March 10, 2003 Alberta Hansard 351 Legislative Assembly of Alberta Title: Monday, March 10, 2003 1:30 p.m. Date: 2003/03/10 [The Speaker in the chair] head : Prayers The Speaker: Good afternoon and welcome. Hon. members, would you please r emain standing after the prayer for the s inging of our national anthem. Let us pray. At the beginning of this week we ask You, Father, to renew and strengthen in us the awareness of our duty and privilege as members of this Legislature. We ask You also in Y our divine providence to bless and protect the Assembly and bless the province we are elected to serve. Amen.

Now would you please join in the singing of our national anthem in the languag e of y our choice. It will be led today by Mr. Paul Lorieau. Hon. Members: O Canada, our home and native land! True patriot love in all thy sons command. With glowing hearts we see thee rise, The True North strong and free! From far and wide, O Canada, We stand on guard for thee. God keep our land glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. Please be seated. head : Introducti on of Visit ors The Speaker: The hon. Member for Grande Prairie-Smoky. Mr. Knight: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is a pleasure for me to rise this afternoon an d introduce to y ou and through y ou two fi ne gentlemen from the province of Nova Scotia, who, i t should be noted, had one of the teams in the recent Brier finals. I would like to introduce, firstly, Mr. Jim DeWolfe, who was elected to represent the people of Pictou East in the province of Nova Scotia in March 1998. Mr. DeWolfe is the chairman of the Standing Committee on Resources as well as the vice-chair of Public Accounts. With Mr. DeWolfe is Mr. Dale Madill, a representative from Nova Scotia’s Department of Energy. They are seated in your gallery.

I would ask them to rise, please, and receive the warm welcome of this Assem- bly. Mr. Jonson: Mr. Speaker, I am pleased t o introduce to y ou and through you t o members of the Assembly His Excellency Sergei Darkin, governor of Primorskii region in Russia. He is accompanied today by seve ral members of his g overnment and the Canadian honorary consul to Russia. Alberta has much in common with the Primorskii region, which is in the Russian far east. Many Alberta companies are already active in Russia and are interested in explor- ing new partnerships in a variety of areas.

The governor’s visit is a good opportunity to discuss areas of co-operation. I would ask that our honoured gue sts please rise and r eceive the traditi onal warm welcome of the Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Member for St. Albert. Mrs. O’Neill: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It’s my honour today to introduce t o you and thr ough you to m embers of this Assembly Professor Gerald Gall, who is a prof essor of law at the University of Alberta and who teaches constitutional law and c ivil liberties. He’s the auth or of The Canadian Legal System, i n its fourth edition.

He is seated in your gallery with his wife, Karen. He has recently, in 2002, been appointed an office r of the O rder of Canada, and he is currently the president of the J ohn Humph rey Centre for Peace and Human Rights. I would ask Professor Gall and his wife, Karen, to please rise and receiv e the t raditiona l warm welcome of this Assembly. head : Introduction of G uests Mrs. McClellan: Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the hon.

Pre mier I’m pleased to introduce to you and through you to mem bers of the Assembly nine members of the Public Affairs Bureau who are in the building today on their public service orientation tour. I’ll ask them to stand as I call their names so you can all recognize these valuable employees. With us today are Cathy Ducharme, Craig Hutscal, Lisa Gano, Rob Hicks, Donna McClelland, Jim St uart, Marlo Shinyei, Michelle Lennie, and Gwen Vanderdeen-Pasc hke. Would y ou please give them a very, very warm welcome. The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Economic Development. Mr. Norris: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

It’s an absolute delight to rise on thi s beautiful Alberta d ay and introduce through you and to you i n the House 33 of the bes t and brighte st tha t Edmonton-McClung has to offer. The students of Good Shepherd school are here with their teacher, Mr. Rob Madunicky. I’d ask them to rise and please receive the very w arm welcome of this House. Welcome to the Legislature. The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Sustainable Resource Develop- ment. Mr. Cardinal: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker .

I’d like to introduce to you and through you to the Members of the Legislative Assembly 27 grade 6 s tudents fr om the v illage of Boyle in the constituency o f Atha basca-Wabasca. They are ac companied by seven adults, and they’re either seated in the members’ gallery or the public gallery or both. I’d lik e them to rise and receive the tradi- tional warm welcome of the Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Learning. Dr. Oberg: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I have two sets of introductions today.

The first one: I’m very pleased to introduce to you and through you to the Legislative Assembly Dan MacLennan, president of AUPE, and union representative Steve Nimchuk. They have with them Terry Luhoway from NAIT; Jerr y Nolan from Athabasca Unive rsity in Athaba sca; Bonnie Nahornick from Athabasca University in Ca lgary; Ron Whan from Lethbrid ge Community College; Lis a Da niels from the Alberta Vocational Centre, Lac La Biche; Nancy Ritchie from the University of Calgary; Dan Tille man f rom the Unive rsity of Calgary; Rod Fe land from NAIT.

They represe nt the educa tion sector subcommittee within AUPE, and I would ask them all to rise and rece ive the w arm welcome of the Legislative Assembly. My second introduc tion, M r. Speaker, is some one who is no stranger to many of the people in this Assembly. I’d like to intro- duce t o y ou and through y ou to the Le gislative Assembly Doug MacRae, who is the new executive director of the Alberta Associa- tion of Colleges and Technical Institutes, and I would add that he is

352 Alberta Hansard March 10, 2003 doing an excel lent j ob in bringing the colleges and technical institutes together. I w ould ask y ou to rise a nd receive the warm welcome of the Legislative Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Lac La Biche-St. Paul. Mr. Danyluk: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased to rise and i ntroduce to you and t hrough you to th e Assembly two constituents of Lac La Biche-St. Paul. Wayne and Karon Hanson moved to Elk Point in 1980 w hen Wayne accepted a transfer with the Alberta Treasury Branches to open and manage the new branch.

Karon was employed with Elk Point Gas, Ltd. in the administration department. Wayne worked for the Treasury Branches at locations throughout the provinc e for 20 y ears. T hey ar e both h appily enjoying retirement and are the proud parents of Danny, who is a researcher for the government caucus. Wayne and Karon a re visiting t he Legislature for t he first time today, Mr. Speaker, and are seated in the public gallery. I’d ask them to rise and receive the warm welcome of the Assembly. 1:40 The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Glenora. Mr. Hutto n: Thank you very m uch Mr. Speaker.

It’s a great pleasure for me today to stand and introduce to you and through you to members of this Assembly two very special Edmontonians, Joan and Cam Tait. Cam Tait is a nationally renowned journalist, whom I will recognize after question period. With Cam is his lovely wife, Joan, who is a longtime resident of Edmonton and a champion of many worthy causes. This is her f irst visit to the A ssembly, and I would ask Joan to please rise and receive the warm welcome of this Assembly. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Mill Woods. Dr. Massey: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It’s my pleasure to introduce to you and thr ough you to members of t he Assembly 36 students from Tipaskan sc hool in Edmonton-Mil l Woods and t heir teach- ers/leaders Mrs. Norma Na y and Mrs. Gerry O’Riordan. I had the pleasure of rea ding to thes e youngsters d uring Read -in Week. They’re excellent listeners, particularly if you scare the daylights out of them with master authors like Edgar Allan Poe. They’re in the public gallery, and with your permission I’d ask them to stand and receive the traditional warm welcome of the Assembly. head : Oral Quest ion Peri od Energy Prices Dr.

Nicol: My first question is to the Ministe r of Envir onment. Since this government won’t offer Albertans natural gas rebates, will this minister consider the Alberta Liberal plan for a revolving fund that would provide consumers with low-interest loans to make their homes more efficient as a means to reduce heating costs? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Dr. Taylor: Thank you, Mr. Speak er. From our perspec tive and from my perspective it is not a government’s position to be involving loans to a nybody, revolving loans or not, by providing loans.

In fact, I believ e that w ould go aga inst the Fina ncial Administration Act. The Minister of Finance could comment on that. But I would like to s ay tha t w e are working and we have funded an energy efficiency office called Energy Solutions at Climate Change Central. They will have their own board of directors, and one of the things their board of directors will be discussing is programs that they could do like that in partnership with the private sector. Dr. Nicol: My sec ond ques tion is to the minister of human re- sources.

S ince this government won’t offer Albertans natural gas rebates, will this minister increase AISH and SFI rates in the winter months to cover the additional cost of living caused by high home heating bills? Mr. Dunford: Mr. Speaker, I think that our ministry has been trying to respond as best we can to some of the issues that some Albertans are faced with. We’re open, we’re accountable, and we stand ready to try to do the best that we can. Dr.

Nicol: To the Minister of Energy: since this government won’t offer Albertans natural gas rebates, will this government adopt the Alberta Liberal plan for l ow-cost power to ensure that power bills don’t spike when home heating bills spike? Mr. Smith: Mr. Speaker, this government does have in place the natural gas price protection plan, that will kick in when the average annual price reaches $5.50 a gigajoule. That price is 5 percent lower than what it was in 2001 when rebates were issued, and in fact it was appropriate at the time, in 2001. Policy was made; a law was struck.

We’re obligated to stick to that law, and we are holding to the letter of the law. It is important to note that there continue to be programs available to seniors a nd those families in need that do need them when they do need them. As to the question would we implem ent the Liberal program to spend $3 billion to effect $1 billion worth of savings, the mathemat- ics would tell me no. The Speaker: Second Official Opposition main question. The hon. Leader of the Official Opposition. Dr. Nicol: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a billion dollars a year, for the minister’s information. My second question.

Many Albertans can no longer afford to pay their skyrocketing ho me heating b ills. Char ities, scho ols, low- income Albertans, severely disabled Albertans, and seniors are just a few of the groups that are struggling to make ends meet when faced with high utility bills, yet the assistance offered by this government targets only a fraction of those groups.

To the Premier: where can the thousands upon thousands of Albertans who cannot afford to pay their high utility bill s and aren’ t eligible for the g overnment’s onetime assistance program get the help for high utility bills, as this government promised them in the last election? Mr. Klein: Mr. Speaker, as the hon. leader of the Liberal opposition knows full well, we have a rebate program. To say that we refuse to give rebates is absolutely false. The rebate program kicks in when the average price over one year reaches $5.50 a gigajoule. That is the rebate program. That w as well publicized last August.

There was a press release, there was information put on the Inter net, and Albertans certainly were given the opportunity to know a bout the rebate program and the regulations attached to that program. There are programs in place, as the hon. me mber noted, to help low-income Albertans and to help seniors. When the rebate program kicks in, or if i t kicks in, then all Alb ertans re gardless of their financial situation will be eligible for rebates. Dr. Nicol: Again to the Premier: where can Edmonton’s Food Bank

March 10, 2003 Alberta Hansard 353 get the help to cover the $3,000 increase in their February utility bill so that they don’t have to cut back on the food they make available to low-income Albertans? Mr. Klein: Mr. Speaker, it is tough. It is tough, indeed, and this has been an extraordinarily cold March. The demand for gas certainly throughout North America and probably worldwide is at an all-time high although not as high as it was two years ago. What I would say to the Food Bank is that when the rebate program kicks in, they will be entitled to a rebate.

