March 24, 2003 Alberta Hansard 659 Legislative Assembly of Alberta Title: Monday, March 24, 2003 1:30 p.m. Date: 03/03/24 [The Speaker in the chair] head: Prayers The Speaker: Good afternoon. Hon. members, would you please remain standing after the prayer for the singing of our national anthem. Let us pray. Our Father, we confidently ask for Your strength and encouragement in our service of You through our service of others. We ask for Your gift of wisdom to guide us in making good laws and good decisions for the present and the future of Alberta. Amen.

Now, would you please join in the singing of our national anthem. We’ll be led today by Mr. Paul Lorieau, and would you please feel free to participate in the language of your choice. Hon. Members: O Canada, our home and native land! True patriot love in all thy sons command. With glowing hearts we see thee rise, The True North strong and free! From far and wide, O Canada, We stand on guard for thee. God keep our land glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. The Speaker: Please be seated. head: Introducti on of Visit ors The Speaker: The hon.

Minister of Municipal Affairs. Mr. Boutilier: Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It’s my pleasure today to introduce two guests sitting in the Spea ker’s gallery tod ay. His Wo rship May or Dave Bronconnier is here representing Alberta’s largest city, the city of Calgar y. I’d like to introduce him as well as his chief of staff, Marc Henry. I’d like to invite both to rise and receive the warm welcome of the Assembly. head: Introduction of G uests Mrs. McClellan : This m orning I had t he opp ortunity, with my colleague from Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, to attend the investiture of lifesaving honours.

It is my honour and pleasure to introduce to you and through you to members of the Asse mbly two young men who received tha t hono ur along wit h a fr iend of theirs who was unable to be wit h us in t he Legislature. They were honoured for saving a friend of theirs from icy water, actually at the seventh hole of the Drumheller golf course. I told the young men that we always thought the back nine was the dangerous part. These young men joined a number of others today in being honoured for extraordinary efforts to save a life. I will first introduce the two young men and their guests in your gallery.

We have Kyle Kohut and Jef f Potter. These are the young men, with their friend Ben Ki rby, who saved this young man’s life. They’re accompanied by John Kohut, Blair Potter, and Jarred Potter in y our gallery, Mr. Speaker. With your permission – the balance of their guests are in the members’ gallery – in the interests of time I would ask them to stand as well: Sandra Kohut, Liz Potter, Carli Samuel, Brittney James, Karly Kohut, and Jennifer Potter. Would you please give our guests a very w arm welcome. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills. Mr. Marz: Thank you, Mr . Speaker .

I’m v ery proud today to introduce to you and through you to members of the Assembly five constituents from Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills. I’d like them to stand as I call their names. First, Bev Oliver from Three Hills. She was at the same awa rds this morning that the Dep uty Premier sp oke of, where she received her bar to the se rvice medal for eight years of volunteer service. We have Bob and Anna Thompson. Bob is a member of the David Thompson health authority from the Trochu area. They are very proud to have with them their daughter Deanna, who also received an award this morning, the M.G.

Griffiths plaque, which is the highest bravery awa rd presented by the Royal Life Saving Society, for Deanna’s work in Bali during the terrorist attacks on October 12 of last year, where she narrowly escaped the bombing but reacted very quickly in helping to save lives an d treat many of the injured. They are all seated in your gallery accompanied by my lovely wife, Janis, and I would ask them all to stand and receive the very warm welcome of this Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Redwater. Mr. Br oda: Thank you, M r. Sp eaker.

On your behal f it’s my pleasure to r ise today to introduce to yo u and through you to the members of this A ssembly 81 spec ial guests, 67 students and 14 adults: teachers Mr. McDonald, Mrs. Chapotelle, parent helpers Mrs. Redl, Mrs. Ducharme, Miss Hill, Mrs. Gatzki, Mr. Stott, Mrs. Wahlund, Mrs. Rempel, Mrs. de Bruijn, Mrs. Steckly, Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Dubrûle, and Mrs. O’Brien. They’re seated, I believe, in both galleries, and I’d ask them to pl ease ris e and rec eive the warm welcome of this Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Economic Development. Mr. Norris: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

It does give me a great deal of pleasure to rise on this glorious A lberta day and introduce to you and through you so me few i ndividuals from our Economic Development communications branch, a job not without its challenges. They are visiting the House today, and I’d ask them to rise as I call their names a nd be recognized: Chantal Be esley, Trina Dool, Rebecca Gillham, Connie Hill, and my old high school pal Ken Klatchuk. Would you please rise and rec eive the warm welcome of the House today. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Centre. Ms Blakem an: Thank y ou very much, Mr . S peaker.

I’m v ery pleased and honoured tod ay to be a ble to introduce to you and through you to all members of the Assembly a very sharp group of students who atte nd John A. McDou gall school in my riding of Edmonton-Centre. They’re seated in the public gallery. I’ve already met with them. They’re very aware of current issues like smoking and VLTs. With them today are two instructors, Ms Dhyana Roche and Miss K ym Beres, and I would as k them all to plea se rise and accept the warm welcome of the Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Strathcona. Dr. Pannu: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I’m delighted to introduce to you and through you to all members of this House Mrs. Hayward from Edmonton. She’s very concerned about the financial crisis that our public school system faces today and has been facing for some y ears. Mrs . Hayw ard is a pa rent of f ive childr en and

660 Alberta Hansard March 24, 2003 grandparent of 11. Mrs. Haywar d’s grandchildren att end five different schools, and she’s active with each of the schools . She’s a tireless volunteer and passionate supporter of adequately funded public schools. Mrs. Hayward is seated in the members’ gallery, and I will now request her to please rise and receive the warm welcome of the Assembly. 1:40 The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Riverview. Dr. Taft: Thanks, Mr. Speaker. It’s my pleasure to introduce to you a guest who’s seated in the members’ gallery.

She’s a constituent of mine, a mother of four, a passionate advocate of public education, and a member of the Windsor Park school committee. I would ask all members of t he Asse mbly to give Melanie Sha piro a wa rm welcome. If you would stand, please, Melanie. Thank you very much. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Highlands. Mr. Mason: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased to introduce to you and through you to this Assembly one of the very active people in the New Democratic Party. Erica Bullwinkle is the first vice-president of the Alberta New Democrats.

She took part on Saturday, along with 18,000 other people, in the rally that ended at this Legislature, and she’s here this afternoon to listen to the parties’ positions on the current situation in the Midd le East. I would ask Erica Bullwinkle to please rise and receive the warm welcome of the Assembly. head: Ministerial Statements The Speaker: The hon. the Premier. War in Iraq Mr. Klein: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise to comment on the strong friendship that Alberta has with Canada’s closest ally and neighbour, the United States.

As American troops put their lives on the line across the world to defend very fundamental principles that Albertans share with the United States, I believe that it is important that our friends in the U.S. he ar voices of fr iendship and support from abroad. Equally important is a message of support for troops from Britain and Australia, our friends in the Commonwealth. They, too, are at the front lines of this conflict, an d our pr ayers are with them. Mr. Speaker, Albertans have strong ties with the United States. These ties extend far beyond economic interests.

The ties between Alberta and the U.S. are rooted in much common history, a tradition of interchange of ideas, and shared values. Today, as conflict rages in Iraq, the thoughts of Albertans, including me and everyone in the government caucus, are not on economic issues. Our thoughts are with the troops, their families, and t he American people, who a re risking so much in order to uphold what so many believe in. Our thoughts are also with the people of Iraq, a people with a long and honourable history of contributions to civilization, the arts, and human progress.

We pray that peac e will c ome quickly to the ir nation and that the result of this conflict will be lasting freedom and prosperity for them. Certainly, Mr. Speaker, war is a horrible thing. Television images that Albertans and people around the world have seen over the last few days a re powerful, sobering reminders of the ugliness that is war. These images and the very idea of war are stirring passionate emotions among Albertans and people across the globe.

There are profound differences of opinion among people as t o whe ther this conflict is neces sary or justifi ed, and I re spect and I’m sure all members of this Legislature respect the views of those who disagree with that conflict. I know tha t people who oppose this war speak honestly and from the heart. For me our friendship with the United States means that we must send a message of s upport and support f or other part ners of t he coalition. This does not mean that I advocate the use of Canad ian troops in the conf lict. I don’t even know if Canad ian troops have been requested.

There are Canadian military personnel in the region, and our thoughts today are for their safety and the well-being of their families. In rega rd to t he Iraq co nflict the deploym ent of the Canadian military is a matter strictly for the federal government, and I will respect their decisions on the issue. My message, Mr. Speaker, is one of friendship. It is a message of support for our neighbours and friends in the United States. It is the hope that the conflict will end as soon as possible and that coalition troops will return home to the arms of their families safely and soon.

It’s the wis h that the v alues all free peoples share, values such as freedom of expression, of belief, of opportunity, will echo in Iraq and indeed across the world as the result of this conflict. Thank you. Dr. Nicol: We live in a dangerous and confusing time, Mr. Speaker. With the eve nts of Sept ember 11 our w orld has funda mentally changed. We hav e entered a new e ra with n ew cha llenges, chal- lenges which arise from actions of individual leaders like Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. How we respond to those challenges will determine what sort of world we leave to our children.

What this new world needs, Mr. Speaker, is leadership, but that leadership must come throu gh the United Nat ions, not from one nation acting a lone. We recognize that the United State s is our friend and ally. Many people say you should stick by your friends during this difficult time. That is true. Through the war on terrorism we have stuck by our friends. The Official Opposition believes that l eadership in the new age must be found in the rule of l aw. A t the interna tional leve l the United Nations is the o rganization that the w orld has chos en to embody and apply that rule o f law .

If we espouse our love for freedom and demo cracy, t hen we must respect the fundame ntal principles on which democracy is based . Prov incial and federal politicians in Canada know the importance of the rule of law. We practise it every day. Canada is governed by the Constitution, that sets out the powers of the federal and provincial governments. Just as it would be wrong f or the fe deral gov ernment to intrude into matters of provincial jurisdiction, so too it is wrong for the provin- cial governm ent to i ntrude into ma tters of federa l jurisdicti on.

Provincial leaders should address their concerns of federal jurisdic- tion to the government of Canada, not to representatives of foreign governments. Mr. Speaker, the democracies of the world are expected to provide leadership and guidance to a postwar Iraq. How can we provide that guidance if we don’t respect the rule of law at home or abroad? In closing, Mr.

Speake r, t he Off icial Oppos ition sends the ir thoughts and prayers to the men and women serving with the U.S., British, and Australian forces, to their families, to the families of the people of Iraq who suffer from this action, and to our own men and women in the Canadian a rmed forces, who continue the fight on terrorism. When we speak of friendship, we should not forget the important ties that many Muslim communities in Alberta and Canada feel to the people of Iraq. War will bring a great deal of suffering and strife to that troubled region. It is important that Canada be there through

March 24, 2003 Alberta Hansard 661 the United Nations to help with the reconstruction of Iraqi communi- ties. This ac tion would be consistent with Ca nada’s long-term commitment to peacekeeping and peace building through the United Nations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Mason: Mr. Speaker, I would request unanimous consent from the Assembly so that the leader of the New Democrat opposition can reply to the Premier’s statement. [Unanimous consent granted] The Speaker: The hon. leader of the third party. Dr. Pannu: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the House and you for this opportunity for me to make a statement on this very important issue of historic importance to all of us. I’m pleased that the Premier has chosen to retreat from some of his more inflamma- tory statements last week in support of the war against Iraq and his statements opposing the federal government’s decisi on t o not participate in what is an illegal and unnecessary war. Last Saturday tens of thousands of Albertans marched peacefully against the decision of the Bush and Blair administrations to launch this war of invasion a nd occupation .

T his included 18,000 Edmontonians in the largest-ever rally in the history of this province. These Albertans marched in solidar ity with millions of U.S. and British citizens who disagree with their governments on this war. These citizens realize that this war o f aggression violates the UN charter and will only make the world less secure and less stable. My New Democrat colleague and I, Mr. Speaker, maintain that the Premier should n ot h ave se nt a lette r to the U.S. ambassador purporting to speak on behalf of Albertans in expressing support for the Bush administration’s decision to launch the Iraq war.

