March 2011, Afternoon sitting (13:30) (Legislature 27, Session 4)

20110317

Alberta — Debates (Hansard)

Province of Alberta The 27th Legislature Fourth Session Alberta Hansard Thursday, March 17, 2011 Issue 15 The Honourable Kenneth R. Kowalski, Speaker

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The 27th Legislature Fourth Session Kowalski, Hon. Ken, Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock, Speaker Cao, Wayne C.N., Calgary-Fort, Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees Mitzel, Len, Cypress-Medicine Hat, Deputy Chair of Committees Ady, Hon. Cindy, Calgary-Shaw (PC) Allred, Ken, St. Albert (PC) Amery, Moe, Calgary-East (PC) Anderson, Rob, Airdrie-Chestermere (WA), WA Opposition House Leader Benito, Carl, Edmonton-Mill Woods (PC) Berger, Evan, Livingstone-Macleod (PC) Bhardwaj, Naresh, Edmonton-Ellerslie (PC) Bhullar, Manmeet Singh, Calgary-Montrose (PC) Blackett, Hon.

Lindsay, Calgary-North West (PC) Blakeman, Laurie, Edmonton-Centre (AL), Official Opposition House Leader Boutilier, Guy C., Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo (WA) Brown, Dr. Neil, QC, Calgary-Nose Hill (PC) Calahasen, Pearl, Lesser Slave Lake (PC) Campbell, Robin, West Yellowhead (PC), Government Whip Chase, Harry B., Calgary-Varsity (AL), Official Opposition Whip Dallas, Cal, Red Deer-South (PC) Danyluk, Hon. Ray, Lac La Biche-St. Paul (PC) DeLong, Alana, Calgary-Bow (PC) Denis, Hon.

Jonathan, QC, Calgary-Egmont (PC), Deputy Government House Leader Doerksen, Arno, Strathmore-Brooks (PC), Deputy Government Whip Drysdale, Wayne, Grande Prairie-Wapiti (PC) Elniski, Doug, Edmonton-Calder (PC) Evans, Hon. Iris, Sherwood Park (PC) Fawcett, Kyle, Calgary-North Hill (PC) Forsyth, Heather, Calgary-Fish Creek (WA), WA Opposition Whip Fritz, Hon. Yvonne, Calgary-Cross (PC) Goudreau, Hon. Hector G., Dunvegan-Central Peace (PC) Griffiths, Doug, Battle River-Wainwright (PC) Groeneveld, George, Highwood (PC) Hancock, Hon. Dave, QC, Edmonton-Whitemud (PC), Government House Leader Hayden, Hon.

Jack, Drumheller-Stettler (PC) Hehr, Kent, Calgary-Buffalo (AL) Hinman, Paul, Calgary-Glenmore (WA), WA Opposition Deputy Leader Horne, Fred, Edmonton-Rutherford (PC) Horner, Doug, Spruce Grove-Sturgeon-St. Albert (PC) Jablonski, Hon. Mary Anne, Red Deer-North (PC) Jacobs, Broyce, Cardston-Taber-Warner (PC) Johnson, Jeff, Athabasca-Redwater (PC) Johnston, Art, Calgary-Hays (PC) Kang, Darshan S., Calgary-McCall (AL) Klimchuk, Hon. Heather, Edmonton-Glenora (PC) Knight, Hon. Mel, Grande Prairie-Smoky (PC) Leskiw, Genia, Bonnyville-Cold Lake (PC) Liepert, Hon.

Ron, Calgary-West (PC) Lindsay, Fred, Stony Plain (PC) Lukaszuk, Hon. Thomas A., Edmonton-Castle Downs (PC), Deputy Government House Leader Lund, Ty, Rocky Mountain House (PC) MacDonald, Hugh, Edmonton-Gold Bar (AL) Marz, Richard, Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills (PC) Mason, Brian, Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood (ND), Leader of the ND Opposition McFarland, Barry, Little Bow (PC) McQueen, Diana, Drayton Valley-Calmar (PC) Morton, F.L., Foothills-Rocky View (PC) Notley, Rachel, Edmonton-Strathcona (ND), ND Opposition House Leader Oberle, Hon. Frank, Peace River (PC) Olson, Hon.

Verlyn, QC, Wetaskiwin-Camrose (PC), Deputy Government House Leader Ouellette, Hon. Luke, Innisfail-Sylvan Lake (PC) Pastoor, Bridget Brennan, Lethbridge-East (AL), Official Opposition Deputy Whip, Official Opposition Deputy Leader Prins, Ray, Lacombe-Ponoka (PC) Quest, Dave, Strathcona (PC) Redford, Alison M., QC, Calgary-Elbow (PC) Renner, Hon. Rob, Medicine Hat (PC), Deputy Government House Leader Rodney, Dave, Calgary-Lougheed (PC) Rogers, George, Leduc-Beaumont-Devon (PC) Sandhu, Peter, Edmonton-Manning (PC) Sarich, Janice, Edmonton-Decore (PC) Sherman, Dr. Raj, Edmonton-Meadowlark (Ind) Snelgrove, Hon.

Lloyd, Vermilion-Lloydminster (PC) Stelmach, Hon. Ed, Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville (PC), Premier Swann, Dr. David, Calgary-Mountain View (AL), Leader of the Official Opposition Taft, Dr. Kevin, Edmonton-Riverview (AL) Tarchuk, Janis, Banff-Cochrane (PC) Taylor, Dave, Calgary-Currie (AB) VanderBurg, George, Whitecourt-Ste. Anne (PC) Vandermeer, Tony, Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview (PC) Weadick, Hon. Greg, Lethbridge-West (PC) Webber, Hon. Len, Calgary-Foothills (PC) Woo-Paw, Teresa, Calgary-Mackay (PC) Xiao, David H., Edmonton-McClung (PC) Zwozdesky, Hon.

Gene, Edmonton-Mill Creek (PC), Deputy Government House Leader Officers and Officials of the Legislative Assembly Clerk W.J. David McNeil Law Clerk/Director of Interparliamentary Relations Robert H. Reynolds, QC Senior Parliamentary Counsel/ Director of House Services Shannon Dean Manager – House Proceedings Micheline S. Gravel Parliamentary Counsel Stephanie LeBlanc Committee Research Co-ordinator Philip Massolin Sergeant-at-Arms Brian G. Hodgson Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms Chris Caughell Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms Gordon H.

Munk Managing Editor of Alberta Hansard Liz Sim Party standings: Progressive Conservative: 67 Alberta Liberal: 8 Wildrose Alliance: 4 New Democrat: 2 Alberta: 1 Independent: 1

Executive Council Ed Stelmach Premier, President of Executive Council, Chair of Agenda and Priorities Committee, Vice-chair of Treasury Board, Liaison to the Canadian Armed Forces Lloyd Snelgrove President of the Treasury Board, Minister of Finance and Enterprise Dave Hancock Minister of Education, Political Minister for Edmonton Iris Evans Minister of International and Intergovernmental Relations Mel Knight Minister of Sustainable Resource Development Luke Ouellette Minister of Transportation Rob Renner Minister of Environment Verlyn Olson Minister of Justice and Attorney General Yvonne Fritz Minister of Children and Youth Services, Political Minister for Calgary Jack Hayden Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Political Minister for Rural Alberta Ray Danyluk Minister of Infrastructure Gene Zwozdesky Minister of Health and Wellness Ron Liepert Minister of Energy Mary Anne Jablonski Minister of Seniors and Community Supports Len Webber Minister of Aboriginal Relations Heather Klimchuk Minister of Service Alberta Lindsay Blackett Minister of Culture and Community Spirit Cindy Ady Minister of Tourism, Parks and Recreation Hector Goudreau Minister of Municipal Affairs Frank Oberle Solicitor General and Minister of Public Security Jonathan Denis Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Thomas Lukaszuk Minister of Employment and Immigration Greg Weadick Minister of Advanced Education and Technology Parliamentary Assistants Evan Berger Sustainable Resource Development Manmeet Singh Bhullar Municipal Affairs Cal Dallas Finance and Enterprise Fred Horne Health and Wellness Broyce Jacobs Agriculture and Rural Development Jeff Johnson Treasury Board (Oil Sands Sustainable Development Secretariat) Diana McQueen Energy Janice Sarich Education Teresa Woo-Paw Employment and Immigration

STANDING AND SPECIAL COMMITTEES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ALBERTA Standing Committee on the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund Chair: Ms Tarchuk Deputy Chair: Mr. Elniski DeLong Forsyth Groeneveld Johnston MacDonald Quest Taft Standing Committee on Community Services Chair: Mr. Doerksen Deputy Chair: Mr. Hehr Allred Anderson Benito Bhullar Chase Johnston Notley Rodney Sarich Taylor Standing Committee on the Economy Chair: Mr. Bhardwaj Deputy Chair: Mr. Chase Amery Dallas Fawcett Hinman Johnson Lund Taft Tarchuk Taylor Woo-Paw Standing Committee on Health Chair: Mr.

McFarland Deputy Chair: Ms Pastoor Forsyth Griffiths Groeneveld Horne Lindsay Notley Quest Sherman Swann Vandermeer Standing Committee on Legislative Offices Chair: Mr. Mitzel Deputy Chair: Mr. Lund Bhullar Blakeman Campbell Hinman Lindsay MacDonald Marz Notley Quest Rogers Special Standing Committee on Members’ Services Chair: Mr. Kowalski Deputy Chair: Mr. Campbell Amery Anderson Bhullar Elniski Hehr Leskiw Mason Pastoor Rogers VanderBurg Standing Committee on Private Bills Chair: Dr.

Brown Deputy Chair: Ms Woo-Paw Allred Benito Boutilier Calahasen Dallas Doerksen Drysdale Hinman Horner Jacobs Kang Lindsay McQueen Morton Redford Sandhu Sarich Taft Xiao Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections, Standing Orders and Printing Chair: Mr. Prins Deputy Chair: Mr. Hancock Amery Berger Calahasen DeLong Doerksen Forsyth Groeneveld Hinman Jacobs Leskiw Lindsay McFarland Mitzel Notley Pastoor Quest Sherman Tarchuk Taylor Standing Committee on Public Accounts Chair: Mr. MacDonald Deputy Chair: Mr.

Rodney Allred Anderson Benito Calahasen Chase Dallas Elniski Fawcett Griffiths Groeneveld Kang Mason Sandhu Vandermeer Xiao Standing Committee on Public Safety and Services Chair: Mr. Drysdale Deputy Chair: Mr. Kang Boutilier Brown Calahasen Cao Forsyth Johnson MacDonald Rogers Sandhu Xiao Standing Committee on Resources and Environment Chair: Mr. Prins Deputy Chair: Ms Blakeman Anderson Berger Boutilier Hehr Jacobs Marz Mason McQueen Mitzel VanderBurg Select Special Ombudsman Search Committee Chair: Mr. Mitzel Deputy Chair: Mr. Lund Blakeman Hinman Lindsay Marz Notley Quest Rogers

March 17, 2011 Alberta Hansard 419 Legislative Assembly of Alberta Title: Thursday, March 17, 2011 1:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. Thursday, March 17, 2011 [The Speaker in the chair] head: Prayers The Speaker: Good afternoon. Welcome. Let us pray. Give to each member of this Legislature a strong and abiding sense of the g reat responsibilities laid upon us. Give us a deep and thorough understanding of the needs of the people we serve. Amen. Please be seated. head: Introduction of Guests The Speaker: The hon. Member for Athabasca-Redwater. Mr. Johnson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It’s a pleasure to rise and introduce to you and through you to members of this Assembly 25 grade 6 students from Neerlandia public Christian school within your constituency. They’re accompanied this afternoon by their teacher, Mr. Jim Bosma; assistant Brenda Gelderman; parent helpers Raine Kooger, Rudy Sybesma, Denise Stoik, Albert Slomp, and Arjan Koekkoek. They are seated in the public gallery this afternoon, and I’d like to ask them to please rise and receive the traditional warm welcome of this Assembly. Mr.

Speaker, I’ve got another group I’d like to introduce to you and through you, some students from my constituency. They’re from Thorhild central school. It was a pleasure to meet them this afternoon and have a picture taken on the steps. We’ve got 19 grade 6 students with us from the Thorhild central school and their teacher, Mike Popowicz, teacher’s assistant Sharon Lakusta, and parent Monique Hoffman. Monique’s husband, Nick, was in earlier in the week. It was a pleasure to have him in here as well.

