February 20, 2003 Alberta Hansard 43 Legislative Assembly of Alberta Title: Thursday, February 20, 2003 1:30 p.m. Date: 2003/02/20 [The Speaker in the chair] head : Prayers The Spea ker: Good afternoon. Let us pray. O God, l ife and health are precious. We ask You r blessings upon our Lieutenant Governor, the Hon. Lois Hole, as she begins a journey of medical treatment. Let us pray that Her Honour will be back on h er feet quickly, m eeting and greeting Albertans. Let us reach out with compassion, understanding, and prayer to Her Honour and her family. May God bless them all. Amen.

Please be seated. head : Introducti on of Visit ors Mr . Jonson: Mr. Speaker, I am pl eased to introduce to you and through you to members of the Assembly His Excellency Mr. Ki-ho Chang, ambassador of South Korea to Canada. He is accompanied today by his wife, Mrs. Lee, and several Korean co nsular officials from Vancouver and Ottawa. Korea is Alberta’s fourth largest trading partner, with annual two- way tra de averaging nearly $1 billion over the past five y ears. Alberta has a productive sister province relationship with the Korean province of Kangwon.

This was Alberta’s first twinning relationship and will reach the 30-year milestone next year. We apprecia te the ambassador comin g to Alb erta, and we anticipate a productive and mutually beneficial relationship with him over the coming months and years. I would like to ask our honoured guests to please rise and receive the traditional warm welcome of this Assembly. head : Introduction of G uests The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Justice and Attorney General. Mr . Han cock: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It’s my pleasure today to introduce to you and through you to members of this Assembly four young students w ho attend Te mpo school in my constit uency o f Edmonton-Whitemud. They ’re Logan McColl, H unter McCol l, Aidan McColl, and Kathryn Wood. Tempo school has reading week this week, and t hese students have taken this opportunity to come and watch question period and learn about our form of government and our Legislature. They’re seated in the members’ gallery. I’d ask them to rise a nd receiv e the traditi onal war m we lcome of this Assembly. The Spea ker: The hon. Member for Calgary-North Hill. Mr .

Magnus: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is my pleasure today to be able to introduce to you and through you to Mem bers of this Legislative Assembly some of Alberta’s a nd Canada’s finest firefighters representing seven of nine firefighters’ associations in Alberta. I’ll ask them to stand as I call their names.

They are Gord Colwell, president, Alberta Fire Fighters Association, from Calgary; Ken Block, president, Edmonton Firefighters Service Association; Scott Wilcox, president, Calgary Firefighters A ssociation; Brian Makey, president, Fort McMurray Firefighters Association; Ba rt Rowland, president, Red Deer Firefighters Association; Kim Smyth, president, St. Albert Fire Fighters Union; Brent Shelton, vice- president, Alberta Fire Fighters Association; Tim Stew art, vice- president, St. Albert; Ron Polutnik, recording secretary, Red Deer; Mark Faires, recording secretary, Calgary ; and Mike O’Re illy, treasurer.

In addition to t hat, a gentleman named Paul Wyndham, also a fireman, is here, and he is the first f irefighter in Al berta to receive WCB benefits for cancer. I would ask that all mem bers of this Legislature g ive these firemen, no pun intended, a very warm welcome. The Spea ker: The hon. Minister of Infrastructure. Mr . Lun d: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gi ves me a great deal of pleasure to introduce t o you and th rough you to m embers of the Assembly a recent graduate of Grant MacEwan College’s journalism program, Mr. Rob Harris.

Rob is here a s an intern in my depart- ment’s communication division, and I would ask him now to rise in the members’ gallery and receive the traditional warm welcome. The Spea ker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Meadowlark. Mr . M aske ll: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my pleasure to rise today and introduce to you and through you to the members of this Legislature a person who has made a great deal of difference in my life over the pas t two years. Th e person I spe ak of is Jo-Ann Briscoe, a former nurse who chose to be a stay-at-home mother, but she was far more than a stay-at-home mother.

She was a very active person in her com munity and was president of the Elm wood Community League for m any years. Jo-Ann is the person w ho manages my constituency office and does a wonderful job in helping me serve the need s of constit uents in Edmonto n-Meadowlark. Accompanying Jo-Ann today is her son Behn and daughter Bekky. They’re not truant from school; they’re also students at Tempo who are enjoying this reading week. Jo-Ann, Behn, and Bekky, would you please rise and receive the warm welcome of this Legislature. Mrs. Jablonski: Mr.

Speaker, it gives me gre at pleasu re t o introduce to you and through you to members of this Assembly 38 students from Red Deer Christian school. I understand that these students are among the smartest and the brightest in Red Deer. With them today are their student teacher, Miss Amy Zesko; their teachers Mr. Jim Driedger and Miss Carolyn Stickland; and parent he lpers Mrs. Aletta Cartwright, Mrs. Alleta Loney, Mrs. Joanne Jacobsen, and Mrs. Kim Schreiner.

I would ask the students and their teachers and helpers to rise and receive the warm welcome of this Assembly. head : Ministerial Statements The Spea ker: The hon. the Premier. Her Honour Lois E. Hole Mr . Klein: Mr. Speaker, thank you. I take this opportunity today on behalf of every Member of the Legislative Assembly to extend our sincere best wishes to Her Honour Lieut enant Governor Lois Hole. It’s so good to see so many y oung people in the galleries today, because Lois Hole lives f or young pe ople. She liv es for children.

Earlier today in a public statement Her Honour advised Albertans that she is currently preparing to undergo cancer treatment. I know that all Albertans join us in exte nding our thoughts and prayers to her at such a difficult time . As w ell, our thoug hts are w ith the members of the Hole family , who, I understand, are close by her side. As all Albertans know, Her Honour is a woman of remarkable strength and energ y, and w e saw that during t he delive ry of the

44 Alberta Hansard February 20, 2003 throne speech just a few days ago. I am confident that in short order we will ha ve the true pleasure of seeing her back in her off ice greeting staff and visitors to the Legislat ure wi th her wa rm smile and, of course, her traditional hug. I know that every Albertan would join with me in sending heartfelt thoughts to this remarkable and beloved lady. In the meantime, let me break from protocol and simply say : “God be with you, Lois. Our prayers are with you.” Dr. Nicol: Mr.

Speaker, this morning we were very shocked to hear of the medical condition facing our Lieutenant Governor. We in the Official Opposit ion joi n eve ryone in thi s Legi slature a nd all Albertans in lettin g her know that our thoughts are with her. Her hugs have brought all Albertans into the reac h of t he Lieutenant Governor, her office, and the Queen she repres ents.

It’s now our turn to reach out and give our Lieutenant Governor a symbolic hug, a hug that wishes her a speed y recovery, a hug that expresses our support for her and her family, and a hug that will carry her through until she returns to her duties as our Lieutenant Governor. The Speaker: Hon. members, might I ask if the Assembly would give unanimous c onsent to permi t the leade r of the t hird party to participate? [Unanimous consent granted] The Spea ker: The hon. leader of the third party. 1:40 Dr. Pannu: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, want to join with the hon.

Premier, the Leader of the Official Opposition, and indeed all members of this House in expressing concern over the news that we heard this morning about the Lieutenant Governor’s illness. I along with millions of Albertans am very proud of the fact that we have a model citizen in the person of Lois Hole as the Lieutenant Governor of this province.

She represents all that is noble and good and strong about Alberta, and I wa nt to extend my best wishes, along wi th millions of Albertans who are doing the same, I’m sure, as they hear this news, for a speedy recovery and a return to full work and the provincial duties that she is doing as Lieutenant Governor with such outstanding performance. I also wish her family our sympathies and our hope that Madam Hole will be back to her work and will regain her health in full. Thank you. head : Oral Quest ion Peri od Electricity Deregulation Dr. Nicol: Electricity der egulation has fai led in Albe rta.

This government promised lower prices and more competition, but just the opposite occ urred. I nstead of putting an end to this failed experiment on high electricity prices, this government plans to move even further ahead with deregulation. To the Premier: how come this government is planning to entrench high prices in electricity in Alberta? Mr . Klein: Mr. Speaker, we’re planning on doing any thing but. What the whole idea of deregulation is is to pr ovide competition, and to enlighten the hon. leader of the Liberal opposition further, I’ll ask the hon. minister to respond. Mr . Smith: Mr.

Speaker, I hav e see n the Liberal plan at www.altaliberals.ab.ca, and in fact if anybody here wants to buy into a plan that spends $3 billion to save $1 billion, I guess you would be a Liberal. That’s the foundation of their plan. The Dominion Bond Rating Service has come out and said that deregulation is w orking in A lberta, and it’s working because the power price is lower than what it was w hen deregulation started. Secondly, Mr.

Speaker, we have seen elec tricity price s drop on January 1, 2003, and this bill that is now before the House – so I’m reluctant to talk a bout the details – will bring even further deduc- tions. But let’s not forget for a moment that if you lived in Quebec, you would be part of a guaranteed struct ure th at guaranteed $36 billion worth of electricity debt. We are not going to mortgage the future earnings of children to subsidize electricity prices today. Dr. Nico l: Mr. Speaker, we talked about a plan that, in effect, costs less than $2 billion to r eturn Albe rtans a billion dollars a yea r.

That’s what he forgets to tell Albertans. To the Premier: given that retail competition has failed to provide lower electri city pr ices f or Alb ertans, w hy is the governm ent continuing to pursue this deregulation just for competition’s sake? Mr . Klein: Mr. Speaker, it’s not just for the sake of competition, although that’s one of the primary elements. It’s also being done to encourage more e lectricity generation.

As a matter of f act, since deregulation – and the Liberals f ailed to put this on the ir web site purposely because it’s good news – there have been many hundreds of mega watts, perhaps thousa nds of megawatts of new power developed. Again, I’ll have the hon. minister expand. Mr . Smith: Mr. Speaker, the electricity prices that the Leader of the Opposition refers to are those electricity prices that remain as the regulated rate option, and in fact those rates are part of the commit- ment that this government gave to A lbertans to the period 2005.

Now, those particular regulated rates were set prior to the introduc- tion of the Electric Utilities Act by the city of Calgary and the city of Edmonton behind closed doors in some such manner with which I’m not familiar. Now with this bill those two utilities will be, in fact, setting those rates transparently in front of the public and in hearings that the hon. member can attend himself. Dr. Nico l: Again to the Premier: are you telling us that you don’t want municipality-owned utilities to act in the best interest of their own consume rs of el ectricity in their jurisdiction? Is that what you’re telling us?

Mr . Klein: Mr. Speaker, we do, in fact, want the municipalities to act in the best interests of their constituents whether or not they own utility companies. The s imple fact is – a nd the hon. Mem ber for Edmonton-Highlands knows t his fu ll we ll – that these power companies owned by municipalities have expanded far beyond the borders of th e munici palities. They are now businesse s and big businesses. Enmax is competing in Edmonton. EPCOR is compet- ing in Calgary and throughout the province. They are no longer little municipally owned power companies.

They are big companies competing in a very competitive world. If they want to play with the big boys, then they have to be subject to the same regulations and the same regulatory applications as the big boys. The Speaker: Second Official Opposition m ain question. T he hon. Leader of the Official Opposition. Dr. Nicol: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Given that the preregulation price that Albertans p aid for electricity w as about 4.5 cents a

February 20, 2003 Alberta Hansard 45 kilowatt-hour, why did the Premier say yesterday that the 6.4 cents that we’re current ly paying is abou t half o f wha t it was when deregulation began? Mr . Klein: Mr. Speaker, according to the information that I have, as of Janua ry 1, 2001, e lectricity was selling on avera ge at a bout 13.1 cents a kilowatt-hour. Today it’s selling on average for about 6.4 cents a kilowatt-hour. Perhaps the hon. Minister of Energy can bring us up to date as to what the rate is today and perhaps what it was on January 2. Mr . Smith: Mr.

Speake r, electr icity pr ices are fluctuat ing in Alberta because they are tied to natural g as. Sixty-five percent of our base load generation is with coal; the balance is with natural gas. As we’ve seen natural gas come up in price, so has electricity. The price that the Premier has quoted is absolutely correct. The last price I saw was 4.7 cents at the noon hour. There is entirely an abundance of evidence that shows that we are on the track to lower prices. The prices are lower today than they were last year. They will be lower next year than they are this year. Deferral accounts will be paid off.