This was clearly inappropriate for a provincial Premier, who is normally very sensitive about fede ral intrusions into Alber ta’s jurisdiction. I therefore urge the Prem ier to send a f ollow-up le tter to the U.S. ambassador clarifying that he respects the decision and the jurisdic- tion of the Canadian government to not participate in the war against Iraq. Like the Premier I, too, wish for a speedy end to this conflict, but surely the best way for this to happen is for the U.S. government and its allies to stop the war and withdraw from the territory of Iraq.

An immediate end to this unjust, unnecessary, and unacceptable war of aggression is imperative, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. head: 1:50 Oral Quest ion Peri od Time Allocation Dr. Nicol: Mr. Speake r, d emocratic gove rnment m eans that the people send me mbers of all

partie s to the L egislature to debate matters of great public importance. Here in Alberta, however, this freedom is threatened by a government limiting debate on three bills affecting many citizens and arrogantly dismissing anyone who dares to oppose them. My question to the Premier: what’s your govern- ment policy on when time allotment should be used? Mr. Klein: Time allotment should be used, Mr. Speaker, when we have clear indication from the Liberal opposition that they’re going to filibuster and hold up the business of the people of this province.

Relative to one bill – I’m not sure which one it was; I think it was Bill 3 – I thin k they’ve already had seven hours of debate. Now, there are only seven of them. You know, that’s an average of one hour each. I can’t imagine what they can possibly say in seven times one hour that hasn’t been said before. His Worship, the mayor of the c ity of Calgary, is in the gal lery today. I don’t know if the rules have changed, but I recall that at city hall debate was limited to five minutes per person. You know, if you can’t say what you need to say in five minutes, then there’s no use saying it at all.

They’ve had seven hours already. Dr. Nicol: To the Premier: how can you shut off the debate when you haven’t yet heard or seen all the amendments we’re proposing on those bills? Mr. Klein: Mr. Speake r, they had lots of time t o bring their amendments. Y ou kn ow, som e ame ndments a re rationa l, but amendments are sim ply anothe r tool of f ilibuster. N uisance and frivolous amendments are another rule of filibuster so they can talk again another se ven hours on e ach and e very amendment. When they keep bringing amendments forward and opportunity to speak and speak and speak again, that to me is a filibuster.

Dr. Nicol: To the Prem ier: if Bill 2 7 was s o time s ensitive, why wasn’t that bill on health labour relations introduced at the start of the session instead of later? Mr. Klein: Mr. Speaker, there is an Order Paper, and the Liberal opposition is privy to the Order Paper each and every day. We try to bri ng t hese bi lls forward a s qu ickly as we can, but there is a process. There is a process in terms of getting a bill ready. Now, there are 47, I be lieve, pieces of legislation on this spring’s Order Paper.

Each of those pieces of legislation, since they are government bills and priv ate m embers’ bills – there are, w ell, 47 gov ernment bills, and I don’t know how many p rivate members’ bills; many, many. But here is the process – and they will never know what the process is because they’ll never be in government . . . Mr. MacDonald: Don’t be too arrogant. Mr. Klein: No, I’m not being ar rogant. Lookit; you went d own from 32 to 17, and now you’re down to seven. Next time around you’ll be down to none. Mr. Mason: We’ve got nowhere to go but up, Ralph, so watch out for us. Mr. Klein: Just wait and see.

Education Funding Dr. Nicol: When it comes to funding for education, this government has broken more p romises than it has kept. According to the Minister of Learning’s press release of April 25, 2001, in addition to funding for teachers’ salaries, school boards w ere promised in- creased funding for local priorities such as enhanced literacy, class sizes, and increasing costs in noninstructional areas such as transpor- tation and operations and maintenance. The school boards dedicated the grant increase of 3 and a half percent to the classroom, following exactly the minister’s directions.

To the Minister of Learning: given that school boards spent this money on the classroom, as directed, where does the minister think the school boards will get the money for the teachers’ salaries? The Speaker: The hon. minister.

662 Alberta Hansard March 24, 2003 *See p. 668, right col., para. 1 Dr. Oberg: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I do not have the press release from two years ago in front of me, but I do believe it says that af ter cons ultation with the AT A and with school boar ds there would be money available potentially for the classroom. I will attempt to get a copy of the actual press release and be able to read it and elucidate the Assembly as to what it actually said. Dr.

Nicol: Again to the Minist er of Learning: is the minister accusing the school boards of not being open about their finances when they s ay tha t there’s no mone y left to fund the arbitrated settlement with teachers? Dr. Oberg: Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. Leader of the Opposition is referring to what we have done in Edmonton, and I think he will be pleasantly or unpleasantly surprised when the audit comes back. We h ave some schools, f or example, that a re showing utilization rates of anywhere from 24 to 25 percent. We’ve got to take a very serious look at some of these things.

We hav e school programs in schools that have 35 students i n them. Even in rural Alberta that program would not have continued. Mr. Speaker, I would just ask that the hon. Leader of the Opposi- tion wait until we have the audit. I’m hoping that the audit will be in by the end of next week. My people are now telling me that the actual audit itself will be approximately 200 pages, so I don’t know if we will have it by the end of this week. Dr.

Nicol: Again to the Minister of Lea rning: will the minister prevent the teacher layoffs and cutbacks planned in schools across Alberta and finally fund the arbitrated salary agreement? Dr. Oberg: Mr. Speaker, there are two parts to that question that I’d like to respond t o. F irst of all, the part about funding the actual settlement: there was $ 298 million g iven for a settlement of $260 million, and I’ve said that numerous times in this Assembly. There is one other poin t that I hope the hon.

Leade r of the Opposition will find interest ing, and that is that the re have been, apparently, layoff notices, or there have been teachers that have been singled out to be laid off in Edmonton. A very interesting fact is that Edmonton public does not know how many teachers will be retiring until the end of May, so it seems a little bit premature to be putting in layoff notices when they don’t know – they don’t know – what number will be retiring due to attrition. The Speaker: Third Official Opposition main question. The hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar. Energy Deregulation Mr. MacDonald: Thank you, Mr.

Speaker. Energy deregulation is the most spectacular policy failure of this Progressive Conservative government. Business owners are so upset. They say: “The bills are so big; I don’t like to open them up until they’re due. Why stress myself out?” My first question is to the Premier.

Given that an owner of a furniture store had an electricity bill of $7,000 in 2001, $12,500 in 2002, and if the current prices co ntinue will have a $24,000 bill at the end of this year, how can the Premier continue to claim that energy deregulation has reduced the cost of electricity for this and other small business owners across this province? Mr. Klein: Mr. Speaker, I noted that the hon. member used “if,” but he doesn’t mention if prices go down what will happen. If prices go down, then, you know what? They will go on to another issue. You just watch an d see.

You se e, they watch t he political winds, and whatever way the political winds blow, then they make a lot of noise, but as soon as the situation quiets down – so if the price goes down, so will the rhetoric. So I say to that business owner: you look at things overall. You look at a very low taxation regime. You look at a government that plays fair, that gets out of the way of business to let them conduct business. You look at the very, very high productivity rate that we have in this province.

You look at numerous other things that make up the Alberta advantage – no payrol l tax, no s ales tax, very low corporate tax, no capital tax, all of these things that Liberal and ND socialist governments have in other jurisdictions – and then you sort of figure out, which they haven’t been able to do yet, why thousands of businesses are moving to this province. 2:00 Mr. MacDonald: It’s been a mistake, and you know it.

Again to the Premier: given that in 2003 the year-to-date whole- sale price for electricity is 8.9 cents a kilowatt – and that is 3 cents a kilowatt higher than it was last y ear – when can small business owners in Edmonton expect this mythical price of yours to come into effect? When are prices going to go down instead of up? Mr. Klein: Mr. Speaker, prices will go down when the price of gas comes down, when the cost of generating electricity comes down, as more competition c omes onstream. It wil l come down.

I w ould remind the hon. member t hat it was the business community that supported strongly the notion of deregulation. Absolutely. When it was first in troduced in 1995, w e had strong support from the chambers of commerce in this province and from the private sector generally. You know, it’s so typical of the Liberals to focus on the negative impacts of anything, because that’s where their minds are. Their minds are in a negative mode. To speak a bout the positiv es in this pr ovince, I’ll call o n the Minister of Economic Development. The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Norris: Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker. As the Premier indicated, there are a lot of facts that I would like to put on the table because the fiction that seems to emanate over there is confusi ng, muddying the water. I would like to j ust point out as a sma ll business owner w hy people set up in Alberta. It’s a great place to do business. In Alberta unemployment in the last two y ears has risen to the highest, Mr . Speaker, an ywhere i n C anada.* The number of new jobs is the highest of anywhere in Canada. This should very much interest the hon. member opposite. [interjections] Hey, hey, hey, fellows. The largest increase . . .

The Speaker: That’s my job to say hey, hey, hey. Hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar, your last question. Mr. MacDonald: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This to the Minister of Economic Development. How can this minister state that entrepre- neurs must accept more responsibility for high energy prices when this Progressive Conservative gover nment’s energy dere gulation policy is to blame? Mr. Norris: Well, now I’m back up, sir. I ’ll give y ou the bottom line. Mr. Speaker, I would like to preface this because this is very important for everybody to u nderstand, inclu ding the L iberals.

There are conc erns in the small and me dium and large business communities. There’s no dou bt a bout that. We are not g oing to

March 24, 2003 Alberta Hansard 663 deny that. But the bottom line is that all the economic indicators that everybody looks for in Canada are the best in Alberta. I want to talk about the one that the hon. member was referring to, saying that busines ses are in turmoil , that th ey’re having trouble. The largest number of increases in small business in all of Canada, Mr. Speaker, took place – guess where? – in Alberta.

So I would ask the hon. members opposite: instead of focusing on one piece of the puzzle, which is an important one, why don’t you look at the whole package that this government I think quite brilliantly has put together that makes it the bes t business environment in the co untry, no ifs, ands, or buts about it? The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Strathcona, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Rutherford. Education Funding (continued) Dr. Pannu : Thank you, Mr . Speaker.

For the las t fe w mo nths school boards, pare nts, commu nity groups have all been trying to warn this government that if funding for education doesn’t increase beyond the planned 2 percent, massive service cuts will occur in our schools. Another example o f how this gove rnment is letting Edmonton down: Edmonton Tory MLAs are telling trustees to not expect anything beyond a 2 percent increase for the next budget year.

With inflation over 7 percent, an arbitrated teachers’ settlement of 14 percent, s kyrocketing utility costs, and a hos t of other factors driving up cost s, this w ould represe nt a slap in the fac e of Edmontonians who believed that they were getting a seat at the table when they voted Tory. My questions are to the Minister of Learning. How can the m inister defend a 2 p ercent in crease for Edm onton public when he k nows this will m ean ballooning class s izes in Edmonton schools? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Dr. Oberg: Thank you very m uch, Mr. Speak er.

I will not be commenting on the budget, as the budget is going to be laid down in this Assembly on April 8. What I will do, though, is, if I can, read a press release from budget 2001. “I look to the school boards and the Alberta Teachers Association to ensure these significant resources are maximized – giving a fair [settlement] to teachers and addressing classroom needs.” The bottom line is that the budget is on April 8, and I would ask that the hon. member wait to ask q uestions on the budget until it’s actually tabled. The Speaker: The hon. member. Dr. Pannu: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Maybe the minister can tell the House if he will be advocating in cabinet for a funding increase of more than 2 percent for Edmonton schools. Dr. Oberg: Mr. Speaker, one of the things that occurs in govern- ment is a thing called cabinet . . . An Hon. Member: Secrecy. Dr. Oberg: Well, basically, the things that are said in cabinet must stay in cabinet, and tha t’s something that the hon. mem ber will probably never see in A lberta. What is said in cabinet remains in cabinet. What is said in Treasury Board remains in Treasury Board. The Speaker: The hon. member. Dr. Pannu: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the minister again: can the minister confirm that if in the last few days or weeks he or any Edmonton MLA co nsidered the que stion of f iring the Edm onton public school trustees for making public the deficit the board faces and the effect that that would have on our schools? Dr. Oberg: Mr. S peaker, I believe there are about two or three questions there. The first question, I do not respond to innuendo that has been written in the newspaper.