They’re seated in the public gallery as well, and I’d like to ask them to rise and please receive the traditional warm welcome of this Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Deve l- opment. Mr. Hayden: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It’s indeed a pleasure for me today to introduce to you and through you to the Assembly 17 amazing students from Morrin elementary school, towards the south end of my constituency. These are quite poss i- bly some of the brightest and best-looking students in the province of Alberta.

I had a chance to have my picture taken with them on the steps today, and it was wonderful. They are accompanied t o- day by their teacher, Mr. Saltys, and also by 13 parents and aides, that I will not use the whole afternoon introducing. I invite all of my colleagues to join me in welcoming these wonderful students and their parents and teachers and aides. The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Advanced Education and Technology. Mr. Weadick: Thank you, Mr. S peaker. It’s a pleasure to rise today and introduce to you and through you to all members of this Assembly a good friend and constituent from Lethbridge.

He’s a businessman and a community volunteer. I’d like to just thank Mr. Mark Switzer for coming up to visit. I would ask that he receive the warm welcome of this Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Lesser Slave Lake. Ms Calahasen: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have the great pleasure of hosting an individual I’ve known for many, many years. I call her an old friend, but actually she’s a friend of old. She’s been involved for years in seeking equality for aboriginal people.

She’s president of the youth justice committee and has worked 23 years at the Solicitor General Staff College teaching aboriginal aw are- ness to all Justice employees. Of course, we had a really great lunch. She’s standing already. Her name is Lenda Fisher. I’d ask this Assembly to please give her a warm welcome. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Centre. Ms Blakeman: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. As you know, I represent the fabulous constituency of Edmonton-Centre .

In Edmonton-Centre there is a wonderful postsecondary institution called Grant MacEwan University, and inside of that is Minerva Senior Studies. We ha ve joining us today in the public gallery 11 seniors who are members of that wonderful institution. They are always a vigorous group, and I so enjoy our spring teas. With them today is their group leader, Ms Jo Whitford. I would ask the members of the Minerva Senior Studies to please rise and accept the warm welcome the Assembly. There they are. The Speaker: The hon. Deputy Speaker. Mr. Cao: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I’m pleased to introduce to you and through you to all members of this House Mimi Hui, executive director of the University of Alberta language learning program, and Tammy Ma, the program assistant, along with 20 government officials and civil servants from Vietnam. The Minis- ter of International and Intergovernmental Relations and myself met with this group early this afternoon. Their group leader is Mr. Hào, deputy director of the Department of Information and Com- munication.

Other guests include the director of the Red Cross, the director of the Agriculture Promotion Centre, the dean of the School of Politics, and public officials from various government departments and regions of Vietnam. They are here on a gover n- ment of Viet nam program to learn about Canadian culture and language. Now I would like to ask them to rise and receive the warm welcome from our Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Varsity. Mr. Chase: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m honoured to rise today to introduce to you and through you to all members a special guest who joins us in the public gallery.

Lori Sigurdson is the profe s- sional affairs co -ordinator for the Alberta College of Social Workers and is here today to be recognized in honour of N ational Social Work Month. Social workers find it extremely challenging to support families facing issues of poverty beyond their control. While many other provinces have implemented comprehensive poverty reduction strategies, Alberta remains without. I will rise again to make a statement on the college’s joint initiative for a poverty reduction strategy for Alberta, but in the meantime would the members of this House please give Lori a cordial greeting.

The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Meadowlark. Dr. Sherman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to introduce a young man. His name is Andrew Lineker. At the age of 13 he worked on Laurence Decore’s campaign, and after that he worked on Grant Mitchell’s campaign. Most recently he ran in the ma y- oral election, and I believe he finished fourth in Edmonton. When we bring these young people to the Legislature, they indeed one day will run for public service and, hopefully, one day will replace

420 Alberta Hansard March 17, 2011 us all. I’d like to thank Andrew for his commitment to public ser- vice and serving Alberta and serving Edmonton. I’d like him to rise to receive the traditional warm welcome of the Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Riverview. Dr. Taft: Thanks, Mr. Speaker. I have a guest today from out of province, actually. He’s from Victoria, B.C., and I’d like to intro- duce him to you and to all members of the Assembly. His name is Ryan Pineo.

He’s a legislative assistant to the government caucus in British Columbia, and he is spending some time here in Edmon- ton, watching how the Legislature of Alberta works in comparison to B.C.’s. I see he is standing in the public gallery. I’d ask every- one here to please give him a warm welcome. Thank you. head: Statement by the Speaker Election Anniversaries The Speaker: Hon. members, this weekend March 20 will mark the 22nd anniversary of the first election of two members of this Assembly. Congratulations to the hon. Member for Lesser Slave Lake, and congratulations to the hon.

Member for Rocky Moun- tain House. head: Members’ Statements St. Patrick’s Day Mr. McFarland: Mr. Speaker, this morning was the 26th annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in my home town of Carmangay, which has gained notoriety as being perhaps the shortest parade in the world. Residents and visitors at the post office gather for a one-block trek to the Grange Hotel for complimentary beer and/or Irish coffee. Today is a celebration for those of us of Irish descent and those who want to be for the day.

My siblings and I are especially proud to be the fifth-generation descendants of great-great-grandparents who came to York, Ontario, from county Tyrone in Northern Ire- land in 1850, before this was even a country. In 1898 my great- grandparents arrived in southern Al berta prior to us establishing ourselves as a province in 1905.

Our family is very proud of the history that we have, and I want to salute my brother Todd for the passionate work he’s done in putting together the family history that we can study in our homes. 1:40 You know, the history of all these people that came not just from Ireland but from all the other countries exemplifies the work and tenacity that they had in cr eating our province. They truly are the pioneers, those that came in those early years, not today’s seniors; I’m sorry.

I salute all my forebears for their tenacity, their pride, and their love, especially our Aunt Barb, th e last of our family’s fourth generation, who passed away this past year. The memento on your desk is a symbol of what she would have shared with you had you had the opportunity to visit her in her home in St. Albert. I guaran- tee it would have been a larger, fuller version. Her words would be: may the best day of your past be the worst day of your future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Varsity. Child Poverty Mr. Chase: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Social workers are among the most altruistic and caring citizens in Alberta. Each one makes a deliberate choice to dedicate their life to helping the less fortu- nate. Today the Alberta College of Social Workers is calling on this government to take real steps to reduce one of the most im- portant problems of our time, child poverty. According to the latest data approximately 53,000 children live in poverty, half of them living in single-parent Alberta families. Keep in mind that this data doesn’t take the recession into ac- count, so the current numbers must be even higher.

I’ve heard it’s closer to 80,000 these days. There are a number of positive steps a truly progressive gov- ernment could take to alleviate child poverty. For example, they could support the Alberta Liberal plan to provide hot lunch at school for at-risk kids. Hungry children have a hard time focusing on their schoolwork. This step would help address that problem by giving poor kids some of the help they need to succeed at school and, therefore, stand a better chance of escaping the cycle of pov- erty. This government should also look at the minimum wage.

Our current minimum wage of $8.80 an hour is the second lowest in the nation, and it has been deliberately frozen by Canada’s wealthiest provincial government. Over 60 per cent of minimum wage earners are women, many of them supporting children in poverty, yet this government won’t even raise Alberta’s minimum wage a measly 25 cents as recommended by the Committee on the Economy. Another 25 cents an hour doesn’t sound like much to anyone sitting in this Assembly, but to the working poor it can mean the difference between feeding their family or being forced to skip a few meals.

The list of proactive steps that could be taken goes on. Alberta needs far more affordable housing. Alberta’s high school comple- tion rate and the rate of st udents moving on to postsecondary education must both be drastically improved. Mr. Speaker, all three territories and 6 out of 10 provinces have action plans to reduce poverty. Albe rta is lagging behind, and as a result Albertans are falling behind as well. Let’s follow the advice of the College of Social Workers and join our fellow Canadians in ending the cycle of poverty. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Montrose.

Monterey Park Telecommunications Tower Mr. Bhullar: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Constituents in my area have raised concerns over plans to build a telecommuni- cations tower in Monterey Park. The structure itself will consist of a 25-metre-long stealth monopole tower. It appears the proposal may sit just metres from the homes of several of my constituents living on Del Monica Place. Specifica lly, this tower could be just metres from the homes of the D uong and Yanke families.

This is the second time these families have had to deal with a provider trying to put up a cellphone tower directly over their shared fence. I’m told that this site may be one of 300 to 400 which may be built in the city of Calgary. This has the potential to cause many families undue distress and force them to mobilize their communi- ties. Mr. Speaker, because telecommunications companies are feder- ally incorporated entities, it appears federal legislation or regula- tions set out the rules that essentially must be followed.

Therefore, I think that it’s due time that the CRTC and the federal govern- ment provide guidelines, number one, that put in place mechanisms that deal with applications that are submitted to ad- dress the same location so that families don’t have to through the same process twice.

March 17, 2011 Alberta Hansard 421 Number two, I have been informed that the CRTC has no reg u- lations to determine the physical distance between a wireless tower and a residence. This, too, Mr. Speaker, I thin k is a void on the part of the CRTC. As proposed, I do not support the construction of this tower, and I simply take the side of my constituents, who deserve a voice around the federal table. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Nose Hill. State of the Health Care System Dr. Brown: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Day after day we hear from some quarters of the House that Alberta’s health care system is somehow in crisis. What is seldom heard is that Alberta has a first-class health care system. My constituents tell me that they have health care when they need it. Let me share some examples of excellence in our system and how it continues to get better. From 2004 to 2008 Alberta had the highest percentage increase of physicians in all Canadian provinces, a 22.5 per cent increase.

Despite an aging demographic our stroke strategy has led to a 23 per cent decline in the numbers of stroke patients presenting in emergency departments and admitted to hospital. Emergency pa- tients who come in t o our emergency departments and have been seen, assessed, and are waiting for a bed dropped by 68 per cent in Calgary and 42 per cent in the Edmonton area since September alone. In our five-year health action plan we have the most progressive approach to renewing and strengthening the publicly funded health care system ever put in place by any provincial government in Canada.

Alberta is a Canadian leader in the advancement of medical research and technology, and we’re on track to have the best performing publicly funded health care system in Canada. I want to thank the 117,000 health care workers, 7,400 phys i- cians, hospital staff, nurses, therapists, orderlies, and those who clean the hospital rooms, all of whom perform countless thou- sands of tasks every d ay, not to mention the 15,000 volunteers who assist in our health facilities. They don’t get the recognition they should have for making Alberta’s universal, publicly funded health care system among the very best in the world.

The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Rutherford. National Cord Blood Bank Mr. Horne: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak about a new national program that will help thousands of Canadians and Albertans who require medical treatments that can involve the use of stem cells. On Monday, March 14, Canadian Blood Services and the Provincial and Territorial Blood Liaison Committee announced the national cord blood banking program. This national program will manage the collection and distribution of donated umbilical cord blood across Canada.

While Canada does have three cord blood banks, including the public Cord Blood Bank here in Alberta, there is no system in place, Mr. Speaker, that links them together. This program will make sure that any patient in Canada will have access to cord blood therapy no matter where they live. Umbilical cord blood is an important source for stem cells, which are used in transplant procedures, gene therapy, and to combat diseases such as leukemia and sickle cell disease. Cord blood stem cells are often a better option over bone marrow stem cells because they are less likely to be rejected by the patient.

Currently more than 800 patients need a blood stem cell trans- plant to help combat disease. Canada has access to more than 15 million potential stem cell donors and more than 460,000 cord blood units world-wide, but the needs of Canadian patients and Alberta patients are not all being met. That’s why this national program is so important. In 1996 Dr. John Akabutu founded the Alberta Cor d Blood Bank, which is the only public cord blood bank in Alberta. It is located in Edmonton, Mr. Speaker. It shows that we are a pioneer and a strong leader in this area.

With the launch of this national program we have a unique o p- portunity to share our experience and our expertise in cord blood therapy to provide a valuable resource to the rest of the country. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Highlands - Norwood. Minimum Wage Mr. Mason: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. T he Minister of Employment and Immigration had been dragging his feet on the minimum wage. He has had a report from the Standing Committee on the Economy since last October and taken no action.