I would direct the member to the ATCO service network, which has the same price as it did prior to deregulation. Dr . Nico l: Mr. Speaker, to the Premier: is the 13.1 cents that you quoted not the price that was on January 1, 2001? That was caused by the uncertainty that was associated with the impending deregula- tion. It had nothing to do with the status of the current presentation of electricity at that time. Mr. Kle in: Mr.

Speaker, I have to refresh my memory, but I do recall quite vividly the debate that took place in this Legislature, the questions that were being asked at that particular time as we headed into deregulation. I can tell the hon. member that, yes, deregulation created a certain degree of uncertainty, but that was not the only – the only – cause for electricity prices to increase at that particular time. If I recall correctly, a number of power plants were shut down, at the same time putting a tremendous demand on the requirement for electri city. Gas pri ces had spike d to an all-t ime hig h.

The province was in the midst of one of the most extreme albeit positive growth periods of all time, putting a tremendous amount of pressure on electricity. So there were a number of factors that I alluded to at that particular time that contributed to the cost of electricity at that particular time. 1:50 The Spea ker: The hon. leader. Dr. Nico l: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Premier, will you remind your minister that no matter who holds the mortgage, in the end the utility users of this provinc e have t o pay f or it.

We ca n borrow money at a les s costly rate a s a public tha n you can through the private sector, so the cost of that mortgage is actually less when it’s held by the public than it is when it’s held by the private sector. Mr . Klein: Mr. Speaker, I knew I was going to hea r it. I t was inevitable that I was going to hear it fro m the Liberal opposition because the philosophy of the Liberals is to spend, spend, borrow, spend, spend, spend, borrow more, spend.

So what they would like to do is to dev elop a situa tion that exists in Ontario, for instance, where every man, woman, and child in that province owes $2,875 in an electricity debt. An H on. M ember: So what? Mr. Kle in: So what? Every family of four is indebted to the tune of over $11,000 to the electric compan y under a regulated system, Mr. Speaker. Their solution: borrow, borrow, spend, spend, borrow, borrow, and borrow more. Mr . Smith: Mr. Speake r, the m ember brings up an e xtremely important point on why the priva te sector that can bor row more expensively must pay income tax.

You know, surely they must be more expensive, and that must explain a bit why EPCOR in Edmon- ton has a 5.825 cent per kilowatt-hour charge and ATCO in the rural area has a 4.78 kilowatt-hour charge. The Speaker: Third Official Opposition main question. The hon. Member for Edmonton-Mill Woods. Education Funding Dr. M assey: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In a new funding wrinkle the Minister of Learning claimed: there’s plenty of money for boards to pay teachers; they simply must take the money out of the instruc- tional grants. My qu estions are to the Mi nister of Learning.

The instructional grant ra te increa se for t wo years was $180 milli on. Why is the minister recommending that $142 million of this be taken directly out of the classroom? The Spea ker: The hon. minister. Dr. Oberg : Thank y ou very much, Mr. Sp eaker. Again, I’ll reiterate what I s aid yester day, and that is tha t the school boa rds were supplied with 4 percent and 2 percent for teachers’ salaries, for a total of $118 million, and 3.5 percent and 3 percent, for a total of $180 million. When you add those two together, it comes to $298 million. Mr.

Speaker, last budget year wa s the firs t time that we had actually put a salary enh ancement in fo r teacher s, becaus e quite frankly we thought that they des erved it. Where t he negotiations have occurred when it comes to teachers’ salaries, it has always been out of the basic grant. For the last hundred years it has always been out of the basic grant. The basic grant increases this year were $180 million. Those are what were expected to be negotiated between the school boards and th e teachers. We gua ranteed a min imum.

We said that the $118 million must go to teachers, but it was up to the school board s and the te achers to negotiate where that other $180 million went. The Spea ker: The hon. member. Dr. Massey: Thank you. My second question to the same minister: does the minister agree with his colleague from St. Albert when that colleague says that there isn’t any wiggle room with things the way they are, referring to boards? Dr. Oberg : Well, Mr. Speaker, the 14.09 percent was certainly a very large salary settlement. It amounted to around $260 m illion.

That’s an awful lot of money that has be en put into teachers’ salaries. When it comes to the amount that they rece ived, it wa s $298 million, so you have about $38 million worth of wiggle room. That is throughout the whole province. The 14.09 percen t wa s something that the arbitrator put down. It was something that he felt could be afforded, and we are living within that. But I’ll leave it up to the Ass embly as to w hether $38 m illion is a l arge amount of wiggle room or a small amount. The Spea ker: The hon. member.

46 Alberta Hansard February 20, 2003 Dr. Massey: Thank you. Again to the same minister, Mr. Speaker: why does the minister insist that funding is adequate w hen docu - ments from his own department indicate that when you accommo- date inflation and enrollment, there has been no increase since ’93- 94? Dr. Oberg : Mr. Spea ker, all it takes is for the Member of the Legislative Assembly to take a look at what my budget figures have been since 1995. From 1995 on, the amount of dollars put into the basic K to 12 educa tion ha s increased by 46 pe rcent. Enrol lment growth has increased by 6 percent.

I’ll again dra w attention to the f igures that I sh owed yesterday, which are from Stats Canada. Mr. Speaker, these are not affiliated with our gover nment. T hey’re not aff iliated with the federal government. They’re supposed to be arm’s length from the federal government. It shows that we spend more on education per capita than any other province. As a matter of fact, the next closest to us is New Brunswick, which is 14 percent less. As I said yesterday, for example, we spend about 85 percent more on education than they do in Ontario.

W e spend m ore money on e ducation than any other jurisdiction in the country. [interjections] They’re saying that they don’t believe it, but I guess that what they should do is talk to their leaders in Ottawa who look after Stats Canada and find out what’s going on. These are Stats Canada data. The Spea ker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Highlands. Electricity Deregulation (continued) Mr. Mason: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Five years ago the gov ernment release d what it hoped would be a blockbust er: deregulation of powe r.

They promise d low er p ower pric es to Albertans, but the movi e was a bomb becaus e power price s have subsequently doubled in this pr ovince. Now the governm ent is planning a sequel. [interjections] It’s not the background noise. I just need to put on my glasses; that’s all. Since power bills for most Albertans have doubled because of deregulation

part 1, why should Albertans believe that powe r rates w ill fall now that de regulation

part 2 is in the theatres? Mr. Klein: Who’s it to? Mr. M ason: It’s to the minister. Mr . Smith: Well, Mr. Speaker, the belief

part is solidly grounded in fact, and the fact is that 2,300 new megawatts of generation have come on at no additional cost to the consu mer for paying for that generation. Back in the regulated days, Genesee, the last coal-fired plant to be built, took 14 years from permit to first piece of power. If we had wait ed the 14 years or tried to find a r egulated solution, we’d have had blackouts, we’d have had rolling blackouts, and we’d have had spikes much higher than what they are today. Now, Mr.

Speaker, what we do know is that there w ere deferral accounts levied on both the regulated rate and on the purchaser price for 2000 and 2001. These deferral accounts will fall off at the end of 2003, representing a 20 to 25 percent decline in the price of power alone as well as an open, transparent hearing process, more genera- tion coming on. The Calpine 300-megawatt plant is coming on in Calgary. We’re going to be the largest windmill producer of power in Canada by this time next year. I mean, the deregulation story has allowed the private sector to solve a government problem. Mr . Mason: Mr.

Speaker, given that the minister is predicting a 25 percent reduction in power rates in this province in the next year or two and given that power prices have doubled al ready, it doe sn’t take very much – even the minister of education could do the math and find out that we’re still going to pay 75 percent more for power than before de regulation. What does the mini ster have to say to Albertans? Mr. Smith: Well, I can say, Mr.

Speaker, to Albertans that this is a very good province to invest in, that this is a very good province to live in, that this is a ver y good province to vote for this govern- ment in, as the people proved in 2001. Deregulation is a long-term process, but it’s a process that has delivered appropriate generation when it was needed. Yes, there have been some bumps in the road. That’s never be en denie d, but we k now – and w e know by the refinement of the Elect ric Ut ilities Ac t – th at ever ything w e do continues to put downward pressure on prices. 2:00 Mr.

Speaker, I will just refer the hon. member because I think he was probably part of this rate setting – EPCOR Edmonton has 5.825 cents per kilowatt-hour. EPCOR/Aquila has 6.129 cents and Enmax 5.985 cents. These companies do not pay taxes. These companies also invest, can borrow money at a lower rate. Now, for the poor beleaguered private operator that is in Alberta by the n ame of ATCO, it must pay corporate tax at the ra te of 50 percent as a public ly tra ded compa ny, and in f act it al so has to borrow money at market rates.

Their rate is 4.78 cents per kilowatt- hour, some 25 percent cheaper than the city-owned rates. Mr . M ason: Mr. Speaker, given that the minister is continuing to try and pass off the high prices of Alberta as if they were a temporary measure, will he guarantee under this new deregulation scheme that the government has come up with that prices will go down to where they were before deregulation, and if not, will he resign his seat in this Assembly? Mr . Smith: Mr. Speake r, the las t governm ent that gua ranteed electrical prices in western Canada was the New Democratic Party in British Columbia.

Today that hydro corporation is $7.1 billion in taxpayer-guaranteed debt. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar. Farm Income Support Programs Mr . M arz: Mr. Speake r, thank y ou. Hog produce rs in our province have gone through another difficult year, and the drought has affected them as it has the rest of the agricultural industry, but hog producers have also been faced with low commodity prices as well as skyrocketing production costs.

Many of my producers have told me that the risk-management tools that are in place, including the farm income disaster program, are not meeting their needs. My question tod ay is to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. Will this government adapt existing programs so they better address the financial crisis that the hog industry is currently facing? Mrs. M cClellan: Mr. Speaker, there’s no question that the hog industry has face d highs and lows in pricin g for some time .

By nature it’s cyclical, and generally the period of time bet ween high and low is long enough that they’re able to maintain their operations. However, in the last four or five years they’ve had some highs and lows that came pretty close together. We responded first in 1998, I

February 20, 2003 Alberta Hansard 47 believe it was, to the crisis then in depressed prices by introducing a disaster loan program. Fortunately, we had made a decision as a government about a year ago now to reinstitute or continue that loan program, so we have that available on the short term. The hog producers are not incorrect when they make the statement to us that the farm income disaster program doesn’t meet their needs on a short-term basis.

However, I expect they will have a different opinion very shortly because the farm income disaster program is based on your tax year, and of course most producers who are on a calendar year are doing their taxes now. I can assure you that we are expecting and are planning for a fairly high draw on that program because of the big swing in prices. So we have the loan program in place. It’s been very successful. I can tell you that the repayment

schedule has been excellent on it, Mr. Speaker, and we have FIDP, that will kick in for producers soon. Mr . M arz: To the same minister, Mr. Speaker: could the minister explain how the current agricultural policy framework negotiations will benefit the hog industry? Mrs. McClel lan: Mr. Speaker, we were one of the provinces who signed the agricultural policy framework umbrella document in June of this year. We did it because we felt that it was important to move ahead, especially in the areas of safety nets for our producers, and to be part o f that discu ssion, we fel t tha t we s hould be signatories.

Well, in fact, in order to be part of the discussions and negotiations, we had to be signatories. We’ve been negot iating on our pr oducers’ behalf, and very recently, about two weeks ago, you saw introduced changes to the crop insurance program, which I think have been very well received by our grain a nd oilseed produc ers. Those would not have been possible without a lot of hard work from, I can tell you, members around our caucus and the fa ct that we signed tha t. Now the discussion is on NISA. In the intere sts of tim e, Mr .

Speaker, I can’t go into all of the complexities of the dis cussions around NISA, but Alberta has not been a part of NISA for some time because of the inadequacies of the program. If – if – we can negotiate a disaster component under the NISA program, if we can respond to the concerns of the beginning and developing farmer, that may very well be the answ er for our meat industry on these issues. The Spea ker: The hon. member. M r. M arz: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final question is to th e Minister of Energy.