The second question is about a potential deficit, and I’ve said numerous times in this Assembly that there will be an audit th at will be done by, again, probably not the end of this week because it is lengthie r than we thought, but the re will be the deficit that will be looked at at that time if indeed there is a deficit, and how that will be dealt with will be decided at that time. So that is coming soon, and hopefully I’ll be able to give the hon. member a better answer at that time. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Rutherford, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Riverview.

Municipal Infrastructure Mr. McClelland: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Municipal Affairs. Municipalities, particularly Alberta’s major cities , have persistent and increa sing dem ands to provide infrastructure and other services due to the enormous growth pressures of our buoyant economy. My question: does the minister recognize these problems, and what’s being done to address them? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Boutilie r: Yes.

W ell, to fol low up o n some o f the earlier comments by the Minister of Economic Development, over the last nine years Alberta has been the fastest growing province in Canada, and of course the 360 munic ipalities that fal l under muni cipal government are in fact growing each and every day and very rapidly.

In fact, just this morning His Worship the mayor of Calgary as well as the mayor of Edmonton as well as the president of the AUMA, representing over 200 municipalities, as well as the president of the AAMD and C for mun icipal districts and counties – we met wi th them in partnership with developers, with the UDI group, the Urban Development Institute, and many others relative to: how do we grow the pie? As you know, Mr. Speaker, when people come to Alberta, the fastest growing province in our country , they don’t bring their municipal infrastructure with them.

What we were doing today in our workshop was look ing at potent ial enabling legisla tion, in partnership with those developers, to grow the pie to deal with the kinds of municipal infrastructure pressures that cities such as Calgary and Edmonton are facing. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. McClelland: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final supplementary question is to the same minister. Does the minister have a road map or a blueprint by which achievement to meet these ends will be and can be measured? The Speaker: The hon. minister. 2:10 Mr. Boutilier: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In measuring our progress, I’d like to say that our roles, responsibility, and resources committee, the first of its kind in Canada – the Member for Calgary-Mountain View, the Mem ber for Edm onton-Rutherford, the Member for

664 Alberta Hansard March 24, 2003 Whitecourt-Ste. Anne sit on that committee as well as the Alberta Economic Development Authority. What we’re endeavoring to do: as we go forward in the rapidly growing economy that we’re facing, we want to be able to measure that progress by working in partner- ship with municipalities, and we’re doing that. With today’s three- hour workshop we had some very good feed back f rom home builders, from the Urban Development Institute.

What we want to do before anything enters this House is consult with our stakeholders so we can measure to deal with the pressures that municipalities are facing. I think w e’re doing that, and I thi nk that in the short term you’re going to see some very enabling legislation coming forward to hear the feedback that we heard this morning from those stake - holders. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Riverview, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Calder. Education Funding (continued) Dr. Taft: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Minister of Learning says that parents should not use the proceeds of gambling to pay for the basics of school education, yet in some schools in my constituency budgets have f allen to the point where pare nt f und-raising from casinos now exc eeds the s chools’ tot al b udgets f or nonsalary operating expenses. Parents resent having to work casinos to pay for basics lik e computers, books, a nd supplies.

T o the Premi er: given that ma ny parents like t hose a t Windsor Park and virtua lly every school council I’ve spoken with think it is wrong to use t he proceeds of gambling for school education, will he explain why his government is not fully funding the curriculum that Alberta Learning mandates? Mr. Klein: Mr. Speaker, I think that the hon. Minister of Learning has explained the policy time and time and time again, and why the Liberal opposition fa ils to com prehend the a nswer i s beyond me. The answe r is a sim ple one, bu t knowing the ment ality of the Liberals, I will ha ve the hon.

Minister of Learning explain it one more time. The Speaker: The hon. minister. Dr. Oberg: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The hon. member raised specifically Windsor Park school. Windsor Park has approxi- mately 179 students and a utilization of 82 perc ent. They employ 8.7 teachers. For anothe r one that w as raised in this Assembly, McCauley school, the utilization is 35 percent. It has approximately 210 students. I’ve talked about numerous other ones. The bottom line on the question is that all the resources for the curriculum are provided to Edmonton public.

I believe that approximately a year ago certainly the superinten- dent for Edmonton Catholic put out a statement that there would be and that there was no fund-raising for the basic res ources s uch as textbooks, things lik e that. Mr. Speaker , the superi ntendent of Edmonton public put out a mandate to his principals for the same thing. If the hon. member would give to me that these schools a re indeed fund-raising for some of the necessities, I will certainly take a look at it. With site-based decision-making it is up to the schools how they spend those dollars.

I would be more than happy to look into it if it is provided to me. The Speaker: The hon. member. Dr. Taft: Thanks, Mr. Speake r. Well, the mini ster ref ers to Edmonton Catholic s chools, so w hat does the minist er say to Catholics who are forced to choose between breaking faith with their bishop who advises them not to work casinos for school funding or, on the other hand, their schools who depend on casino revenues for supplies and equipment? Dr. Oberg: Mr. Speaker, I would strongly suggest them to keep the faith. If they don’t want to work c asinos, then they don’t need to work casinos. Dr.

Taft: To the Prem ier: does government policy recognize any moral issues with using the proceeds of gambling to fund education? Mr. Klein: The question: does the government defend, I believe, any moral issues . . . Dr. Taft: No. I’ll repeat it. Does government policy recognize any moral issues with using the proceeds of gambling to fund education? Mr. Klein: Mr. Speaker, the hon. Minister of Learning has already pointed out that adequate funding is available to provide for school essentials.

Fund-raising, whether it’s through lotteries or bingos or other forms , bake sa les and cook ie sales and so o n, is used to purchase items such as f ield trips a nd band equipm ent and other items that the school council feels to be extra to the vital a nd essential needs of the sc hools. For y ears and y ears ra ffles and various forms of gambling have been recognized as a legitimate form of method to raise money for these extras. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Calder, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Glengarry. Constitutional Reform Mr. Rathgeber: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Kyoto protocol, a billion-dollar gun registry, and the Canadian Wheat Board Act are but a few examples of federal legislation that is bad for and disliked by many Albertans. Yet e ach of the se pieces of legislation c ould have been modified, if not defeated, if there was an effective set of checks and balances vis-à-vis the federal House of Commons. My questions are for the minister of intergovernmental relations. When is the government of Alberta going to table a constitutional resolu- tion to reopen a constitutional debate on Senate reform? Mr. Jonson: Mr.

Speaker, the government of Alberta has long been the leading ad vocate in Canad a with r espect to S enate reform. We’ve been an advocate for centuries actually. Alberta has held the only two Senate el ections in Canadian history, has long lobbied other Canadian g overnments in support of Senate re form, and continues to ra ise the is sue with the Prime Minister a t every opportunity.

In November, as members of the Assembly will recall, the Alberta Legislature again reaffirm ed its su pport for a triple E Senate by passing a resoluti on calling on the Prime Minister to r espect democracy and app oint one of the province’s elected Senate nominees. Foll owing that, the Premier wrote the Prime Minister again asking that he do the right thing and appoint one of Alberta’s nominees to fill a vacancy in the upper House. The Alberta govern- ment will continue to pursue Senate reform and will do its part to make sure that this is on the national agenda at every opportunity.

The Speaker: The hon. member.

March 24, 2003 Alberta Hansard 665 Mr. Rathgeber: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My only supplemental is to the sam e minister. Whe n is the gov ernment going to be come more proactive in redefining Alberta’s place in Confederation rather than reactive by filing unsuccessful court challenges? Mr. Jonson: Mr. Speaker, actually the government has been quite active with respect to issues that bear upon the question raised by the hon. member.

Recently there hav e been a w hole series of high- profile issues w here Al berta ha s found itself in fundamental disagreement with the federal go vernment, including t he Kyoto accord and health reform. I c ould just report to this As sembly, if they have not he ard this bef ore, that the se disag reements have triggered a public concern that Alberta is neither getting its due nor receiving the respect it deserves from the federal government. What I think sometimes gets lost in these tensions is the fact that Alberta has been a leader in the whole area of federal/provincial relations.

Alberta has a w ell-deserved reputation for facing prob- lems, developing workable solutions, a nd above all defending the interests of Albe rtans. In f act, we continue to be a leader at the negotiating table and have achieved some significant victories over the past year. We secured significant concessions from Ottawa on the Kyoto prot ocol related to em issions and c apping the c osts of implementation for the energy sector. In health care, Mr.

Speaker, Alberta was ins trumental in designi ng a h ealth counci l that wi ll report through health ministers and not be an independent oversight body, as recommended by the federal government. Alberta also led in the development of a dispute resolution mechanism in relation to the

interpretation of the Canada Health Act. Overall, Mr. Speaker, we have been very active in defending the rights of our provincial citizens. Municipal Governance Mr. Bonner: Mr. Speaker, last Thursday the Minister of Municipal Affairs mentioned the crea tion of six municipal authority pods in Alberta. To the Minister of Municipal Affairs: what would the role of these be in municipal governance in Alberta? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Boutilier: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Actually, w hat I did say last Thursday was this.

As we near our hundredth anniversary in this province, if we were creating Alberta again a hundred y ears later, would we create it w ith 360 municipalities? I think we a ll know today that the answer would probably be less because of the fact that what citizens of Alberta are telling us is they want more money on the front line and less i n governance. But having said that, I also would like to say this to the hon. member. I indicated that I would not for ce under my wa tch as Minister of Municipal Affairs any amalgamations in t his pro vince, and I continue to remain by that commitment.

The Speaker: The hon. member? The hon. Member for St. Albert, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Mill Woods. 2:20 Electricity Billing Mrs. O’Neill: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the past couple o f weeks I’ve been informed by a number of small businesses in my constituency that they have a new billing line charge on their Enmax bill, a line charge that has not been on the bill since signing a contract with Enmax in the spring of 2002. It reads, “Aquila RRO Rider,” and the am ounts are hug e. I’m outraged be cause m y constituents did not anticipa te this.

T hey’re appalled at the hi gh amount, and I’m appalled that a company can leave this charge off for six months, misleading their customers through negligence. So my question to the Minister of Government Services: where is the consumer protection? The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Government Services. Mr. Coutts: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In terms of consumer protection when it turns out that utility bills and bills have been added to or taken away from, one of the things that we found in the billing process, with many companies involved, was that there can be some inaccuracies and there can be some problems along the way. What we do in government is try to minimize those. As a result, last summer we had a billing task force, that was co-chaired by myself and the Minister of Energy.

We looked at billing inaccuracies, and we got a commitment from all of the companies involved as well as Government Services and, as well, the Energy and Utilities Board to make sure that a process was put in place so that those inaccuracies could be checked upon and made proper. The EUB has approved those rate riders that the hon. member is referring to, and a process is in place for anyone who has a cancella- tion or a colle ction.

T hey sho uld be advis ed that the EUB’s consumer complaint line is the place to go for those rate riders, and that particular phone number is 1-866-215-1181, so you can let your constituents know that that’s where to go. Now, Mr. Speaker, in terms of marketing, if there are marketers out there in her constituency that do not show a licence, do not abide by the 17-point code of conduct, do not present a contract in front of a prospective customer that has cancellation rights, then th e Fair Trading Act takes over.

Under that act if we find that people have violated that act, then $100,000 or two years in jail is the penalty for not abiding by that. If anybody wants to report that, they can call 1- 877-427-4088, and we’ll investigate. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mrs. O’Neill: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

While I’m on the topic of power bills, woul d the Ministe r of Energ y pl ease correc t the unconscionable fear mongering and misleading statements made by the Member for Edmonton-Highlands, who told my local paper that ATCO power bills will increase by 70 percent and that EPCOR and Enmax will be forced to charge the market rate instead of a regulated one. Mr. Smith: Well, Mr.