The report of the committee, that has been under study by the m inister for five months, has seven simple recommendations and is only two pages in length. With plans for an increase in B.C. Alberta is again about to become the province with the lowest minimum wage in the nation. This is absolutely disgraceful. But this government is guilty of more than just foot -dragging on this issue. There was a process in place to make regular adjustments to minimum wage to keep up with the cost of living. They’ve cancelled that, Mr. Speaker, so low-wage workers are falling further and further behind.

This is in the face of increases, particularly in the area of food. The proposed increase in minimum wage, which the minister feels so little urgency about, would mean $2 more a day for a full - time worker. This government won’t take action on that, but they can find $1.4 billion in drilling incentives for big oil companies. 1:50 Trying to have a decent life on a low income creates tremen d- ous stress. It affects health. It affects safety. It affects the success of children. It creates huge and unnecessary additional social costs of all sorts.

A society that leaves some of its people behind will pay a larger price for that along the way and for a very long time. Most provinces in this country not only have significantly hig h- er minimum wage levels; they have moved on to focus on eliminating poverty with comprehensive plans that include atte n- tion to the idea of a living wage. Mr. Speaker, the committee’s report recommends that Alberta get to work on this as well. Failure to act immediately on a minimum wage increase and to start working on poverty reduction is to abandon Albertans to a life of unnecessary struggle.

It’s time this minister acted and made a clear commitment to a livable minimum wage. Thank you. head: Statement by the Speaker Oral Question Period Rules The Speaker: Hon. members, before the Clerk calls question period, just a few comments of guidance with respect to the u p- coming Oral Question Period. Yesterday afternoon we had a rather lengthy discussion in this House about decorum, about

422 Alberta Hansard March 17, 2011 manners, about the rules associated with question period. I had tabled on all members’ desks some documents out of Beauchesne dealing with, I believe, sections 403 to 420. In addition to that, certain guides were read into the Hansard, and e mphasis was placed on such things as

preambles –

preambles on the first que s- tion, not on the two following ones – brevity, clarity, and no provocation. Those were the wishes. The chair indicated as well that he would be intervening. The chair does not want to intervene but will if required. head: Oral Question Period The Speaker: First Official Opposition main question. The hon. Leader of the Official Opposition. Patient Advocacy by Physicians Dr. Swann: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

The Alberta Medical Association supports the opposition call for a public i n- quiry into allegations of government intimidation of physicians who raise concerns over health care delivery. In a letter AMA president Patrick White wrote: There are concerns that, when speaking out, physicians may not feel they will be heard or may fear negative consequences . . . One proposal being put forward is that government should call a full public inquiry regarding the issue of intimidation . . . The AMA will support and cooperate with such an approach if [it] occurs.

To the Premier: with the AMA now supporting the opposition, will the Premier call an independent, judge -led public inquiry and restore . . . The Speaker: The hon. the Premier. Mr. Stelmach: Mr. Speaker, the hon. member forgot to read the rest of the letter, where it says: While I am not an expert in the various approaches that may be taken, an open and full review is needed to clear the air and move forward. The AMA will support and cooperat e with such an approach if this occurs. Dr. Swann: Mr.

Speaker, will the Premier finally concede that only a public inquiry will allow doctors to come forward without threats of intimidation, and only an inquiry can subpoena wi t- nesses, including your own ministers? Mr. Stelmach: Mr. Speaker, the AMA supports a review to clear the air, and just hot off the press: the Health Quality Council is- sued their terms of reference. They went to the media, they went to all Albertans, and we’ve just received them. One of the terms of reference, of course, is to hear physicians advocate on behalf of their patients to the Health Quality Council. Dr. Swann: Well, Mr.

Speaker, the refusal of the Premier to call a public inquiry clearly shows he’s afraid of what they might fi nd. What is it you’re afraid of, Mr. Premier? Mr. Stelmach: Mr. Speaker, once again, the Health Quality Council just informed all Albertans of the terms of reference. They are very clear, and one of the terms, of course, is to review “the role and ability of physicians to advocate for patients” and whether it is compromised. That, to me, is very clear. The Speaker: Second Official Opposition main question. The hon. Leader of the Official Opposition. Dr. Swann: Mr.

Speaker, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. There’s an alarming trend of doctors coming forward and being called mentally unstable by this government for speaking out for their patients. The list continues to grow: Dr. McNamee, Dr. Maybaum, Dr. Fannin g, the hon. Member for Edmonton- Meadowlark, and recently Dr. Nunes. Incredibly, in the case of Dr. Nunes he fought back for five years, and a court finally ruled the allegations of mental instability were unsupported. His priv i- leges were reinstated. How many doctors and health care professionals, Premier, like Dr. McNamee and Dr.

Nunes will have to come forward, risking their reputations before . . . The Speaker: The hon. the Premier. Mr. Stelmach: Mr. Speaker, this government, to my knowledge, has not, aga inst the names that have been listed there, issued any opinion on the mental state of any of the physicians. The compe- tency of physicians, the licence to practice is done through the College of Physicians and Surgeons and is not the responsibility of the minister nor of the Premier. Dr. Swann: To the Premier: is what happened to Dr.

Nunes’ repu- tation what this Premier had in mind when he advised all health professionals with concerns of wrongdoing to directly report to Alberta Health Services? Is that what you had in mind? Mr. Stelmach: Mr. Speaker, the doctor that the member is refer- ring to: I have no knowledge of his concerns raised to Alberta Health Services, and the other is that, again, it’s not my respons i- bility or the minister of health’s to deal with situations that may come up, differences of opinion between physicians, their e m- ployer, which is Alberta Health Services, their college, or the AMA. Dr. Swann: Mr.

Speaker, the list of damning allegations grows daily. Will the Premier finally answer the question: will you call a public inquiry and put this issue to bed? Mr. Stelmach: Mr. Speaker, once again, I’ve answered this ques- tion many times. I’ve asked the minister to have the Health Quality Council conduct a full review. We’ve now just recently received all of the terms of reference that the Health Quality Council will be operating under. They are extremely broad and give the Health Quality Council a lot o f latitude to hear all of the evidence that is necessary to conduct a good review.

The Speaker: Third Official Opposition main question. The hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar. Settlement Agreement with Dr. Ciaran McNamee Mr. MacDonald: The Government Organization Act clearly ou t- lines the authority and the responsibility for each and every ministry. The Premier is the final authority as the President of Executive Council. My first question is to the Premier.

Given that this government reported in 2009 in it s books a $1.6 million se v- erance payment to the former chief executive officer of the Calgary health region, Jack Davis, why was this settlement deal made public while the settlement deal with Dr. Ciaran McNamee is hidden somewhere in this government’s books? Mr. Stelmach: Mr. Speaker, the Calgary regional health board was appointed by government, the CEO, and it’s the same legisl a- tion that applies to other CEOs that work for boards that are under the auspices of the government, including, I believe, even s uperin-

March 17, 2011 Alberta Hansard 423 tendents of various organizations that report to government. Those salaries are made public according to our legislation. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. MacDonald: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again to the Premier: given that this government reported in 2009 in its books the $1.5 million severance payment made to the CEO of the Capital health authority, Sheila Weatherill, why again is the settlement deal with Dr. Ciaran McNamee hidden somewhere in this government’s books? Mr. Stelmach: The same answer I gave to the first question al- though a different doctor.

Again, we have a responsibility according to the legislation that we have passed in this Legisla- ture. Those that are CEOs of those operations that report directly to government: those salaries are then made public and also any of the contractual obligations that we might have entered into. Mr. MacDonald: Mr. Speaker, again to the Premier. Given that his government promised that they would be open and transparent, another example, this time in 2009. Dr. Jean-Michel Turc, CEO of the Alberta Cancer Board, received a severance payment of $1.8 million. Why is this settlement deal public while the deal with Dr.

Ciaran McNamee is hidden somewhere in the books of this gov- ernment? Explain that, please. Mr. Stelmach: Mr. Speaker, once again, the doctor he was refer- ring to was reporting to the CEO of the cancer board, which reported directly to the minister of health. Once again, we are following the legislation that was passed in the House. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Glenmore. Patient Advocacy by Physicians (continued) Mr. Hinman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Earlier this week the Premier accused opposition parties of playing political football by asking for a public inquiry into the government’s intimidation of physicians and public health care professionals. Today the AMA president released a letter saying, “AMA supports a public in- quiry.” To the Premier: is the president of the AMA playing political football by supporting a public inquiry? 2:00 Mr. Stelmach: Mr. Speaker, once again a shorter quote according to this member than the previous member. Let me again read it into the record, and I have the copies here to table at the conclu- sion.

It says: One proposal being put forward is that government should call a full public inquiry regarding the issue of intimidation. While I am not an expert in the various approaches that may be taken, an open and full review is needed to clear the air and move for- ward. The AMA will support and cooperate with such an approach if this occurs. Funny how they always miss the last three words. Mr. Hinman: The AMA supports a public inquiry. To the Pre- mier: given that the AMA president in today’s St.

Patrick’s Day letter says that a public inquiry is needed to clear the air and move forward regarding the issue of physician intimidation, will you now call a full, independe nt public inquiry with the full power to subpoena witnesses and compel evidence? Mr. Stelmach: Mr. Speaker, once again it’s very clear. In the terms of reference that were released just a few minutes ago by the Health Quality Council, they’re telling all Albertans that they are going to ensure the role and abilit y of physicians to advocate for their patients, whether that was compromised.

They’ll be able to hear all the evidence and anybody that wants to come forward and appear before the council. Mr. Hinman: The pressure will keep building. Again to the Premier: given that in order to run a health care system you actually need doctors willing to perform surgeries and treat patients here in Alberta an d given that those doctors are to- day calling for a public inquiry to clear the air and move forward, will you support our doctors or continue to protect your political hide at the expense of Alberta’s health? Mr. Stelmach: Mr.

Speaker, comments coming from a party that just sent 30 physicians to Vietnam. Mr. Anderson: Point of order. The Speaker: Point of order. Okay. The hon. Member for Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood. Bruce Power Mr. Mason: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. This Minister of Energy has steadfastly refused to answer questions about nuclear power in Alberta and the government’s covert support for Bruce Power and its plans to build a nuclear reactor in Alberta.

Given the emerging catastrophe in Japan, Albertans deserve clear answers about this government’s involveme nt with Bruce Power and its plans to build a nuclear reactor in our province. Will the minister come clean with Albertans and tell them exactly what’s going on behind closed doors between this government and Bruce Power? Mr. Liepert: Well, Mr. Speaker, I hate to disappoint the hon. member, but I’ve seen no application from Bruce Power to con- struct a nuclear plant in Alberta. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Mason: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, given that former PC campaign manager Randy Dawson wa s a paid lobbyist for Bruce Power and given that this government has been involved in dozens of meetings behind closed doors with Bruce Power and its paid lobbyist, will the minister commit to putting on the record every single piece of correspondence, meeting, and topic discussed be- tween this government, its agencies, and nuclear industry lobbyists? Yes or no. Mr. Liepert: Mr. Speaker, I’ve never met with Bruce Power. I do not know anyone that works for Bruce Power.

If the member is asking for this government to put on record such documents, I would suggest there’s an appropriate place on the Order Paper to ask for that. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Mason: Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker.

Well, given that Bruce Power donated $17,000 to the PC Party between 2008 and ’09 alone, $990 of which was to the constituency association of the MLA for Dunvegan-Central Peace, and given that Trans- Canada Pipelines, one of the comp anies that owns Bruce Power, donated $119,000 to the PCs between 2004 and 2009, will the minister admit that this Tory government is working hand in glove with Bruce Power to bring incredibly dangerous nuclear power plants to Alberta and is deliberat ely hiding that fact from the peo- ple of this province?

424 Alberta Hansard March 17, 2011 Mr. Liepert: No, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: The hon. Leader of the Official Opposition, fol- lowed by the hon. Member for Cypress-Medicine Hat. Health Quality Council Review Dr. Swann: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week, just hours before the McNamee allegations surfaced, the Premier inexplicably re- versed course to support a H ealth Quality Council review. Yesterday the damning allegations from Dr.