I’d like to point out – and I know that mi sery does not enjo y company and it’s hard on everyone – that the fact is that this is one of the onl y jurisdictions that I know of in North America with a rebate program of any k ind. People living in the norther n part of North America are all going through the same thing. People a re paying extraordinarily high gas prices in all the provinces of Canada and in all the northern states of the United States, Mr. Speaker, and insofar as I know, this is the only jurisdiction that has put in place a rebate protection program.

All the other jurisdictions have to deal with it with no hope of any rebates whatsoever. Dr. Nicol: It’s only good if you use it, Mr. Speaker. Where can the te nants across the p rovince who are fa cing rent increases to cover their hi gh utility costs f ind the help tha t this government promised them in the last election? Mr. Klein: Mr. Speaker, what we promised during the last election was exactly what we have delivered, and that is a sustainable rebate program based on an a verage price. I t is n ot an ad ho c program; that’s what we wanted to ge t away from.

Indeed, tha t’s what the Liberals suggested at that particular time, that we get rid of ad hoc- ism and establish a program that would provide some certainty, and that’s exactly what we did. As I said previously, it’s hard on ever yone; I know. It’s an extremely cold March. As I pointed out previously, this is the only jurisdiction that I know of that has any kind of a rebate program whatsoever.

So food bank s and chari table orga nizations a nd institutions in other jurisdictions have to deal with the problem the same as Albertans have to deal with the problem, but in those other jurisdictions there is no hope of a rebate program. The Speaker: Third Official Opposition main question. The hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar. 1:50 Energy Marketing Mr. MacDonald: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This government’s cold answer to high energy prices and low temperatures is to turn down the thermostat and put on a sweater.

In fact, I suspect that the next time there is an annual television address, the Premier will look quite a bit l ike Perry Como. My first que stion is to the Minister of Government Services. Are all natural gas and electricity marketers who advertise for business in Alberta required to have a licence? Mr. Coutts: Yes, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. MacDonald: Thank you.

To the Minister of Energy: since Direct Energy is not listed as a registered retailer, according to the Department of Energy’s web site, why is Direct Energy allowed to advertise that they are open f or business when they do not have a licence? Mr. Smith: Mr. Speaker, if you were to look at Direct Energy’s web site, there’s actually quite a humourous ad on there, and it depicts a gentleman with nose hairs torn out of his nose. In the rig ht-hand column is a picture of a nose hair clipper, and under it it says: “Have you rushed in to make a foolish purchase? Just wait.

Direct Energy is coming.” The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. MacDonald: Thank you. Aga in, my final que stion is to the Minister of Government Services. Why is this government allowing Direct Energy to operate outside the law when retailers’ licences are designed to protect consumers? Where is the consumer protection in this? Mr. Coutts : Mr. Speake r, I am very confid ent, our departm ent having had discussions with Direct Energy, that they know the rules, and when the deal is done between them purchasing the retail sales of ATCO, they will definitely be licensed marketers in this province.

We’ll be there to make sure. But you know what? We’re not going to presuppose anything here, because we have to make sure that the deal is done between ATCO and Direct. That’s how responsible we act on this side of the House. The Speaker: The hon. leader of the third party. Education Funding Dr. Pannu: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This Thursday at 7 p.m. at the downtown campus of Grant MacEwan College the New Democrat caucus is hosting a town hall meeting on the c risis in public education. This crisis is a direct result of this government’s refusal to properly fund sch ools.

More inf ormation on our town hall meeting is available at www.newdemocrats.ab.ca. My questions are to the Ministe r of Le arning. W ill the m inister enc ourage the Edmonton Tory caucus on behalf of this government to attend this meeting to hear first hand th e concerns of parents, tea chers, and school boards about the funding crisis in our schools? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Dr. Oberg: Well, thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker, and thank you very much fo r giving m e this opportunit y to spe ak about the tremendous job that the Edmonton caucus has done in going out to numerous panel discussions, in going out and talking to the public. I understand tha t the hon. Mem ber for Edm onton-Castle Downs about two week s ago went to t he Alber ta Teachers’ Association convention. The hon. Member for St. Albert had a panel discussion on CBC, which I really, really commend her for. The hon. Member for Edmonton-Mill Creek just yesterday went to a panel discussion.

So I think that the Edmonton caucus is going above and beyond the call of duty to hear what the public is saying. I’ll leave it up to them. If any of t hem want to attend a New Democrat meeting, it’s up to them. The Speaker: The hon. member. Dr. Pa nnu: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question to the sa me minister: would the m inister himse lf care to come and attend t his forum and listen to the concerns of parents, teacher s, and school boards about the crisis that his ow n policies ha ve created in their schools?

354 Alberta Hansard March 10, 2003 Dr. Oberg: Well, Mr. Speaker, I believe that back in university the very first time that I voted I voted for the NDs. In all fairness, I saw the light after that, and since that time I have not joined the ND Party, and I will not be voting for them. Dr. Pannu: My second supplementary to the Minister of Learning, Mr. Speaker: why does the minister refuse to meet face-to-face with education stakeholders in a public town hall meeting to defend his government’s education funding policies? What is he afraid of? Dr. Oberg: Well, Mr.

Speaker, to let the hon. member know, this morning I met with the Edmonton Catholic school board, where we heard a lot of very good issues about what was going on in educa- tion. It was an excellent meeting with the Edmonton caucus of this government; it was exceptional. I m eet all t he time in publ ic. I believe the last time I met in public was with Chinook’s Edge school district, which was a week ago Friday. So each and every day I meet with groups of people, and I will continue to m eet with groups of people, hear what their ideas are, hear what is going on in education from their point of view.

On Thursd ay n ight, Mr. Spe aker, I was attending a m entoring program for the C algary Educational Partnership F oundation, and that evening I spent probably two, two and a half hours speaking to a principal from Banff as well as a person who was in the Calgary board of education. So I am absolutely hearing what is going on out there. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Buffalo, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Riverview. Police Services Mr. Cenaiko: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Solicitor General’s office is responsi ble for a dequate and a ppropriate poli cing in Alberta.

Municipalities inject more than half a billion dollars a year into policing in A lberta w ith the Solici tor Gene ral pr oviding approximately $110 million for rural contract policing. The town of Coaldale and the Coaldale Police Service are presently examining the oppor tunity to integrate ser vices with the Lethbrid ge Po lice Service into a reg ional mode l, whic h could eliminate the rural RCMP contract. The town of Sundre and other municipalities are also exploring alternative solutions. My question is to the Solicitor General.

If tw o or three m unicipalities decide to ama lgamate or integrate police services, like many municipalities have amalgamated in Alberta, would the Solicitor General’s department transfer funding to municipalities when the rural RCMP, whom the Solicitor General presently provides funding for, would not be required? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mrs. Forsyth: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Under the Alberta Police Act municipalities with 2,500 or more people are required to provide their own policing.

These policing options are outlined in the Police Act, and they include es tablishing a municipa l p olice service, contracting with Alberta, contracting with Canada, entering into an agreement with a council or another municipality, or establishing a regional police service. The money that may be freed up under the provincial policing agreement is reallocated to other communities served by the provincial policing agreement. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Cenai ko: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My f irst supplemental question is also to the Solicitor General.

Will the Solicitor General’s department a ssist or mee t with Coa ldale and L ethbridge i n their discussions, as the rural RCMP contract s ge ographically located between Coaldale and Lethbridge may not be required, and would that funding from her office be provided to those municipalities? Mrs. Forsyth: Mr. Speaker, I can tell the hon. member that I and officials from my ministry have been in discussions with Coaldale and Lethbridge.

Coaldale currently has its own police force, but the town is reviewing this to see whether this is the best option for them or whether another option, as I mentioned in my earlier response , would be better. At th is point C oaldale has not made a decisi on about which o ption it wants to pursue. Whatever option they choose, they have the responsibility under the Police Act to ensure that adequate and effective policing is provided. I’m waiting to hear from the municipalities about what direction they choose to go. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Cenaiko: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My f inal supplemental question is to the Minister of Municipal Affairs. Do you and your department encourage or discourag e mun icipalities to look at regionalized municipal s ervices sharing infrastructure between themselves? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Boutilier: Thank you, Mr. Speak er. The short answer is an unequivocal yes. Any time we’re able to take a dollar, have regional partnerships with neighbouring municipalities, and stretch it into a dollar fifty for tax value, I think that’s very important.

This past year in terms of restructuring and regional partnerships we spent over $4 million helping municipalities if that was what local municipalities were looking for based on their municipal leadership. I want to say that they’re coming together, that they’re work ing togethe r and, basically, taking a regional partnership and stretching that dollar into perhaps $2. That’s good, I think, in any municipality within Alberta. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Riverview, followed by the hon. Member for Whitecourt-Ste. Anne. 2:00 Asbestos in the Foothills Hospital Dr. Taft: Thank y ou, Mr. Speak er.

Ac cording to g overnment documents, about 30 Albertans die of asbestos-related diseases every year, making it the number one cause of occupation-related fatal diseases accepted by the WCB. For years there have been concerns regarding asbestos exposure at the Foothills hospital in Calgary, with no satisfactory response from this government. This is the second serious issue of asbestos contamination at a health facility in the Calgary health region to be made public in recent months.

To the Minister of Human Resources and Employment: given that Alberta Environment is taking the city of Edmonton to court over the release of just a few drops of PCB s, is occupational health and s afety considering charges against the Calgary health region for years of asbestos problems at the Foothills? Mr. Dunford: Well, I’m not sure at this point, Mr. Speak er. I’ll have to c heck on that.

M y understanding of the situation is that they’ve found that the Calgary health region is in compliance, that the asbestos in the particular facility that we’re talking about here is in place, and as such there is no health hazard that I’ve been made aware of at this point.

March 10, 2003 Alberta Hansard 355 Dr. Taft: Interesting response, Mr. Speaker. Given that the Calgary health region is publicly claiming that there is no risk to staff or patients, and so is the minister, then why did his own department find it necessary to rece ntly issue a compliance order concerning asbestos against the Calgary health region? Mr. Dunford: There might be a number of is sues that are related here, Mr. Speaker. An Hon. Member: Or unrelated. Mr. Dunford: Yes. That’s true: or unrelated.

As I indicate d in my first a nswer, I think – perha ps he wasn ’t listening – you know , certainly I’d get a briefing from the depart- ment, and then we can perhaps get further through this particular situation. Dr. Taft: I’d have thought that he’d have bee n briefed since it’s been all over the media. To the same minister: w hy were incidents of asbestos exposure allowed to continually occur at the Foothills hospital for years and years and possibly decades without proper action? Mr. Dunford: Well, I t hink he’s done pretty well for a question today.

He’s managed to stretch it into, you know, three issues in an attempt to get me to respond to basically the same question, and the answer remains the same. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Whitecourt-Ste. Anne, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Mill Woods. Food Establishment Permit Fees Mr. VanderBurg: Thank you, Mr. Speak er. Las t fall t he food regulation was am ended to allow regional he alth authoriti es to collect fees for food establishment perm its. Since t hen, in Whitecourt-Ste.

Anne the RHAs have abused this privilege, and it impacts my hotel/motel industry, retail establishments, and ma ny other businesses. For exa mple, my liquor s tore owner s are bei ng ordered by the authorities to pay a $100 levy because they sell pop or chips at their businesses. My question is to the Minister of Health and Wellness. Why would you allow the RHAs to go ahead with this cash grab? Mr. Mar: Mr. Speaker, the issue of being able to generate funds on the part of a regional health authority was actually a recommendation set out in the Premier’s Advisory Council on Health.