Speaker, in fact, the Member for Edmonton- Highlands is probably doing more to encourage competition, doing more to encourage rate setting contracts out there because he does mislead the public w ith statements here in q uestion period, with comments made in the paper. In fact, it’s a competitive marketplace where people c an make contracts, can m ake decisions about how much they’re going to pay each month, and they can determine who their provider is. They can determine how they would like their bill to be structured. There are reputable marketers out there.

There will continue to be reputable marketers entering the industry. And you know what? All it takes is for an ND politician to screw it up with bad information. The Sp eaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Mill Woods, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Highlands. Education Funding (continued) Dr. Massey: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The 30 school boards in zone

666 Alberta Hansard March 24, 2003 23 are having difficulty understanding how they are to p ay for the government-ordered arbitrated teachers’ settlement. The minister’s retroactive accounting is not helping them. My first question is to the Minister of Learning. Ho w else, other than by hol ding back funds, could boards have covered the arbitrated settlement? Dr. Oberg: Mr. Speake r, first of all, i t is zones 2 and 3 , and I understand that the hon. member had a meeting with zones 2 and 3 last Friday, I believe it was, with many of our MLAs that were there as well. Mr.

Speaker, the question that was asked is whether or not the 3 and a half percent and 3 percent should have been held back. I go back to the press release of 2001 and that it was up to the ATA and the school boards to decide where those dollars were put. We had an arbitration settlement that was 14 percent, and subsequently a good deal of those dollars were used for teachers’ salaries. We fully expect that the rest of the dollars would be put into the classroom. As I’ve said prob ably 15 or 20 times in this Assembly , there was $298 million allocated for a $260 million issue.

I fully recognize that there are school boards that have other costs, other issues, but when it comes directly to salaries, those are the amounts of dollars that were there. The Speaker: The hon. member. Dr. Massey: Thank you. Again to the same minister: will boards be ordered in the future to hold back all classroom improvement dollars in order to cover possible increases in teachers’ salaries? Dr. Oberg: Mr.

Speaker, the hon. member fully knows that BQRP funding or other infrast ructure fundi ng or, as he has call ed it, funding for the phy sical st ructures a re relat ed to the Minis ter of Infrastructure, and t hose dollars cannot be utilized for teachers’ salaries, things like that. Those are very important dollars that are used to upgrade facilities, and in many cases it is something that is extremely needed. The Speaker: The hon. member? The hon. Member for Edmonton-Highlands, followed by the hon. Member for Calgary-Currie. School Utilization Mr. Mason: Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker.

We continue to learn about t he financ ial problem s faced by Edm onton public school s because of this government’s under funding of educ ation. Four schools, including three in my riding, are being eyed by the board for closure. This will mean busing students to other s chools and will kill efforts to revitalize neighbourhoods as few parents will move to an area w ithout a school . My ques tions are t o the Ministe r of Learning. How many schools have to close and how many neigh- bourhoods have to be cut loose be fore this minister s tands up for education and properly funds Edmonton public school board?

The Speaker: The hon. minister. Dr. Oberg: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m certainly glad that the hon. member asked me that question. I will go through the four schools that Edmonton public has said that they are looking at closing. The first one is Bellevue elementary school, which has 55 students. The utilization rate of that facility is 24 percent. The second one is Horse Hill junior high program, Mr. Speaker, which is a program. The total school is ECS to grade 9, but they are looking at the junior high program. The number of students in the junior high program is 34.

The utilization rate of that school is 28 percent. Mr. Speaker, the next one is the Sherbrooke program. There are 83 students in grades 5 to 9 that are going to be affected by that. The utilization rate of that school is 30 percent. The last one is probably one of the more interesting ones, which is Stratford school. It pres ently has a grade 9 class which is an IB class that is being administered under Jasper Place school, but that school has 24 students, an d the ut ilization ra te of tha t school is roughly 28 percent. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Mason: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Well, it goes well beyond those sch ools because given the mini ster’s guidelines for utilization rates, t he public sc hool board is consider ing up to 50 schools that may be closed. Is the minister suggesting the closure of each and every one of those schools? Dr. Oberg: That is so absurd that it really does not warrant an answer. Edmon ton public currently is looking at four schools. [interjections] I will go on, Mr. Speaker. For example, the utiliza- tion rate for McCauley school is 35 percent. The utilization rate for Riverdale school is 57 pe rcent.

T hose sc hools require dollars to keep them heated, to keep them on. Closing the schools that they were talking about – for example, I believe that two of the schools would have saved the Edmonton public school board $613,000. Mr. Speaker, school closures are never eas y decisions, but I do commend the Edmonton public school bo ard for taking a look at them. Their overall utilization in Edmonton now is approximately 68 percent, which means that 32 percent of their facilities are empty. They’re taking a loo k at it.

This 5 0 schools thing, though: th ose kinds of rumours, those kinds of innuendos with no basis in fact are extremely harmful to the Edmonton public school system. 2:30 The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Mason: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Will the minister admit that his util ization f ormula, w hich exc ludes th ings like playschools, computer labs, and s o on, all of which ar e now considered empty space by his government, is contributing directly to those utilization rates that he’s talking about? Mr. Lund: Mr. Speaker, unfortunately the hon. member misrepre- sented the formula.

There are a number of things that are exempt. As a matter of f act, when you l ook at high schools that were built before 1990, we use the old formula for establishing utilization. The reason for that is because there is space, like wide halls, that in fact cannot be utilized for instruction, so we exempt those. We exempt certain configurations in order to use the old formula. But it’s really interesting that eve n if y ou apply the old form ula to the overa ll utilization of the Edmonton schools, we still only increase t he utilization by maybe 2 to 3 percent.

So the idea that it’s all because of a new formula is simply not true. Dr. Oberg: Further, Mr. Speaker, I just want to allow the Legislative Assembly to hear what the former leader of the New Democrat opposition said. But to be frank about it, 54 in a school – this school is closing itself down. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Currie, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Centre.

March 24, 2003 Alberta Hansard 667 Driving without Insurance Mr. Lord: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Some years ago someone close to me was h it b y a speeding car as she wa s walk ing through a crosswalk. She was knocked 75 fe et and nearly died. Some years later the same person was again hit by another car cr ashing right through the store windows to where she was sitting inside, and again she was severely injured. In both cases it turned out that the driver was completely uninsured in spite of being able to produce a pink slip at the time.

Since then I have heard similar stories from others such that I wonder w hat is going on. My quest ions are to the Minister of T ransporta tion. In light of the dra matic increases in insurance costs recently what are the penalties for driving without insurance? Mr. Stelmac h: Mr. Speaker , the penalt ies for driving w ithout insurance, of course, are a mandatory court appearance, and the first offence carries a fine of anywhere from $2,500 to $10,000. Then, of course, for com panies the fines are m ore seve re.

For a s econd offence within the first year the penalty does carry a jail sentence of a minimum of 60 days. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Lord: Thank you. To the same minister: what are the trends of people being cha rged and be ing convic ted of driv ing without insurance? Mr. Stelmach: Mr. Speaker, taking into the context that the number of regis tered vehicle s, both com mercial and pass enger, in this province has increased dramatically over the last 10 years, the actual trend is down.

But you’d have to break it down into those three key areas from providing a pink card when stopped by a peace officer to the other side of the spectrum, being in an accident and having no insurance. We are stopping more people on the highway today that fail to produce a pink card. On the other hand, in terms of convic- tions fo llowing serious accidents, the num ber of thos e situations where a person was not insured is showing a downward trend over the last 10 years. Mr.

Lord: My final question to the same minister: what safeguards are in place in order to make sure people have a valid pink slip and haven’t just canceled their insurance and got a refund after they got a pink slip to hang onto? Mr. Stelmach: Well, Mr. Speaker, at the end of the day we certainly rely on the fact that all Albertans want to be honest and up-front with their insurance. A number of things do occur on a regular basis.

One, whenever a police officer pulls a passenger or a co mmercial vehicle aside, they have the ability to confirm the insurance with the insurance agent, and the insurance agent has to provide the informa- tion when requested to do so by a peace officer. As well, because the fines have increased substantially, many Albertans are taking a second look at the cost of the fine versus higher insurance costs and are making provisions to ensure that they’re properly insured. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Centre, followed by the hon. Member for Calgary-Buffalo.

Video Lottery Terminals Ms Blakem an: Thank you, M r. Sp eaker. The gove rnment ha s announced that it is going to be making upgrades or replacing VLTs in our provi nce. This upgrade will be totaling some $105 million. Part of the costs have been attributed to new safety features which are said to help problem gamblers. My questions are to the Minister of Gaming. Is the government buying 6,000 new VL Ts, or is the money for upgrades to existing machines? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Steven s: Thank y ou, Mr. Speak er.

Tw o year s ago in our business plan we indicated that there would be a replacement of an aging VLT system. As the hon. member knows, in Alberta we have a cap. We’ve had a cap on VLTs since 1995 of 6,000 machines. Many of them came in in or about 1991 and accordingly at this point in time are in excess of 10 years old. They needed replacement some time ago. So the answer to the question is that the money is being spent on replacement of machines, which will give us an opportunity to utilize new technology to introduce responsible gaming features. The Speaker: The hon. member. Ms Blakeman: Thank you.

What evidence does the minister have that the new r esponsible gaming safety features will actually help reduce the tim e spent ga mbling and not be negat ed by the higher entertainment value of the new formats in programming? Mr. Ste vens: The issue of respons ible gam ing fea tures on the electronic gami ng mac hines is a relatively new one. The first province in Canada to introduce such featur es was Nova Sc otia approximately two years ago. Such features are also located in some of the states in Australia.

The research with respect to the effective- ness of responsible gaming features is still to be done in its fullness. However, there is preliminary indication that the features which we are bringing in here in A lberta and w hich were utilized in No va Scotia will assist the people playing the machines to manage both their time and money more effectively. The Speaker: The hon. member. Ms Blakeman: Thank you. Does the gove rnment see its rol e in providing these machines as one pri marily of providing e ntertain- ment or as a revenue source? Mr. Steve ns: I think it’s fair to say, Mr .

Speaker , that in the plebiscites of 1998 Albertans said to this government that what they wanted was for this government to manage and control VLTs. They wanted us to ensure that the cap was maintained. They wanted us to do it in a socially responsible fashion. Part of the man date of m y ministry is that we are to address a ll those issue s togethe r with ensuring that the Al berta lottery fund, which is utilized f or many community and public initiatives, is maximized.

So it is a combina- tion of all those things: social responsibility together with ensuring that there is revenue for the Alberta lott ery fund and for the good work that it does. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Buffalo, followed by the hon. Member for Calgary-Bow. Community Initiatives Program Mr. Cenaiko: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The community initiatives program has been returning lottery dollars to community groups and not-for-profit organizations, including volunteer organizations, to support their worthwhile endeavours in the community.

S ince we are coming to the end of the first yea r of the program and rec ently

668 Alberta Hansard March 24, 2003 *See p. 662, right col., para. 9 we’ve heard a lot of concerns a bout parents f und-raising for core items in schools, could the Minister of Gaming provide me with an update on how the program is doing since its introduction last June? 2:40 The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Stevens: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a nice tie-in to the questions asked b y the las t member becaus e this is a very good example of the good work that is done as a result of Alberta lottery dollars. The com munity initiative s program was broug ht in and announced last June.

It’s a $30 mill ion per ye ar progra m. I’m pleased to say th at the feedback from volunteer groups wh o have availed themselves of this program is extremely positive. The year ends at the end of this month, March 31. At this point in time there are approxi mately 900 a pplications w hich have been proces sed. They’re continuing to work on this, and by the end of the month we anticipate that well over a thousand will have been processed. As far as the type of applications, Mr.

Speaker, I can tell you that they are varied, with recreational initiatives receiving, according to my most recent data, about 25 percent of the money; social service initiatives, another 25 percent; cultural initiatives, about 20 percent; and the b alance wo uld in clude com munity servic e, educati on, heritage, environment, and health. The education initiatives which were funded at the tim e of this information, which is now dat ed, were approximately 5 percent. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Cenaiko: Thank you, Mr. Speak er.