Nunes surfaced, and within an hour there’s an open letter to physicians from Alberta Health Services extolling the virt ues of doctors bringing concerns forward in an open Alberta Health Services environment. Now with the AMA statement the Heal th Quality Council of Alberta released its concerns and its terms of reference. To the minister: was the minister’s office aware that the McNamee lawsuit would be released by the media before you made your decision and the government made its decision to support the health quality re- view? Mr. Zwozdesky: No, Mr. Speaker, I was not personally aware.

However, what I think is important to note is that a lot of what this hon. member is talking about falls into that category: that was then; this is now. I’ll tell you what we have now. We have a three- way letter signed by the Health Services, the College of Physi- cians and Surgeons, and the Alberta Medical Association that clearly states what patient advocacy is all about. We also have Alberta Health Services medical staff bylaws, which clearly say that it’s their duty and their re sponsibility. Today we have the Health Quality Council terms of re ference that’s going to be look- ing into this further.

The Speaker: The hon. leader, please. Dr. Swann: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Wa s the minister of health aware that Dr. Chris Eagle would distribute the open letter to phy- sicians as a response to Dr. Nunes’ allegations outlining a culture of fear and intimidation? Mr. Zwozdesky: Mr. Speaker, what I am aware of is that three very respected doctors, specifica lly Dr. Chris Eagle, Dr. David Megran, and Dr. Francois Belanger, issued a letter I believe it was yesterday.

It was an open letter to physicians, that went out to about 90,000 people in the system, telling them essentially what I just said in the last series of answers, and that was that there is a duty here for . . . Dr. Swann: Well, Mr. Speaker, I think most people know that sunshine is the best disinfectant. I’m sure this minister knows that. Will you push forward for a public inquiry and clear the air on intimidation and threats and potential financial misconduct? Mr. Zwozdesky: Mr.

Speaker, clearly, he’s not yet aware – per- haps I should make him aware – of the fact that the Health Quality Council just probably an hour or so ago released their terms of reference. That looks to me like the first step in a process for an independent review that’s going to look into quality of care and safety of patients and the role and process of physician advocacy, and very soon they will appoint a blue-ribbon panel to effectuate this. The Speaker: There may be some tablings required here. Be ready to do them later. The hon. Member for Cypress-Me dicine Hat, followed by the hon. Member for Calgary-Buffalo.

Spring Flooding in Southern Alberta Mr. Mitzel: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our agriculture industry through no fault of its own is once again experiencing some chal- lenges with excess moisture in southern Alberta. Producers and residents are already seeing some localized flooding as a result of the snowmelt. In fact, there’s one area so far that is under flood alert. I’m also receiving calls from other areas of my large con- stituency. My question is to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. Are the pumps you me ntioned last week still avail- able? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr.

Hayden: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, they are, and there are, in fact, some more pum ps being moved into position in southern Alberta. These pumps ar e available for producers at no cost, as they were last year. We also have them available for the Alberta Emergency Management Agency and Alberta Environ- ment, and they are spread among the communities now to try and respond quickly. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Mitzel: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Following up on that, to the same minister: given that you me ntioned that these pumps have been strategically placed and th ey could easily divert a large amount of water, what’s the process for accessing these pumps? Mr. Hayden: Well, application requests for the pumps actually go through ARD’s water-pumping progr am. We’ve already alerted our drivers and our delivery people to be able to respond on a moment’s notice because we know th at the situation is very seri- ous.

It’s important to note that a number of risk management and crop insurance programs are also available through FSC to help address some of these flooding problems. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Mitzel: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My next supplemental is to the Minister of Municipal Affairs. Will the mitigation efforts that you mentioned last week such as the Candam material and others be made available right now for our residents who require them? Mr. Goudreau: Mr. Speaker, we’ve assisted the municipalities in their role by providing flood mitigation equipment. Eighty-three thousand sandbags are on location now.

There’s an additional 80,000 bags that were ordered today through Service Alberta, and 30 metres of Candam is on location. I’ve confirmed this morning with municipalities that this government will be providing $1 million in grant funding to support those and other short-term mitigation efforts. Municipalities are responsible for determining the best way to use and allocate those resources based on their local priorities. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Buffalo, followed by the hon. Member for Red Deer-South. Heartland Electricity Transmission Line Mr. Hehr: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

This government’s heartland 500-kilovolt transmission project will have significant impacts on the people living in the county of Strathcona and the city of Ed-

March 17, 2011 Alberta Hansard 425 monton. This high-voltage power line is scheduled to be built in close proximity to homes, schools, daycares, hospitals, and env i- ronmentally sensitive areas. To the Minister of Energy: does the minister deny that there are health impacts to residents in close proximity to the above -ground high -voltage power lines that are going to be built? 2:10 The Speaker: Hon. minister, if it’s an opinion, it doesn’t count. Government policy. Mr. Liepert: Well, I think it’s important, Mr.

Speaker, to put some facts on the record because this member has just made some allegations or comments that I think need to be refuted. First of all, there is a hearing by the Alberta Utilities Commis- sion that will commence next month. All of the facts will be laid before the commission, including anyone who wants to lay sup- posed health facts before the commission. All I can say is that Health Canada monitors these situations. There are no known risks acco rding to Health Canada with electric currents in any form. Mr. Hehr: Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for that answer.

I guess the follow-up is: are these citizens wrong to insist that these high-voltage power lines that will be going up in their neighbour- hood should be buried underground? Mr. Liepert: Again, Mr. Speaker, I’m not saying anybody is right or wrong. All I’m saying is that we are doing what we should be doing: having a full, open, independent hearing on these power lines. In addition to that, we are using statistical data that Health Canada has on its website, if the member would like to take a look. We’re trusting those who are experts. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Hehr: Well, I thank you.

So just confirming here, this gov- ernment is open to other options besides running these high- powered lines above ground in Strathcona. Is that what I’m hea r- ing? Mr. Liepert: Well, Mr. Speaker, I think this member was in the Legislature when we approved Bill 50 with four critical transmis- sion lines; one of them is the heartland transmission line. Within that, however, the process is that the Alberta Utilities Commission will determine such things as siting, cost allocation, and that’s what will be the subject of the hearing next month. Postsecondary Education for Rural Students Mr. Dallas: Mr.

Speaker, while Alberta has a number of excellent rural colleges, there are other communities who would like an institution of their own. It is believed that this would make pos t- secondary education accessible to more Albertans and reduce expenses for students who need to commute or relocate. My que s- tions today are for the Minister of Advanced Education and Technology. The ministry’s goal is to increase options and oppor- tunities for Alberta students. Are we not consider ing more rural colleges? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Weadick: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We’re always look- ing for opportunities to deliver new programming and new courses across the province. In fact, as we speak, Northern Lakes College is looking at a new facility in Gift Lake to help create opportun i- ties for students in the northern part of our province. We also look at online opportunities like eCampus Alberta, which will have close to 20,000 courses delivered this year and is providing oppor- tunities to many, many students across the province right at home. Mr. Dallas: Mr. Speaker, my first supplemental is to the same minister.

Some programs aren’t feasible to deliver online or r e- quire specialized facilities. What supports are available for students who do have to relocate? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Weadick: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We appreciate that many students must travel to access the courses and the programs that they need, so we have a full range of programming and supports for students. We have loans available as well as housing opport u- nities. We try to make it as easy as possible for students to access those programs.

In fact, now a master’s degree can be delivered online in Camrose from the University of Alberta, so students c an stay in a rural setting while taking a course that’s only available in Edmonton. Mr. Dallas: Mr. Speaker, my final question to the same minister: what are you doing to expand the programs that are currently available at rural colleges? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Weadick: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a very i m- portant area across the province. Many of our communities want to keep their young people at home as much as possible.

I know that right now there are discussions in Red Deer and Medicine Hat about increasing degree opportunities for young people in those communities to be able to stay at home and take an extra degree there. So we’re working with them. In fact, this year in our budget there’s funding available to allow those schools to work with uni- versities to provide those degree opportunities. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Centre , followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Ellerslie. Arts Funding Ms Blakeman: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My questions are to the mini ster of culture.

The minister backed off on a dec i- sion to cancel the funding of artists associated with schools. He backed off on a decision to discriminate against arts groups and artists associated with municipalities. What was the reasoning behind pushing forward with the cancellation of funding to artists and arts groups associated with universities? Mr. Blackett: Well, first of all, Mr. Speaker, I didn’t back off the funding to schools or to postsecondary. That was somebody in our department who had had that conversation with someone, that was not supported by myself.

We’re not backing off any cuts because we aren’t making any cuts. Ms Blakeman: Given that the minister is on record as saying, “We all have to take our medicine; we all have to tighten our belts; everybody has to share the burden,” why have the artists associated with universities been chosen for special discriminatory action? You have cut their programs. Mr. Blackett: Mr. Speaker, yes, I said that we all have to share in our burden. That was in Budget 2010 -11. My department had a 16 per cent cut across the board, and we had to share the pain right

426 Alberta Hansard March 17, 2011 across the board, from heritage to the arts to the not -for-profit sector to the Human Rights Commission. This year in the budget, which we will discuss, there is none of that, but we can discuss that at estimates. Ms Blakeman: Well, the minister has said that artists are very well taken care of, and I’m curious how the minister believes that artists associated with universities are very well taken care of when the funding for their programs was cut and not restored. Mr. Blackett: Mr.

Speaker, for lots of artis ts, lots of arts organ i- zations, when you have a 16 per cent cut to your budget – guess what? – everybody has to take a little less. As I said, our budget has not yet been discussed for this year, so any assumption on that will have to be discussed at the estimates. The Speaker: Members may wish to note that the estimates for the Department of Culture and Community Spirit will be reviewed in this Assembly on the afternoon of March 23. The hon. Member for Edmonton- Ellerslie, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Strathcona. Heartland Electricity Transmission Line (continued) Mr.

Bhardwaj: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. One of the 500-kV power lines is proposed to be constructed within or very near to the homes in my constituency of Edmonton-Ellerslie . My constituents are very concerned about the need for these lines as well as the negative health, safety, property value, and enviro n- mental impacts. My questions are to the Minister of Energy. Given that some of the upgrader projects in the heartland area are on hold or have been cancelled . . . The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Liepert: Mr.

Speaker, there has been some confusion or some misunderstanding that somehow the heartland transmission line was only part of the four critical transmission lines to serve the Industrial Heartland and the development there. What is really important, that needs to be on the record, is that the greatest growth area in the province in the next 20 years, in fact I’d say in the country, is the entire northeast part of Alberta. Also, part of that is cogeneration, wherein . . . The Speaker: The hon. member, please. Mr. Bhardwaj: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

It’s been brought to my attention that to bury the heartland transmission lines, the cost is 8.9 per cent more than the overhead lines. Once again a question to the Minister of Energy: if this is the case, with safety concerns in mind, wouldn’t this be a better option? Mr. Liepert: Mr. Speaker, I think I want to finish the first answer because the answer to the supplementary is that that will be a d e- cision made by the Alberta Utilities Commission as part of the hearings that commence next month.

But we need to ensure that the fastest growing area of power generation in Alberta is going to be cogeneration from the oil sands, that needs to get into the grid. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Bhardwaj: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My final question to the same minister: what cost -related measures are in place to ensure that the building of transmission lines remains reasonable in terms of construction costs and in terms of burying the line? Mr. Liepert: Well, again, Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned previously, the whole allocation of costs is part of the Utilities Commission hearing that will take place.

One of the things that I’m sure will be part of the proposal is that one option is burying the lines. Of course, that’s a decision the Utilities Commission will make, and they will provide some options as part of their recommendation, I’m sure. The Speaker: Hon. Member for Airdrie -Chestermere, you stand still when the chair speaks, please. It’s one of the d ecorum things. I know it’s tough. And you’re walking now between the chair and the hon. member, which is a no- no. Walk behind, please. Thank you very much. The hon. Member for Edmonton-Strathcona , followed by the hon.

Member for Lethbridge East. 2:20 Health Quality Council Review (continued) Ms Notley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have reviewed the Health Quality Council terms of reference. Given that the Health Quality Council investigation still only has limited access to information, can’t compel witnesses, and cannot promise to protect those who might otherwise volunteer to be interviewed, my question is to the minister of health. Will he admit that the Health Quality Council is simply not equipped to crack the culture of fear and agree, i n- stead, to an inquiry process that is? The Speaker: The hon. minister of health. Mr.