Giv en that the recent increased energy costs have been a contributing factor to the greatly increased costs of production, could the minister please tell me what he is prepared to do, if anything, to offset these high costs to the hog sector? The Spea ker: The hon. minister. Mr. Smi th: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Certainly we recognize the importance of the pork producers in diversifying an important sector of our econ omy, that bei ng t he agricultural economy of A lberta.

There are no spe cific e nergy rebate pr ograms in p lace for pork producers, but of cours e all A lbertans ha ve benef ited from the electricity return of $40 per month as we ll as the 3.6 cents per kilowatt-hour on commercial use paid in the year 2001. I know that natural gas is used as a heating source in pork barns, and again in the year 2001, when gas reached $10.28 per gigajoule, there was both a $150 per month rebate and a commercial rebate of $6 per gigajoule. Electricity Deregulation (continued) Mr . MacDo nald: Mr.

Speaker, as utility bills go up, both natural gas and electricity, the credibility of the Premier and this government goes down. Power deregulation in Alberta is the granddaddy of all Progressive Conservative billion dollar boondoggles. Albertans are reminded of this costly policy mistake every month through higher bills, and when they visit the web site altaliberals.ab.ca, they see just how much of a rip-off electricity deregulation has become. My first question is for the Premier. Is the g eneration of electricity in this province guided by competitive market forces? Mr . Klein: Mr.

Spea ker, that ques tion was already asked a nd answered. Tha t’s part of the answer, competitive f orces, yes. Competition normally results in lower prices, but deregulation was also brought in to e ncourage more power generation, and tha t has happened. You know, I hate to answe r the last questioner’s question, but there are some unique things going on relative t o hog farmers, and one needs to go d own to the Oyen area and lo ok at the High land farms, where they use the manure and the methane off the manure to cogenerate elect ricity. T his can occ ur under dere gulation.

Y ou don’t have to buy from an established power company. There are all kinds of examples that deregulation has opened up. I talked to a young fellow just recently, and he said: you know, with deregulation there’s going to be a tremendous market for me to joint venture w ith an Itali an company to b ring small, six-kilowatt wind gener ators to in dividual farm f amilies, you know, sm all windmills. It would power a house and a barn. This is what deregulation has brought about: the ability for people to go out and do imaginative things, Mr.

Speaker, and also for those people who depend on the major l ines and the major e lectricity companies, for those electricity companies, including a city-owned utility that was represented at one time b y the hon. Mem ber for Edmonton-Highlands, to go out and generate more power. The Spea ker: The hon. member. 2:10 Mr . MacDo nald: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again to the Premier: in regard to city-owned utilities why attack Edmontonians again by picking on municipally owned utilities when this government has different roles for TransAlta Utilities, one of the big boys, which was allowed to operate and continues to operate certain hydro projects developed with the assistance of ta xpayers on both the Bow and North Saskatchewan river systems? Mr . Klein: Mr. Speaker, I would remind the hon. member that TransAlta is also joi nt venturing with EPCOR to develop c oal- powered electricity generation. We are not picking on municipali- ties.

We’re saying that if municipalities want to play outsi de their borders, if they want to be players on the provincial or, as a matter of fact, on the national scene – because I understand EPCOR now is competing in Ontari o – if they want to be natio nal and p rovincial players as opposed to municipal players, then let them be subject to the same rules and regulations as the other private-sector players. Mr . MacDonald: Mr. Speaker, that development between EPCOR and TransAlta is created because of the uncertainties a round electricity deregulation, and you know it.

If comp etition and choice are so important, why not give other companies t he choice to compete for the lucrative operation that

48 Alberta Hansard February 20, 2003 TransAlta currentl y has along t he Bo w and North Saskatchewan rivers? Why not open that up for competition? Mr . K lein: Mr. Speaker, I can’t recall any new dams being built lately, I’m telling you, to harness water for the generation of power. If it did, then the environmental community missed me altogether, and I’m sure it would not happen. I suspect th at the hon. m ember is talking about dam s that w ere built many, many, many years ago with private dollars – many years ago, 30 or 40 – and it’s not only on the North Saskatchewan River.

I don’t know if he mentioned the Oldman. There’s the Bow River. There’s Seebe. There’s Bearspaw. There ’s Ghost dam. Th ere’s Dickson dam. That was the last dam. I don’t even know if that’s a power generator; is it? I think that’s a w ater c ontrol dam. But, anyway, as far as power generation goes, those dams were built eons ago, even before the hon. member was born. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Fort, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Centre. Disposal of Used Oil Mr . Cao: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Environmental protection is vital to Alberta, and the government’s priorities on that subject are very high. Recently I received a call from a constituent who operates an automotive shop in Calgary. He called to express a concern about a new service fee he’s required to pay to have the used oil from his shop picked up and properly disposed of, and he’s concerned also that if the fe e beco mes so h igh, then prop er dis posal wo uld be jeopardized. As the province oversees the regulations r elated to management of used oil in the province, my question is to the hon. Minister of Environment.

Can the minister explain what these new fees are for? The Spea ker: The hon. minister. Dr. Taylor: Thank you. Th e me mber i s quite corr ect. The disposal of used oil is overseen by the Alberta Used Oil Management Association, effe ctively known as AUOMA , and that g roup is certainly recognized around the world as leaders. Saskatchewan has started a program like ours; B.C. has s tarted a pr ogram like ours. Certainly Ontario is look ing at it, and even the OECD has invited AUOMA to present our program. In response to the member’s specific question, there are no new fees.

What he may be referring to is a fee that is char ged by a company that picks up the oil from the garage, and that is a result of a company charging a fee. These are not AUOMA fees. They are not government fees. The Spea ker: The hon. member. Mr . Cao: Thank you. My first s upplemental question is to the same minister. So what are the alternatives for Alberta companies in terms of how they can dispose of their used oil? Dr. Taylor: Well, Mr.

Speaker, there are about a hundred compa- nies in Albe rta that a re doing this , so I don’t k now the spe cific instance that the indiv idual member is referring to, but c ertainly AUOMA would be prepared to provide his constituent with a list of companies that are doing this. Some are charging fees, some are not charging fees, and the information that I have indicates that some are even paying the garage owner to pick up the oil, because they then turn and resell it and reprocess it. So, as I say, there are a hundred companies doing this.

On a standard four-litre oil change there is an environmental charge of 90 cents. Eighty-six cents of this goes back into the system, back to the people that pick up the oil, the collectors of the oil . Only 4 ce nts of this , around 4 perc ent, is use d for administration of AUOMA. The Spea ker: The hon. member. Mr . Cao : Thank you, Mr. Speak er. My final que stion is to the same minister. If Alberta consumers are already paying the fee for the oil recycling and the cost does not cover the cost of disposing of the used oil, then where does all that money go? Dr. Taylor: Well, as I said, Mr.

Speaker, there are only 4 cents of 90 cents that go to AUOMA. One o f the ways they can do this is because as we use our ve hicles, certainly they burn oil , and when you do y our oil ch ange, you pay, a s I said, on the four-l itre oil change about 90 cents. Not all of the four litres goes back into the system, because some of our cars burn a little less; some burn a little more. So they actually have a bi t of a sur plus based on t his, and once again they are using that to invest back into the system. The Spea ker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Centre, followed by the hon. Member for Little Bow.

Education Funding (continued) Ms Blakeman : Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the throne speech this government stated tha t its highe st priority must be children. However, Alberta schools are dealt a $142 million shortfall while the horse racing industry gets $33 million more and there’s $105 million to upgrade VLTs. Yesterday the Premier said that this government tries to split the pie evenly. My questions are to the Premier. Is the Premier saying that th e gov ernment views gambl ing as equa l in priority to education? Mr . Klein: Mr.

Speaker, what I did point out is th at gambling in this province contributes a lot to education. During my time in this Assembly all we’ve heard from the Liberals is how bad the education system is. You know , they need to get out fr om under the dome. They need to travel the province. They need to talk a little bit about the stories . . . [interjection] No. I’ll tell you a story though. You know, maybe you should read a little book. It’s easy reading. Even you can understand it; that is, the members of the Liberal Party.

It’s called Syrup Pails and Gopher Tails, stories of a one-room school and the marvelous education system we had, the marvelous educa- tion system we have today, because I’m going to tell you a story that took place only a year ago. A standing ovation greeted Sheila Pratt at the New Brigden school on June 27. Principal Deena Meekins announced that Sheila was the provincial winn er in the grade 8 Canadian scholastic challenge. Sheila’s score of 79 was only four behind the national champion and within the top 1 0 in the country . This ex ceptional score was the highest of the 3,000 i n the provinc e of Alberta.

In fact, two New Brigden students did exceptionally well. Darcy Blair, second place, received a medal for his mark of 68, well above the national average. Indeed, this score is higher than thos e scored by the provincial champions of Manitoba and British Columbia. You know, a mark of 50 percent – 50 percent – was considered very good. This year the national average . . . The Speaker: And I thank you and will look forward to having the document tabled in the Assembly, hon. member.

February 20, 2003 Alberta Hansard 49 Ms Blakeman: The Premier is a good storyteller, but I’m looking for the answer or the truth. Perhaps he could explain why Alberta schools are on a 17- to 18- year or longer rotation for repainting but VLTs get replaced in less than 10 years for chipped paint and a few minor dings. 2:20 Mr . Klein: Mr. Speaker, again the Liberals see m to be obsessed with seeking out the negatives. All I’m trying to do is say that there are so many positive things, and I plan to give a story a day about the wonderful things that are happening in our schools. A story a day.

You know, there won’t be enough time in this legislative session nor the next 10 leg islative sessions to tell a s tory a da y about the wonderful, good things that are happening in the education system. I’m going to go on. This year the national average was 44 questions c orrect. The grade 8 class a t New B rigden sc hool achiev ed an ave rage of 54 correct, 10 percent above the national average. By the way, the top score in th e country was 83, and this was earned by a you ng man who attends the University of Toronto school for the gifted. This is a story of a small school in rural Alberta, a good story.

The Spea ker: The hon. member. Ms Blakeman : Thanks. I’ll try again. Again to the Premier: why are Alberta schools on a 17- to 18-ye ar or longe r r otation for repainting when VLTs get replaced in less than 10 years for a few paint chips and some minor dings? Why does it take so long? Where’s the priority? Mr . Klein: Mr. Speaker, again, our priority, of course, is educa- tion, and I just rec ited a story of what a small rural school can do with dedicated te achers, inspired students to achieve o utstanding, remarkable academic results. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Little Bow, followed by the hon.

Member for Edmonton-Riverview. Irrigation Farmers’ Utilities Billings Mr . M cFarland : Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The irrigation sector in Alberta’s agriculture industry pumps water from May to Septem- ber, and they’re billed twice a year. Many of these irrigators finally saw their fi nal met er reads , which w ere tak en in Nov ember by Aquila, billed to them through EPCOR in January 2003.

Some of these were totally inaccurate and grossly wrong, and EPCOR blames Aquila for this f rustrating delay in a billing that prevented the irrigation business sector from properly expensing multithousands of dollars on their 2002 incom e tax return. In January I was made aware of ma ny of t hese irrigation pro blems. My question to the Minister of Energy is: can he direct Aquila to correct the inappropri- ate, inaccurate billings that were sent to the irrigation farmers so that they can be properly compensated for a legitimate business expense, which wasn’t properly billed to them in time for the 2002 tax year?

Mr . Smith: Mr. Speake r, Aquila commercial ope ration has publicly stated that it has made errors in delivering meter readin g data and billing data to EPCOR. Further, EPCOR made a business decision to delay billing until accurate billing information was made available for irrig ation cus tomers. Clearly, a comm ercial EPCOR/Aquila problem. They have ta ken steps to resolve the billing problem, and the irrigators are encouraged to contact EPCOR, from whom the bill originates, with their billing concerns. The irrigators are also free to contact the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board for further corrective action.

With respect to the tax situation, I do not know what spe cific information either Aquila or EPCOR will give to those irrigators. The Spea ker: The hon. member. Mr . M cFarland: Thank you. Again to the minister: what, if any, action can be ta ken to ensur e that A quila will properly credit overcharges on transmission and distribution charges which resulted from the overestimates and incor rect meter reads taken by Aquila back in November? Mr . Smit h: The most appropriate direction for that, Mr.