My final question to the same minister: can the minister explai n his department’s policy relative to funding core items with lottery dollars? Mr. Stevens: The Ministry of Gaming has had in place since 1996 a gaming proceeds policy, and as it relates to educational funding, I can tell you that we take that seriously. We have a list of approxi- mately 16 specific paragraphs that deal with that that outline in detail what is and what cannot be funded. For example, funding includes resource materials but not textbooks. The Gaming ministry is also guided by the Alberta School Boards Association’s policies.

Those are in place, and I can advise that any funding tha t is done by this ministry is in compliance with those guidelines. I think it might be of note to the members here that one year ago my ministry was FOI Ped by the Liberals opposite. It’s not some- thing that they ’ve talked about in th is House, bec ause it’s good news. They wanted to get information on 20 schools throughout the province regarding t he use of casin o event pro ceeds. A year ago they were asking the sam e question with respect to the u se o f proceeds and the funding of textbooks and things of this nature.

The fact of the matter is that I can advise that you haven’t heard about it because all 20 of those schools were utilizing the procee ds i n accordance with the AGLC policy. The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Economic Development wishes to supplement an answer? Energy Deregulation (continued) Mr. Norris: Yes. Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Speaker. I would like to clarify one of the stats that I used earlier in explaining the outstanding growth that we’re experiencing in Alberta. I believe I said that the unemployment rate was the highest in Alberta.

What I actually meant to say , clearly, is that the e mployment rate is the fastest growing in Canada.* That was obvious. I would like t o just offer q uickly, Mr. Speaker, for clarification that in the year 2001 employment rose by 2.8 percent and in ’02 rose by 2.6 p ercent, creating some 45,000 new jobs. I regret that that came out incorrectly and would like to reiterate that it is employment that is on the rise, not unemployment.

The Speak er: As per our rules, hon. m embers, whe n an hon. minister of the Crown supplements an answer, there’s an opportunity given to the original member who first posed the q uestion. Hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar, if you wish. I believe it was your exchange. Mr. MacDonald: No, thank you, at this time, Mr. Speaker. head: Recognit ions The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar. Peace Rally Mr. MacDonald: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to congrat- ulate more than 18,000 Albertans who took the time last Saturday to raise their voices on behalf of innocent people halfway around the world.

Men, women, and children from all walks of life exercised the freedoms they e njoy in Canada and mar ched to t he Alber ta Legislature from city hall in support of peace in one of the larges t protests the Alberta capital has ever seen. The Edmonton Coalition against War and Racism did a fantastic job of organizing the peace rally, and the crowd is to be commended for exercising its right to peaceful protest. Congratulations to a ll those Albertans who k now that they can make a difference with their words and their actions. All they asked was for this government to give peace a chance. Thank you.

The Speaker: The hon. Member for Banff-Cochrane. Beaupre Community Hall Mrs. Tarchuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On Saturday I had the opportunity to wit ness Al berta comm unity spirit at its best as I participated in the gra nd opening of the new Beaupre Community Hall just west of Cochrane. It was only a year and a half ago that fire destroyed Beaupre’s treasured old hall at the hands of arsonists.

Local residents were shocked and saddened and mourned the loss of a facility that held decades of fond memories for them, but it was not long before a group of volunteers set their sights on a new and improved hall and through determination proved adversities can be and will be overcome when a community unites. Local municipali- ties, businesses, and individuals gave generously, and today we have a beautiful multipurpose, very impressive community building that everyone can be proud of . On Saturda y friends and nei ghbours young and old filled the hall to reminisce and celebrate, and what a celebration it was.

Please join me i n congratula ting the Be aupre Com munity Association, their dedicated members, and all who contribut ed to this wonderful facility. Thank you.

March 24, 2003 Alberta Hansard 669 The Speaker: The hon. Member for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills. Deanna Thompson Mr. Marz: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a pleasure for me today to stand in this Assembly and recognize a great young Albertan. On October 12, 2002, Deanna Thompson was vacationing in Bali with friends when tra gedy struck in a nightclub ri ght across the street from Deanna’s hotel. Fortunately for her she was still in her hotel and not in the nightclub, where she was supposed to meet friends. The blast fr om the e xplosion shat tered w indows in h er hotel, knocking her and her friend to the floor.

In the chaotic situation that ensued, Deanna went outside, where she encountered a young lady suffering from burns to her upper body and in severe pain. She immediately assisted in helping this young lady with another person and got this person to medical assistance. Right after that, Deanna returned to the scene to further assist with more than 30 other victims w ith no thou ght of ris k or injury to herself. Mr. Speaker, Deanna has since learned that one of her friends from Hungary was in that ni ghtclub that night and did not survive the injuries of this horrible terrorist attack.

This morning Deanna received the M.G. Griffiths plaque, which is the highest bravery award presented by the Ro yal Life Saving Society of Canada. On behalf of all Albertans I’d like to congratu- late Dean na on the rec eipt of thi s award and say : we ar e all ve ry proud of you for what you’ve done. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-West. Spring into Spring Extravaganza Ms Kryczka: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’m very pleased to share with thi s Assembly a very positive a nd exciting education example, one that has been occurring in my constituency of Calgary- West for m any years.

L ast Monday even ing the Erne st Manning high school music department presented the ninth annual Spring into Spring extra vaganza at Calgary’s larg e, prestigious Jack Singer Concert Hall with special guest performers from two feeder junior high schools, Vincent Massey and A.E. Cross. The wonderful performance for family and many friends demon- strated the exc ellent achievement of the music programs at these schools, achievement attained only through hours and hours of hard work, team work, and the support of many who value the fine arts. The calibre a nd versatility of the student m usicians, Mr.

Speaker, was truly impressive. The respect and camaraderie for their music teachers was also very obvious, as was their love for music. Recognition must also be given to the talented and dedicated music teachers and conductors: K evin Willms and Dwayne Engh, music directors at Ernest Manning high school; Ken Thackry, music director at Vincent Ma ssey junior high school; and Paul Brow n, director of music at A.E. Cross junior high school. To the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra: too bad you missed the massed band finale of 285 musicians. It was absolutely thrilling. Thank you. The Speaker: The hon.

Member for Calgary-Shaw. Esso Women’s National Hockey Championship Mrs. Ady: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to take this moment to recognize some extraordinary Albertans who took

part in the 2003 Esso Wome n’s National H ockey Championship that took place March 12 to 16 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Team Alberta captured the coveted Abby Ho ffman cup in front of over 1,100 fans at Saskatchewan Place, and A lberta finished the t ournament with a perfect record of six wins and zero losses, outscoring their opponents 46 to 10. Mr. Speaker, the teamwork and determination of these extraordi- nary w omen fr om Te am A lberta w as a tes tament to Albert a’s contribution to keeping our national sport at the top of its game both nationally and here at home.

Along with capturing the gold, Da nielle Goyette w as awarded MVP for the tournament and Colleen Sostorics received the award for top defenceman. The other gold medal w inners included Amanda Tapp, Danielle Ayearst, Delaney Collins, Blythe Wurm, Kayley Hall, Je nna Barber, Trin a Rath geber, Ca ssie Cam pbell, Becky Klein-Sw ormink, Meaghan Mi kkelson, Dana Antal, K erri Wallace, Corinne Swirsky, Jenel Bode, Kel ly Bechard, Samantha Holmes, Karen Medhurst, and Brittony Chartier. Mr.

Speaker, these amazing athletes and their staff have brought Alberta hockey spirit to the national le vel, and on be half of all members and all A lbertans I’d like to send m y congratulations to them. Thank you. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Mill Woods. 2:50 Victoria School of Performing and Visual Arts Dr. Massey: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I recognize the work of the Edmonton public school board in ensuring that the inner city will continue to have a high-quality high school. In the early 1980s the board was faced with building a new centre for education.

Consultants recommended that it be built on one of four possible si tes: the old admi nistration bu ilding pro perty, McNally high school, Alex Taylor, or attached to Vict oria hig h school. The view that attaching the building to Victoria high school would ensure a viable high school in the inner city convinced the board. Then minister of education David King went out of his way to assist the board with this project. Twenty years later that decision has proven sound, and Victoria has grown beyond expectations to become a K to 12, world-class fine arts school.

Today the public boa rd is ma intaining tha t commitment to the inner city. Faced with a host of other building demands, the board has made replacing the dated Victoria a top priority. A brand-new building to house that world-class school in the heart of the city will soon be a reality. Congratulations, trustees. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Fort. War in Iraq Mr. Cao: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With honour I rise to recognize the sacrifices made by those who fight for us.

Having the advantage of being born and raised in Vietnam during the per iod of the 30- year-long war, I can say that my family and many others fought for freedom and democracy locally and globally. The local repressive regime made it hard and impossible without the help from outsiders to share the same humanity ideals. As the wars are going on in Afghanistan and Iraq, I feel strongly for the fighting men and women on the f ront lines, far away from their homelands. I see thos e fighters as my family members who bravely stand up for me and many other s.

They help sustain our quality of life , freedom s, and dem ocracy we enjoy locally and globally. They are not fighting against a people, a nation, or a faith. They are m aking the ir ultima te sacrifi ces for our free dom and

670 Alberta Hansard March 24, 2003 fighting against the regi mes of tyranny that prom ote violence and hatred around the world. Mr. Speaker, I believe that we all want to fight against tyranny. Our arguments and hes itation are on how and when a nd where to fight. Someone has made the tough decision for us. Let’s now all work together to the end of the fight in helping the millions to build a life on the same freedom and democracy we enjoy. In gratitude to the freedom fighters I remain. Thank you. Speaker’s Ruling Recognitions The Speaker: Hon. members, thank you.

Today four members went over the one-minute rule mark, and I really don’t want us to arrive at a situation one day where people are going to stand up on points of order and what have you because people have gone a few seconds beyond. So could I just ask again to try and find the ability with one’s articulation to stay within the one-minute rule. head: Present ing Pet itions The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Strathcona. Dr. Pannu: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise on behalf of the working poor in Alberta to present a petition signed by 54 Calgarians.

These Albertans are petit ioning the L egislative As sembly to u rge th e government to immediately ra ise the minimum w age to $8.50 per hour and index it to the cost of living. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. head: Intro duc tion o f Bills The Speaker: The hon. Member for Drayton Valley-Calmar. Bill 33 Insurance Amendment Act, 2003 Rev. Abbott: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I request leave to introduce Bill 33, the Insurance Amendment Act, 2003.

The proposed bill contains two amendments to the Insurance Act that will ensure that awards resulting from an automobile accident return an individual to the same financial posi tion they e xisted in before the accident occurred. [Motion carried; Bill 33 read a first time] The Speaker: The hon. Government House Leader. Mr. Hancock: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move that Bill 33 b e moved onto the Order Paper under Government Bills and Orders. [Motion carried] The Speaker: The hon. Member for Drayton Valley-Calmar. Bill 34 Livestock Industry Diversification Amendment Act, 2003 Rev. Abbott: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to request leave to introduce Bill 34, the Livestock Industry Diversification Amend- ment Act, 2003. The intent of this bill is to make it easier for Alberta’s diversified livestock industry to establish a domestic market. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. [Motion carried; Bill 34 read a first time] The Speaker: The hon. Government House Leader. Mr. Hancock: Thank you, M r. Speaker. I mov e that Bill 34 be moved onto the Order Paper under Government Bills and Orders. [Motion carried] The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Fort. Bill 35 Tobacco Tax Amendment Act, 2003 Mr. Cao: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I request leave to introduce Bill 35, the Tobacco Tax Amendment Act, 2003. The amendments in this bill will strengthen the controls regarding the purchase and sales of tax-exem pt tobacco at duty-free stores , over the Interne t, and throu gh the A lberta India n tax ex emption program. These changes will help lev el the play ing field for all businesses that sell tobacco. I t also fur ther discourages smoking, making Alberta a healthier province in which to live. Thank you. [Motion carried; Bill 35 read a first time] The Speaker: The hon. Government House Leader. Mr. Hancock: Thank you, Mr. Speak er.