Zwozdesky: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In fact, the letter that I wrote on March 12 to the Health Quality Council on page 2 does say, “This independent Review shall be provincial in scope and is to be conducted utilizing

Section 9 of the Alberta Evidence Act in order to maintain evidentiary privilege over the provision of documents and evidence of participants.” Then I also said, “The Council shall also take whatever steps it deems necessary to main- tain confidentiality of the people who participate within this process.” Ms Notley: Well, Mr. Speaker, that does not address the issue of immunity.

Given that the AMA voice has joined the chorus calling for a public inquiry into intimidation in the h ealth care system, an issue that cannot and will not be addressed through your kangaroo court, why won’t the minister of health listen to the health profe s- sionals that he’s been ignoring and agree to a judicial inquiry? Mr. Zwozdesky: Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago and over the last several days, in fact, they were asking for the Health Quality Council to come in and do a review. We’ve now ordered that to be done. It will be independent. They took the first step today.

They released a very reasonable, a very sensible set of terms of refer- ence. They’ve also indicated that they will be appointing “a panel of experts . . . to assist and advise the [HQCA Council] in this review.” Let’s give them a chance to do that. Ms Notley: Mr.

Speaker, th e minister denies the health system’s culture of intimidation, but given that the current code of conduct orders employees to refrain from publicly discussing confidential information about AHS business and to balance what they say against its impact on th e reputation of AHS, how can the minister deny that these directions force health staff every day to ask

March 17, 2011 Alberta Hansard 427 whether they should be more worried about patients, the reput a- tion of Alberta Health Services, or their jobs? Mr. Zwozdesky: Mr. Speaker, I don’t think that’s what’s occur- ring, but I would like to quote from the open letter that was sent to all physicians yesterday by Alberta Health Services. It says on page 2, “The AHS Code of Conduct does not restrict a physician or other practitioner to speak out, qui te the opposite. In essence, we are required to bring our concerns forward,” and it goes on. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Lethbridge-East, followed by the hon.

Member for Livingstone-Macleod. Spring Flooding in Southern Alberta (continued) Ms Pastoor: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Unfortunately, here we go again as residents of the Medicine Hat area brace for new floo d- ing. No. I’m sorry. They’re bracing for excessive moisture. The response to last year’s excessive moisture was poorly prepared and, in fact, f inally contracted out to a private firm to handle. To the Minister of Municipal Affairs: what tangible changes have been made to ensure that Albertans will see a more timely and better co-ordinated response this year? Mr. Goudreau: Mr.

Speaker, the person asking the question is making assumptions that we’re going to be facing exactly the same experiences as we did last year. Last year’s certainly was a very sudden storm, and the communities were taken unprepared. This year we are monitoring the situation a lot closer. As I identi- fied to the previous member, we are providing $1 million in funding for temporary flood mitigation efforts in both of the communities out there. The Speaker: Thank you very much. The hon. member, please.

Ms Pastoor: Can the minister confirm if the province is still dea l- ing with any outstanding flood claims from last year? Mr. Goudreau: I think I answered that earlier this week, Mr. Speaker. We are basically about 98 per cent done on the residen- tial claims. There are still a number of claims that are outstanding. As we receive additional information, we process individual a p- plications, and we’ll continue to work with individual applicants that were affected last year as time moves along. The Speaker: The hon. member. Ms Pastoor: Thank you.

Given that Municipal Affairs required an additional $191 million in unbudgeted funds to help pay for last year’s flooding, excessive moisture, should the province not be setting aside more than the $200,000 it currently budgets for disas- ter recovery? Mr. Goudreau: Mr. Speaker, disaster recovery programs are very, very unpredictable, and we don’t know when we’re going to need them. We’ve got a process in place to access dollars, and we’ve been using that particular process.

This past ye ar we’ve declared just about a dozen DRPs, or disaster recovery programs, throughout the province, and we’ve been able to access those funds as we’ve needed them. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Livingstone -Macleod, fo l- lowed by the hon. Member for Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo. Grain Transportation Mr. Berger: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Many grain and oilseed farmers in southern Alberta are telling me they are unable to sell or ship their produce due to full elevators and a backed-up shi p- ping system. To the m inister of agriculture: what is the reason for the backlog and delay in shipping?

The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Hayden: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think it’s important to point out that the problem is primarily in the Canadian Pacific area of th e province. I have heard from people myself, and of course it’s delays in delivery. CP tells us there are a number of reasons: shortages of rail cars, delays due to extreme weather, avalanches, strained capacity. But I also understand that the Can a- dian Wheat Board and grain companies such as Viterra are trying to work directly with CP now to speed the system up. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Berger: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Back to the same minister: what is your ministry’s role in trying to address this issue? Mr. Hayden: Well, Mr. Speaker, we’ve worked in a number of areas, and we know that this is a very important issue. We are continuing to encourage our federal counterparts to take action on the issue, and we are asking them to include in that a federal rail freight service review. This just highlights the need for marketing choice for producers. If they had other options, they could ship some through the United States but also find their own customers and make some shipping options available. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr.

Berger: Thank you. Back again to the same minister: is there any action that our producers can take to help alleviate the situ a- tion in the shipping with CP? Mr. Hayden: Well, really, Mr. Speaker, the only option available to the producers themselves – and we encourage them to do this – is to pressure CP directly through their MPs to get these issues resolved. We also encourage grain shippers to file a level of ser- vice complaint to the Canadian Transportation Agency. We believe that will get them some results. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Fort McMurray -Wood Buffalo, followed by the hon.

Member for Bonnyville-Cold Lake. Penhorwood Apartment Evacuations Mr. Boutilier: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. In my co n- stituency over 350 residents in Fort McMurray who own or rent condos in a seven -building complex are now homeless. The i m- pact is almost like there was an earthquake. They clearly feel there is a state of emergency. Does the Minister of Municipal Affairs, responsible for emergency management in Alberta, feel that this is a state of emergency, and is he taking the appropriate action? Mr. Goudreau: Mr.

Speaker, the hon. member, having been a past Minister of Municipal Affairs, should know better. He is aware of the processes of declaring disaster recovery programs. He was, I believe, minister when those particular buildings were built and was in charge of the Safety Codes Act at that particular time. There is a process in place, and, you know, often a disaster may not be declared if there is . . .

428 Alberta Hansard March 17, 2011 The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Boutilier: Given that the minister just said no and he’s not willing to help the residents, to the minister again: will you d e- clare a state of emergency in helping these almost 400 citizens that are homeless right now? Mr. Goudreau: Mr. Speaker, we are in touch with the individual municipalities. The municipality is aware of the various services that are available to those individuals that were displaced from the properties. If it’s a matter of health, they can work with the mini s- try of health.

If it’s a matter of, you know, financial needs and meeting those financial needs, then there are other avenues through the Minister of Employment and Immigration and their particular offices. So there are a numb er of options that are avai l- able to those particular individuals. Mr. Boutilier: Given, Mr. Speaker, that this minister said that he’s out of touch with what is going on, in my

interpretation of what he just said, will he help these 400 citizens that are h elpless as opposed to giving us this bureaucratic protocol rather than . . . The Speaker: The hon. minister. [interjection] Okay. Okay. Okay. We all know the rule we all agreed to. The hon. member was here yesterday. Mr. Goudreau: Mr. Speaker, we’re going to do everything we can to help the individual people. There’s no doubt, as I indicated before, that we have services that will deal with individuals in situations like this one and in other situations.

As I indicated, if residents need emergency support, they can certainly visit one of our Alberta Works offices, and those could help in terms of cove r- ing things like utility arrears or damage deposits or rental arrears. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Bonnyville -Cold Lake , fo l- lowed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Riverview. 2:30 School Bus Strobe Lights Mrs. Leskiw: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve heard from parents of schoolchildren in my constituency who feel that bus drivers are sometimes unsure of exactly when to use their strobe l ights. My first question is to the Minister of Transportation.

Would he revisit the use of highway and rules of road regulations and make any updates to ensure that strobe lights are being used as intended? Mr. Ouellette: Well, Mr. Speaker, I’m very, very proud to say that this government has taken significant steps to improve school bus safety, and we’re told we’re leading the country with our comprehensive approach. All 10 recommendations from the school bus safety report have been fully implemented, incl uding mandatory strobe lights.

We want to make sure that our regul a- tions are clear, so we will work with school boards and the school bus industry to clarify what’s necessary. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mrs. Leskiw: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the same minister: given that weather conditions change quickly in Alberta, would it not be appropriate to have our bus drivers keep the strobe lights on all the time when travelling on the highway? Mr. Ouellette: Mr. Speaker, the purpose of strobe lights is to alert drivers that a school bus is ahead.

The regulation requires that school bus drivers use strobe lights in situations of low visibility, when it’s foggy or it’s snowing or it’s raining heavily, or at any time that incr eased visibility is needed. This is all about keeping our children safe, so if there is some clarification needed on the issue, we’ll do that. Mrs. Leskiw: My second supplementary is to the same minister. Given that other jurisdictions mandate that strobe lights stay on whenever a school bus is in a rural area, would this minister com- mit to the same policy here in Alberta? Mr. Ouellette: Mr.

Speaker, the school bus industry contributed greatly to the school bus safety report, but there was not a reco m- mendation that came forward in that way. The recommendation implemented was to have mandatory strobe lights on busses to increase safety in poor visibility. We don’t want the strobe lights to become routine. Our goal is to have them used to bring greater attention in specific situations, and that’s very, very important. Municipal Zoning Exemption for Universities Dr. Taft: Mr. Speaker,

section 121 of the Post -secondary Learn- ing Act exempts universities from municipal zoning controls of any form, whether they concern land use, traffic, parking, density, design, community impact, or anything else. To the Minister of Advanced Education and Technology: what’s the reason that some universities are granted this pretty remarkable privilege? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Weadick: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Our three residen- tial universities in the province of Alberta do fall under a specific act which gives them broad, sweeping powers over traffic and planning on their sites, but we also know that they must work with the municipality and the neighbours to ensure that they don’t e n- croach and that their facilities and sites work well within the municipality that they’re in. Dr. Taft: My question is to the same minister.

Given that a small- business owner wanting to r emove an interior wall or a hom e- owner wanting to build a deck or a developer wanting to put up a condominium all must comply with municipal zoning, is it fair that some universities are completely exempt from zoning? The Speaker: The hon. minister. That’s an opinion. Mr. Weadick: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. All I can speak to is the legislation that does exist, that these universities were created under, which does give them powers over how they develop, how their buildings are developed, and how their transpor tation is done.

It still all falls under building codes and other codes within the province. Dr. Taft: Well, again to the same minister. Given that Mount Royal and MacEwan universities don’t yet appear to have the privilege of a complete exemption from municipal zoning, will that privilege be extended to them or not, and if not, why not? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Weadick: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Both of our new bacc a- laureate universities were developed under other legislation, and they do fall under all municipal bylaws for planning and that.

We did give them some new powers last year over issuing fines and collecting fines for traffic violations on their campuses, but on other issues they do fall under the Municipal Government Act in planning for the community.

March 17, 2011 Alberta Hansard 429 The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-North Hill, followed by the hon. Member for Calgary-Varsity. Telecommunications Tower Siting Mr. Fawcett: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member for Calgary-Montrose passionately expr essed earlier today, siting of cellphone towers is a frustrating issue for many families, home- owners, and communities. Last April I asked the Minister of Municipal Affairs a question on this, and he indicated he would look into it. My question is to the minister.

Has he been able to work with communities, municipalities, and the federal govern- ment to bring clarity to this issue? Mr. Goudreau: Mr. Speaker, all three, and since it was brought up last year, I have specifically written to the federal minister responsible for Industry Canada in regard to this particular issue. I’ve raised consultation concerns pertaining to the cellphone tow- ers. I’m still waiting for his reply to my letters.* The Speaker: Thank you. The hon. member. Mr. Fawcett: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My supplemental is: does the minister see that there is there a role for him or his department to assist communities and municipalities in dealing with these challenges with telecommunications companies, the CRTC, and the federal government? Mr. Goudreau: Mr. Speaker, telecommunications companies must apply to Industry Canada for a licence to operate an installa- tion at each specific location. As part of this licensing process Industry Canada requires that the companies contact the city, in this case the city of Calgary, for input.