Speaker, is through the A lberta Energy and Utilities Board, whi ch is now working with people who have inappropriate meter reads, where they have billing problems, and we can expect the EUB to direct Aquila because Aquila remains under the regulated part of the transmission structure in Alberta. They are regulated. They have serv ice performance, code of conduct performance standards that must be maintained, and they’re subject to t he full scrut iny of the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board. So the direction of redress lies with the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board. The Spea ker: The hon. member. Mr.

M cFarland : Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Given that there is a $75 potential credit to an account and that further action through the Energy and Utilitie s Board m ay not ha ppen until 2 004, c ould the EUB be directe d to manua lly handle each and e very one of the irrigation accounts to ensure total accuracy before these fictitious, horrible bills are mailed out? Mr . Smith: Well, Mr. Speaker, the member brings up a suggestion that may be entirely appropriately handled by the Alberta Energy and Utilities Boa rd. I will ce rtainly forward that inf ormation t o the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board.

Of co urse, they already are aware of the billing irregularities with respect to irrigation. Now, with respect to the $75 that the member refers to, this is put in place to e nsure that bot h EPCOR and A quila w ere going to undertake making the appropriate corrections to failed and erroneous meter readings that had occurred in their area of service. I can report to the House that as of February 18 the EUB has f orwarded 1,287 calls to EPCOR for review.

EPCOR, therefore, must examine these bills, determine if they qualify for a credit, and return the m to the EUB with a recommendation that is then reviewed by the EUB. So far, to this day , 395 b ills have bee n returned to t he EUB f rom EPCOR for review. Of those 395, Mr. Speaker, 256, or just about 70 percent, will receive a $75 credit. Out of the 350,000-customer service base, tha t means a total of 1, 287 calls or files represents three-tenths of 1 percent of the total response. It shows clearly that the EUB mechanism that regulates what Aquila does is working and is working well.

Plus, it demonstrates that there is an area which the member who has difficulties can direct that to that particular body. The Spea ker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Riverview. Government-appointed Committees Dr. Taft: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yest erday the Premier announced he is spending $6 million to devise a consultation process to examine the dispute between First Nations and oil-field contrac- tors. Soun ds li ke yet an other expe nsive govern ment co mmittee.

50 Alberta Hansard February 20, 2003 Hollywood had the $6 million man; this government has a $6 million committee. To the Premier: I’m sure Albertans would like to know who is going to be paid this $6 million. Mr . Klein: Well, you know, the Liberals hang around like hungry wanna-be journalists down in the newsroom, and they pick up on every word. That’s why they’re holding their scrums prior now to it: so they can listen to the reaction. You talk about media 101 and the need for media advisors: they need it.

Having said that, he would make a very, very poor reporter – a very poor reporter – even poorer than the poorest reporter, because his facts are all wrong as reported. As I said, this is part a nd parc el of the implementation of the monetary requirements for the aboriginal framew ork agreem ent. Now, I also said that as I understand it, the hon. minister had asked for $25 million to fully undertak e the consultation process and all that’s involved in putting in the aboriginal framework agreem ent. She didn’t get that.

But relativ e to what she’s goi ng to do and h ow she plan s to proceed with res pect to the f ramework agre ement a nd how the money will be spent, I’ll have her respond. 2:30 Ms Calaha sen: Well, thank you very much, Mr. Premier. First of all, I think it’s important to recognize that we have to be able to do an adequate consultation process, and that process has to be able to include all the stakeholders, and those are the stakeholders that we’d be working with relative to any kind of consultation we deal with. Most specifically, Mr.

Speaker, w e want to ensure that the First Nations’ issues are addressed as well as industry’s concerns so that we can ensure that people can get access to land where the p eople have permits to be able to do the work that they need to do. The Spea ker: The hon. member. Dr. Taft: Thank you. Six million dollars. Again we ’ll t ry t he Premier. What’s the time frame for this $6 million, and where’s the business plan? Mr . Klein: Well, Mr.

Speaker, again, you know, maybe I ought not to have answered the question put to me by one of the reporters and picked u p er roneously by the L iberal Mem ber for Edm onton- Riverview, but this is a budget item. It will be coming forward to the Legislature for debate in conjunction with the business plan. All the details will be spelled out at that particular time. All I said was that the minister had asked for $25 million. Th e best she can hope to expect – well, this, of course, is contingent on how the vote goes and how the debate goes – i s $6 million at this particular time.

The busines s plan will be released along with the budget, Mr. Speaker. The Spea ker: The hon. member. Dr. Taft: Thank you. We’ll broaden the q uestion. Does the Premier have any idea of the total a mount being spent by his government on all the committees it’s created? Mr . Klein: Do I have any idea? No, but I can get the amounts, I’m sure, including all the money that’s being spent on committees that include opposition members and perhaps all the money that’s being spent on the opposition as well. You k now, Mr. Speake r, I can s ay this : the adm inistration of government is a big business.

In anticipation, well, the Liberals sat down today at their caucus, came up with I don’t know how many different questions covering a wide range of areas. We need to be on top of all of these iss ues becaus e as the government – a s th e government – we have the responsibility for the administration of all of those depar tments. S o, yes, there are ministerial comm ittees; there are MLA comm ittees; ther e are le gislative comm ittees. I imagine there are numerous committees within the administration of government. There a re d eputy ministers’ committees. T here are ADM committees.

There are committees relative to division heads. There are committees in the bowels of all the departments because decisions are made on the basis of consensus, and when you need to achieve consensus, you need to bring people together, and that could be construed as a committee. The Speaker: Hon. members, before we proceed to the next item in the Routine, might we revert briefly to Introduction of Guests? [Unanimous consent granted] head : Introduction of G uests (reversion) The Spea ker: The hon. Member for Calgary-North Hill. Mr . Magnus: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Earlier I introduced some firefighters to the members of this Assembly, and there have been a few more that have come in the room, and I would like to include them in the record for the members. I’ll ask them to stand as I call their names out. Their names are : Lorne Corbitt from Edmonton; Larry Walsh from Edmont on; Dale M cLean, the secretary of the Edmonton Firefighters Union; and Greg Holubowich, vice-president of the Edmonton Firefighters Union. I’d ask that all members give them a very warm welcome. The Spea ker: The hon. Minister of Health and Wellness. Mr . Mar: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Today we have a very special guest in your gallery, a person that many Albertans have recognized for her enormous commitment and leadership and dedication to the health of Alberta’s young people. T his is a woman of vision who has dedica ted herself to the service of others and by doing so has contributed enormously to one of the most enduring values that we as Albertans hold dear and precious: to enjoy a life that is healthy and free of disease. This is someone that I have no doubt members of this Ass embly have heard o f. I’m speaking of Bar b Tarbox. She’s here today with her good friend Tracy Muel ler.

In a few moments the hon. Member for Wetaskiwin-Camrose will welcome Barb on behalf of the Assembly and all Albertans and speak to her accomplishments. I ask that all members please give this person the warm welcome of this Assembly. head : Members’ Statements The Spea ker: The hon. Member for Wetaskiwin-Camrose. Barb Tarbox Mr . Johnson : Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I have the honour of thank ing a ve ry spe cial pers on and frie nd, a wom an whos e courage is an inspiration to all.

Since being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer last September, Barb Tarbox has dedicated the remain- ing months of her life to talking to as many children and teenagers as she can about the dangers of smoking. Barb is a mother, a wife, and a former model. She started smoking when she was just 11 years old and is now dying because of her tobacco addiction.

February 20, 2003 Alberta Hansard 51 With no previous experience in public speaking, Barb started talking to small groups of students in Edmonton class rooms. H er campaign has since truly become a national antismoking crusade. Her original goal was to touch 1,000 students with her messag e. Soon it became 5,000, then 10,000, and now 50,000 before smoking takes her life. Through the hard work of her teammate and manager, Tracy Mueller, she has now spoken to over 40,000 students and tens of thousands through the means of TV.

As chair of AADAC I would like to thank Barb for her support of the Alberta tobacco reduction strategy an d its goal of preventing young Albertans from starting to use tobacco. AADAC has worked with Barb on a ser ies of television and newspaper ads and several speaking engagements. Barb and her family’s willingness to share their painful journey in such an honest way is working and w ill be her legacy to all of us. She has received thousands of e-mails, letters, and phone calls from children and adults who have been inspired to quit smoking, make a commitment to never start, or encourage a loved one to quit.

Local and national media have documented her cross-country campaign, and the Nationa l Film Boa rd is work ing on a doc umentary a nd educational video. Today I am pleased to announce that AADAC will establish an annual award of excellence and scholarship in her name for work in tobacco reduction focusing on children and youth. Bu t m ost important today, Mr. Speaker, I just want to say: thank you. Thank you, Barb, for your courage, your sacrifices, for your service to the youth of this province and, indeed, to all Albertans. Thank you. [applause] The Spea ker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Centre.

Women’s Cross-country Snowmobile Relay Ms Blakeman : Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Snowmobilers have been in the news recently and not for the best reasons, so today I’d like to recognize a special group of snowmobiler s and a snowm obile manufacturer for sta rting a tr ek whic h promotes responsible snowmobiling and raises money for a good cause. Polaris Industries, in searching for a way to celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2004, wanted to encourage more women to become involved in this rec reational activity.

The ide a of a cro ss-country relay for women was the result, with funds being raised for breast cancer research. The ride started in St. John’s, Newfoundland, on January 11 and arrived in Alberta yesterday, coming from Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, to Bonnyville. In each province three VIP riders were chosen to represent their province. The VIP rider s in Albe rta are Darlene l a Trac e from Sherwood Park, Lis a-Marie Pel ky f rom Red D eer, and Louise Sherren from Erskine. Ot her riders can join in on any leg o f the relay, and anyone can help out by pledging to sponsor participants for each mile they ride.

A ccording to the Polar is web site, over $70,000 in pledges has been raised so far. 2:40 I especially want to cheer on the women riding from my old club, the Sherwood Park Snow mobile Cl ub. These wome n and their support team have take n res ponsibility for the Sw an Hills to Whitecourt segment. They are Mineko Blakeman, Karen Dowhan, Heather Armstrong, Priscilla Heaton, and I think that my old riding buddy Sandy Alton is joining them. I also want to thank a ll of the m en who are participating in the ride. Thanks, guys.

The riders ar e helped out by volunteers and guides from t he Bonnyville Snowdust ers, Smoky Lak e Trail Twisters, A thabasca River Runners, Swan Hills Snow Goers, Whitecourt Trailblazers, Northland Sno-Goers, and the Valleyview and Swan City snowmo- bile clubs. Thanks to Polaris f or promoting women and snowmobiling and raising money for an important cause, and a special tip of the helmet to all the women and their support teams who ride segments across Alberta. Thank you. The Spea ker: The hon. Member for Calgary-North Hill. Alberta’s Firefighters Mr . M agn us: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to pay tribute to Alberta’s firefighters, the toughest, most physically fit group of workers to call this province home. They risk their lives to save our lives every day. The first thing a firefighter is told when he or she takes the job is that it is inherently unsafe. Firefighters can put on helmets, masks, and protective gear, but they know that every time they walk into a building, they might not walk out, and in a fire their bodies under the best equipment will suffer from smoke and soot exposure.

Structures can collapse, things can explode at any moment, and always, in every fire, there are carcinogenics and chemicals burning that have a high likelihood of caus ing cancer. Firef ighters all know t hat they a re more likely to get cancer just by virtue of doing their job. There are six canc ers, M r. Speake r, which a re know n as the firefighters’ cancers. They are: brain cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lym phoma, le ukemia, a nd colon cance r. Take just two of these cancers: colon cancer and leukemia.

Studies show that a firefighter is 68 percent more likely to get colon cancer than anybody else if they have been on the job for 20 years or more. The risk of getting leukemia is doubled after only five years on the job. These figures are staggering, and it brings home the so bering truth that firefighters put their safety on the line to ensure ours, but if they get these cancers, they ’ve got to go thr ough a process with Workers’ Compensation, and they are not guaranteed at this date to receive WCB benefits.

Can you imagi ne gett ing cance r, being worried about your own life and the well-being of those around you, and having to prove to the WCB that, yes, fighting fires for 20 years most probably is the rea son you have cancer? It isn’t fair, and it’s time to do something about it. In this session I will bring forward a private member’s bill that if passed would gra nt presum ptive sta tus to an y fir efighter who contracts on e of the firefighters’ cancers. While there will be a years-of-service restriction on this presumptive status, the message will be clea r.