It was one of the recommendations that we did accept. I should say that with respect to the regulation surrounding food permits, the regulation was requested by the regional health authori- ties in order to help generate revenue. The principle of that regula- tion makes perfectly go od sense, a nd that is tha t there shoul d be some abil ity to re cover the costs as sociated w ith food saf ety programs, which regional health authorities are responsible for. Of course, the food industry is growing rapidly, and there needed to be some way of collecting some of th e costs associated with that program.

I should say, Mr. Speaker, that one of the things that is contained in the regul ations is that r egional he alth authoriti es do have the ability to waive the fees in circum stances where they see that it is appropriate, so I would expect that in circumstances where it would make sense, pe rhaps with a not-for -profit agency, regional health authorities do have and should use in some circumstances the ability to waive those fees. Mr. VanderBur g: Mr. Speake r, again to the sam e minis ter. I understand the answer, but we do have small businesses that need protecting.

What will you do to protect these small businesses from paying this permit fee, and when can I expect you to act on this? Mr. Mar: Well, Mr. Speaker, we have heard . . . [interjections] The Speaker: The hon. minister has the floor. Mr. Mar: We have heard some concerns expressed by Albertans regarding the way that the re gulations a re being a pplied by t he regional health author ities, so t he Departm ent o f Heal th and Wellness is current ly conduc ting a re view of this re gulation in consultation with all stakehol ders, includi ng the reg ional health authorities themselves.

We are proposing some modifications, Mr. Speaker. For example, as I indicated, charitable and not-for-profit organizations, stores that are selling prepackaged food such as chips and gum will not need to pay for a permit. Licensed liquor stores and nonfood establishments that perhaps have coffee and doughnuts available for their customers likewise would not require a food permit. Mr. Speaker, th is consultation process is u nder way righ t now. My expectation is that it wi ll be completed with a response to the consultation by this fall. The Speaker: The hon. member? Mr. VanderBurg: I’m satisfied. Thanks.

The Speak er: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Mill Woods, followed by the hon. Member for Wainwright. Legal Representation for Children in Care Dr. Massey: Thank you, Mr. Speak er. Providing protection a nd legal representation for children who have bee n abus ed w hile in custody of the prov ince is a requi rement of Canada’s national guidelines on foster care. The A lberta government often f ails to meet these gui delines. My questions ar e to the Minis ter of C hil- dren’s Services.

Why do ministry lawyers openly admit that no one in the government will provide legal representation for children who have been abused while they’re in care? Ms Evans: Well, Mr. Speaker, that is not true. We have provided legal representation for children who have been abused while in care, and I’d just draw to the Assembly’s attention that about a week and a half or two weeks ago the hon. member opposite made this same suggestion in his question, that there were Canadian guidelines, some Canadian standards that we were not following in Alberta.

In fact, what he is citing now on the foster parents is something that we, in actual f act, do. We represe nt foster fam ilies. W e repres ent children in care. I’m not sure if there’s a particular detail that we can follow up on his behalf, but we, quite clearly, provide representation and safety and protection to children in care. The Speaker: The hon. member. Dr. Massey: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the same minister: why has the policy allowing the Children’s Advocate to inves tigate children’s complaints of abuse while in care been abolished? Ms Evans: Well, Mr. Speaker, it hasn’t.

As a matter of fact, again to the same hon. member I responded that we’re even better than we

356 Alberta Hansard March 10, 2003 ever were b y h aving CWIS adjus ted technolog ically so that the minute there is an allegation of abuse or children are in any way in any diffic ulty, the advoca te rece ives tha t report. T he advoca te follows up on that report. Mr. Speaker, the mandate of the Children’s Advocate has in fact expanded within this last y ear to include his work developing mentorship programs for people who could be natural advocates both in First Na tions communities and i n other communities.

So rather than narrowing the mandate, I would suggest that we’ ve expanded the mandate, and we have looked at his capacity to assist with administrative reviews. On special case reviews the advocate has been involv ed and has be en absolutely beneficial to both the process and the outcomes for children. The Speaker: The hon. member. Dr. Massey: Thank you. To the same minister, Mr. Speaker: if the Children’s Advocate can’t investigate and government lawyers won’t provide legal representation, where do children go for help? Ms Evans: Mr.

Speaker, in the first two responses I’ve said that we do provide legal support. I provided the answer that the advocate is involved. I think that the third quest ion is built on a n assumption that we do neither of the above, and I have said quite unequivocally that we do. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Wainwright, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Centre. Agricultural Subsidies Mr. Griffiths: Thank y ou, Mr. Speaker. Albertan and Canadian grain producers continue to be bothered, even harassed by American trade complaints.

Las t week a prelim inary U.S. ruling f ound that Canadian exports of hard red spring w heat and durum are being subsidized to the tune of 3.94 percent. My first question is to th e Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. Is it true that the Alberta govern ment ownershi p of railcars contr ibuted to the subsidy rate calculated by the U.S.? 2:10 Mrs. McClellan: Well, Mr.

Speaker, let us be very clear that of the 3.94 percent levy, if you wish, that has been suggested or ac tually implemented by the Department of Commerce, only .35 percent of that is railway cars, and of that .35 percent, Alberta cars make up a portion. There are also cars from the government of Saskatchewan and the government of Canada, the federal government. I’d like to make one other thing very clear. There is no subsidy associated with these cars, be cause the railwa ys pay what is cons idered to be a reasonable rental or fee for the use of those cars. So, M r. Speake r, this ca se is f ar from over.

Ce rtainly, our government will be putting forward our position and making it very clear that the cars that are owned by the government of Alberta and, if you wish, leased for that use are not a subsidy. It is interesting that the U.S. gove rnment, w ho put out about $190 billion in fa rm subsidies in their latest farm bill, would be challenging our farmers, because our subsidies are nowhere near that. They will be the first to tell you. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Griffiths: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My next question, then, is to the Minister of International and Intergovernmental Relations.

What will this government do to defend Alberta’s interests? Mr. Jonson: Mr. Speaker, I think it’s important to understand that the only specific government practice from the Alberta side that the U.S. is looking into in this investigation is the alleged subsidization of grain cars, and that is certainly an area that we will be responding to, but it’s the federal government and other provincial governments who are res ponsible for defending many of the a ctivities and programs that come under attack from this United States industry initiative.

For exam ple, the federal government is respons ible for defending the activities of the Canadian Wheat Board. Alberta will review the U.S. Department of Commerce preliminary determination in detail, and we will be, certainly, alert to any activities or develop- ments in that particular area. Mr.

Speaker, because the federal government is involved in this particular case, the Alberta government will continue to co-operate with the federal government and other provincial governments on the legal issues that are involved here, and we will be strongly urging the federal government to make every effort to defend Canadian farmers, Canadian wheat growers against this particular set of allegations. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Griffiths: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final question, then, is back to the Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Development.

What factors have le d to Canadian agricultural trade pol icies and practices being a continual target for U.S. trade challenges? Mrs. McClellan: Well, Mr. Speaker, certainly Canada and Alberta, in particular, are proud to be the producer of some of the highest quality milling wheat there is in North America, and that means that our wheat is in very high demand in the U.S. We export a great deal, some $98 million worth, of high-quality wheat to the U.S. However, as our Minister of International and Intergovernmental Relations has indicated, the Canadia n Wheat Board practices have been under investigation.

I think tha t nine invest igations have been held, and Canada has not been found to be outside of international trade rules. We’re going to continue to work with our industry, as the minister indicated, the federal government, and other departments o f ou r government, but we’re even willing to hel p one bit mor e. We’re encouraging very much the federal government to make the Cana- dian Wheat Board a v oluntary m arketing option for w estern Canadian farmers, in parti cular, and pe rhaps get this issue off our plate. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Centre, followed by the hon.

Member for Edmonton-Highlands. Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped Ms Blakeman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Some of my constituents with disabilities are being refused AISH medical benefits s imply because of the source of their income. Albertans receiv ing money from a private disability insurance or employment have their eligible income calculated differently and can receive AISH medical benefits, but people receiving Canada pension plan disab ility are subject to different terms . My ques tions are a ll to the m inister of hu man resources.

Why does this g overnment dis criminate agai nst the recipient of CPP disability compared to a person receiving the same amount from wages or private disability insurance? Mr. Dunford: Actually, Mr. Spe aker, the CPP and wage s and benefits that come through disability are all part of what we look at under AISH. The decision by this government for a long period of time as it relates to AISH was that the income from Canada pension

March 10, 2003 Alberta Hansard 357 plan, being another government plan, would be deducted dollar for dollar. It’s been the policy, and it’s been in place for some time. Ms Blakeman: Nonetheless, you’re discriminating. My n ext question: given that this g overnment’s discrimination against CPP disability recipients trying to access AISH can and has been overt urned up on ap peal, will th e minis ter no w change the policy? Mr. Dunford: I think it’s regretful that the oppos ition uses terms like “discrimination” in this particular case. There is no discrimina- tion.

All AISH members are dealt with the same way as it relates to Canada pension benefits or any of the other types of income that they might receive. Ms Blakeman: To the sam e minis ter: given that the people who receive CPP disability income are also discriminated against by this government’s emergency assistance for ut ility cutoff, why is thi s government leaving those Albertans in the cold? Mr. Dunford: She seems to want to persist in the use of the term. I thin k we deal with ev eryone the s ame way under the AISH program. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Highlands, followed by the hon.

Member for Calgary-East. Education Funding (continued) Mr. Mason: Thanks very much, Mr. Spea ker. In a ddition to th e funding shortfalls in our schools, which are caused by the govern- ment’s decision to unilaterally reduce operation maintenance grants, to cap gra de 10 credi ts, th en th e arbi tration se ttlements, now skyrocketing utility bills have combined to give s chool board budgets more holes than a field in a g opher farm. School utilities this winter could easily be double what they were last winter. My question is to the Mini ster of Learning.

Does the government acknowledge that school board budgets are alrea dy overstretched, and if so, does the g overnment acknowledge that they w ill then require top-up funding to cover skyrocketing utility bills? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Dr. Oberg: Thank y ou very much, Mr. Speaker . Well, I will transfer the question to the minister responsible for operations and maintenance, which is the hon. Minister of Infrastructure. Just prior to that what I will say is that in Alberta we spend more per capita, by at least 16 percent, than any other jurisdiction in the country.

Over the past three or four years we ha ve increased the amount dramatically. Since 1995 it has increased 46 percent, over which time we’ve seen a 6 percent enrollment. So it has gone up. But in direct r esponse to the energy issue, I’ ll ask the hon. Minister of Infrastructure to respond to that. The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Lund: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, we recognize that some school boards are having some difficulty making ends meet relative to the utilities, but I also know that pretty well all of them did have a term contract as far as the electricity is concerned, and that’s at a fixed rate, so it i s just on th e gas side that there is some problem. We are consc ious of it. We are monitoring it and meet ing with school boards to get a feel for just how serious this whole situation is. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Mason: Thanks ve ry much, Mr. Speaker.

Give n that the minister once had some common sense when he was in his youth, as he told us today, when he voted for the New Democrats, I have some hope that he will actually answer the question, which is: what exactly are school boards supposed to cut by way of progra ms or staff or maintenance in order to m eet the inc reased obligations due to skyrocketing utility bills? 2:20 Dr. Oberg: Again, Mr. Speaker, we are one of the few jurisdictions in Canada that has the obvious opportunity of increasing the amount of funding that school boards receive.