I move t hat Bill 35 be moved onto the Order Paper under Government Bills and Orders. [Motion carried] The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Manning. Bill 212 Alberta Personal Income Tax (Education Tax Credit) Amendment Act, 2003 Mr. Vandermeer: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I beg leave to introduce Bill 212, the Alberta Personal Income Tax (Educat ion Tax Credit) Amendment Act, 2003. This bill will amend the Alberta Personal Incom e Tax Act by introducing a n onrefundable tax credit to he lp parents pa y for independent school t uition and also ext racurricular t utoring pro- grams.

The intent of Bill 212 is to prov ide educational choice to families in Alberta who do not have the financial resources to pay for independent school education. It would also partially cover the cost of extracurricular tutoring and extra special-needs schooling. Thank you. [Motion carried; Bill 212 read a first time] The Speaker: The hon. Member for Wainwright. Bill 213 Canada Pension Plan Opting Out Act Mr. Griffiths: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I request leave to introduce a bill being the Canada Pension Plan Opting Out Act.

This bill allow s Alberta to cre ate an Alberta pension plan that would benefit all Albe rtans bette r by se rving dem ographics and Albertans’ needs. [Motion carried; Bill 213 read a first time] The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Lougheed.

March 24, 2003 Alberta Hansard 671 Bill 214 Matrimonial Property (Division of Property on Death) Amendment Act, 2003 Ms Graham: Thank you, Mr. Speak er. I reque st leave this after- noon to introduce a bill being the Matrimonial Property (Division of Property on Death) Amendment Act, 2003. Mr. Speaker, this act would amend the Matrimonial Property Act to ensure that the surviving spouse of a marriage terminated by the death of the other spouse has equivalen t rights on t he division of matrimonial property to a spouse in a mar riage te rminated by divorce.

Thank you. [Motion carried; Bill 214 read a first time] The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Bow on behalf of the hon. Member for Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview. 3:00 Bill 219 Alberta Commission on the Status of Men Act Ms DeLong: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I beg leave to introduce Bill 219, the Alberta Commission on the Status of Men Act, on behalf of the Member for Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview. Bill 219 would establish a co mmission on the status of me n to address issues of cultural bias, stereotyping, cultural discrimination, men’s health, and family relat ions.

For exa mple, fatherlessness is considered by growing numbers of social thinkers in North America to be North America ’s foremost social problem. S tudies h ave revealed a strong link between fathers’ absence and substance abuse, juvenile delinquency , teen preg nancy, and educationa l failure. I understand that there are economic and social issues that still exist between men a nd women ; however, I also be lieve that we ar e in danger of fueling these problems unless urge nt health and social issues related to men are addressed. A commission on the status of men is a step in the right direction. Thank you, Mr.

Speaker. [Motion carried; Bill 219 read a first time] head: Tabling R eturns and R eports The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Strathcona. Dr. Pannu: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I rise to table five copies of a le tter fr om Mrs. E lizabeth A nne Hay ward, a pro ud grandmother and public education system advocate. It’s a three-page letter very carefully written, but her message is very clear when she says: When you cut to the chase, nothing in our society is as important as an e xcellent public educational sy stem a nd an ex cellent publ ic health care sys tem.

Both dese rve, and wil l always require, our biggest dollars. We are not a poor province . . . Let’s get with it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: That’s a good idea. The hon. Member for Edmonton-Ellerslie. Ms Carlson: Thank you, Mr. Sp eaker. I hav e one tabling today. It’s from Dennis Floate of Calgary, and he is urging the provincial government to “withdraw its draft management plan for the Evan- Thomas Provincial Recreation Area” in Kananaskis. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Mill Woods. Dr. Massey: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

With permission I’d table the required number of copies of a document entitled Key Messages, a presentation made at the zone 23 MLA meeting on March 21, 2003, which focuses on school buildings, investing in the future, and the governance of public education. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar. Mr. MacDonald: Thank you, Mr. Sp eaker. I have th ree tablings this afternoon. The fir st one is sig natures from a petitio n. This brings the total to over 5,000. These are residents of Red Deer , Hinton, DeBolt, Barons, Lethbridge, and Camrose, to name a few.

These citizens signed this petition: “We, the undersigned residents of Alberta, petition the Legislative Assembly to urge the Government to reinstate natural-gas rebates immediately.” This petition can be accessed at altaliberals.ab.ca. The second peti tion I have is a lett er dated Fe bruary 23 fr om Shirley Clarke , who is a parent of some c hildren who a ttend Kenilworth junior high. This letter outl ines her c oncern wi th funding to our public education system. The next letter that I have i s also from a parent of a g rade 7 student at Kenilworth junior high. It’s Nadia A.

Munarolo-Kurjata, and she is expressing concern about the education crisis and how it can be alleviated by reducing the size of the government and putting valuable teachers first. Thank you. The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Justice and Attorney General. Mr. Hancock: Thank you, Mr . Speaker. The othe r day, I think during question peri od, a com ment was raised with res pect to the number of tim es in whi ch time allocation has been us ed b y th e federal government.

I’d like to table for the records of the House today a document which shows that time allocation has been used 71 times and closure used a further nine times by the Liberal govern- ment since its election. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Riverview. Dr. Taft: Thanks, Mr. Speaker. The correspondence on education keeps rolling into my o ffice. I have a series of postcards today addressed – well, this one’s addressed to me. On the back is a child’s drawing . “Edmonton Elementary a ttempts to sma sh t he world record for number of Grade One Students in the classroom.” It shows kids stacked up on shelves.

The next one, from a different constituency but addressed to me, is a report c ard for the provincial government. It grades under listening a grade of F. It says, “Easily distracted, only able to listen in an election year.” Another report card, this one from S. Dobrotsky. This postcard subject: education funding grade to the provinc ial government, F. Comment: “Seems to have an unrealistic expectation of how far a dollar can be stretched.” The next postcard is f rom Val West in Edmonto n, saying, “Wanted: A government that listens and cares, previous applicants need not apply.” So it continues.

This is one fr om Carla Spinola expressing concern that govern- ment has refused to fund the 8 percent for the teachers’ salary allowance. One from Mario Nascimento. Another one, saying, “Fully Funded High Quality Public Educa- tion Now” from Stacey Pelechaty. Thank you.

672 Alberta Hansard March 24, 2003 The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Glengarry. Mr. Bonner: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With your permission I have three tablings today. The first is from Barbara Toombs, and she goes on to say, “I heard on the news today that Ralph Klein is requesting the Alberta MLAs to . . .” The Speaker: Okay, okay, okay. Please sit down. Six times la st week I said that you can’t use names in this Assembly. Six times at least I said it. We’re going to start again this Monday. You don’t use names in this Assembly. Mr.

Bonner: She goes on to say that on the news today she heard that the Premi er is reque sting “the A lberta ML A’s to dra ft a document in the name of and on the behalf of Albertans supporting the US attack on Iraq,” and she goes on to say, “I would like to make it clear that I do not want it to be in my name or on my behalf.” My second tab ling, Mr.

S peaker, is the appropr iate number of copies of a letter to me from the mayor of Edmonton, and he goes on to say: I am writing to share with you my disappointm ent with the Prov- ince’s decision not to sign the Vision, Principle and Fiscal Frame- work de veloped and appro ved by the Minis ter’s Council . This document represented a milestone in provincial/municipal relations and clearly establishing A lberta as leaders nationally in acknowl- edging the critical need to ad dress the financial cris is facin g Canadian municipalities.

The third is a document which indicates that in a 120-page ruling issued today, Judge Allen Schwartz of the US Federal District Court, Southern District of New York, has thrown out Talisman Energy’s motion to dismiss the suit brought against them on behalf of southern Sudanese plaintiffs. Thank you. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Highlands. Mr. Mason: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m tabling a number of lette rs today in connection with the situa tion in the Middle East. First of all, I’m tabling a letter f rom Mr. Charles B.

Davison dated March 18 addressed to the Prime Minister and copied to the Premier of Alberta. Mr. Davison writes that the Premier does not speak for all Albertans as Albertans are clearly against the war in Iraq and Canadian involvement in this endeavour. The second is a letter to the Premier signed by 139 indi viduals, Mr.

Speaker, who state their objection “to your action, without even a debate in the Provincial Legislature, of sending a letter of support to the United States Ambassador.” I have an e-mail her e addressed to the P remier oppo sing a ny motion in the Legislature expressing support for the policies of the Bush administration on Iraq. I have an e-mail addressed to the Premier acknowledging his right to his opinions and his right to speak out on provincial matters while chiding him for overstepping his bounds by writing directly to the American ambassador.

I have another e-mail addressed to me expressing concern that the Premier’s statement about the so-called war on terrorism and tyranny will only se rve to inc rease terrorism and tyranny throughout the world. I have an e-mail here, Mr. Speaker, addressed to me, pointing out that the Premier has no ri ght to send l etters to foreign o fficials on behalf of Albertans, particularly if such a letter supports an illegal war. 3:10 I only have a few more, Mr. Speaker. I hav e an e-mail from a constituent who opposes the war and does not know any Albertans or Americans who do support the war.

I have an e-mail addressed to the hon. Member for Drumheller- Chinook opposing the l egitimacy of any m otion table d in the Legislature supporting the war on Iraq. An e-mail addressed to the Prem ier opposing any motion in the Assembly which supports the war on Iraq. An e-mail to the Premier opposing the U.S. attack on Iraq. I have a letter addressed to the Premier. The writer is appalled at the notion that the Alberta government would table a motion in the Legislature supporting an illegal war. Two more, Mr . Speaker .

I hav e an e-m ail addres sed to the Premier acknowledging his right as a Canadian to express his views but reprimanding him for claiming he represents all Albertans and for stepping outside his jurisdictional authority. Lastly, I have an e-mail addressed to the Premier opposing any declaration by the Alberta gover nment that supports the illegal military intervention in Iraq by the United States and Great Britain. The Speaker: Were there any points of order today that the chair may have missed? head: Orders of t he Day head : Written Ques tions The Speaker: The hon. Deputy Government House Leader. Mr.

Zwozdesky: Thank you, Mr. Speak er. Proper notice ha ving been give n on Th ursday, March 20, I now move that written questions appearing on today’s Order Paper do stand and retain their places. [Motion carried] head: Motions for Retur ns The Speaker: The hon. Deputy Government House Leader. Mr. Zwoz desky: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Once again, proper notice having been given on Thursday, March 20, I would now move that motions for returns appearing on today’s Order Paper do stand and retain their places. [Motion carried] head: Publi c Bil ls and Orders Other than Government Bills and Orders Third Reading Bill 201 Emblems of Alberta (Grass Emblem) Amendment Act, 2003 The Speaker: The hon. Member for Highwood. Mr. Tannas: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It’s with great pleasure that I rise in the Assembly this aft ernoon to mov e third reading of Bill 201, the Emblems of Alberta (G rass Emblem ) Amendment Act, 2003. Mr.

Speaker, as I mentioned before, Festuca scabrella, known as rough fescue, is a long-lived perennial bunchgrass with deep fibrous roots which tap soil nutrients and bind soil particles. It’s self-curing, nutritious, a native grass that is a m ajor component o f the rough fescue grasslands which makes excellent winter grazing not only for

March 24, 2003 Alberta Hansard 673 livestock but, of course, for wild animals as well, like deer and elk. Its relatively high protein content provides forage, then, for livestock as well as wildlife, and the deep roots facilitate water penetration and act as a water retention factor in the watershed, particularly on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. A tussock of rough fescue has a life spa n of we ll over a hundred ye ars, and c onsequently it produces only a few seeds each year with the occasional heavier seed sets every few years.

With the passage of Bill 201, the Emblems of Alberta Act would be amended further t o include roug h fescue, designating it as our provincial grass. Provincial emblems, Mr. Speaker, are important as they reflect a province’s history, its biodiversity and nature, and the nature of this provi nce. Emblems such as this portray w ho we as Albertans are. Designating rough fesc ue as our provincial grass would recognize it as an official sy mbol of our prairie heritage. Provincial emblems are selected because they are symbolic of the province’s history, nature, or culture, past or present. You know, Mr.