If a firefighter puts his life on the line prot ecting Albertans and contracts cancer from doing his job, this government has the obligation to ensure that the firefighters and their families are given proper recognition and compensation for the valuable service that they have undertaken and the suffering it has caused them. It is the right time to do this and the right thing to do. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Spea ker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar. Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped Benefits Mr . M acDo nald: Thank you, Mr. Speak er. One r aise in nine years.

Many hono urable m embers of this H ouse would qui t in protest if they received on ly one raise in almost a decade . We certainly wouldn’t see them for dust if that so litary increase was equivalent to less than ha lf a per cent a year. Ye t that’s what this

52 Alberta Hansard February 20, 2003 government expects people with disabilities that prevent them from holding gainful employment to survive on. The inflation rate i n Alberta for the l ast decade has erode d the purchasing power of AISH clients. In 1999 assured income for the severely handicapped payments were certainly increased, but it was only by $40 a month. By comparison, Alberta MLA s have been receiving annual increases in salary recently .

Alberta’s Human Resources and Employment minister said last May that he would be looking into the AISH program when the MLA low-income review committee advis ed hi m t hat lo w-income support rat es in this province need to be increased. The minister said that he would look at the AISH program separately from the supports for independence program, a plan tha t is s upposedly unde r way . Where are his suggestions? Where is the proof for AI SH clients of this province that this government is at all interested in their well-being?

Rhetoric won’t put food in the mouths of AISH recipients when natural gas bills are so high that they must use their food budget to supplement the high cost of natural gas. Mere words won’t keep the lights on when the re’s no money to pa y for increasing electricity bills either. O nly a m uch-needed i ncrease in AISH be nefits will bring some measure of comfort to AISH rec ipients. For s hame’s sake this gove rnment must do some thing to help t hese vulnerable members of our province, and now. Thank you. head : Notices of Motions The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Justice and Attorney General. Mr .

Ha ncock: Thank you, Mr. Speak er. I ris e pursuant to Standing Order 34(2)(

a) to give notice that on Monday my colleague will move that written questions appearing on the Order Paper d o stand and retain their places. I’m also giving notice t hat on Monday my colleague will move that motions for returns appearing on the Order Paper do stand and retain their places. head : Intro duc tion o f Bills The Spea ker: Hon. Minister of Justice and Attorney General. Bill 6 Justice Statutes Amendment Act, 2003 Mr . H an cock: Thank y ou, Mr. Speak er. I reque st leav e to introduce Bill 6, the Justice Statutes Amendment Act, 2003.

This bill proposes amendments to four pieces of justice legislation. Under this bill the Judicature Act will be amended to streamline the selection processes for provincially appointed judges.

The provin- cial Young Offenders Act w ill be amended to coincide w ith the changes under the ne w federal Youth Criminal Justice Act, which comes into force on April 1, and changes to both the Petty Trespass Act and the Trespass to Premises Act will strengthen the provincial trespassing laws by allowing peace officers to lay charges and raising the maximum fines for committing these offences. [Motion carried; Bill 6 read a first time] The Spea ker: The hon. Member for Grande Prairie-Wapiti. Bill 7 Real Estate Amendment Act, 2003 Mr. Gray don: Thank y ou, Mr. Speak er.

I reque st leav e to introduce Bill 7, being the Real Estate Amendment Act, 2003. The Real Estate Council of Alberta is responsible for administra- tion of the Re al Estate Act. T he council ha s consulted with their stakeholders on these proposed amendments and are fully support- ive. Thank you. [Motion carried; Bill 7 read a first time] The Spea ker: The hon. Government House Leader. Mr . Han cock: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d move that Bill 7 be moved onto the Order Paper under Government Bills and Orders. [Motion carried] The Spea ker: The hon. Minister of Health and Wellness.

Bill 8 Health Foundations Act Repeal Act Mr . M ar: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I beg leave to introduce Bill 8, being the Health Foundations Act Repeal Act. [Motion carried; Bill 8 read a first time] The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Sustainable Resource Develop- ment. Bill 9 Mines and Minerals Amendment Act, 2003 Mr . Cardina l: Thank y ou very much, Mr. Speaker. I request leave to introduce Bill 9, the Mines and Minerals Amendment Act, 2003.

This act will amend exist ing legislation to reflect the way that seismic geophysical exploration is c urrently done by updating terminology and practices. [Motion carried; Bill 9 read a first time] The Spea ker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Bow. 2:50 Bill 13 Government Organization Amendment Act, 2003 Ms DeLo ng: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I request leave to introduce Bill 13, being the Government Organization Amendment Act, 2003. This bill authorizes continued production of voluntary ID cards. Thank you. [Motion carried; Bill 13 read a first time] The Spea ker: The hon. Government House Leader. Mr .

Han cock: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d move that Bill 13 be moved onto the Order Paper under Government Bills and Orders. [Motion carried] The Spea ker: The hon. Member for Highwood. Bill 201 Emblems of Alberta (Grass Emblem) Amendment Act, 2003 Mr . Tanna s: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I request leave to introduce

February 20, 2003 Alberta Hansard 53 Bill 201, being the Emblems of Alberta (Grass Emblem) Amendment Act, 2003. Bill 201 will amend the Emblems of Alberta Act by designating a native grass species, rough fescue, as Alberta’s provincial grass. As a provinci al emblem rough fescue will be an official symbol representing Alberta’s prairie heritage past, present, and future. [Motion carried; Bill 201 read a first time] The Spea ker: The hon. Member for Calgary-North Hill. Bill 202 Workers’ Compensation (Firefighters) Amendment Act, 2003 Mr . M agnus: Thank you, Mr. Speak er.

I reque st leav e to introduce a bill, being Bill 202, the Work ers’ Com pensation (Firefighters) Amendment Act, 2003. Studies consistently show that firefighters face an increased risk of contracting one of six firefighters’ cancers. This bill will bri ng fairness to firefighters who contract the cancers. [Motion carried; Bill 202 read a first time] head : Tabling R eturns and R eports The Clerk: Pursuant to Standing Order 37.1(2) I wish to advise the House that the following documents were deposited with the office of the Clerk: on behalf of the hon. Mr.

Mar, Minister of Health and Wellness, pursuant to the Occupationa l Therapy Profession A ct,

section 5(4), Alberta Association of Registered Occupational Therapists annual report 2001-02; pursuant to the Dental Disciplines Act,

section 8(4), Alberta Dental Association and College 2001-02 annual report; pursuant to the Heal th Facilities Review Committee Act, secti on 1 6(2), Albe rta He alth Facil ities Review C ommittee annual report 2001-02; pursuant to the Regional Health Authorities Act,

section 14(3), Health Authority 5 annual report 2001-2002; on behalf of Mr. Cardinal, Minister of Sustainable Resource Develop- ment, Surface Rights Board and Land Compensation Board annual report 2002. The Spea ker: The hon. Deputy Premier. Mrs. M cClellan: Thank you, Mr. Spe aker. I would like to file copies of two documents today: t he Agrivantage final report and recommendations, Buildi ng T omorrow T ogether, a nd Alberta ’s Agriculture Research and Innovation Strategic Framework.

Both of these documents as they are im plemented will cont ribute to the advancement of the agriculture and agri-food industry in Alberta and ensure that the industry remains competitive and respected. Mr. Speaker, I would just make members aware that copies of both reports are available from my office upon request. The Spea ker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Centre. Ms Blakeman : Thank you, Mr. Speaker . I’d like to tab le five copies of a le tter f rom the Elder Advocates of Alberta directed towards the hon.

Minister of Health and Wellness in which they are asking the gove rnment to make mandatory five tenets: to reduce abuse of seniors including not prescribing psychotropic medication and no permanent relegation of residents to bed and allowing nurse’s notes and medical files to be available to the resident and maintain- ing a written protocol. Thank you. The Spea ker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Riverview. Dr. Taft: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today with the appropri- ate number of copies of a letter to table urging the Alberta govern- ment to keep its promise to protect the Bighorn wildland recreation area.

The letter is written by Mr. Paul Otto. Thank you. The Spea ker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar. Mr . MacDo nald: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I have two tablings today. The first one is a document from Alberta Learning indicating that funding has changed very little for public education when one fac tors in inf lation an d enrolme nt, and this doc ument includes the fiscal year ’93-94 right up until the current time.

The second document that I would like to table for the benefit of not only members of this Assembly but al l Albertans is a Did You Know document prepared on behalf of the Alberta Liberal caucus, the Official Opposition, comparing what some of the expenditures of this government are – for VLTs, for horse racing, for extra staff, for expansion of the cabinet – and what that money could be used for in public education. Thank you. The Spea ker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Strathcona. Dr. Pan nu: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise to make two tablings today.

Both are l etters, and I’ll be tabling them in an appropriate number of copies. The first letter is from Mrs. Doreen Smith of Edmonton. It’s dated February 14, just a f ew day s ago, addr essed to the Minister of Seniors. Mrs. Smith is expressing great concern a bout the sea of hardship that the hig h gas and pow er bills ar e causing to her and thousands of other seniors, many of whom also live in my constitu- ency. That’s the first letter. The second letter, Mr. Speaker, is a letter from Mrs. Jean Polasek of Clair mont dat ed February 17, addressed to her MLA. Mrs.

Polasek is a board m ember of district 1, the Alb erta Counci l on Aging and h as written this le tter on behal f of m any seniors and single mothers in the area who are finding it impossible to pay their gas bills and d esperately need an im mediate break in the form of rebates if they are to be able to stay warm in this cold weather. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. [The Deputy Speaker in the chair] The Deputy Speaker: The hon. Mem ber for Edm onton-High- lands. Mr . M ason: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker . I h ave tw o tablings today.

The first tabling is a letter from the Marlowe family in Edmonton dat ed February 7, 2003, address ed to the Prem ier. They had a shock of disbelief upon opening their utility bill and are seeking help. The second tabl ing is a l etter f rom a g reenhouse ope ration in Coronation dated January 25, 2003, also addressed to the Premier. This greenhouse has been in operation for the past 19 years and is now canceling spring orders and laying off staff due to horrendous increases in utility bills. head : Pro jected G over nmen t Busin ess The Deputy Speaker: The hon. Acting Opposition House Leader.

54 Alberta Hansard February 20, 2003 Ms Blakeman: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. If I could ask the government to please enlighten us on the projected government business for next week. The D eputy Spea ker: The hon. Government House Leader. Mr . Han cock: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Projected g overnment business for the w eek of February 24 to 27, 2003.

At 9 p.m. on Monday the 24th under G overnment Bills and O rders, address in reply to the Speech from the Throne; second reading or Committee of the Whole for Bill 1, Premier’s Council on Alberta’s Promise Act, Bill 5, the Line Fence Amendment Act, 2003, and as per the Order Paper. For Tuesday, February 25, in the after noon under Gov ernment Bills and Orders for second reading Bill 4, Alberta Personal Income Tax Amendment Act, 2003; Bill 5, Line Fence Amendment Act; Bill 11, Auditor General Ame ndment Act, 2003; and as per the Order Paper.

At 8 p.m. under Government Bills and Orders under second reading or Committee of the Whole Bill 4, Bill 5, and Bill 11, and as per the Order Paper. Wednesday, February 26, under Government Bills and Orders we anticipate the supplementary supply messages to be presented under Government Motions with respect to supplementary supply motions being moved and then second reading of bills 3 and 2 and as per the Order Paper.

In the evening un der second reading Bill 6, Justice Statutes Amendment Act, 2003; Bill 7, Real Estate Amendment Act, 2003; Bill 8, Health Foundations Act Repeal Act; Bill 9, the Mines and Minerals Amendment Act, 2003; and Bill 3, the Electric Utilities Act; and in Com mittee of the W hole Bill 3, El ectric Utilities Act; and as per the Order Paper.

On Thursday, February 27, in the a fternoon under G overnment Bills and Orders, Committee of Supply, supplementary supply, day 1 of 1, and we would anticipate requesting unanimous consent of the House to revert to Introduction of Bills to permit the introduction of the Appropriation (Supplementary Supply) Act and as per the Order Paper. 3:00head : Orders of t he Day head : Consideration of Her Honour head : the Lieutenant Governor’s Speech Mr. Jacob s moved that an humble address be presented to Her Honour the Honourable the Lieutenant Governor as follows. To Her Honour the Honourable Lois E.