In the province to the west of us they have had a zero percent increase and will continue to have a zero percent increase for the next two years. The amount of dollars that we hav e put into educ ation makes e very other provinc e in Canada pale by compar ison. Ther e is a tr emendous amount of money that is going into education. Again I will a sk the hon. Mi nister of Infrastructure, whose responsibility it is, to respond to this issue. The Speaker: It would hav e been re ally helpful to hav e the hon. minister respond originally. We still have four additional members who would like to participate.

Let’s move on. Mr. Mason: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, I would like to ask the Minister of Learning, who is responsible overall for school programs: what ex actly are school s supp osed to cut by w ay of programs, which he is responsible f or, in ord er to pay for this increase in utility costs, that is unbudgeted? The Speaker: Hon. Minister of Infrastructure, if you wish. Mr. Lund : Thank yo u, Mr. Speak er. I rea lly appr eciate t he opportunity to comment on this particular question because, in fact, the hon. member is talking about the operation and maintenance of schools.

This y ear we transfe rred som e $323 mill ion to school jurisdictions within the province for operating and maintenance. While I know that some are tight – and we are monitoring them – when you take it in the whole scheme of things, the increase in three months out of a total year, we hope that they’ll be able to handle that kind of increase. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-East, followed by the hon. Member for Edmonton-Glengarry. Minimum Wage Mr. Amery: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The average rent of a one- bedroom apartment in Edmonton is about $650 a nd about $750 in Calgary and about $1,200 in Fort McMurray; that is, if you can find a place. The cost of heating and lighting a house is skyro cketing. That is in addition to other expenses like driving a car or taking the public transportation system. All expenses have gone up o ver the last few years. The only thing that hasn’t moved is the minimum wage of this prov ince. My question is t o the ho n. M inister of Human Resources and Employment. How does the minister expect those people earning minimum wage to make ends meet? Mr.

Dunford: Mr. Speaker, if the re was a su bstantial number of Albertans that were working at the minimum wage, then I think there would be cause for great concern. However, the information that I

358 Alberta Hansard March 10, 2003 have is that 1.2 pe rcent of th e work ing forc e is act ually a t the minimum wage, and it’s m y understanding that three -quarters or something of that nu mber are actual ly student s worki ng i n jobs where tips are also available. So it’s a situation that we continue to monitor, and whether or not we will have to increase that in the near future I think is a question that’s really debatable at this particular point. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Amery: Thank you, Mr. Speak er.

Since we live in th e most prosperous province in the country and we have the lowest minimum wage in the country, would the minister consider looking into this very important matter immediately? Mr. Dunfo rd: Actually, the interesting thing and what mak es debates around minimum wage so i ncredible is whether or not the minimum wage has any impact on anything. Really, what tends to drive the wages that an employee . . . Mr. Mason: Not here. Most kids get more from an allowance than you pay them. The Speaker: The hon. minister, please. Mr.

Dunford: You know, in a socialist situation, of course, y ou have to put these things in place, but in Alberta what you’ve got is a market that’s operating. There’s a huge de mand for labour, and like anything else, when the demand is high and the supply is low, then of course wages in this par ticular case will tend to ris e. So there are very, very few people that are actually working at minimum wage in this province.

The one thing tha t I think w e must keep in m ind is that the overriding concern t hat we as a gove rnment sh ould have is that people are able to get into the workplace, because when they get into the workplace, they start gaining experience, they start learning new skills or enhancing skills that they already have, and of course they start advancing within a wage and salar y administration plan and start to gain se niority.

So I think we should be conce rned more about the number of people that are getting into the workforce rather than concerning ourselve s particula rly with a socia list techni que such as a minimum wage. Allegations of Fraud in the WCB Mr. Bonner: Mr.

Speaker, on March 5, 2003, the Solicitor General in response to my questions regarding the WCB said, “If there are [any] accusations about bribery, we will forward that letter and have the police inve stigate.” But on the same day I ta bled documents showing that the Solicitor General’s office didn’t forward the letter to the police but, instead, forwarded it to the accused organization, the WCB, requesting that the WCB tell the Solicitor General’s office what to tell the injured worker.

To the Solicitor General: given that the Solicitor General’s policy is to forward allegations to the police, why was the issue not forwarded to the police but to the WCB? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mrs. Forsyth: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My understanding is that when the matter was forwarded to WCB, it was about a clarification; it wasn’t about the bribery issue. WCB had responded and said that there was information that they could not provide to our department.

We si nce then , if I may be so bold, have written the particular individual that he’s referring to two letters, one that was addressed on January 14 and another letter on February 27, thanking him for his letter of February 7, in which I wanted to clarify regarding his concerns to the WCB , and I appre ciate the information that he ’s forwarded to me.

Concerns involving the WCB do not fall within my mandate, and I said, as I outlined in my previous conversations, “I understand that you are forwarding your allegation of fraud within the [WCB] to the Calgary Pol ice S ervice,” and I ag ain reite rate that “the Calg ary Police Service has the authority to investigate such issues.” I also noted in my letter to him on the date of the 27th of February that I have forwarded his concerns t o the Minister of Human Resources and Employment. Mr.

Bonner: To the same minister: was the suggested response from the WCB the same response tha t the mi nister f orwarded to the injured worker? Mrs. Forsyth: Mr. Speaker, again I want to reiterate that the fact is that the person that is alleging allegations in regard to bribery to the WCB has a pr ocess in pl ace. T hat process that’s in pla ce is to contact the Calgary Police Service if he’s got allegations of bribery.

If after he has forwarded it to the Calgary Police Service he does not like the answer that the chief of police gives him, he has the ability to forward his concern and appeal to the Law Enforcement Review Board. The process is in place for this poor, injured worker, and all he has to do is follow it. The Speaker: The hon. member. Mr. Bonner : Yes, Mr. Spe aker. T o the mini ster of human re- sources: given your inte rvention on T hursday, when did y our ministry become responsible for fraud and bribery in this province? Mr. Dunford: That is so typical of this me mber in this particular file.

If we want to see how low anybody can go, we just have to use him as a perfect example. We’ll just let the Hansard record – people can read, and they can read where he’s coming from. The Speak er: The hon. Mem ber for E dmonton-Castle Downs, followed by the hon. Member for Red Deer-North. 2:30 Education Funding (continued) Mr. Lukaszuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This morning the capital region caucus met with the Edmonton Catholic school board.

Some of the issues raised, which are not different from issues raised with me by some o f the parents in Edmonton-Castle Downs, included unpredictable funding to children who receive PUF grants and later enter grade 1 a nd unpredic table funding for infrastructure to t he school boards. My first que stion is to the Minister of Le arning. What support is available to students who ha ve been in receipt of program unit funding, PUF funding, who enter grade 1? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Dr. Oberg: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Well, first of all, I’ll outline to the Legislative Assembly that PUF funding is funding that we use for early intervention. It’s the moneys that are out there for any child over two and a half up until six years of age that allow them to get prepared for school. We feel in this government that it is extremely important to prepare students for school, espec ially

March 10, 2003 Alberta Hansard 359 those with severe special needs. As soon as these students get into the school sy stem, they a lso recei ve the se vere spe cial-needs funding, and that is transferred to the school board. Just to give you context of how many dollars are spent, presently in the grade 1 to grade 12 system there is $336 million per year spent on special-needs funding. But I will say one other thing, and that is that in our business plan we monitor the parent satisfaction of those children with severe special needs, and 84 percent of the parents who have severe special-needs kids are satisfied.

An Hon. Member: How many? How much? Dr. Oberg: Eight-four percent, Mr. Speaker. We fully recognize that the special-needs students need funding. We have increased the rates around 10 percent per year over the past several year s. We ha ve incre ased it quit e dram atically. So i n response to the hon. member’s question, when they get PUF funding, they can move right into the severe s pecial-needs funding if they qualify for it. Mr. Luk aszuk: Mr. Speake r, my only supple mental.

To the Minister of Infrastructure: what is the ministry doing right now to provide the school boa rds throughout Alberta and particularly the school boards in Edmonton with more predictable funding for their infrastructure and ongoing expenses? The Speaker: The hon. minister. Mr. Lund: Thank you, Mr. Speak er. The financial management review committee made a number of recommendations, and we of course as government acc epted those recommendations. As a consequence there is going to be a stabilization fund establish ed.

Also, as the P remier announced some time back, we are going to establish a capital fund, and I believe that between the capital fund and the stabilization fund and the opportunity to use alternate ways of financing, we will be able to accomplish a great deal as f ar as sustainability in the whol e capital field in s chools, hospitals, postsecondary institutions. Also, I would plan that we will not get into a situation where we star t projects and then have to pull them back because of lack of f unding.

We are looking at a five-y ear business pl an w here we would see the fina nces being there to continue with our construction over a longer period of time. The Speaker: Hon. members, thank you very much. Because of the brevity associated with questions and answers, for the most part, we had 14 sets of questions accommodated today. That’s appreciated. Only one member is still on the list. Might we revert briefly to Introduction of Guests? [Unanimous consent granted] head : Introduction of G uests (reversion) The Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Currie. Mr. Lord: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It’s my pleasure to rise today to introduce to you and through you to all members of this Assembly eight representatives from the Alberta Restaurant & Foo dservices Association who are here today to celebrate an important milestone for their industry, which I will be talking about a little later. I hope they’re all here. I’ll introduce them anyway. I would ask our guests, who are seated in the public gallery, to rise and remain standing as I read their names.

We have with us today Lindy Rollingson, CPM, CAE, president and CEO of the Alberta Restaurant & Foodservices Association; M ark Medla nd, treasure r and chair , governm ent services comm ittee, vi ce-president of Mac lab Hotels & Resor ts organization; Carmelo Rago, representing the very popular and very successful Sorrentinos r estaurant chain, w hich i s now ex panding across the province; Paul Tsang, an old friend of 27 years, responsi- ble for a number of Edmonton’s finest restaurants including the huge, new, private-function restaurant and nightclub facility called Dante’s; Lyle Beaugard of the very popular Blue Iguana; I’d ask him to rise along with Norm and Cam pbell, owne r and proprie tor o f Normand’s restaurant; from the Sheraton Grande Hotel we also have Grant McCurdy; and, finally, Simon Smotkowicz, executive chef of the Shaw Conference Centre and president of ICE 2005.

Mr. Speaker, these people have made a career of quality service to others, and I ask that they now receive the warm traditional welcome of the Assembly. head : Recognit ions Restaurant and Food Services Industry Mr. Lord: Mr. S peaker, I’m de lighted to r ise aga in today i n recognition of this important milestone for th e restaurant and food services industry across C anada. W e have v erification that the industry now employs 1 m illion Canadians from coast to coas t, including 116,400 just in thi s province .

This m akes the food services industry across Canada one of our very largest employers, employing directly or in directly more Ca nadians than the entire agricultural, banking, forestry, pulp and pap er, petroleum produc- tion, motor vehicles and parts manufacturing industries combined and contributing $42 billion annually to our GDP. It is the largest single employer of young people in our nation. In fact, I myself began in this industry, Mr. Speaker, first as a dishwasher, then as a French se rvice waiter, chef, barte nder, and owner as well, and I am very proud of my time there.