The city is to review these referrals, then indicate whether or not the proposed installations can be supported. We’ve written to the large centres about their role in this particular issue, and they’ve indicated they have pro- cedures in place now . . . The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Fawcett: I’m good. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Varsity, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Mill Woods. Castle Special Management Area Mr. Chase: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Ghost-Waiparous, Indian Graves, McLean Creek, and currently the Castle either wilfully through this government’s failure to legislate and enforce the land- use framework or through its blind-eye neglect have been turned into resource extraction battlegr ounds, worsened by the toleration of massive cumulative illegal off-roader wilderness destruction. To the Minister of SRD: are you aware that almost half of the trails in the Castle-Crown land-use area have been illegally carved by outlaw off-roaders? Mr. Knight: Mr.

Speaker, the only answer I can give to that is that I’m not personally aware of any outlaws in the Castle area. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Chase: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s unfortunate that the minister is unaware . . . The Speaker: Hon. member, the

preamble rule, please. Mr. Chase: Yes, sir. Why other than during the singular May long weekend public relations show of co-ordinated ministerial enforcement are areas, including the Castle-Crown, abandoned to block clear-cutters and off-trail outlaws due to departmental un- derstaffing? Mr. Knight: Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member opposite has evi- dence of outlaws in the Castle, he should report that to the police. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Chase: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be tabling the docu- ments supporting the complaint. The Speaker: Yes. We’re going to move on, though. Mr.

Chase: To the Minister of Tourism, Parks and Recreation: will you finally put an end to your government’s sanctioned multi- use madness in the Castle-Crown and the decades-long discussion of destruction by creating the An dy Russell I’tai Sah Kòp provin- cial wilderness park? Mr. Knight: Mr. Speaker, what we are doing with respect to Tourism, Parks and Recreation and Sustainable Resource Devel- opment working together is that we’re developing a trail system for the province of Alberta.

We hope that we’ll have a DAO in place that would assist in, num ber one, the development; number two, the operation; number three, the policing; and number four, the financing of these trails so that all Albertans can enjoy the great outdoors in this province. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Mill Woods. Electricity Prices Mr. Benito: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m hearing concerns about our electricity syst em. In particular, my constitu- ents are uneasy with the high electricity prices they’ve had to pay in the past as well as the potential for higher prices in the future.

My first question is to the Minister of Energy. How can you en- sure that the electrical system is operating as efficiently as possible to give Albertans lowe r prices for power and have it available when and where they need it? 2:40 Mr. Liepert: Well, Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is that Al- berta electricity prices are at about the same rate today that they were in 2002. We have some of the most competitive rates, and that’s primarily because our generation market is deregulated. Unlike some other provinces that have Crown corporations or try to meddle in the marketplace, our generation is deregulated.

As far as whether consumers are receiving a fair price, Mr. Speaker, that’s really part of the purview of the utility . . . The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Benito: My first supplemental is to the same minister. Since 2008, when the provincial energy strategy was released, what specifically has Alberta Energy done with respect to providing reasonable electricity prices? Mr. Liepert: I think it needs to be stated, Mr. Speaker, that the Department of Energy has really nothing to do with setting prices. We have a deregulated retail mark et as well as a generation mar- ket.

When the government moved to deregulation a number of years ago, at that time I think there were about three companies – ATCO, EPCOR, and Enmax – whic h were retailing electricity. *See page 454, left column, paragraph 5

430 Alberta Hansard March 17, 2011 Both ATCO and EPCOR have vacated that market, but we now have some half a dozen different retailers who are offering a nu m- ber of options to retailers throughout the province. Mr. Benito: My second supplemental to the same minister: what is your ministry doing to ensure that competitiveness remains in Alberta’s retail electricity market? Mr. Liepert: Well, as I said earlier, we took the initiative – I don’t know; I think it’s 10, 12 years ago – to ensure that we have a competitive retail market, Mr. Speaker.

What we’re going to do is continue to ensure that that market works appropriately. The Speaker: Hon. members, that concludes the Oral Question Period for today. Thank you very much for your co-operation. Today 20 members were recognized. There were 118 questions and responses. In a few seconds from now we will continue with the daily Rou- tine, which still has one additional member participating in Members’ Statements. head: Members’ Statements (continued) The Speaker: The hon. Member for West Yellowhead. Online Parenting Resource Mr. Campbell: Thank you, M r. Speaker.

It’s my pleasure to rise today and share information on a government of Alberta website for caregivers with children aged zero to six. Research has shown that children’s early experiences set the foundation for success in school and life, and parents and caregivers play the most impo r- tant, significant role in a child’s early years. It is essential that parents, families, and care providers have easy access to available services, information, and support net- works to ensure that young children ha ve the resources and supports to realize their potential.

There’s a lot of information out there, especially on the Internet. The challenge is in sifting through all that information and determining what is both useful and reliable. To help make the proces s less time consuming, the government of Alberta has developed the Raising Children we b- site: www.raisingchildren.Alberta.ca. The Raising Children website brings together all government information on services and programs targeted at families and caregivers. Other credible sources are also included, including Alberta Health Services and Health Link.

Using the Raising Chil- dren website will help parents and caregivers make informed decisions. It will also put them in faster contact with the appropr i- ate sources at the most opportune time. On this website you’ll find a wide range of information, including health information for cop- ing with crying, immunizations, saving for your children’s education, information on government grants to support your sa v- ings, information for parents, and multiple supports for foster and kin parents and programs available for those raising aboriginal children.

The information is easy to find as it is divided into different categories by age, topic, and a

section called Parents Like Me. I encourage all parents and caregivers to visit the site and to share the link with others. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. head: Notices of Motions The Speaker: The hon. Government House Leader. Mr. Hancock: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise pursuant to Stan d- ing Order 34(3.1) to advise the House that on Monday, March 21, 2011, written questions 1, 2, and 11 will be accepted; written questions 6, 7, 10, and 12 will be dealt with. Also on March 21, 2011, motions for returns 1, 4, and 10 will be accepted and 3, 5, and 9 will be dealt with. head: Tabling Returns and Reports Mr.

Anderson: Yesterday at your request I dutifully obtained five notarized copies of the transcript of the interview with Dr. Lloyd Maybaum that was done by CTV news at 6 on Monday, March 14, 2011. The doctor said: There’s a plain fear . . . you’ll lose your position, you might lose operating room hours. There’s any number of different ways that people are fearful and have experience the backlash that can occur when you speak out. . . . [There’s] a real clear and present problem in the health care system and anyone who suggests that this is preposterous, you know, quite frankly is insulting to health care workers.

This is the kind of culture we have worked in for many, many years. I’ll table those copies. The Speaker: Thank you. I’ve got the hon. Leader of the Official Opposition for a tabling. Hon. Member for Lethbridge-East, do you have one for yourself as well? Ms Pastoor: I do as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Actually, bear with me. I think I’ve got about seven here. On behalf of the Leader of the Official Opposition from yeste r- day I’m tabling the requested copies in which he quoted Dr. Nunes, who asked for a public inquiry and agreed that, indeed, there existed intimidation and fear when one spoke out.

This is from a quote on March 16, again from the Leader of the Official Opposition from yesterday. It was Dr. Parks who had said: the public is right to fully demand we get to the bottom of this; anything less wouldn’t be acceptable. That’s f rom Wedne s- day, which was yesterday. Also, from today a quote from the president of the Alberta Medical Association’s letter. My own is the cheque that I send out every month to a food bank, of course, with my mantra to ensure that AISH is indexed as are MLAs’ salaries. I have some letters to table from Drs.

Grant and Christine Ken- nedy, who are both emergency doctors, saying that they’re very concerned about the probable cuts to continuing medical educ a- tion reimbursement, physician and family support, and the physician retention programs. Also, another letter from a Dr. Francis, another emergency doc, who said that he is also concerned with the probable cuts to the physician and family support programs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: Hon. Member for Edmonton-Centre, do you have tablings, too? Ms Blakeman: Yes, sir. Four. The Speaker: Okay.

Ms Blakeman: The first is an e -mail correspondence from Dar- lene Natalia Konduc, who was a nephrology nurse -clinician at the University of Alberta at the time that Dr. Anne Fanning was there and was shuffled out by the government and is speaking up for the need to support doctors.

March 17, 2011 Alberta Hansard 431 These next two are both regarding concerns about funding cuts. They are practising family physicians in Calgary. Olga de Sanctis is concerned about the funding cuts upcoming in Health and Wellness and their impact on the delivery of care. Another, an e- mail from Dr. Karen Zwiers, who is a clinical lecturer in Calgary and has been in practice for 11 years, concerning cuts to primary care and the primary care networks and competitive fee increases for physicians. Finally, from a constituent of Edmonton-Centre, Dennis L e- febvre.

He is a resident in the emergency medicine program at the University of Alberta and is concerned about any possible cuts there to the physician and family support program. Thank you. 2:50 The Speaker: The hon. Government House Leader. Mr. Hancock: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today the hon. the Premier referred to a letter from the president of the Alberta Medical Association. If I was listening correctly, it may well have been tabled, but if not, in any event, I’ll table it again. If it’s a duplicate, the Clerk can sort that out.

It’s the letter dated March 17, 2011, in which it very clearly states, “The AMA will su pport and cooperate with such an approach [i.e., a public inquiry] if this occurs,” which is quite different from the way it was quoted by the Leader of the Opposition and the member of the Wildrose in their questions earlier today. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Varsity. Mr. Chase: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have three sets of tablings. The first comes from Global Forest Watch, backing up my co n- cerns about how badly cut up the Castle is by both clear -cutting and roads.

The contact information is www.globalforestwatch.ca. My second tabling is a letter from Beverly Kaltenbruner. She has a very telling comment here. “While hiking I have docu- mented with my camera and my heart the massive destruction of watershed, forest, & habitat due to ‘environmenta lly conscious, sustained growth’ logging methods/operations.” The concerns of Beverly are reflected by the following 25 indi- viduals, who have also sent me correspondence, Mr.

Speaker: Matt Holland, Geoffrey Scatchard, Patrick Thompson, Margaret Johnson, M ichael Marcoux, Wendy Menghi, Jeanne Keegan - Henry, Helen Hertel, Peter Stockdale, Ken Farquharson, J. Hobart, Joanne Wallace, Silvaine Zimmermann, Romilly Cavanaugh, Barry Cogswell, Randall White, Elizabeth Zaikow, Andrea Lee, Robert Blair, Susanna Jani, M ary Stewart, Ursula Lowrey, Heather Schamehorn, Margaret McKea, and Tanya Ullyatt. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar. Mr. MacDonald: Yes. Thank you very much.

I would like to table, please, a copy of a letter that I received on December 2, 2010. This letter was from the Employment and Immigration mi n- ister. He was trying to explain, unsuccessfully, why there are two sets of numbers regarding claim durations. The first set of nu m- bers is in the WCB 2008 annual report, and the second set is in the 2008 Occupational Injuries and Diseases report from his own department. Thank you. The Speaker: Are there others? The hon. Member for Calgary - Glenmore. Mr. Hinman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I’d also like to table the appropriate number of reports from the president’s letter dated the 17th of March, St. Patrick’s Day, and be very specific that right at the start of this letter the AMA supports a public inquiry. They say that the fact that these perceptions are out there is still a source of major concern. How do we . . . The Speaker: Hon. member, the document has already been t a- bled. The hon. Member for Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo. Mr. Boutilier: Thank you.

This is a letter from a regional council, from an exchange this afternoon w ith the Minister of Municipal Affairs, that I received this morning. The letter is requesting su p- port from the province that the city at this point has not received – and I table this from the regional council of Wood Buffalo – in helping the 400 residents that are now homeless. head: Tablings to the Clerk The Clerk: I wish to advise the House that the following doc u- ments were deposited with the office of the Clerk. On behalf of the hon. Mrs. Klimchuk, Minister of Service Alberta, in response to a question raised by Mr.