Speaker, Alberta’s provincial tree is the lodgepole pine. This tree was used extensively in the early 1900s to construct railway ties. However, today its role has ex panded, and it is a significant contributor to Alberta’s forestry industry as the lodgepole pine is processed into many lumber products such as poles, posts, plywood, and mine timbers. Another official emblem is the great horned owl, which Alberta adopted as its provincial bird in May of 1977.

This bird was the first choice of Albe rta’s schoolchildren, a nd it proudly reflects the concerns of Alb ertans for t he mana gement, conserv ation, and preservation of our province’s wildlife. All of Alberta’s emblems, from the wild rose to the bighorn sheep to the bull trout, reflect symbolic meaning and value to our province. Amending the Emblems of Albert Act would serve to enhance the legislation through inclusion of another significant emblem. Mr. Speaker, it has been affirmed before in this House that rough fescue is a dominant native grass on the Alberta prairie and foothills.

While I acknowledge that it is only found in the southern two-thirds of the provinc e, some other pro vincial emblems are not as wide- spread throughout the pr ovince. The lodgepole pine, for instance, does not gro w in ma ny areas of the province , nor will you find bighorn sheep or pe trified wood present all across the province of Alberta. Nevertheless, they are still important emblems of Alberta. Furthermore, Alberta is the only jurisdiction in North America that contains all three species, or varieties, of the rough fescue complex.

This native vegetation i llustrates the bio diversity of th e province from the prairies to the foothills and to the mountains. Native grasses which have been designated by other jurisdictions have been chosen becau se t hey portray the history and culture of those regions and therefore have a speci fic meaning and value for each of those regions. The sel ection of rough f escue is consistent with Alberta’s other emblems. The prairie landscape is part of our cultural history and has a significant value to our Alberta identity. The prairie la ndscape may have appe ared hars h to the ear ly settlers.

Many pioneers came to the west because the price of land was reasonable and there was an opportunity to fulfill their hopes of building a better life for their fam ilies in a land that promised prosperity as well as religious and political freedom. These settlers saw the Alberta prairie as a land of opportunity, a wilderness frontier to be shaped i nto a new home. The treeless prairies soo n became dotted with f arms a nd settlem ents. It took m en and wom en of courage and perseverance to transfer this land to fertile fields. These pioneers lived off the land and depended on the native grasslands.

Before the opening of the west to settlement and after the transfer of the Hudson’s Bay territory in the northwest to the Dominion of Canada, ther e devel oped a unique ra nching lif e on prairie and foothills grasslands on the ope n range of Alberta. Generations of Alberta ranchers have acquired strong, emotional ties to the land and to the animals which depend on native grasslands. They feel a deep sense of st ewardship of the land.

Individua ls who depe nd on the land for their livelihood inevitably recognize and acknowledge the advantages and values of living in concurrence rather than in conflict with the land a nd will adhere tow ard its pre servation and its conservation. Grasslands in general, Mr. Speaker, have a great spiritual value for our aboriginal people. Such people as the Stoney, Sarcee, Blackfoot, Blood, Peigan, and Plai ns C ree hold nati ve gra sses as being significant to their pra irie cultural heritage, and they honour their close connection to the land. Mr.

Speaker, rough fescue along with other native grasses are of biological and scientific interest in that the prairie is one of the major ecosystems in North America. Native grasslands in our province are rich in biodiversity. Natural processes have altered the landscape over thousands of years. The pr airie was influenced primarily by aridity, fire, flood s, drou ght, and the impact of h erds of large herbivores like the buffalo. The p rairie ecosystem has s urvived despite significant pressures and change. Alberta’s native g rasslands provide va luable for age f or our livestock.

When prairie grasslands are used as rangeland for cattle, money gets contributed to the Alberta economy. The livestock industry is an important part of our province’s economy. Alberta, as you know, is the l argest beef-producing province in Canada . We have over 40 percent of the na tional beef cattle herd. In 2001 this sector contributed a n estimated $5 billion i n farm cash receipts to our economy. Native grasslands have contributed to the economic value of the province.

Designating rough fescue as our official grass would acknowledge its importance to farmers and ranchers and its economic significance, and it would a cknowledge the historic and cultural significance of the First Nations people of the plains. 3:20 Mr. S peaker, it is ev ident that na tive grasses are an im portant symbol to Al bertans. Th e dee p ro ots of ro ugh fescu e po rtray a strong, stable g rass, thus ref lecting our western heritag e and the strong secure people that built our prov ince alon g with those that support and contribute to its prosperity today.

Through the passa ge of B ill 201, exis ting legislation would be amended to include another provincial emblem. Rough fesc ue would be designated as our official grass and would serve as another provincial symbol reflecting our he ritage, celebrating our culture, and valuing our natural history. I urge you to strongly support and encourage all of my colleagues to vote in favour of third reading of Bill 201, the Emblems of Alberta (Grass Emblem) Amendment Act, 2003. Thank you. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Cardston-Taber-Warner. Mr. Jacobs: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It’s certainly a privilege to rise today to speak in support of Bill 201, the Emblems of Alberta (Grass Emblem) Amendment Act, 200 3. Again in t hird reading I commend the Mem ber for H ighwood for bringing f orth this pro - posed amendment. Many things have been said about this grass and its importance to Alberta, and I would just like to offer a f ew comments on a practical basis as one who has worke d in the livestock industry for many years and has seen the benefits of this grass to the agricultural industry. I think, Mr.

Spe aker, it ’s important to recog nize history and factors that have made a diffe rence to the diversification and

674 Alberta Hansard March 24, 2003 progress of agriculture in Alberta. I think it’s important to recognize the importance of agriculture in Alberta. Much has be en said the past few days in our debate about competition, and I would like to point out to the m embers of the A ssembly that a griculture, to my knowledge, is one of the few, if not the only, industries in the world that basic ally ope rates under what is defined by economists as perfect competition. That basically says that no one seller or buyer could affect the market.

Because of this competition and because of the nature of the agricultural industry we in Canada enjoy access to the best food in the world at a very reasonable price. If you look at it, we don’t work very many days as Canadians or as Albertans to buy the food that we eat. So I think agriculture has done a great job in feeding Canadians and in feeding the North American economy, really. Rough fescue as a gr ass has c ertainly had an im pact on the agricultural industry and upon its success.

From the point of view of the ranching community and their use of rough fescue, one has to look at the historical benefits of this grass. Many of the early settlers were attracted to this prov ince because of g ood grass a nd lots o f good grazing. So they moved their cattle herds here from other places to take advantage of grasses such as rough fescue. Rough fescue has the advantage of being able to cure on the stem and remain palatable and maintain its nutrition throughout the year. Some of the tame grasses su ch as alfalfa and timothy do not have that advantage.

They lose their palatability over the winter and are not good grazing grasses,

whereas rough fescue is a grass that cures on the stem , and c onsequently it can be util ized by ranchers throughout the year. The advantage to this, Mr. Speaker, is that it allows the ranchi ng comm unity to m inimize their cost s. It’s certainly a lot more efficient to graze animals over the winter as long as possible as compared to bringing in the cattle or the livestock and feeding them hay.

Rough fescue has the advantage that its protein levels are pretty well good enough to maintain the basic beef cow for most of the year w ith perhaps a little bit of protei n and vitam in supplement during parts of the year as the m ature cow approaches the calving season. But for most of the year this grass can maintain a cow and even provide hay. If ranchers choose to cut the grass for hay, it certainly will w ork also a s hay.

So when y ou look at the advantage of the grass with a view to minimizing costs and allowing cattle producers to survive the cattle cycles, the high prices and low prices, certainly it’s important for them to be able to minimize expenses, and this grass has done a good job of allowing them to do that. So, Mr.

Speaker, when you consider the nutritional value of this grass, its ability to maintain itself throughout the year and cure on the stem, and when you consider what the livestock industry is in Alberta today and how it has developed, part of its development has been due to a gr ass like rou gh fescue , and certa inly I thi nk it deserves to be hi storically preserved as an e mblem of Albe rta. I would urge all members in this Assembly to support this bill. Thank you very much. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills. Mr. Marz: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

It’s a pleasure to enter into the debate again on Bill 201 in third reading. I supported this bill in se cond reading, and I’m pleased to do so aga in toda y. This bill will make rough fescue Alberta’s provincial grass. Because the grass in its three forms covers the majority of our province and because of its s pecial cha racteristics as well as its very posi tive environmental impact, I believe rough fescue should be named Alberta’s official grass. I’d like to make some comments on what rough fescue has done in the past.

It has played a very significant role in helping those who first began farming in our province, and it continues to do so today. Actually, it’s one of t he primary grasses that sustain much of our wildlife, such as deer, elk, antelope, and, in days gone by, the bison. Therefore, I believe it contributes to our hunting and our outfitting industries as we ll as touris m. I be lieve i t’s also responsible f or future generations of farmer s he re in Albe rta.

Rec ognizing the benefits that rough fescue grasslands have had on our province and by naming it our provincial grass, we’ll be helping preserve it for the future generations of Alberta farmers. Also, by doing so, we will be making a commitme nt to p reserve farming as an integral part of Alberta’s future. I believe it’s our responsibility as members of this Assembly to protect a nd preserve and enhanc e the econom ic and social framework of this province.

It’s also our job to celebrate our province’s heritage and ensure that knowledge of the history of this province is imparted to future generations and every person in this province. Given that rough fescue has a major role in sustaining our province, I b elieve it deserves a place am ong our provincial emblems. Mr. Speaker, as a farmer myself to me farming is a w ay of life. However, I do understand that it’s also a business. Rough fescue has helped maintain th at way of life in this province, and it has also helped maintain our ability as farmers to make a successful living here in Alberta.

According to the Prairie Conservation Forum, we’re the only province which has al l three subspecies of this grass, and they all exist in this province simultaneously today. The forum also states that it would be difficult to figure out how the p arkland and the foothil ls regions of this pro vince coul d have sustai ned any agricultural development in days go ne by without the existence of this grass. It provided critical winter feed for our pioneers to sustain their livestock numbers and thereby helped to sustain those pioneers who plowed the land and raised livestock.

It’s also a very efficient retainer of nutrients, which helps to keep our soil in t his provinc e some of the most fertile soil around. 3:30 Passing Bill 201 may well have the effect of promoting an increase in the amount of rough fescue in our province by raising awareness of its impor tance. Given the economic importance of our range- lands, which generate some $230 million a year – and the Minister of Economic Development would be ha ppy to hear that – this bill would ensure that there’s more rough fescue on those ran gelands, and that would mean more successful agriculture activities for years to come.

It’s been said that farming is our herita ge, our pre sent, and our future. Our land here will always be farmed. Unlike oil, which is a limited, unrenewable resource, our land is a renewable resource. In order for that farming to continue in the future, we need to ensure that the natural nutrients a re renew ed.

R ough fescue has been identified as one of those key ingredients to keep renewing soil, and it’s up to us toda y to ensure that rough fe scue is the re for f uture generations and to educate those that are in the farming industry on the role that rough fescue has played in our past and what value i t has for future generations. By passing Bill 201, we’ll be taking one more step in protecting rough fescue for future generations, and I’d like to take this opportunity to urge all members of this Assembly to support this bill. I will be supporting this bill, Mr.

Speaker, and in closing, I’d like to ask all members to recognize the work and the foresight put into this by the hon. Member for Hi ghwood and to support this bill as well. Thank you very much.

March 24, 2003 Alberta Hansard 675 The Speaker: The hon. Member for Redwater. Mr. Broda: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my pleasure to rise today to offer my comments on Bill 201, the Emblems of Alberta (Grass Emblem) Amendment Act, 200 3. I wo uld l ike to commend my colleague from Highwood for bringing forward this bill, that would designate rough fescue as the official grass of Alberta. Mr. Speaker, over the past number of years a growing number of Albertans have urged this government to recognize the role that rough fescue has had and c ontinues to have in the socioe conomic development of our province.