The skills that I acquired later proved invaluable to me, as I am sure they have for many. Congratulations to the restaurant and food services industry. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Randy Ferby, Dave Nedohin Scott Pfeifer, Marcel Rocque Nokia Brier Champions Mr. McClelland: “Hi, Mom. Kids, I’ll be at home at 2 tomorrow.” With the Nokia Brier tankard stretched high over his head, Alberta’s Randy Ferbey signaled to everyone his success as a person and as the skip of an incred ible rin k. And what a rin k it is. Th e ste ady, dependable first rocks of the pride of St.

Paul, Marcel Rocque, were followed by the confident play of second, Scott Pfeifer. Yo u ju st knew he would make his shots. By now the house was full of rocks. Skip Randy Ferbey was called upon to make both the right strategic decision and t o make the difficult shots again and again.

Finally, Dave Nedohin time and again making incredible shots, that had to break the hearts of Nova Scotia’s hometown rink and crowd, to win a record-setting third consecutive Brier, an incredible accomplish- ment of this wonderful team, including their coach and alternate, curling out of the Avonair Curling Club in Edmonton, the pride of St. Paul, Sherwood Park, and of all Alberta. Congratulations to the Ferbey rink; Nokia, prime sponsor of the Brier; the organizing committee; the fans and citizens of Halifax; and especially all the competing rinks, who make this uniquely Canadian event such a memorable success.

Well done, all. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Ellerslie.

360 Alberta Hansard March 10, 2003 Mill Woods Community Patrol Ms Carlson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member for Edmonton- Mill Woods and I would like to recognize the Mill Woods Commu- nity Patrol. This patrol is a community-based volunteer initiative in co-operation with the E dmonton Police Service, which tr ains its volunteers to patrol Mill Woods area streets to observe what goes on in their community and report any suspicious activity to the police. The patrol existed in prior times but was disbanded a number of years ago.

The idea to re-form this group became a focus due to the number of seri ous and hig h pr ofile ev ents that oc curred in Mil l Woods. The Mill Woods President’s Council made inquiries with the EPS, as did the EPS with them, to see what could be done to help create a safer and stronger relationship with the police and within the communities themselves. The Edmonton Police Foundation was approached to assist with start-up costs suc h as radios and airt ime. T hey agreed with the initiative and thereby donated the money required to purcha se the radios and up to two years of airtime.

To date the Edmonton Police Foundation has donated $12,000. With this the community patrol was reborn in the summer of 2001 with the first patrols taking place in November 2001 after initial training. Good work. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Castle Downs. 2:40 University of Alberta Pandas Hockey Team Mr. Lukaszuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am very pleased to rise today to recognize the U niversity of Alberta Pandas hockey team. The Pandas captured a second straight national title by defeating the University of Toronto Varsity Blues in a dramatic 4-3 overtime win.

This accomplishment was made all the more exceptional by the fact that the Pandas entered the championship game with an astonishing record of 33 wins and – guess what? – zero losses and only one tie. It takes a great deal of skill and dedication to win a championship banner, and the P andas ho ckey t eam is to be congr atulated f or continuing a rich tradition of athletic excellence at the U of A. This latest achievement builds on the univer sity’s reputation f or good sportsmanship and excellence i n athletics. Another exciting and successful ye ar for the U of A varsity sports tea m.

I k now all members of this Assembly join me in extending their best wishes and congratulations to the head coach, Howie Draper, and all members of the University of Alberta Pandas hockey team. The Speaker: The hon. Member for St. Albert. Professor Gerald Gall Mrs. O’Neill: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I introduced to this Assembly Professor G erald Gall, who was a ppointed as an officer of the Order of Canada in late 2002.

At the c eremony i n Halifax in which Professor Gall received his medal f rom Her Excellency, Gover nor Gener al Adrie nne Clark son, the fol lowing citation was read: [Gerald Gall] is a defender and a promoter of freedom and justice. An autho rity on Human Rig hts and Pr ofessor o f La w at the University of Alberta, he is a founding member of the Board of Directors and now President of the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights .

He has provided leaders hip to countless professional, social action and religious organizations, as well as to governments at the provincial, federal and international levels. One of the ke y or ganizers of the 199 8 International Conference on Universal Rights and Human Values, he is recognized and respected as a man of action who champions with great passion these issues of world concern. I would ask everybody in this Assembly to join me in congratulat- ing this wonderful St. Albertan. Thank you. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Riverview. Monica Hughes Dr. Taft: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise in the Legislature today to recognize and celebr ate the li fe and w ork of Monica Hughes. Monica, who died last week in Edmonton after living most of her life here, was a wonderfully successful author of books for children and young teen agers. He r wor k won many a wards, incl uding two Governor General’s awards and the Order of Canada. She won the Canada Council children’s literature prize for a story about a bo y with leukemia and the P hoenix award for her famous Isis science fiction trilogy.

One of her greatest accomplishments was getting so many children excited about reading, an accomplishment that will live on for years. I’ve spoken to teacher/librarians who marvel at how children love to read her stories. Many of these stories are set in Alberta, including one at the Provincial Museum, so children relate them to their own lives, and teachers can use them as part of the curriculum. My own children have read her books, and I remember how excited we were when we lea rned that suc h a fam ous author liv ed rig ht here i n Edmonton.

She proved it was possible for internationally acclaimed writers to stay in and write about our province. Monica Hughes was a modest, compassionate woman with a clear sense of social justice who always wanted to leave children with a sense of hope. I think the best tribute to her simply might be this: she made the world a better place. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Glenora. Cam Tait Mr. Hutton: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Today I recognize Cam Tait, a renowned public speaker and writer and a true champion of the disabled community, including my nephew who has muscular dystrophy.

Cam is one of his heroes. Cam is a journalist with the Edmonton Journal and h as don e general news reporting and children’s columns and feature writing. Cam now writes three columns a week, two columns on community investment and one on volunteers . He is a lso a columnist for the web site charityvillage.com. Cam was also a winner of Yuk Yuk’s search for Canada’s funniest new comic in Toronto in 1995. In 1996 Cam became a P aul Harris Fellow with th e Edmonton downtown Rotary Club. Cam was given the honorary diploma of communica- tions technology at NAIT.

Most recently Cam received the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Citizenship Medal for outstanding service as a volunteer in Canada. The most imp ortant thing to Cam is hi s family: his wife, Jo an, stepson Darren, a nd his parents. I t gives me gr eat pleas ure to recognize my friend Cam Tait. The Speaker: Hon. members, Mr. Tait is also a very mean putter at many celebrity fund-raising golf tournaments, where he raises money on behalf of many worthy causes in this province. head : Present ing Pet itions The Speaker: The hon. Member for Little Bow on behalf of the hon. Member for Calgary-Lougheed.

March 10, 2003 Alberta Hansard 361 Mr. McFarland: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On behalf of the ch air of the Standing Committee on Private Bills I beg leave to present the following petitions that have been received for private bills under Standing Order 93(2): (1) the petition of Sister Theresa Carmel Slavik for the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Province of Alberta Statutes Repeal Act, and (2) the petition of Reverend Thanh K. Nguyen for the Forest Lawn Bible College Act. Mr. Mason: Mr. Speaker, I am presenting on behalf of the working poor in Albert a a petiti on signed by 65 individuals from Fort McMurray.

These Albertans are petitioning the Legislative Assem- bly to urge the government to immediately raise the minimum wage to $8.50 per hour and index it to the cost of living, much as MLA salaries are. Thank you. head : Tabling R eturns and R eports Mr. Friedel: Mr. Speaker, it’s my pleasure to tabl e the requis ite number of copies of the 2001-02 a nnual report of the Norther n Alberta Development Council. The Speaker: The hon. Member for St. Albert. Mrs. O’Neill: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It’s my honour to table the appropriate number of copies of a letter signed by the residents and their families of Chateau Mission Court in St. Albert requesting that the Alberta government realistically fund and financially support the seniors’ housing industry. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Ellerslie. Ms Carlson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I have two tablings. The first is a tabling requested last Thursday, information put out by the Member for Edmonton-Mill Creek, where there was some debate whether or not promises made were, in fact, promises kept.

The second set of tablings is the appropriate number of copies of the program from the f irst annual Spring Wilderness Celeb ration, held here in Alberta, of the Alberta Wilderness Association, where they collecte d money and funds e nabling them to support their development of causes in northern Alberta, particularly in outreach work and wilderness protection. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Riverview. Dr. Taft: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to table five copies of excerpts from Occupational Health & Safety Magazine, a publica- tion of Alberta Human Resources and Employment.

These excerpts are taken from four different issues of the magazine, and they show that from November 2000 to January 2002, a 14-month period, 32 fatalities resulting from asbestos exposure w ere acc epted for compensation by the WCB. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar. Mr. MacDonald: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I have three tablings for the information of the Assembly this afternoon. The first is the scandalous price of electricity on March 9, 2003. The price in the Power Pool bo unced around from as little as much less than 2 cents to over 66 cents a kilowatt at 8 o’clock last night.

Now, the second tabling is a p resentation that was m ade in December to the Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission by John Patrick Day, a well-known Edmontonian and resident of Edmonton- Norwood. The third tabling I have t his afternoon is mor e of the petitions from Alberta ns urging t he gover nment “t o reinstate natura l-gas rebates immediately.” There are 310 names on this petition. They’re from Holden, Banff, Raymond, Lethbridge, Coleman, and Calgary, just to name a few of the many centres expressing outrage at natural gas prices. Thank you. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Strathcona. Dr.

Pannu: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise to table five copies of a letter signed by a parent whose children go to McKernan elementary and junior high school, a school that’s the pride of the communities surrounding it, communities such as Belgravia, McKernan, Windsor Park. My own daughter went to that school a few years ago. The writer of the letter expresses dee p conc ern about the shortfall in funding which may lead to this school losing as many as three teachers, about 1 0 percent of the staff. For ty other par ents have signed a similar letter, and these letters have gone to the Premier of the province.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. 2:50 The Speaker: Hon. members, earlier today I h ad placed on your desks a message from Her Majesty the Queen, head of the Common- wealth, for Commonwealth Day. I’m going to table in the House this afternoon copies of a new pamphlet from the Legislative Assembly entitled Alberta’s Famous 5. Because of the efforts of Alberta’s Famous Five – Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Irene Parlby, and Louise McKinney – women ar e reco gnized as pe rsons in Ca nadian law.

This pamphlet will enhance the Legislature tour of the Famous Five portraits. head : Orders of t he Day head : Written Ques tions The Speaker: The hon. Deputy Government House Leader. Mr. Zwozdesky: Thank you, Mr. Speak er. Proper notic e having been given on T hursday, March 6, it is now my pleasure to m ove that written questions appearing on today’s Order Paper do stand and retain their places with the exception of written questions 1, 2, 4, and 7. [Motion carried] Human Resources and Employment Underexpenditures Q1. Mr. MacDonal d moved that the fo llowing question be ac- cepted.

How much of the $25.5 million underexpenditure from income support to indi viduals and f amilies, $621,000 underex pend- iture from the widow s’ pension prog ram, a nd $8.8 mi llion underexpenditure from the assured income f or the severely handicapped program outlined in the 2001-02 Alberta Human Resources and Employment an nual r eport wa s spent on homeless shelters, additional system development costs, and salary increases respectively? The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar.