MacDonald, hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar, during Oral Question Period on February 28, 2011, regarding fees for vehicle registrations and licence plates; in response to questions raised by Mrs. Forsyth, hon. Member for Calgary-Fish Creek , during Oral Question Period on March 2, 2011, regarding the legal name change process. head: Projected Government Business The Speaker: The Official Opposition House Leader. Ms Blakeman: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

At this point under Standing Order 7(6) I would ask the Government House Leader to share with us the projected government business for the week commencing Monday, the 21st of March. The Speaker: The hon. Government House Leader. Mr. Hancock: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For next week, as the House is aware, March 21 is private members’ business. March 22 in the afternoon Committee of Supply on Environ- ment. Wednesday, March 23, in the afternoon Committee of Supply on Culture and Community Spirit as per the

schedule that’s pu b- lished on the Order Paper. On Thursday, March 24, in the afternoon for second reading Bill 1, Asia Advisory Council Act; Bill 5, Notice to the Attorney General Act; Bill 7, Corrections Amendment Act, 2011; Bill 8, Missing Persons Act; Bill 10, Alberta Land Stewardship Amen d- ment Act, 2011; Bill 11, Livestock Industry Diversification Amendment Act, 2011; Bill 12, Alberta Investment Management Corporation Amendment Act, 2011; Bill 14, Wills and Succession Amendment Act, 2011; Bill 15, Victims of Crime Amendment Act, 2011.

Under Committee of the Whole Bill 4, Securities Amendment Act, 2011; and Bill 6, Rules of Court Statutes Amendment Act, 2011. Of course, we won’t be able to accomplish all of that in an hour and a half, so we will as usual discuss with the opposition which ones we’ll actually bring forward and in what order. The Speaker: Okay. The hon. Member for Airdrie-Chestermere on a point of order.

432 Alberta Hansard March 17, 2011 Point of Order Factual Accuracy Mr. Anderson: Yes, Mr. Speaker. I rise on a point of order from Standing Order 23(b)(i),(c),(e), and (j). I believe they all apply. The basis of the comment that I’m referring to was – I don’t have the Blues in front of me; they’re not available yet. Basically, the Premier, referring to the Wildrose caucus, says: this coming from a party that sent 30 doctors over to Vietnam. Clearly that is ho g- wash. It’s misleading the House in every possible way.

It’s just a completely untrue statement, the insinuation also being that a fo r- mer member of this House – he’s been called all sorts of things in here. It’s amazing. They talk about using the privilege of this House to impugn people outside of the House and how inappropriate that is. They keep accusing people on this side of the House of doing that, and then they go and do the exact same thing with a former colleague. It’s really quite shameful. The other thing, too, is that former colleague, in fact, is not a . . . The Speaker: I’m not aware that that was part of what was stated today.

Let’s deal with the point of order, though, okay? Mr. Anderson: Well, Mr. Speaker. I’ll try to explain. I’m just trying to make a complete argument. That’s all I’m trying to do. I’m sorry if I’m not being clear. The point being that he’s referring to the party . . . The Speaker: Hon. member, please sit down. You were here yesterday. You heard us have the discussion that points of order are not to be used for the purpose of continuation of debate. What was stated today – and I have the Blues in front of me. This is the Premier. He looked at me, and he said, “Mr.

Speaker, comments coming from a party that just sent 30 physicians to Vietnam.” At that point I recognized a point of order from the hon. Member from Airdrie-Chestermere. Let’s focus on that item. Please go forward. Mr. Anderson: Okay. On that point, sir, I will go and say this.

If the member continues with that same logic, the fact that this pe r- son has joined our party, who is not a chief adviser, who is not on staff, not being paid – if they continue to say that that person represents this party and continues to represent this party and their policy, then I’m assuming that they, too, would assume that the fact that Ken Hughes, who is leading up Alberta Health Services, was advocating for a private luxury hospital in Mexico would mean that the government supported private health care as well.

Now, of course that’s an asinine statement to make because this government does not support private health care. We know that. I know that. I don’t think the NDP knows that, but I know that.

So if I’d said in the House, “because Ken H ughes supports a for-profit hospital and the government hired him to be the head of AHS, this government supports private health care,” so, too, is it just as asinine to say that because somebody joins our party who happens to be involved overseas in Vietnam at a private hospital and who happens to be a member of our party, therefore this party promotes private health or, even worse, shipped 30 doctors over there. It’s completely untrue. It’s misleading, it’s false, and it’s p a- thetic. They need to withdraw the comment. The Speaker: The hon.

Government House Leader on this point. Mr. Hancock: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s very interesting that within the space of two weeks they embrace as a chief policy ad- viser somebody who is introducing their leader and is speaking for their party, embrace it and make a big public display of it, and then two weeks later they want to disavow the connection. He’s no longer the health adviser, I guess, no longer the person who speaks for them with respect to health policy and g ives them ad- vice.

It’s absolutely amazing how this party is positional – I think that’s the best I could say – with respect to their philosophy and their sense of direction. 3:00 In any event, I think it’s clear that the Wildrose Party couldn’t ship anything anywhere; therefore, I do think that it probably was a little bit over the top to say that the party just shipped 30 phys i- cians to Vietnam.

So on behalf of the Premier – and I do have his permission – I would withdraw that remark and apologize for suggesting that they shipped 30 physicians to Vietnam when, clearly, it is their chief health policy person who’s involved with the private hospital there and there’s no indication that their party is involved directly or indirectly in that hospital. The Speaker: Well, we’ve heard an apology; we’ve heard a with- drawal; we’ve heard a clarification.

It’s now time for Orders of the Day. head: Orders of the Day head: Government Bills and Orders Third Reading Bill 13 Appropriation (Interim Supply) Act, 2011 The Speaker: The hon. President of the Treasury Board, Minister of Finance and Enterprise. Mr. Snelgrove: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my privilege to rise today and move third reading of Bill 13, the Appropriation (I n- terim Supply) Act, 2011. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar on the debate. Mr. MacDonald: Yes. Certainly, Mr.

Speaker, any time one gets a chance to examine in detail the budgeting habits of this gover n- ment, I think one has to take the opportunity.

I had a me eting earlier today, and I was trying to explain to citizens how we were for the fourth year in a row in a budget deficit and how the sus- tainability fund was being reduced to almost nothing and that if we’re not careful when the election is called, all the money that’s left in the stability fund, slightly over $5 billion, will be commit- ted to grip-and-grin photo opportunities as this government tries to buy its way with taxpayers’ money into another four -year term.

Now, certainly, I was taken aback, and I’m sure if the provincial finance minister was with me, he would have been taken aback and he probably would have been embarrassed. This group could not believe that it was four years in a row that this government somehow managed to have a deficit budget. T he first couple of years they were small. They’ve gotten bi g- ger, and who knows how the end of this year will look. Mr. Speaker, I’m talking about 2011-12. One of the first things I do in the morning now is look at the exchange rate.

The exchange rate is moderated when you compare us to the Americans and their dol- lar, but certainly if that exchange rate was to remain constant for the entire fiscal year, we’d be looking at a loss of at least $600

March 17, 2011 Alberta Hansard 433 million from the minister’s projections. So when this government stands up and requests an appropr iation amount to get started in the fiscal year – it’s really no different than an allowance – ques- tions have to be asked. What are the plans? What are we going to do to control costs? In committee we noted the $2.2 billion that is requested for health care.

We have seen over the years – and people are really starting to take notice of it now – the great cost of the continual changes that have been made by this government without any plan, without any cost-benefit analysis to see what, if anything, would work. Nothing was done in that respect. But we’ve seen the quality of care go down, we have seen growing wait-lists, we have seen diverse services around the province, and we’ve seen rapid cost inflation. Ultimately for who knows what reasons the government de- cided in March of 2008, three years ago almost precisely, to create one big superboard.

We disbanded the nine RHAs, the Cancer Board, the Mental Health Board, and we got this one superboard with an unelected board of directors. Some of them got so dissatis- fied with this government – I don’t know if it was over budget issues or what it was over. Mr. Hancock: Point of order. Mr. MacDonald: They got so dissatisfied with this government that they resigned. The Speaker: Hon. member, please. The hon. Government House Leader has a point of order. Point of Order Relevance Mr. Hancock: Mr. Speaker, I’ve been listening intently.

I know that the bill that’s under debate is interim supply, which is about the provision of money for the firs t few months of the year for government operations while we c ontinue deliberation of the de- tails of the budget. The hon. member is talking about government creating one board for health. He hasn’t touched, so far as I can tell, for the last five minutes of his talk on anything to do with interim supply, so I’m wondering if there’s anything relevant in what he has to say at all. The Speaker: On the point of order. Mr. MacDonald: Yes. There certainly isn’t a point of order.

The minister clearly was not paying attention, and I would appreciate it if he would pay attention. I haven’t even been speaking for five minutes, to start with.* In this bill here, Bill 13, Mr. Speaker, this government is re- questing $2.2 billion for health. I’m astonished that he would even suggest that there’s a point of order here. If we cannot ask ques- tions on which direction this government is going with their spending of that allocation and examine their past habits and what they have done to public health care, I’m just astonished.

Quite frankly I’m disappointed in this hon. member that he would even suggest that there’s a point of order here. The Speaker: Well, now I’m totally confused. The hon. Govern- ment House Leader gets up on a point of order, and then the hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar gets up and says: yes, there is a point of order. Mr. MacDonald: I didn’t say that there was a point of order. The Speaker: Yes, you did. You absolute ly said that right at the start, but I understood that that wa s not what you meant. It’s what you said, though. Let’s continue with the debate, okay?

There is 20 minutes allo- cated to the second speaker on thir d reading. We’ll continue, and we’ll focus on the appropriation bill, which is Bill 13. Edmonton-Gold Bar, please proceed. Mr. MacDonald: Okay. I appreciate that, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: You both agreed there was a point of order, so I’m not saying anything more. Mr. MacDonald: Mr. Speaker, I would have to say that I appreci- ate your guidance on that point of order, but if my mother was alive, she would say to you: you have a vivid imagination. The Speaker: Your mother would be an astute person. Mr. MacDonald: She was a teacher by profession.

The Speaker: Your mother must have been brilliant. I hope it was genetic. [interjections] Proceed, hon. member. Mr. MacDonald: I didn’t hear that. Debate Continued Mr. MacDonald: Now, when we vote on this $2.2 billion alloca- tion that’s requested in Bill 13, we have to examine this government’s previous spending habits with health care. We have seen total spending in billions of dollars – and we even go back only nine years. I know, Mr. Speaker, that immediate past history is not an interest of this government, but in 2003 we had spending in health care of a little less than $7 billion.

It has certainly gone up and beyond that in 2011. In 2012 this $2.2 billion request will be supplemented by an additional 13 and a half billion dollars, if not more. Citizens all over the province, whether the government wants to admit it or not, are looking at these health care expenditures, whether they’re in this bill or in previous years, and they’re asking themselves questions. Where did the money go? Where did it go? Are we getting better value? Are we getting more service? Are the emergency room wait times going down? Are we waiting a lot less for access to orthopedic surgery or to other types of surgery?

The answer, clearly, is: no, we’re not. So we’re spending more, and we seem to be getting less. 3:10 Now, an example of this woul d be facility-based emergency and outpatient services. There has be en a $350 million increase over five years, and the emergency room situation seems to be getting worse. I know there was a photograph in the Edmonton Journal today of the minister of health, and he was pointing at a chart. What exactly it had to do with that article, I don’t know, but it was in there. It was there. What I would like to see and what the hon.

Member for Edmonton-Riverview would like to see with at least a portion of this $2.2 billion that’s requested here for health is a look at hiring more emergency st aff, expanding primary care net- works, and expanding community health networks. If we were to do that, perhaps at some time in the future we could start reducing some of these budgets, particularly for emergency room care be- cause we wouldn’t need as much emergency room care, and we would increase service and decrease wait times. I know the Alber- ta Liberal Party has had some good ideas that have been adopted *See page 457, right column, paragraph 5

434 Alberta Hansard March 17, 2011 by this government in the past, and you would be welcome to have a look at this suggestion as well. Another example before we pass this bill, Mr. Speaker, is the IT expenses, or the information technology ex penses, of Alberta Health Services. Obviously, they’re going to get a portion of this $2.2 billion. Now, if you look at 2007, they got slightly less than $190 million. The next year they were up around $230 million. The next year after that they were up to $270 million. In 2010 it was almost $300 million, and then the next year it snuck up to $335 million or even more.