Hole, CM, AOE, Lieuten- ant Governor of the province of Alberta: We, Her Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Legislative Assembly, now assembled, beg leave to thank you, Your Honour, for the gracious speech Your Honour has been pleased to address to us at the opening of the present session. [Adjourned debate February 19: Mr. Hancock] The D eputy Spea ker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Shaw. Mr s. Ady: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I ri se today to add m y voice to the resp onse to the Speech from the Throne, my thoughts return to the Lieutenant Governor.

I know that my colleagues in the House and myself all feel the same level of appreciation to her for her greatness. As I think back to just a week ago when I had the opportunity to have dinner with her, I asked her at that time how her husband was doing, and she sa id to me: you know, he’s got to do all the really important things in li fe. He’s had a family, he’s been able to see them raised, a nd he’s been able to see the m become produ ctive citizens, actually run the business better than we did, she said.

She said: he’s been able to have grandchildren and see them grow up; all the truly important things he’s got to see happen in our family. She said to me tha t that wa s the m ost important thing to her and her husband. As I reflect now on the Speech from the Throne and I think of how earlier this week she stood in this House knowing of her condition and gave that speech, I am doubly impressed with the nature and the spirit of the woman that is the Lieutenant Governor of this province.

I looked at t he title of the speech, and I thought what she must have been thinking as she r ead A Pro mise to Our Children as she reflected on her own f amily and her ow n fam ily condit ion, and before I even knew t hat news, that title really jumped out for m e. I’ve heard so me opposition me mbers s ay: “ A Promis e to Our Children is too vag ue. It’s not solid enough. There’s not enough detail. What does it really show?” I’d like to kind of look at the cup hal f full today instead of half empty. When I see the words A Promise to Our Children, those mean a lot to me.

I’m the mother of four children, and I know that when I think about my children and I think about the future of this province, it makes me doubly – doubly – determined to make sure that we provide the kind of future that we want for our own children. I want for my children a province that is strong and economically able to manage their families. I want for my children safe communi- ties. I want for my children a lot of the things that are covered in the Speech from the Throne that was given earlier this week, so I was delighted as I read that speech.

I’m not only a mother, but I’m a Me mber o f the Legislative Assembly, and I represent the constituency of Calgary-Shaw. I’ve always said that i t’s the greatest constituency. Some of my col- leagues have a problem with that, but I stand on that and want to say that since I’ve been in office, just over two years, I find that this is a good time to ref lect and look back over the last two yea rs to see what kinds of promises we have fulfilled and the kinds of promises that we want to fulfill in the future. Now, I’ve always said that I come from a large constituency.

That constituency is now over 90,000 people, and I’m sure that if I stand next year, I might be saying that it’s over a hundred thousand people. It is the larges t consti tuency in the province of Alberta, and it’s a very rich constituency, and I know that if they read this speech, they would be very encouraged as they see the action that government is preparing to take. So in my response today I wanted to in particular keep my constituents in mind and express to you some of their hopes and desires and the things that they will be encouraged about as they read this speech.

I quote from the speech on the first page when it talks about the prosperity of Alberta and the course that government has charted for their new future. It said, “That course has brought the province to an era of unmatched growth and prosperity.” That is true. That is true. You do n’t have to live in Ca lgary-Shaw to k now that thi s province is growing. I often hear my rural colleagues talk about how long it takes them to drive across their constituencies and how difficult that is for them sometimes.

You can drive across my constituency of 90,000 people in under 15 minutes, but I must tell you of my surprise when I drive to comm unities within my neighbourhood and see whole new subdivisions that have sprung up since the last time I visited them. It is growing rapidly. As I knock o n the doors of those people and visit and talk with them, they tell me where they’ve come from and why they’re here. They’ve come from Sas katchewan. They’v e come from British Columbia. They’ve come from Ontario. They’ve come from further

February 20, 2003 Alberta Hansard 55 east. I’m told that Ontario is not the east, that there are more eastern provinces. I always ask them: “Why are you here? Why did you come to the province of Alberta?” They always say to me: I came here because there was a job; there was a job so that I could have a salary t o raise and support my fam ily. That’s why they come. They’re young. T hey’re dynamic. They’re bright. Now, I’m not saying that I have the brightest constituents in the whole province, but I think clos e. [interjec tion] Others think they do.

But I’m always impressed with the nature of the new const ituency that is growing around me, and I think: why do they come? I remember back in the early ’80s when my own family was living in a little community down in Riverton, Wyoming, and the oil and gas industry plummeted, and for the very first time in our family we didn’t have a j ob. It’s the first time that we’d not had a sal ary. I quickly learned a lesson: all the other things that we seek in life are really nice, but when you don’t have a job, it is very, very difficult on families.

I’ve never forgotten that lesson, and I’ve always been grateful for my husband being able to be employed and being able to support our family. Now, as an MLA for the last tw o years many, many times I’ve heard the expression: how can a rich province not? In fact, I thought that if I had a nickel f or every time I ’ve heard that expr ession, I probably could solve all the problems in the province of Alberta. I thought back about that, and I thought: you know why the people tell me that they come to Alberta? Not because it’s a rich province, but because they can support their families.

I think sometimes we lose sight of that in this province, and I think this throne speech points that out. It says that we have a prosperous province. We do. People have jobs. They ha ve a way to s upport their families. So when I look to A Promise to Our Children, I can think of no greater promise than that.

I like the saying “steady as we grow” because there’s no question that we’ve been able to establish – and I think not just because of oil and gas but because the government was prepared to make tough decisions and to bring this province into a fiscal responsibility mode that allowed it to get where it is today. When we see “steady as we grow” in this speech, I think that that’s a reality. Now our task and our job as government is to make sure that we don’t, you know, have to go backward, that w e can conti nue to go f orward and that t he promise can be bright in the future for our children.

I particularly wanted to spend just a moment on A Bright Future for Children, as it was entitled in t he speech, and it says that A l- berta’s most precious re source is its childre n, that our job is to protect and enable them “to develop to their fullest potential.” I don’t think of us as not having tried to do this in the past. I think we’ve gone to great efforts to do this, but what this speech tells me is that we are focusing an even greater attention to this difficulty. We start with the Child Welfare Act. I’m the chair of the Social Care Facilities Review Committee.

Part of my responsibility with my committee is to go and visit those children that are not in ideal circumstances. They live in f oster car e homes . They live in circumstances other than with their families. It is difficult for me to watch those children. I se e people providing, and I see foster care parents who are trying very hard, and I always honour the work that they do. Yet these children are not with their families, and they are not in homes.

A reli gious leader once said that it is n ot enou gh simply for parents to p rovide food, shelter for children and their physical well-being, that there ’s an equal responsibili ty for us to provide nourishment, direction to the spirit a nd the mind a nd the heart. When I look at these children and I think of my own four children, who have had all the benefits of parents – now, I’m not saying that I’m the best mother always, but practically always, but my children have always had the benefit of a mother and a father who love them and grandparents who love them.

They’ve had the benefit of living in communities that also care for them. I think of all the coaches that have coached them in basketball over the years. I think of the Scout leaders that have hiked up the hill with them in the middle o f the winter and, you know, brought them back home to me even though sometimes they really annoy me and I wonder if they should come back, but they do. I think of those people that have cared and loved my children.

I think of the teachers in schools that have invested in my children, worked hard with them to ensure that they got a good education and that their promise was bright. 3:10 I realize that it takes many people in order for this to happen, so when I look a t this reform of the Chi ld Welfare Act, I think it ’s appropriate. I think it’ s the right t hing to do. I do not think government should do this alone. In the speech it says: This approach recog nizes that creat ing an environment where children succeed is an endeavour that stretches beyond the ability of any o ne fam ily or any gove rnment.

Educati on and healt h systems, the corp orate and volu ntary sec tors, p arents, extend ed families, and caregivers are all part of a vital community network of supports that must be in place for children to thrive. And I say, “Hear, hear” to that. The other piece that was covered by the Speech from the Throne that I wanted to respond to was the initiative for the Alberta Centre for Child, Fam ily and C ommunity Res earch into f etal alc ohol syndrome. Myself and the hon. Member for Red Deer-North were able last year to go with the hon. Minister of Children’s Services to a conference on fetal alcohol syndrome.

I must be frank with you. Before I came into office, I w asn’t really aware of f etal alc ohol syndrome. I’ve now seen children that have fetal alcohol syndrome. I’ve been able to talk to foster care parents and parents who adopted fetal alcohol syndrome children. I’ve been able to visit with mothers that have had fetal alcohol children. I’m not certain why I wasn’t exposed to it.

I suppose I feel fairly protected in that way , but as I looked and spent tim e with these children, I realized that it wa s a problem that needed to be dealt with, and I ’ve been so impressed with the colleagues that are surrounding me that also feel strongly about this. As I see thi s in the Speech from the Throne, I feel encouraged because it talks about research on the prevention of fetal alcohol syndrome. Much time and attention has already been spent on identifying fetal alcohol and what it is and de fining it, but let’s prevent it, and I’m encouraged to see this in the Speec h from the Throne.

If you look at the Calgary-Shaw constituency, one of the richest resources that it has, although there are some, I guess, sour gas wells in the vicinity, is children. I have over 2 5,000 ch ildren in my constituency.

In fac t, I have more c hildren in m y consti tuency probably than s ome members have c onstituents, which tells me I have roughly, if you do the ma th, 50,000 parents of tho se 25,000 constituents that are children, so it’s no surprise to me when issues about education or that primarily affect children come along that I hear and that m y phones ring and that my e-mail is filled with the concerns of parents and of children. So when Alberta’s Commission on Learning was struck, I was very encouraged. I felt like it was an opportunity for us to take a good long look at what we were doing in education.

Could we improve on it? C ould we make it better? Where were the ch allenges? I wil l be bringing forward a moti on later that will talk about the complexity of the classroom this year. I think it’s something that we do need to addr ess and som ething whose day has come. So I’m very encouraged when I see in the Speech from the T hrone comm ent on Albe rta’s Commission on Learning, and I very much await their results and hope that we will

56 Alberta Hansard February 20, 2003 be able to improve an already excellent education system and make it even better. I was also encouraged to see t he $2 0 mi llion to help A lberta school boards purcha se additiona l classr oom resour ces and t ext- books. Often some have said: well, that only buys half a textbook per child. But I would like to point out that there is budget already out there for textbooks, and this will add and enhance that and create more opportunity for textbooks, and I think it’s a good-news story. I was v ery encouraged w hen I saw t hat in the Speec h from the Throne.

In the few short minutes that I have left I just want to touch briefly on infrastructure. Many of you have heard me talk about infrastruc- ture, and at the be ginning of it it talks about a solid infrastructure. “As Alberta has grown, so has its need for health facilities, schools, and roads.” Now, what I say to my constituents is: many of you have come to the province because you have jobs, but unfortunately you were not able to d rag with you your schools, your roads, and your hospitals. So as I see my constituency continue to grow, we ha ve needs in my constituency for these things.

It says in the speech that the “econom ic grow th has surpa ssed its i nvestment i n capital projects, and Albertans aren’t willing to wait until tomorrow for the infrastructure they need today.” I think that reflects the Calgary- Shaw constituency. The y recognize that there’s difficulty in thi s area, and that’s why, first of a ll, they sent m e to Ed monton, and that’s what they look to us for as government: to not tell them why they can’t have it but to come up with the kinds of solutions that will ensure and enable them to have it in the future.

So I’m very much encouraged as I look at this gov ernment trying to b ecome mo re flexible in how they look at infrastructure. Now, perhaps all ideas out there are not the b est i deas, and perhaps things have been tried other places that were not effective. That doesn’t mean that we can’t capitalize on the successes. I think of the Bethany care facility within my constituency, which is a P3 arrangement and working very well. [some applause] Thank you. I also t hink of Hampton school, which I’ve seen in the news.