362 Alberta Hansard March 10, 2003 Mr. MacDonald: Yes. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’ll be brief, but I would ex press m y disappoi ntment. I feel t hat this information would be of great interest not only to the taxpayers but certainly to individuals who are receiving AISH and the individuals receiving family and social services, and I at this time would like to see this information forthwith. Thank you. The Speaker: The hon. Deputy Government House Leader. Mr. Zwozdesky: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased to respond on behalf of the hon.

Minister of Hu man Resources and Employ- ment, who has indicated his willingness to accept Written Question 1 as phrased. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar to close the debate? [Written Question 1 carried] Untendered Contracts Q2. Mr. Bonner moved that the following question be accepted.

What is the tota l amount of money the Department of Infra - structure has spent on untendered contracts between January 1, 2001, and Decem ber 31, 2002, wha t are the names of the individuals and companies who have received these untendered contracts, and what is the amount they each received as part of their contract? The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Infrastructure. Mr. Lun d: Thanks, Mr. Speake r. I would recommend that the Assembly reject this question because of the huge costs. It’s a total waste of taxpa yers’ dollars to g o throug h and fi nd all of these contracts and to list them.

When you look at our normal business in Alberta Infrastructure, we have contracts for consulting services, for property management, for facility lease, and many others, and many of these are extremely smal l. If th e ho n. me mber has , re ally, something that he wants to find, I wish he would be more specific so that we could in fact accept this. But this would be a total waste of taxpayers’ dollars to e ver spend those m any hours by sta ff going through to find those, so I would urge the Assembly to reject this one. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Glengarry to close the debate. Mr.

Bonner : Thank you very much f or this opportunity , Mr. Speaker. I would hav e to disagree with the minister. One of the complaints that we see year in and year out in the Auditor General’s report is the fact that there is not enough accountability in regard to these untendered contracts. Certainly, this is one issue, where literally hundreds of millions of Alberta taxpayers’ dollars are spent in the Department of Infrastructure, an d th ere is a considerabl e amount that is spent on untendered contracts.

Certainly, Albertans have every right to know where their tax dollars are being spen t, what they are being used for, and which contractors are getting this work. So I think it i s a very valid question, Mr. Speaker, and I w ould urge all me mbers i n the Ass embly for open a nd accountable government to support this question. Thank you. [Written Question 2 lost] Federal/Provincial Affordable Housing Agreement Q4. Mr. Bonner moved on behalf of Ms Blakeman that the follow- ing question be accepted.

What is the breakdown of the money that will be used by the government to matc h the fede ral government’s $67 million contribution to the affo rdable housing ag reement signed in June 2002? The Speaker: The hon. Deputy Government House Leader. Mr. Zwozdesky: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased to advise the House on behalf of the hon. Minister of Seniors that he is willing to accept Written Question 4 as phrased. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Glengarry to close the debate. Mr. Bonner: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, particularly in light of the fact of housing for the homeless and the fact that it was almost one year ago that the federal government put forward $67 million as a matching sum by the province for the construction of affordable housing, I welcome and thank the hon. minister for accepting this particular question. Thank you. [Written Question 4 carried] Maintenance Enforcement Computer Systems Q7. Mr. Bonner moved on behalf of Ms Blakeman that the follow- ing question be accepted.

What is the current status of all integration of the maintenance enforcement case officers’ computer systems, and what is the plan for completing the integration? The Speaker: The hon. Deputy Government House Leader. Mr. Zwozdesky: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On behalf of the hon. Minister of Justice I’m pleased to indicate that he is willing to accept this question as phrased. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Glengarry to close the debate. Mr. Bonner: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

On behalf of the Member for Edmonton-Centre I thank the minister for tak ing these consider- ations. [Written Question 7 carried] head : Motions for Retur ns The Speaker: The hon. Deputy Government House Leader. Mr. Zwozdesky: Thank you, Mr. Speak er. Proper notic e having been given on Thursday, March 6, it is my pleasure to m ove that motions for returns appearing on today’s Order Pap er stand and retain their places with the exception of motions for returns 1, 4, 5, 9, and 11. [Motion carried] Driver Licensing System M1. Dr. Massey moved on behalf of Mr.

MacDonald that an order of the Assembly do issue for a return showing copies o f all

March 10, 2003 Alberta Hansard 363 studies and reports prepared by or for the Mi nistry of Government Services between September 12, 2001, an d January 14, 200 3, regarding the establishment of a new system for issuing drivers’ licences in Alberta. The Spea ker: The hon. Mem ber for Edm onton-Mill Woods on behalf of the hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar. Dr. Massey: Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think it’s fairly self- explanatory. 3:00 The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Government Services. Mr. Coutts: Thank you Mr. Speaker.

Drivers’ licences are the most acceptable form of identification by law enforcem ent agencies as well as retailers and financial institutions. Airlines are included in that and employers and many other entities in both the private and public sectors. The importance of this security document creates a need to make sure that the security of the card and the iss uance process and the card design are of the highest quality possible.

So releasing any st udies or any reports re garding this system would breach the security of that system, and for these reasons I would like to move that we reject this Motion for a Return 1. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Mill Woods to close the debate. Dr. Massey: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I certainly don’t accept the argument. We haven’t asked for privacy to be breached. We’ve asked for the reports, and the practice has been that those reports are provided.

The privacy act is respected with respect to individuals, and I fail to see why the reports that are asked for cannot be so modified to provide the essence of wha t the reports are about without breaching anyone’s privacy or in any way compromising the system. [Motion for a Return 1 lost] Correctional Services MLA Review Committee Report M4. Mr. Bonner moved on behalf of Ms Blakeman that an order of the Assembly do issue for a return showing a copy of the final report from the Correctional Services MLA Review Commit- tee to the Solicitor General. The Speaker: The hon. Solicitor General. Mrs.

Forsyth : Thank you, Mr. Spea ker. We a re rejec ting this motion for a re turn. I received the repor t in December 2002, and officials from my department and I are taking some time to go over it very carefully. As well, the recommendations in the re port will need to be carefully considered by the government before the report will be made public, and it would be inappropriate to rel ease the report before a thorough ass essment has been completed. I m ove that Motion for a Return 4 be rejected. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Glengarry to close the debate. Mr. Bonner: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Again I would urge all members of the House to not reject Motion for a Return 4. As the minister has indicated, this work was completed last fall. The report has been i n their hands since December. We f eel that i t is especially important for members of the opposition to have a copy of this report because there is legislation forthcoming on material in this report, and i f we are to hav e a full and open and responsibl e debate on this piece of legislation and, certainly, the opportunity to provide Albertans with the best possible legislation, then we feel that it is vital that this report be released.

Thank you. [Motion for a Return 4 lost] Calling Lake Fish Populations M5. Dr. Massey moved on behalf of Ms Carlson that an order of the Assem bly do iss ue for a return show ing all reports respecting the fish populations, including the populations of walleye and pike, a nd the gene ral environmental health of Calling Lake prior to and after the April 1, 2002, start of the pilot project which allows approximately two-thirds of Calling Lake to be opened for the harvest of walleye and pike. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Mill Woods. Dr. Massey: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again the motion is fairly clear, and as much as we respect the minister and his long experience in the area and his expertise as a fisher, we do have the odd doubt and would like h is wisdom balanced by the work of som e of the members of his department. The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Sustainable Resource Develop- ment. Mr. Cardinal: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I move that Motion for a Return 5 be accepted. The Speak er: The hon. Member for Edm onton-Mill Woods to conclude the debate. Dr. Massey: We thank the minister for his wisdom, Mr.

Speaker. [Motion for a Return 5 carried] Infrastructure Contract Management Process M9. Mr. Bonner moved that an order of the Assembly do issue for a return showing a copy of the Department of Infrastructure policy on its contract management process. Mr. Lund: Mr. Speaker, this particular motion for a return asks for a copy of the Department of Inf rastructure’s policy on its contract management process. I would be only too happy to file w ith the Assembly key documents that detail the contract approval process within the ministry.

In response to recommendations made by the Auditor General in his last annua l report, the ministr y has c ommenced an ex tensive review of its processe s an d documents that detail our contract management process. The first document is the interim mandate of the recently restructured Contracts Review Committee in response to the Auditor General’s recommendations, where we really find the mandate of this committee such that the members play a more active role in the evaluation of all contracts and tenders.

Previously this committee provided support for both infrastructure and transporta- tion contracts, and the f irst phase of our initia tive was to split the committee so that it can now focus on contracts under the mandate of Alberta Infras tructure. T he second pha se of our review will include a more detailed rev iew of the appr oval levels within the organization.

364 Alberta Hansard March 10, 2003 In addition, we have developed a consultation an d se lection policy, which is currently in draft. We have consulted stakeholder organizations and private industry, such as the architec ture and engineering professions, to ensure that our proposed changes respect a fair, equitable, transparent, and appropriate way of doing business with their member firm s and have d eveloped a policy that wil l clearly communicate the department’s process f or consu ltant selection and contract awards. Mr.

Speaker , I fee l that th ese documents will prov ide this Assembly with the information on the im portance of Alberta Infrastructure ensuring a fair and open contract management process. So we will be accepting this motion and be only too happy to table those documents. The Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Glengarry to close the debate. Mr. Bonner: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the minister for his co mmitment to table those documents in the House and also f or the brief explanat ion on the proce sses and procedures that they have instituted to try and dea l with this situation.

So thank you, Mr. Minister. [Motion for a Return 9 carried] Transportation Contract Management Process M11. Mr. Bonner moved that an order of the Assembly do issue for a return showing a copy of the Department of Transportation policy on its contract management process. The Speaker: The hon. Deputy Government House Leader. Mr. Zwozdesky: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to under- take this motio n and accep t it on b ehalf of t he hon. Ministe r of Transportation. The Speaker : The hon. Mem ber for Edm onton-Glengarry t o conclude debate. Mr.

Bonner: I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the minister for accepting this motion for a return. [Motion for a Return 11 carried] 3:10head : Government Bills and Orders head: Committee of the Whole [Mr. Shariff in the chair] The Deputy Chair: We’ll call the committee to order. Bill 201 Emblems of Alberta (Grass Emblem) Amendment Act, 2003 The Deputy Chair: Are there any comments, questions, or amend- ments to be offered with respect to this bill? The hon. Member for Highwood. Mr. Tannas: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

At committee stage I have no amendments to offer, but I would like to answer some questions which were asked in second reading. Now, when I was reviewing Hansard, I only determined that one member, the hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar, had a few questions on June grass, respecting its distribution, s election, and the balloting process. I’ll perhaps spare everyone too much of the reading of the questions, but it just said that perhaps the June grass was overlooked by the electorate in this case and wanted to know who introduced the legislation and the committee update on the ba lloting and that kind of thing.

I’ll endeavour to do that. Just as a reminder, rough fescue is also found in Peace River and Grande Prairie, because there was a comment that it only went as far as Grassland. Now, to try t o exp lain why the Prairie Conservation Forum balloting process arrived at rough fescue, which is found in approxi- mately two-thirds of Alberta, and, as the hon. Member for Edmonton Gold-Bar observed, the June grass is found throughout Alberta. So if one fir st lo oks at the process for choosing the five grasses that were on the ballot – and all the members are familiar with that ballot.