That’s an 80 per cent increase in five years in IT costs. Yet with this bill the government is looking for just an unlimited credit card all owance, if I could use that, with health care. We’ve got to get some of these costs under control. The Globe and Mail had a very interesting article, I believe on January 26 of this year, regarding IT costs and health care systems across the country. We k now it’s happened in Ontario. We know it’s happened in some other provinces. We’ve got to ensure that we’re getting value for the money that we’re spending, and with this government, unfortunately, we can’t guarantee that.

Maybe the hon. Member for Calgary-Glenmore has more to say on this. I don’t know. When you see these 80 per cent increases in IT costs over five years, it doesn’t include all the health information sy s- tems within the ministry, and that was another $75 million last year.

The government members may not want to hear what I have to say, but here’s what the office of the Auditor General of Alberta had to say: Improve the oversight of electronic health records systems by: • maintaining an integrated delivery plan that aligns with the strategic plan • improving systems to regularly report costs, timelines, progress and outcomes If the hon. Member for Edmonton-Whitemud , the Government House Leader and Minister of Education, doesn’t want to hear my take on this, I would encourage him to follow up w ith the Auditor General. Mr.

Speaker, when we look at this budget again, the $2.2 billion for health care, we know a portion of that is going to Alberta Health Services. It was interesting to note that Alberta Health Services put their third -quarter financial statements up on the I n- ternet over this past weekend. It’s very interesting to see that they do have a surplus, and they’re going to be able to pay off their deficit from last year, and they’re going to have, I think, roughly $300 million left. They’r e going to spend $200 million of it on equipment somewhere. I don’t know where, but that’s essentially what’s going on there.

We were told, Mr. Speaker, by this government, when they created the superboard, that they would get management staff under control and there would be a lot fewer managers. We were going to have a lot less administration. We certainly know that with administrative expenses that hasn’t happened. But if we look at the management staff – and I’m going to take the risk of going back qui ckly three years – we will see that there were roughly 3,480 total management staff in the nine regions and the health board and the Cancer Board.

So these were total management staff reporting to the board and, ultimately, the minister. The next year that jumped to close to 3,700, and this was at a time when we were told: “Hold on. Be patient. All this will work out, and we will have a lot less management.” It didn’t happen. But in the year 2009-10, before we had this budget, it did go down slightly to 3,540. Now, did the costs go down? Naturally, a curious Progressive Conservative would wonder: what is the total cost of all these managers?

If we’re going to give a billion dollars or $1.4 billion to Alberta Health Services to keep them going from April 1 u ntil the budget is passed, what kind of money are they spending over there on management staff? Well, it’s significant. It was even signif i- cant in 2007-08. It was $407 million or $408 million. It jacked up to 470 some -odd million dollars in 2008-09, and it has sort of maintained that level. Even though there are a few less managers, it would be, I think, around $472 million to be exact.

I wasn’t impressed with the pledge, or the promise, that was made that there would be fewer administrative costs and that there would certainly be fewer managers if we went with the super- board. That hasn’t happened. So we need to consider the information, and we also need to remember the information when we’re providing organizations like Alberta Health Services money from the general revenue fund, and this is exactly what’s happe n- ing with Bill 13. Also, while I have the time, I would like to speak a little bit about Justice. In Justice here the request is for $68.7 million.

I’m wondering if, in the course of debate, someone in the Department of Justice could go back, because I just don’t have the time, Mr. Speaker. I don’t know who is doing it, the Public Affairs Bureau or the Premier’s office – I don’t know – but all the researchers that we hired in our caucus have been hir ed away by this government just like that. We train them, get them up to speed, and they’re hired away. It’s sort of a curious pattern that at the fourth year of every term there is an exodus of Alberta Liberal caucus research- ers to the government.

The hir ing freeze that they suggest to the public is on, doesn’t apply to our researchers. So I’m going to have to get the Justice department to research this item for me before I would vote for this bill. 3:20 The legal services that Justice provides to each an d every d e- partment of this government: I would like to know what that budget was. Let’s go back eight years, to 2002. What would it be for legal aid?

Let’s compare what this government is spending over an eight -year period on themselves and their own depar t- ments and what they’re willing to spend on individuals who simply cannot afford to hire a lawyer, but they need good, sound legal advice and good, sound legal direction. I certainly would like a response from the folks over in Justice on this. How much do you spend on yourselves over an eight-year period, and how much are you willing to spend on others to help them out? With those remarks, Mr. Speaker, I would certainly thank the honourable House, particularly the hon.

Member for Edmonton- Whitemud, for allowing me this opportunity to get some questions on the record regarding this government’s spending habits. Thank you. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Glenmore. Mr. Hinman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s an honour to get up in third reading of Bill 13, the Appropriation (Interim Supply) Act, 2011, and to continue, I guess, with the questions and the concerns that we have because of the major deficit, the cash to expenses, that this government is running.

I feel that with all the discussions that go on in the Treasury Board and behind closed doors and with the numbers that they hopefully have and we request to see, we are unable to see in this very short Appropriation Act, with a huge amount that the Treasury Board is requesting, the billions of dol- lars – it’s just a major concern, with the $3.7 billion deficit that we’re running, that we’re not going over the specifics of these requests in detail. [The Deputy Speaker in the chair]

March 17, 2011 Alberta Hansard 435 We start off, you know, under the government with Aboriginal Affairs, Advanced Education and Technology, Agriculture and Rural Development, Children and Youth Services, Culture and Community Spirit, Education, Employment and Immigration, Energy, Environment, Executive Council, Finance and Enterprise, Health and Wellness, Hou sing and Urban Affairs, Infrastructure, International and Intergovernmental Relations, Justice, Municipal Affairs, Seniors and Community Supports, Service Alberta, S o- licitor General and Public Security, Sustainable Resource Development, Tourism, Parks and Recreation, Transportation, Treasury Board all needing supplemental interim supply.

The paramount question that first comes forward is: why? I would ask why because this government isn’t being efficient in its timelines with bringing forward the budget in a timely manner. They delayed coming back to this House, and you have to ask: why would they delay coming back to this House? It was one of the Premier’s first promises when he got in. I remember that. I thought: “Man, that’s going to be great. We’re going to get in there. There’s going to be a budget the second week in February.

We can debate it and pass it before year-end on March 31.” It was interesting for me the other day to learn from the hon. Member for Edmonton-Centre that, in fact, in the last 15 years there was one time that we didn’t have to have interim supply. So the question has to be asked: why can we not do that every year? I think that the government is fully to blame for why we cannot do that. They fail to ac t in an efficient and appropriate manner, and they seem to think: well, we can just push $2.2 billion through quickly; it won’t take too much time. And, again, no details.

It’s always interesting to me that with opposition parties they say: oh, we oppose everything. I very much disagree with that. We oppose those things which we feel are not in the best interests of Albertans, and I’m very much opposed to the exorbitant amount of money that this government continues to spend without properly informing the opposition, the citizens of Alberta what those priori- ties are or where they’re going to spend that money. Any budgetary process that one goes through, the first thing you look at is how much money you have.

Then you look at: what are our needs, what are our priorities, and how do we match those? I don’t know too many people personally that don’t have to worry about budgeting. As the hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar said, this government just seems to have a gold-plated credit card with no limits. It sound s like some of those fancy, rich chil d- ren that go around the world spending lots of money with no limits, and every now and then daddy calls up and says: “Whoa, whoa, whoa. This is getting a little bit out of control here.

What are you spending your money on?” Two or three weeks ago the National Post was interesting to me. I read an

article about a Saudi prince that needed to be reined in because he was spending $15 billion annually. He was called in, and they said: you’re going to have a budget of just $300 million per month. What a budget. But it aligns with this government in doing that. The point is, though, Mr. Speaker, that we as opposition would be more than happy to sit down and go through and items where we would say: “Yes. We agree. This should be taken out of there. We’ll wait a couple of years on this one. This one shouldn’t be this high on the priorities.

We shouldn’t be starting these projects.” When we’re not given that opportunity, it’s very hard to say: “Well, yes. We want to support and vo te for this budget.” Why and how could we do that? It doesn’t make any sense to just willy-nilly go along and vote for this interim supply while saying: well, this is just what we need. No. It’s very disappointing to me as a sitting MLA, going door - knocking and talking to individuals, and they ask: well, where are we spending all this money? And I say: I wish that I had access to the books so that we could really see where they’re spending the money.

We can see this after it comes in. The south hospital is going to cost, I think, $1.3 billion, way over budget. The renov a- tions of the federal building: some say it’s $135 million to $270 million. But we’ve already started that, and there’s nothing we can do. That’s the problem. That’s the reason why you budget. Why we debate these things is: before we start, let’s look and analyze and prioritize. This government fails to do it, fails to allow us to do it. Those decisions, those lists are behind closed doors.

We have no access despite the number of times that w e’ve asked. “Please show us your 20-year infrastructure plan. Please show us your five-year one. Let’s see your priorities. What are they? How many miles of highway do you plan on doing and where?” It’s critical. I continue to drive and put a lot of miles on my vehicle every year to get around this wonderful province and listen to the con- cerns in rural Alberta and urban and north and south. Generally the majority of our roads are in decent shape, but boy we have some that are really problematic.

Highway 63 is one of those, yet we haven’t seen any movement going forward on that. There has been no pavement actually laid in two years. Again, that’s not adequate. We need to change that. So there are many, many concerns, Mr. Speaker, in this interim supply. I have to say, you know: without information, how can you blindly vote for something like this? It’s inadequate to present. Any board of directors of any company would find this unacceptable when the numbers were presented. I very much feel that same way, that these numbers should be presented in full and open view that the public can see.

The minister of finance says: oh, you just want to politicize the list. I think it would do just the opposite. If the list was actually opened and could be discussed and the reasons were there, there would be much less political maneuvering that would go on if, in fact, the list was there. A person could look and say: well, why are we doing this overpass in this area? When you look at the count, you look at the problems, you look at the deaths, these are the areas where we need it.

But when the government waits, makes the announcement that this is what we’re doing, well – okay – what were the other ones on the list? We don’t know. How do we prioritize when we don’t know? They won’t given us the informa- tion. 3:30 Things need to change, Mr. Speaker. I have to say that it’s not possible to vote in support of this without more information. I hope, as the minister of finance said I believe yesterday in Co m- mittee of the Whole, that they’re prepared to look at the format and what they’re going to present for next year.

I do hope that we can sit down and come up with a much better system so that next year we can actually be discussing the items rather than a few lines and a few number s, that we can actually be discussing the plans and the priorities for the people of Alberta and where we can spend our tax dollars most effectively to increase our quality of life and enjoyment here in the province. With that, I’ll sit down and let someo ne else speak on this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Deputy Speaker: Standing Order 29(2)(

a) allows for five minutes of comment or questions. Seeing none, any other hon. member wish to speak on the bill? The hon. Member for Edmonton-Riverview on the bill. Dr. Taft: Mr. Speaker, I won’t speak for too long here, but I just

436 Alberta Hansard March 17, 2011 need to reinforce a message to the government that I’ve made at other times in the past when we’ve debated interim supply. This legislation, if we had a better budgetary process, would be unne c- essary. The fact of the matter is that we should be debating and voting on the budget long before the beginning of the fiscal year so that everything can be in place. It wouldn’t of course just mean that we wouldn’t have to spend time in this Assembly on interim supply bills, but it would make a real difference for all kinds of people out in Alberta who depend on public funding.

I’m thinking, for example, of various nonprofit groups that provide important social services, the organizations who run shelt ers or who run all kinds of other facilities or lots of other organizations who are actually left hanging financially. Mr. Oberle: Vote for the bill, then. We have interim supply. That’s the point of it. Dr. Taft: I’m getting encouraged by the Member for Peace River, the Solicitor General. He likes what I’m saying, I think. My point was that until we have a proper budgeting system in place as a government, these interim supply bills get debated.

Until the budget itself is passed, all kinds of people out in the community are left wondering what financial support they will be getting. I’ve gone around. I’ve talked with all kinds of people from north to south, east to west in this province who plead with me to urge the government to come up with a better budge ting system. They have staff. They’ve got bills. They’ve got contr

Document details

Collection	Alberta — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	20110317
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Language	en
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