All over the news they talk about Ham pton school, but I’ve had opportunity to tour that school and talk to parents and students and teachers, and I can tell you that there are some pretty happy parents and teachers and students in Hampton school today, very grateful that there was a P3 arrange ment. Now, could that be improved upon? Absolutely. Are there ways that we as government can help control some of those factors that were negative? Absolutely. So, again, I’d like to just close today by saying that steady as we grow is the way to go.

I think this is a speech of promise and hope, and I think the Calgary-Shaw constituency will enjoy reading this. I thank you again. The D eputy Spea ker: Comments? Questions? The hon. Member for Edmonton-Riverview to speak. Dr. Taft: Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If there are no questions for the hon. member. The Deputy Speaker: Well, that’s what I had asked, and that’s why I was asking you. Go ahead. Dr. Taft: Okay. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my privilege to rise in this Assembly to speak to the Speech from the Throne. I concur completely with the comments of th e ho n.

M ember for Calgary- Shaw in expressing her feelings and, I’m sure, the feelings of all of us about the condi tion of the Lieutenant Governor and the coura- geous job she did in delivering this speech just a few short days ago, an inspiration for all of us. There has bee n much di scussion a lready on the nature of the Speech from the Throne, and the phrase I’ve heard from any number of us is that it’s a matter sometimes of looking at whether the glass is half full or the glass is half empty.

I think we may want to say that sometimes some people’s glasses are full and some people’s glasses are empty, and we need to keep all of that in perspective. It’s not a simple issue of: is one single glass half full or half empty? The fact of the matter is that for many of us, probably for all of us who are members of this Assembly in most regards our glasses, our lives are very full and very wealthy and very prosperous.

But there are many people in this province whose glasses are by any measure less than half full, and w e want t o try t o remember thos e people as we go through our daily business in this Assembly. The Speech from the Throne, of course, is focused on children, A Promise to Our Children, and that’s a noble focus for this speech and for this gove rnment and for this A ssembly.

I thi nk we w ould all concur that looking after children and providing all the resources and supports we can for children from c onception right through to the early year s of sc hool is crucial and is probably the single most important way to secure the future of this province.

So, for example, when amendments to the Child Welfare Act are raised – and I’m told that they will “emphasize the importance of early intervention and the preservation of the family” – I commend that, and I hope that that prevents, for example, the kinds of issues that we were debating a year ago in this Assembly from arising, where we saw reductions to early intervention programs. I also agr ee com pletely w ith the em phasis on f etal alc ohol syndrome. It’s a frightening problem for this society.

The re have been some dramatic crim es, som e murde rs comm itted in this province by people who suffer from this condition, and they really have no conception of what they’re doing. That’s just a small and dramatic example of t he severity of this disea se. I know that it’s extremely widespread. The thing is that w e already know how to prevent fetal alcohol syndrome. We know what cau ses it, and we know how to prev ent it.

So I hope t hat rather than just pouring research money into this ques tion, we a ctually take a ction, as the Minister of Children’s Services has, but we need to take more action on preventing fetal alcohol syndrome. 3:20 Another tremendous pr ogram that as recently as last night I was hearing very discouraging words about the future of is the Alberta initiative for school improvement, AISI, as it’s known as in schools. They have had some dramatic results through this program in many schools in Edmonton, including some schools in the most impover- ished neighbourhoods. What’s the issue?

We ll, the issue is that the funding is running out for those program s this y ear. Th is is it, a nd there’s a very decided risk that young children, preschooler s in neighbourhoods like Norwood and indeed neighbour hoods across Edmonton and across Alberta will suddenly not have the supports that have made huge differences to their early childhood development. So I hope that that program gets extended as a result of this speech. The $20 mi llion investment in schools and school resources, frankly, is too small, but it’s better than nothing.

There are schools in this province, for example, where the maps still show the Soviet Union, and that sort of geography is so far out of date that we’re not doing anybody an advantage by that. If schools can use some of this money to improve th eir resou rces, great, b ut we shoul dn’t have allowed them to get so far behind as it is. Moving to the

section of the speech on a strong economy, the two great emphases in the speech are on agriculture and energy, which we all agree are a bsolutely fundamental to the prosperity of this

February 20, 2003 Alberta Hansard 57 province. The agriculture sector is in a very rough spot. I know that we voted in the fall for a substantial increase to support that sector because of the drought and ironically also because of some flooding in southern Alberta, but I’m afraid that the future of this sector is in for long-term problems and that we need long-t erm solutions. I know that our leader has some very clearly thought-through ideas on that, and I hope the government listens to those.

I am conc erned about the commitment of this gove rnment to continue to oppose the monopoly of the Canadian Wheat Board. A tremendous number of farmers in this province and across western Canada support the Ca nadian Whe at Board, a nd they s how tha t every time members to the board of the Canadian Wheat Board are elected, and they continuously elect members who want the Wheat Board to continue. I’m concerned that this government is actually listening to a very narrow voice on that particular issue.

The energy industry also gets a s ubstantial amount of attention, and let’s be honest: it’s the energy industry that separates Alberta’s economy from the economies of the other provinces in this country. So well they deserve particular attention, but they don’t deserve the kind of attention the electricity industry has received in this province in the last few years.

We all know that electricity deregulation has brought many problems, and I am concerned when I read tha t the government is planning to make further changes and hopes that these changes will “i ncrease competi tion and value for consumers.” Frankly, I’m a big fa n of co mpetition, but a nyone who kn ows economics knows that there are limits to markets and that competi- tion doesn’t alw ays w ork and th at in fact it was be cause of a breakdown in competition early in the 20th century that we got into regulated electricity in the first place.

I am not opti mistic that the moves of this g overnment are goi ng to benef it cons umers of electricity in Alberta at all. The economy needs to diversify in this province, and although we trumpet the efforts of diversification, if you take a hard look at their success, proportionately Alberta’s economy is still overly dependent on energy and agriculture and especially on energy. Tory govern- ments have bee n trying for 25 y ears or m ore to dive rsify the economy with ve ry mixed success and som e spectacular failures.

I’m not sure what new thoughts this government has to put into place as it’s suggested here, but we’ll be watching them carefully. P3s have had a fair bit of debate, and they’re going to get a fair bit more, I’m sure. They are specifically referred to in the Speech from the Throne. It’s curious. The Speech from the Throne says that “Albertans aren’t willing to wait until tomorrow for the infrastruc- ture they need today. That’s why the government will develop a new capital plan to addre ss infrastructure needs.” Well, I’m sure there has been a capital plan in place for many years.

I’m not sure why we particularly need a new on e. The o ld on e would proba bly have worked perf ectly w ell if t he gover nment had just follow ed it. Instead, it was on and off and on and off. So some stability, which we’ve argued for in this party for many years, will be welcomed in the sector. However, turning to P3s is a risky business, and I would encourage – encourag e – the Minis ter of Inf rastructure and all members of this g overnment to very , very carefully examine the evidence on P3s. There is, in fact, an extensive body of analysis on P3s, and by and large their usefulness is extremely limited.

So let’s approach this issue with great caution. The new fiscal framework that’s referred to in the Speech from the Throne is hard to disagree with in any substance because, after all, it is ess entially a b orrowing of our o wn party’s position. So my congratulations to the government for doing that. Seniors. While the Member for Calgary-Shaw has a huge number of children in her constituency, I have a huge number of seniors, and if there’s something I would have liked to have seen more emphasis on in this speech, it is the plight of seniors, over half of whom are living on incomes of under $15,000 a year.

Seniors have borne the brunt of a great number of the government’s cuts in the last decade, and it doesn’t look from this speech like they’re going to get much of that returned. So I would like to see much more careful attention paid to seniors. And now to health care. Health care will continue to be the top priority of Albertans and of Canadians as it has been for many, many years now. This government from the beginning has wrestled with health care and has in m y view and the view of many, many other people not done a particularly good job of it.

In fact, health care is one of the areas that this government consistently scores low on in terms of public confidence, and there are many reasons for that. But at least they’re right that still more m oney is not the only answer for improving health care. I think that we w ould all agree with that. One way of improving health care is better management, and I am very concerned that we have a health department in which in 10 years there have been eig ht changes of deputy minister, the revolving door at the top of that department, and as a result there’s continuous chaos.

So it would have been nice to see a commitment to steady management there. I would also like to have seen some explicit addressing of conflict of interest issues in the health care system because the system as it is now tolerates conflicts of interest that, for example, would never be tolerated in the legal system. They would never be tolerated in any major c orporation, and i ndeed they wouldn’t b e tolerated elsewhere in the public sector. It’s an issue that needs to be sorted out. There are also questions of the credibility of the promises of the Speech from the Throne.

I mea n, after all, I’m reading from the Speech from the Throne of 2001, that says: “The government will provide Albertans with a stronger voice in health system m anage- ment. This fall Albertans will elect two-thirds of the board members of the 17 regi onal health authorities.” Unfortunately, a mere two Speeches from the Throne later we’ve seen those elected positions abolished. So it does make me wonder: how much can we rely on the promises that we’re seeing in the Speech from the Throne? How much does it mean when we read fine words under the

section on the health system here when those promises are so easily and so soon broken? But we can always hope, and we can always work, as we will, to hold the government accountable. 3:30 The speech also has drawn some controversy over its comments about Alberta’s position in C anada, and I would l ike to note the curious paradox in which this government very, very tightly ties its funding to school boards. So, for example, the $20 mill ion being provided can’t be s pent o n anyth ing exc ept exac tly w hat this government says.

They’re very quick to tie funds to school boards, but oh, my goodness, if the federal government ties funds forwarded to the provinc e, the noise , the com plaining, the ob jections ar e nothing short of remarkable. It’s this kind of double standard that rubs many Albertans the wrong way and, fra nkly, undermines the province’s own position. Wouldn’t it have been better just to have said: “We’ll give the $20 million to the s chool boards. You guys spend it how you want.” That’s how we want the federal govern- ment to treat us. That’s a position that could be respected.

Finally – I see I’m running out of time here – this province wants to do everything to protect Alberta’s economy. We agree with that, but I for one have differing views on what actions need to be taken there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The D eputy Spea ker: Questions? Comments? The hon. Member for Red Deer-North.

58 Alberta Hansard February 20, 2003 Mrs. Ja blo nski: Thank you, Mr. Speak er, for a llowing m e to respond to this year’s throne speech. This province is truly blessed with the gift of our Lieutenant Governor, and I wish her a s peedy recovery as we all keep her in our thoughts and prayers and send her our hugs. Like Her Honour I share a vision for our children and our youth, a vision where we in the Leg islature make a promise to them, a promise of protection, encouragement, and, most of all, prosperity.

Themistocles of ancient Athens demonstrated the importance of children to governm ent when he said, “The Athenians govern the Greeks; I govern the Athenians; you, my wife, govern me; your son governs you.” Mr. Speaker, every parent understands exactly what Themistocles meant and, therefore, why the Alberta Promise is so important. This promise is shared by the people of Alberta and by the people of Red Deer. Did you k now that there are some people in Red Dee r that actually think that Red Deer is the centre of the universe?

And then there are some people in Red Deer that know that Red Deer is the centre of the universe. In response to Her Honour’s remarks, I’d like to talk about three very important issues that are at the heart of Alberta’s Promise. The first is mentoring and the important difference that having a strong mentor makes in a young life. The second is doing everything we can to prevent fetal alcohol syndrom e in Albe rta and to do thi s without any hes itation.

T he third is e nsuring th at we t ake all necessary steps to protect Alberta’s prosperity, especially in light of the federal govern ment’s ratifying o f t he po tentially dangerous Kyoto protocol.

On my first point, one of the promises Her Honour highlighted is to ensure tha t “every child r eceives ongoing s upport, c are, and guidance from at least one caring adult in his or her life.” For most Albertan children this support comes from within the family, but we know that many children come from troubled homes or from single- parent homes where that parent works hard to pay the bills and to set a good ex ample for his or her children.

In cases where a pa rent needs a little help from their friends and neighbours, when they need someone else to be there for their child, every Albertan who is ready, willing, and able should take the time to be there as a mentor, as an in-school mentor or as a Big Sister or Big Brother. We already have dedicated and committed mentors in the form of coaches for hockey, soccer, ringette, lacrosse, and every other kind of coach, in the form of leaders for Brow nies, Cubs, G uides, Scouts , Pathfinders , an d Venturers, and in the form of youth group leaders as well as teachers and tutors.