It was distributed here in the House when we had second reading and also was distributed to many members several years ago when it was distributed to the MLAs. A list of grasses was compiled, which in Alberta is well over a hundred species, approximately 138 species, and an evaluation matrix was developed by the Prairie Conservation Forum.

Seven members of the P rairie Conser vation Forum ’s provincial grass c ommittee, includi ng Chery l Bradley , Tom Cameron, Cheryl Dash, Reg Ernst, Vern McNeely, Ed Nelson, and Liz Saunders, everything from gras s specialists to ranchers and so on, drew up a list of 41 g rasses which are relatively common and widespread in Albert a. That is to say tha t t hose speci es we re reasonably well known and their range covered at least 25 percent or more of the province.

In May this list of 41 grass species was sent to all members of the Prairie Conservation Forum asking them to select the fiv e grasses that they felt should be on a shortlist. From that shortlist they came up with a shortlist of 41 out of approximately 140. They came up with the following: western wheat grass and nor thern wheat grass were deemed to be almost the same, but betwee n the two of them there were 21 choices; blue grama grass, 14; rough fescue, 28. So it had most of all of the 41. June grass was 16, and needle and thread grass was 18. So that infor mation f or th e hon . Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar.

Then comments were made on this process as to why they made their choice or why they didn’t make a choice. Just a few of them are: • Choose a gras s repr esentative of the Fescue G rassland as Saskatchewan’s emblem represents the Mixed Grass Prairie and Manitoba may well choose one representative of the Tall Grass Prairie. So that was advice from one of the members of the Prairie Conserva- tion Forum. • Needle and Thread is probably the most common in Alberta and has a neat s ounding name. R ough fescue may be found in a larger geographical area in Al berta.

Sweet Grass sounds neat and is used by native people. • Only choice is Rough Fescue. The crème de la crème. Another one said: • I am honoured that a “dirt” person is allowed to have a vote on such matters! I presume that’s one of the ag ricultural fellows. Finally , there’s another comment. • There is only o ne candidate an d that is Roug h Fescue. I t is widespread, unique, and vital to the future of both the cattlemen and wildlife. Put [myself] down five times [for that]. So those are just some of the comments in that process.

Again, rough fescue was the first choice, and then on the basis of that, they were able to pick the f ive grasses that you saw on the ballot. This was sent to several thousand interested Albertans but

March 10, 2003 Alberta Hansard 365 not only just sent out to the m. A dvertising was pla ced in m any newspapers and magazines and on the Net and other means, then, for Albertans to vote on this issue o f a prov incial gr ass emblem or symbol for Alberta, and there were some rural schools that partici- pated in it. The balloting resulted in 2,021 ballots, with rough fescue receiving 738 and therefore being the largest, with a majority of 36 percent. Jun e grass was 556, blue grass wa s 305, western wheat grass was 226, a nd green ne edle was 196. So t hey ranged, then, from 36 percent down to 10 percent.

I’d like to a dd to this by referring to A Guide to Using Native Plants on Disturbed Lands, and we could go through that and spend the next hour looking at all of the ones, but if you look at the various types of grasslands like submesic grassland, upper slope positions, Parry oat grass is the largest, and rough fescue is in there as well at 15 percent of the canopy cover. Go to mesic grassland, lower slope locations: rough fescu e is 32 percent, and the others all fall below that as a species with the canopy cover. It goes on through grassy upland sites.

Again, plains rough fescue is the largest, and it goes on from there. Before I conclu de, I wo uld add a f ew m ore thoughts on the appropriateness of rough f escue ev en though it doe sn’t grow throughout the province. Some of the reasons are that if we look at Alberta’s emblems, like t he wild ros e and the g reat horned owl, those are pretty widespread throughout the province, but the bighorn sheep is found p rimarily in the Rocky Mount ains on our w estern border. The lodgepole pine is widespread in western Alberta but not found very far east of the Rocky Mountains.

Bull trout is found in Alberta’s glacial waters. So the fact that rough fescue is only found in two-thirds of the prov ince of A lberta as opposed to a hundred percent of Alberta is, perhaps, not as crucial as the hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Ba r mi ght have thought. The current ros ter of emblems reflects different cultural, historical, and ecological aspects of Alberta’s diversity. There is, however, no emblem which signifies Alberta’s prairie heritage, and that’s one of the s elling points of rough fescue. The Provincial Museum of Alberta has made some comments that I think are worthy to note.

They have written: The Prairie Cons ervation Forum (PCF) appear s to have done an excellent job in selecting rough fescue as the candidate grass species for inclusion in the Emblems of Alberta Act as the official grass of Alberta. It i s clear that the PC F devoted considerable effort into making the se lection of t his gra ss a de mocratic, scie ntific an d educational process. Educating the public about the ecological qualities of a focus group of critical grass species and t hen allowing them to vote on their preferred species was

an act of informed empowerment. They go on to say: Ecologically, it wo uld be h ard to a rgue for a better grass to represent the Province of Alberta. This grass is symbolic of natural and human base d systems on a number of fr onts and p resents a diversity of contrasting elements that do indeed reflect the diversity of the Province. The Provincial Museum of Alberta said: In summar y, T he PCF has done an exc ellent job sele cting rough fescue as the candidate grass for Alberta’s official emblem.

They have i nvolved th e publi c in th e selection process, they provided educational mater ial to promote awareness of all grass species, and they worked with a wide range o f stakeholders. The final selection was based on sound ecological principles. In concluding my remarks at this point in the committee stage, Mr. Chairman, I would lik e to say that I look forward to any f urther comments or questions that anyone may offer. 3:20 The Deputy Chair: The hon. Minister of Community Development. Mr. Zwozdesky: Thank you, Mr.

Chairman, and thank you to our Member for Highwood for bringing this important bill forward for debate at this time. I just want to rise briefly and indicate my support for this both as an individual and as minister responsible for parks and protected a reas. I think it re flects well on s ome of the values that we as Albertans hold with respect to our environment in general. Through our protected areas program, Mr. Chair, we try to ensure that our natural heritage remains vibrant, strong, and protected for today and available for the future.

The intent of the designation of a provincial grass emblem, I believe, is to select an official symbol that reflects that our grassl and are as and our pra irie herit age are equally important. I know tha t the fe scue grass emblem will join numerous other natural provincial emblems, which have been alluded to: the wild rose, the lodgepole pine, the petrified wood, the great horned owl, the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, the bull trout, and so on.

These emblems are all important to our history in one way or another, and they represent the basic elements of Alberta that are so important to all of us because they are symbolic of the wild, the natural, and the bountiful aspects of our province, of which we are so proud. It was some of these very first elements, of course, that were very appealing to our aboriginal people and that, in tu rn, helped attract the first European settlers to western Canada.

Fescue grasslands, in particular, are sy mbolic of natur al and human-based systems, and they do host a very rich range of contrast- ing elements, which I’m sure many members here are aware of, and as such they do reflect the broad diversity of our province. So from a natural history point of view, Alberta is the only place in North America that actually contains all three of these sp ecies o f rough fescue, which per haps othe r members have refer enced. T his particular grass is fairly widespread in our province, Mr.

Chair, and it is in fact found in four of the six natural regions, those being the grassland, parkland, foothills, and Rocky Mountains. The rough fescue ecosystems that are the subject of debate today are also important in that they provide a critical food source group for the winter, in particular for wildlife, including many of our big game species of the prairies and of the foothills.

But from a human history perspecti ve it’s difficult to understa nd how the pa rkland, grassland, and foothills regions of the province would have been properly sustained from an ag ricultural point of vie w without the rough fescue presence. I’m told and I’ve read some stories where rough fescue indeed provided critical winter feed for livestock and helped sustain pioneering efforts on the prairies in the early days. So extensive cover of rough fescue is an important indicator of a well- managed rangeland.

I think that in identifying rough fescue as Alberta’s official grass emblem, we will contribute significantly to the conservation of our natural grasslands and help focus attention on the human history and the ecological history of our province. Albertans, I know, are very proud of not only our province but also of what we are doing to help protect the na tural diversity of the tr emendous charms that our province has to offer. Obviously, Mr.

Chair, that is evidenced by the success of o ur special places pr ogram, in which A lbertans w ere involved extensively in the process of nominating, identifying, and establishing new parks and protected areas across our province, and that extensive network has been the recipient of many accolades over the past year and a half or so. Mr. Chair, as I begin to wrap up here, I just want to address a few areas of the province that are very specifically involved in one form or another and/or that touch on this important bill.

Some of the areas that we hav e protecte d through our spe cial progr am all uded t o earlier, where different types of natural prairie grass could be found,

366 Alberta Hansard March 10, 2003 would include the Rumsey heritage rangeland, which is adjacent to the Rumsey ecological reserve, and it protects the largest remaining tract of aspen parkland in Canada, spanning the transition from the northern fescue grassland to the cent ral parkland. Another area is the Milk River natural area, which contains some of the most diverse and least disturbed gras slands in the countr y. Another area is the Hand Hills ecological reserve, which is part of the largest remaining fescue grassl and in the w orld.

The T olman Ba dlands herit age rangeland preserv es the northe rn fesc ue grass lands north of Drumheller. Finally, the Kleskun Hill natural area protects some of the largest remnant pieces of native grassland in the Grande Prairie area. These successes, Mr. Cha ir, are inde ed a resul t o f very specia l partnerships that our government has w ith businesse s and wit h Alberta communities provincewide. V olunteer efforts need to be recognized in thi s respect because they, too, a re a ve ry important component of building on our succes s.

Over 240 individual stewards and 71 steward organizations are currently involved in the parks a nd protected areas volunteer steward program. A s an example, the Peace Parkland Naturalists assist parks and protected areas in Grande Prairie with the promotion and management of the Kleskun Hill natural area. Of equal importance are the conservation efforts of private landowners, which complem ent t he provincial protected areas and con tribute to the over all conser vation of the grassland and the parkland natural regions in Alberta.

So this is a very timely bill, it’s a very important bill , and credit for it obviously goes to the member bringing it forward, but credit must also go to other initiat ives suc h as Opera tion Gras sland Community, which is a st ewardship, education, and partner ship program that works directly with landowners, youth, and the general public toward conservation of native prairie habitat. Mr. Chair, in closing, the Prairie Conservation Forum has done an excellent job in helping select rough fescue as the candidate grass for Alberta’s official emblem status.

They have worked hard to involve the public in this selection process, they’ve provided educational material to promote aware ness of all grass spe cies, and t hey’ve worked with a w ide range of stakeholders in br inging t his recom- mendation forward.

I wan t to quickly acknowledge the contribution of our Alber ta Sport, Recreation, Parks & Wildlife Foundation and, as the Member for Highwood indicated, the Provincial Museum of Alberta and its staff, who are within m y mi nistry, for their sincere efforts as members of the Prairie Conservation Forum, who also assisted in the selection of rough fescue as the official grass and for their support in this recommendation. Mr.

Chair, my f inal sentence is sim ply to re cognize that many Albertans and the Prairie Conservation Forum need to be sincerely thanked for their very hard work and their exceptional recommenda- tion. One wa y we ca n do t hat is by approving r ough fescue for designation as the official provincial grass emblem. Thank you. The Deputy Chair: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar. Mr. MacDon ald: Thank you very m uch, Mr. Chairman. It’s a pleasure to rise in d ebate this a fternoon and participate in the discussion on Bill 20 1, Em blems o f Albert a (Grass Emblem) Amendment Act, 2003. I appreciate the hon.