At no time was this m ore apparent than in April of 2002 when the Alberta conservation forum counted the votes that Albertans had cast to select what grass species would best serve as a symbol of our unique western heritage and identity. In this election Albertans had choices. In addition to rough fescue, four other shortli sted spec ies we re identif ied – June grass, blue grama grass, western wheat grass, and green ne edlegrass – but instead they selected rough fescue, a grass famous for its resilience, beauty, and agric ultural val ue.

Today this As sembly has the opportunity to tell the people of this province that they have heard their choice and that as th eir representatives in this Hous e we are going to do something about it. Mr. Speaker, I would like to explain why so many Albertans hold rough fescue in such high regard and how this valuable grass has helped shape who we as Albertans are today. Of all the grasses that occur naturally in Alber ta, rough fe scue has arguably played the most significant role in the history an d the dev elopment of our province. An Hon. Member: Who would argue that? Mr. Broda: I don’t know.

In the many years before European settlement rough fescue was the crucial i ngredient w hich helped shape the identity and the traditional lifestyles of many of Alberta’s native peoples. The same fescue plant that continues to carpet the grasslands and foothills of southwestern Alberta today also served as the ever important forage for herds of big game species including bighorn sheep, mule deer, elk, bison, and buffalo. Due to its ability to thr ive and survive the cold winter conditions, rough fescue was the primary source of food for these animals throughout the year.

Moreover, the various tribes of native people developed a v ery close relationship with this rich and seemingly inexhaustible source of forage as it ensured that the herds of game would remain sufficiently plentiful to allow hunting. It can be sa id that for the tri bes that inhabited and hunted on the plains of southwestern Alberta, rough fescue was an essential agent of life which enabled their culture and society to thrive. However, Mr. Speaker, not just native people recognized the value of rough fescue.

Early European settlers, many of whom fled their former homelands as a result of war, inst ability, impoverishment, and persecution, came to the prairies in search of a better life. The vast majority of them saw farming as a way to earn money, rebuild their lives, and achieve prosperity, just as the native people before them had done. In time they, too, came to appreciate the significant role that rough fescue played in the life cycle of the prairies. Just as wildlife appreciated rough fescue, the grass also proved to be an ideal s ource of f orage for livestock.

Hig h in nutr ients and resilient to e rratic weather conditions, rough fescue became a mainstay in the diet of a number of our domesticated animals. The native peoples of Alberta and the ea rly se ttlers both ow e their experience of survi val and w elfare to this tall , exquisite , an d abundant grass. In a way, Mr. Speaker, it can be said that rough fescue was a factor that contributed indirectly to the opening of the western frontier. Like the grass that they came to depend upon, these early Albertans were people of true grit and determination.

As rough fescue had to adapt in order to survive in a tough prairie environment, these early pioneers also had to adapt to life in a new and vastly different land. However, they did not only adapt to life on the prairie, but through hard work and perseverance they laid down the foundation for the future economic success and prosperity which we are able to enjoy today. A s it d id i n th e pas t, r ough fes cue con tinues to p lay a significant role in A lberta’s agricultural production. I t remains a reliable source of high nutritiona l value for a numbe r of dom esti- cated animals. Mr.

Speaker, if Bill 201 is not passed, we will lose a ter rific opportunity to increase awareness and understanding of the signifi- cance that rough fescue and other native grasses have had in shaping the Alberta we have today. When the is sue of the Kyoto prot ocol came up last y ear, this government argued that Alberta would be unfairly affected by the accord’s carbon credit clauses. We felt that it was unfair to impose such a plan on our prov ince, considering tha t Alberta has a v ery large number of naturally occurring carbon sinks. R ough fescue serves as one of our province’s bigges t carbon sinks.

These grasslands are som e of A lberta’s leading c onductors of carbon dioxide, a cycle in which plants take in carbon dioxide and in turn produce oxygen. Rough fescue, it has been proven, is particularly good in accomplish ing th is task and as a result has contributed greatly to keeping our environm ent clean. Mr . S peaker, if this province i s serious about reducing t he amount of the dea dly greenhouse gases within our atmosphere, then we must take steps to protect rough fescue and Alberta’s native grasslands.

If we lost the prairies, we would not only compromise our ability to improve the state of our environment, but we would also compromise the quality of life for future generations of Albertans. 3:40 Apart from this environmental quality, rough fescue also remains the main food source for much of our wildlife, as indicated earlier. Unfortunately, man y of these spe cies are currently at risk of becoming endangered or, worse, extinct as a result of the loss of their natural hab itat.

A ccording to the Prairie C onservation Forum 73 percent of the e ndangered a nimal s pecies th at live in Albert a currently depend on the Alberta grassl ands for food. When com- bined with the fact that their natural habitat is shrinking, the survival of these species looks very grim. Mr. Speaker, if this province has any hope of re plenishing the already depleting s tocks of our endangered wildlife, we need to start protecting their natural habitat. This means protecting rough fescue. I am co nvinced, Mr.

Speaker, that designating rough fescue as Alberta’s provincial grass will not only help educate Albertans about the importance of native grasses to our wildlife and environment, but it will also rais e awareness of the need to su stain and preserve Alberta’s native g rasslands. Rough fe scue has played and will continue to play a significant role in the de velopment of our province if only we will let it do so. It is part of our identity, our culture, and our herita ge. I urg e all my colleagues to giv e it the recognition that it deserves by supporting Bill 201. Thank you very much. The Speaker: The hon.

Member for Medicine Hat. Mr. Renne r: Well, thank you very m uch, Mr. Spea ker. It ’s a pleasure for me to have an opportunity to discuss Bi ll 201 at this time. I’d like to use the time that’s available to me this afternoon to

676 Alberta Hansard March 24, 2003 discuss three issues. F irst of all, the issue of provincial emblems: why is it appropriate, and why do we as a Legislature even spend our time dealing with issues such as provincial emblems? Secondly, I’d like to talk about: why would we choose to have a g rass as a provincial emblem? Then, obviously and most important to this bill, why should we choose rou gh fescue as a grass? Wi th your indul- gence let me start down that path.

First of all, provincial emblems, I think, are something that we do with so me reticence from the perspective that once we recognize something as a prov incial e mblem, we w ant to ensure that it represents the province and the people of A lberta in a significant way, and we don’t think it would be appropriate for us to be dealing with 20 different bills recognizing provincial e mblems at eve ry session of the Legislature.

So it is of some importance, and we recognize as a Legisl ature that from time to ti me members c ome forward and ask their colleagues in the Legislature to recognize and designate someth ing as a pro vincial embl em. We do that for a number of reas ons. Pro bably the mo st important reason, Mr. Speaker, is because we have pride in Alberta. We are very proud of the fact that Alberta is a unique place, and as such we want to have something that we can show as something that we have a lot of pride in.

For that reason one of the f irst provincial emblems that was designated, as you know, was a flag, and like all groups of people we have a lot of respect for that flag. From time to time there were other things added to that repertoire, so over the years we’ve added emblems such as an official tree. We ’ve talked about an offici al trout. We’ve talked about a myriad of di fferent things but always keeping in mind that they should be significant and that they should reflect Alberta’s pride.

The second thing – and I think it pr obably is as im portant, particularly when we talk about the designation of natural wildlife and flora and fauna – is the issue of conservation and preservation. I think that i t is absolutely critical that as we recognize something such as rough fe scue, we keep i n mind the na tural habitat in thi s province. As we have a t remendous amount of economic activity and we have an explosion in population, an explosion in agriculture, an explosion in a number of areas, it has the tendency to put some stress on some of the n atural eco systems.

By designatin g rough fescue as a pro vincial emblem, I think that that encourages an opportunity for us as legislators to keep in mind the importance of our natural spaces and also I think, probably, for Albertans to keep in mind the importance of natural space. Finally, probably another reason why we choose to implement a provincial emblem program is from an educational perspective, and, Mr. Speaker, I know that you’ve had some e xperience in the classroom, and you know that oftentimes hands-on experience is the easiest way to teach s omeone a nd for people to reme mber.

So whether we’re talking about tourists or talking about children in our classrooms, if we want t hem to remember what Al berta is a bout, what things there are that we should be thinking about in Alberta, one of the most obvious things is to teach people about the provin- cial emblems. If you look at a jurisdiction and you l ook at their provincial emblems or their state emblems, you get a bit of an idea in sort of a microscopic form how the people in that jurisdiction and that vicinity think. So for all of those reasons, Mr.

Speak er, I think it’s absolutely appropriate and probably of some ur gency that we mainta in a program of dealing with and approving provincial emblems here in the Legislature of Alberta. The next thing I said that I would talk about, Mr. Speaker, is: why grass? Why would we choose to have as a provincial emblem grass? We talked about t rees. We talked about fish. We tal ked about a whole number of other areas that have already been designated, and the hon. member now is proposing that we designate a grass. Well, I’ll tell you.

It again gets back to what some other members have discussed in this Legislature, the fact that we, particularly in the non northern areas of the provinc e, let’s say, live the lifestyle and the history of a prairie people. Nothing can be more emblematic of what life on the prairies is than the waving grass.

I had an opportunity a couple of years ago – as a matter of fact, I’m hoping to have another opportunity this summer – to participate in a trail ride across Canadian Forces Base Suffield, which is one of the last areas where anyone can go and actually experience what it was like to be a pioneer at the turn of the century, because that’s one of the few areas left in this province where you can literally stand on the prairie a nd for 360 de grees in eve ry direction see nothing but waving grass, no fences, no telephone poles.

There’s nothing but the natural environment the way our pionee rs saw it when they came here. As a matter of fact, as an aside, to say the least, I’m hoping to encourage other members to come with me on a trail ride across the base this summer, and other members will have a chance to experi- ence that. But, Mr. Speaker, if you have had a chance to experience that, you can understand the importance of grass, particularly as it was in the early days in our history and as it is today, as the mainstay in our livestock industry in southern Alberta.

The other thing that I’d like to mention from a local geographic perspective. The area where I live is known as the Palliser Triangle, and it was an area that when the CPR was developing the land and bringing pione ers forward was de signated as an are a where you needn’t worry about doing much development. No one cou ld live there. Nothing grows there. Well, Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth, because as the first ranchers found out when they arrived in southeastern Alberta and southern Alberta, there is nothing better than the natural grasses in this area to raise livestock on.

Litera lly millions and m illions of c attle and ot her form s of livestock have subsisted almost exclusively on the natural grasses in the area. So, Mr. Speaker, why name a grass? Well, obviously, we name a grass as a pro vincial emblem because of it s tremendous hi storic significance in this province and its significance today as a n economic driver within our economy 3:50 Finally, Mr. Speaker, I come to the final point in my presentation in the debate this aftern oon, an d that is: why do we name rough fescue of all the myriad of grasses?

One just has to walk out onto that prairie a nd realize th at th is is not a monolithic type of an experience. There are literally hundreds of different grasses that are growing on the prairie, but rough fescue, as others have talked about in this House, has some si gnificance that I think shoul d be men- tioned if we’re going to talk about grasses in the Legislature. It has high nutritional value. It ha s the ability to sustain that nutritional value during the winter and has remained the most important forage on the prairie s and in the parkland.

Rough fescue has the almost unique ability because of its deep, deep root s to survive in that notorious Palliser Triangle that I talked about. It survives in many other parts of the province, but it does particularly well in the dryer areas in southeastern Alberta because it has such deep roots. In fact, in preparing my notes for this afternoon, I was reading that in many cases the rough fescue root system is actually more extensive below the ground than what you would see above the ground. Mr.

Speaker, I was just getting started, and unfortunately I’ve run out of time, so I will resume my seat and encourage all members to support this important legislation.

March 24, 2003 Alberta Hansard 677 The Spe aker: The hon. Mem ber for Spr uce Grov e-Sturgeon-St. Albert. Mr. Horner: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is my pleasure to rise today and speak in third reading to Bill 201, the Emblems of Alberta (Grass Emblem) Amendment Act, 2003, sponsored by the