These mentors do a great job, but we need more. Mr. Speaker, in my role as head of the Youth Secretariat I’ve seen firsthand the value of mentoring. When I go into schools where Big Sisters and Big Brothers have in-school mentoring programs, I not only see kids who are happier, healthier, and learning more enthusi- astically, but I also see mentors who are happy as well. If you talk to anyone w ho’s taken on the role of a ment or, including t he in - school mentors, you’ll hear sto ries about the go od thi ngs that the child is doing and the successes of that child.

You’ll also hear them talking about how much fun it can be and how rewarding it is to play a significant role in the life of a young person. If you knew beyond any doubt that by spending an hour a week with a child or a youth, you could make a huge difference in their lives, if you knew that just by being there, you could prevent them from turning to drug s or alcohol or that you c ould keep the m in school and guide them to a successful future, that just by being there, you could prevent them from attempting suicide, would you do it? Would you take the time to be a m entor?

My husband has always said that if you take a kid fishing, you’ll never have to fish for him or her, or if you take a kid hunting, you’ll never have to hunt for him or her. Mr. Speaker, maybe it’s time to take a kid fishing or hunting. The theme of Her Honour’s speech is Alberta’s Promise. I’d also like to call it Alberta’s challenge. I challenge each a nd every Albertan to call Big Sisters and Big Brothers or the boys and girls clubs and get inv olved. It wil l be one of the mos t rewa rding decisions you will ever make. Mr. Speaker, John F.

Ken nedy o nce said, “Ask not what y our country can do for you; as k what you can do for your country .” Well, you don’t have to be a soldier or an astronaut, a brain surgeon or an Olympic athlete to make a difference for your country. You can make a hug e diffe rence by bein g a mento r, somebody’s own personal hero. On my second point, Mr . Speaker , I com mend Her Honour’s comments with regard to Alberta’s efforts to prevent fetal alcohol syndrome. Fetal alcohol syndrome is a brutal affliction, even more sad because of the fact that c hildren are born with i t and it is not curable.

It is a syndrome that inhibits their development and in such a way that some do not even know they have this problem. Yet the negative social effects of FAS are well known. We know that babies born with FA S don’t recover, and of ten those with F AS become adults who are not financially or socially self-sufficient, and they are more likely to require special education and drop out of sc hool. Some will likely end up in our jails because they do not know how to cope with this affliction. Many children with FAS grow up to be alcohol or substance abusers themselves.

The opp ortunity for chi ldren b orn with FAS t o li ve a h ealthy, normal, and succe ssful l ife is d rastically re duced, an d for s ome sufferers that opportunity does not exist at all. It is up to us to make sure that we take steps to rid Alberta of this terrible form of brain damage. I know that many of my colleagues are already fighting the good fight and that all my colleagues will join me in encouraging our government to keep fighting FAS.

Red Deer and central Alberta are fortunate to h ave ma ny c aring and we ll-trained volunteers and outreach workers that are helping families and children to cope with this life sentence. Finally, to my third point, Mr. Spea ker. It w ill come as no surprise to a nybody in t his Ass embly that my constituents are particularly concerned with the federal government’s ratification of the Kyoto protocol. After all, when you’re talking about Red Deer, you’re talking about the centre of the oil and gas service industry.

Not only has the Red De er Chamber of Com merce and t he cit y council of Red D eer informed the provincial and federal govern- ments of their objections to the Kyoto protocol, but so have numer- ous businessmen and corporations. Our provincial government has reiterated its intention to fight the Kyoto protocol should it prove to be as onerous as first expected. That’s only one part of the equation. The other is the commitment to future generations of Albertans that we will not le t any a ction by the f ederal g overnment risk the opportunity of these Albertans for success. Mr.

Speaker, it doesn’t make me very happy to have to stand here with skepticism about our federal government, but I am nonetheless disheartened by its performance of la te. Believe me; coming from Red Deer my constituents have long memories. Folks f rom Re d Deer remember the national e nergy program, and they re member how it decimated the economy of the province. They remember the daily bankruptcies of businesses that failed because of flawed federal programing. And Red Deer was not the only city that suffered.

To this very day I still see tough, mighty oil workers and educated, well- trained professionals shudder at the very sound of that which cannot be named. 3:40 So when we see another solution brought in from Ottawa or in this

February 20, 2003 Alberta Hansard 59 case from a city in Japan t hat many Albertans had neve r heard of before, we rightly get suspicious, and when the federal Minister of the Enviro nment tells me that their calculations only show an increase of 20 cents on a barrel of oil, I pray that those calculations weren’t made by the same people who calculated the cost of the gun registry.

When we see this made-in-Ottawa solution coupled with this wasteful gun registry, the monopolistic Canadian Wheat Board, the too little, too late farm programs, and the new round of federal intrusions into social programs, I start to shudder. This is not how this country is supposed to work. So, Mr. Speaker, I will be introducing Motion 502 that asks the Legislative Assembly to urge the government to investigate and take steps to strengthen Alberta’s position within Confederation. What might have worked 100 years ago does not work today. We need to negotiate a new deal in Confederation for all Albertans.

After all, that is part of our promise: to protect our prosperity. Mr. Speaker, I’m a good Canadian, and I will always remain so. This is also most d efinitely true of my constituents in Red Deer- North and many other Albertans. It doe s not seem to me that just because hardworking Albertans have found success, it is the federal government’s job to waltz through and squash it. In fact, it should be the other way around; they sh ould be e ncouraging our success because success for Alberta means success for Canada. In the case that the federal government will not share our success, this govern- ment will be there.

We’ll work so our young people know that this is still the best province in Canada and the best place in the world to live, work, and raise a family. And when the federal gove rnment comes calling with a new, punitive program that nobody asked for, we’ll work hard to make them take it right back to Ottawa. This is another promise that we can make to our children. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to add that a new fiscal framework to bring predictability, sustainability, and more discipline to fiscal management will be welcomed by the constituents of Red Deer.

By eliminating the need f or stop-and-g o in frastructure spe nding, all Albertans will benefit. On the environmental side I am very pleased that this government will provide f unding for a clean coa l demonst ration proje ct to develop techniques for the use of coal in electricity generation. We all know that sustainable economic growth requires clean air, water, and land and that Albertans will accept no less. This is why I am also very pleased about a made-in-Alberta plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Mr.

Speaker, I’ve talked about three of the issues underlying Her Honour’s promise to Alberta’s children and youth. These are three of many. This g overnment is right to put the co ncerns of our children and youth first and to promote and take action to ensure a prosperous life for them and indeed all Albertan s. I, like most Albertans, have co nfidence in our government to fulfill these promises. I also have confidence in our wonderful citizens to follow our lead. Mr. Speaker , when I w as six y ears old, I made a p romise.

I promised to do my best, to do my duty to God, the Queen, and my country, and to help other people every day, especially those at home. Now, my mother might tell you something different, but I’ve always tried to keep that pr omise. I also i ntend to keep Alberta’s Promise to ensure that Alberta’s most precious resource, its children, are protected and enabled to develop to their fullest potential. May God bless Alberta, and God bless Canada. Thank you. The D eputy Spea ker: The hon. Member for Calgary-West. Ms Kryc zka: Thank you, Mr. Speak er.

It’s been more than six years since I was first elected MLA for the constituency of Calgary- West and six years since I first responded to the 1997 Speech from the Throne. I clearly remember describing proudly the distinctive community and g eographic are as of Ca lgary-West a nd the wide range of ages of my constituents and especially the high standards and expectations they have f or themselves and for their political representatives, especially their aldermen, school trustees, and MLA. Now, six years later, I am of course much wiser, but I know I’m older. Much has ha ppened in Calg ary-West.

Explos ive develop- ment in the western half resulted in 70 percent of K to 12 students living in that sec tor having to leave the area to a ttend one of the many underutilized schools in t he east sector of t he constituency. There are traffic challenges also. Movement of constituents to and from work is an increasing frustration these days. There are, however, many more housing choices for the increasing number of seniors who are choosing to age in place, who have said good-bye to their residential homes with the high-maintenance yards which they have lived in for m any, many years.

In Calgary-West there are, fortunately, increasing housi ng cho ices fo r all i ncome levels of seniors. I am increasingl y conce rned, eve n alarm ed, though, that with the years just how much more seniors become frail and thus dependent on others to maintain an acceptable way of life. Turning to the Speech from the Throne, Mr. Speaker, which the Lieutenant Governor delivered so beautifully in her very special style on Tuesday, February 18. She should know that we all embrace her too.

I wrote this before I read my memo ab out her rec ent health status, but especially now I wanted to say briefly that I extend to her our sincerest prayers for a full recovery. I was very pleased with the key messages in the theme A Promise to Our Children with a focus on Alb ertans’ common values, their pride in meeting challenges and trying new things, in working hard, in being independent but with a st rong sens e of res ponsibility to family and community. I agree with the steady-as-we-go challenge to manage growth pressures today and remain strong into the future. Mr.

Speaker, who can disagree with these goals, unless you have no family or children? Bein g a mother of two adult childre n and another two by my second marriage and now a grandmother of nine, I have a huge personal interest in the importance of planning for the next 10, 20, and 30 years.

Whether it be access to quality health services, an excellent learning system, a strong economy, stabilizing of the ener gy sector long term, accelerating re search, r educing greenhouse gas emissions, providing solid infrastructure, developing a more sustainable fiscal framework, and responding to the needs of people, especially the most vulnerable, the priorities in the throne speech covered very well all of the area s important to providing young Albertans with a better quality of life today and in the future.

However – and there’s always a however, and that’s where I’m at right now – economists and planners nationally and worldwide have red flagged demographics and an aging population for many years now. My counterparts in other provinces readily acknowledge that Alberta has the youngest pop ulation in Canada, and therefore we have the benefit of more time to prepare for its true impact in 10, 20, 30 years. Seniors are only 10 percent of our population now, so why worry today? The time of 20 to 25 percent seniors is years down the road. But havi ng said tha t, Mr.

Speak er, I hav e an incre asing concern that is re inforced w ith very cre dible sources that as a government we are not acutely aware of the increasing numbers and health needs of vulnerable Albertans. By vulnerable I m ean those who are too frail physically or mentally to advocate for themselves to government and health authorities and therefore depend on family and caregivers to do so. The vulne rable include people of all age s, but the m ajority are older seniors. Think about this. Since 1997, for example, we have all become six y ears olde r, w ith time bringing about physical

60 Alberta Hansard February 20, 2003 changes and chronic conditions that we have to live with daily and for the rest of our lives. I’m probably speaking now to the older colleagues who are here in the Hou se. For m e I have now got progressive arthritis in my hands, and without medication most days it is very painful. My 90-year-old mother, Mary Sterling, has a walker now, provi ded by a wonderful provincew ide co mmunity support program, Alberta Aids to Daily Living.

It enables her to stay mobile more safely in her congregate living housing setting, but my mother has incre asing osteoporosis in her spine and legs. I see a noticeable increase in her frailty monthly, but her great attitude never waivers. I’m sure most of you today can easily think of s omeone very close to you with similar progressive health problems. It’s not hard to do. Since 1997 I have visited seniors in many housing settings, and each time I revisit, I see s ignificant changes: many walkers now where there were none and more than just a few wheelchairs. Many seniors no longer live there.

They have moved to a long-term care setting, an Alzheimer’s care centre, or have passed away. Since the development of t he long-term care re view r eport, ver y fe w fra il seniors are now admitted to acute c are hospitals. Bed blockers is pretty much a label of the past. 3:50 So I ask, Mr. Speaker: where do these seniors go? We know that seniors are living longer thanks to modern technology, but not all of them are able to spend their last year s or month s at hom e in a supportive community setting.

One fact in Alberta is that there is an increasing number of older seniors and those with disabilities in the long-term care system who have complex and chronic care needs or, put another w ay, m ultiple severe health problems. They a re a distinct subgroup of the population. Call it seniors’ C3. By seniors’ C3 I mean the seniors’ chronic, complex care group, and I don’t say that in j est, but they are def initely a very important group in our society.

This situation also exists in Ontario and, as in Alberta, the work for hardworking professional staff is heavier and more stressful in care centres now than in an acute c are hospital. In Albe rta many long-ter