Member fo r Highwood’s answe rs to som e of the questions that I ha d and certainly from the previous speaker, the hon. Minister of Community Development. In that case, one could only say that, well, perhaps the grass is greener on that side of the fence for a change. When I look at this bill and I hear all hon. member s of th e Assembly speak in favour of it, I certainly see no harm in adopting this. I’m surprised at the attention it’s getting.

When I’m listening to the argum ents as the y’re presented, it astonishe s me t o look around this Assembly a nd see so many m embers interested in participating in this debat e, yet we only, Mr. Chairman, have one plant in the en tire Assembly, on the Cler k’s table.

I’ve ha d the honour and the pleasure of visiting a few Legislative Assemblies in Canada, and certainly some of them have a lot more vegetation than just that. 3:30 I would encourage, in light of the overwhelming support this bill is getting from government members, that perhaps it’s time that – and this could be done in conjun ction with the centennial year. It could be a modest, inexpensive recognition of our centennial year. I don’t want centennial years to be getting out of hand, Mr. Chair- man, with a lot of monuments and stuff being built.

I would rather schools and hospitals be constructed, but what we could do perhaps is at some point for visiting schoolchildren whenever they come to the Assembly – it doesn’t necessarily have to be in here – we could have an aquarium with a few bull trout in it so that the children could see firsthand, up close our provincial fish. Now, we could also do something similar with a little patch of this rough fescue grass. I’m not saying that it should be in front of the Mace or anything like this, but certainly there could be a place.

Or perhaps we should make a couple of square metres of rough fescue sod or grass in the vicinity of one of the entrances to this Assembly so that Albertans could see for themselves our grass emblem, so to speak. I’ll be brie f, Mr. Chairman. In conclusion, I would urge that perhaps we sho uld loo k at a few mor e pl ants in thi s Assembly. We’ve got one, and I think we could have a lot mor e. There ’s certainly room for them. Perhaps it would make the Assembly that much more of a pleasant place, and with that I would conclude my remarks.

It would be a good, symbolic way to mark our first 100 years as a province to perhaps have a few representations. I’m not saying to have, for instance, a stuffed owl in this Assembly or anything of that nature; don’t get me wrong. The public is apt to come in and get confused and have a great deal distinguishing which constituency that stuffed owl would be representing. It certainly wouldn’t be an opposition constituency. Those are some of the things that I think we should do that would be modest and inexpensive, and we could recognize not only this rough fescue grass but other emblems in this province.

Thank you. The Deputy Chair: The hon. Member for Highwood. Mr. Tannas: Thank you, Mr. Chairman , and t hanks to the hon. Member for Edmonton-Gold Bar for the good suggestions. Actually, some of them were anticipated, and there are now some examples of rough fescue growing in the gardens of the Legislature, and about 20 feet from where my c ar is on warmer occasions parked there is a rough fescue plant. Now it’s well buried by the snow. There are suggestions, as well, that m aybe we might have, in addition to that plant, some of the native plants.

Of course, one of the problems with native plants is that they have as part of the cycle that there has to be a dormant period and a cold period as well as a warm period, but the Native Plant Council is going to follow up on those suggestions. Thank you. [The clauses of Bill 201 agreed to]

March 10, 2003 Alberta Hansard 367 [Title and

preamble agreed to] The Deputy Chair: Shall the bill be reported? Are you agreed? Hon. Members: Agreed. The Deputy Chair: Opposed? Carried. The hon. Deputy Government House Leader. Mr. Zwozdesky: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would move that we now rise and report. [Motion carried] [Mr. Shariff in the chair] Mr. Tannas: Mr. Speaker, the Committee of the W hole has had under consideration and reports Bill 201. The Acting Speaker: Does the Assembly concur in the report? Hon. Members: Agreed. The Acting Speaker: Opposed?

So ordered. head : Publi c Bil ls and Orders Other than Government Bills and Orders head: Second Reading Bill 203 School (Compulsory Attendance) Amendment Act, 2003 [Adjourned debate March 3: Mr. McFarland] The Acting Speaker: The hon. Member for Little Bow. Mr. McFarland: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When I began debate on March 3, I indicated that the principles of Bill 203 were to raise the legal l eaving age f rom school from 16 to 17, univers ally a nd consistently, and at the same time Bill 203 would eliminate the use of attendance boards. If I co uld car ry on f rom that point, Mr.

Speaker, I also wanted to reiterate that I think it should be the goal of every parent or guardian to see that their child graduates from high school and, hope fully, pursues som e type of postse condary training. There is no denying the fact that staying in school increases a young person’s opportunities in this world far beyond those of a high school dropout. Let me start by addressing the first point: raising the mandatory school age from 16 to 17 years old. Opponents to this bill will argue that children who do not want to be in school should not be forced to attend school. Let me ask you this, Mr.

Speaker: how many 16 year olds are mature enough at that age to fully re alize the conse- quences of leaving school early? The notion that a child who is 16 years old who does not desire to be in the classroom will be mature and responsible enough to be a productive member of the workforce is a little bit far-reaching in its assumption. Another small stretch of the ima gination, Mr.

Speaker , is to assume that all c hildren who dr op out before graduating will eventually see th e erro r of their ways or th e decision that they’ve made and return to school to earn their graduate equivalency diploma or even to attend a vocational institution. These students were not interested in attending when the tuition was being paid for. How could we really believe that they’ll suddenly be interested in educating themselves when the tuition is coming directly out of their back pocket? In the m eantime, t hey’re destined f or a life of minimum wage positions and near poverty.

Bill 203 is a move in the right direction, Mr. Speaker, and passing it into legislation is the right thing to do. It also ties in with the goals of this gove rnment, t he futur e welfar e of our c hildren, and our children’s promise act, that was introduced this year. Mr. Speaker, dropout and graduation rates have long been used as indicators of success in preparing students for their future careers or postsecondary education. T hese rates have a long-term impact on such conditions as unemployment, earning power, average income, and quality of life.

I believe it’s important to point out that even young people who are only interested in agricultural pursuits require some type o f formal educati on. Having some e xperience in the business of fa rming myself and recognizing how technology and information is changing, I can speak to the need for training in this industry. For those young people interested in expanding their knowledge and background in agriculture, Olds Co llege, for instance, offers a two-year agricultural production and management diploma. In this program at Olds College the requirement is, at very minimum, Mr.

Speaker, a h igh school diplom a, 55 perce nt in mat h 20 or 23, 55 percent or better i n science 30. This im mediately ex cludes the individual who thought t hey were so smart and had to quit school when they were 16. Another example, one that may not be as rural but certai nly applies to many of the younger people from urban Alberta, would be those who want to work with children who may have experienced difficulties in their lives. Lethbridge Community College, as another example, offer s an exc ellent pro gram in child and youth care.

Applicants to this p rogram are requ ired to h ave an Alberta h igh school diploma or an equivalent including a minimum of 60 percent in each of social st udies 30 , English 30, and one other 30-l evel subject. A y oung perso n with these honourable g oals of working with underprivileged children will immediately feel the impact of the decision they m ade to quit sc hool at the a ge of 16.

They simply won’t be accepted. 3:40 Recent studies by the National Centre for Education Statistics reported that high school dropouts were three times more likely to receive public assistance than high school graduates who did not go to college. Three times more likely, Mr. Speaker, to receive public assistance. This is a very telling tale. It speaks not only to the lost economic activity to the province as well as to a lifetime of minimum wage, public assistance but also to the increased cost to individual taxpayers. Producing a well-educated, diverse workforce is integral to Alberta’s economic success.

Keeping children in school until at least 17 years old and incre asing graduation rates will help add to Alberta’s comparative economic advantage. The respo nse fro m the Department of L earning pa ints such a different picture in terms of costs. While Stats Canada figures point to lost productivity, the Learning department has f ocused their arguments on a small increase in administrative costs. According to their data, historically the proportion of 16-year-old students who stay in school for the next school year is between 75 and 80 percent.

Given this enrollment trend for 17-year-old students, the introduc- tion of a mandatory ag e requirement of 17 years w ould create a n overall basic learning cost pressure of approximately $43 million for basic instructional grant funding and system administration. How can one even begin to put a price tag on the value of an education? It is the cost of, and I’ll quote, not, unquote, providing a high level of education for our children that’s truly more measurable. New Brunswick is the only province in Canada, Mr. Speaker, for

368 Alberta Hansard March 10, 2003 those interested, who has raised the minimum mandatory school age above 16. On July 1, 1999, New Brunswick through their Education Act required children to stay in school until they graduate or turn 18 years old, and the results have been very encouraging. In 2000-2001 their dropout rate had fallen by 25 percent since 1993, when it stood at 3.8 percent. This indicates that this type of legislation will keep children in school.

Studi es have continually shown that keeping children in school for longer per iods increases their likelihood of continuing to a postsecondary institution. I’d like now to turn my attention to addressing the second point of Bill 203: applying the age requirement universally and consistently.

Section 13(5) of the School Act prescribes who can be excused from mandatory attendance and for what reasons. Bill 203 propose s to strike

section 13(5) from the School Act. Under Bill 203 reasonable exceptions to attendance r ules will remain unchanged. These exceptions includ e absences for sickn ess, recognized holidays, suspensions, expulsion, even those students who’ve graduated from school prior to the age of 17, those students who some call gifted The third issue I’d like to address regarding Bill 203 involves the elimination of the attendance boards. Currently under 15(1) of the School Act at tendance boa rds represent the ultim ate authori ty in resolving truancy issues.

Attendance boards were established to provide an alterna tive to the imm ediate use of the c ourts for enforcement of the compulsory attendance. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I encourage your support. The Acting Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Mill Woods. Dr. Massey: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased to have an opportunity to speak in support of Bill 203, the School (Compulsory Attendance) Amendment Act, 2003.

If we go back and look at the history of compulsory attendance laws in our country and across the continent, the purpose ha s been pre tty clear, and that ’s to prepare youth to be productiv e members of ou r society and, more impor- tantly, maybe in some instances, to create an informed citizenry, a citizenry that can take part and can guide our democracy. So those two goals , to mak e them p roductive members and to create a n informed citi zenry, I think hav e been va lid goals i n the past, a nd they’re certainly valid goals for this bill.

I think for me the important thing about the bill is that it helps to establish the socia l norm tha t you f inish high sc hool, and there ’s been some research that would support the notion that the context within whi ch a la w like this operates i s very important , and the message that it gives youth in our province is t hat high school graduation is a minimum requirement. We’ll hear the arguments, I’m sure, opposing this bill, Mr.

Speaker , that talk abo ut t he difficulties of keeping youngsters who don’t want to be in school there, but I think that that’s a whole different argument and needs to be addressed by itself, apart from the compulsory attendance law. I think that it is really important that we pass this law, but even more important is what is done in schools based on the knowledge we already have to prevent the problem from occurring in the first place. What can we do in schools s o that t he times that the com pulsory attendance law has to be invoked are minimized?

I think that if you look at some of the resea rch on, for instance, who stays in school, there’s some good evidence that dropout rates in small schools are lower than those in large schools. If you attend a small high schoo l, there’s a pressur e on you to be part of t he culture of that s mall s chool. You ’re forced to tak e

part in the photography club and be on the schoolbook council, a number of activities – you have to be on the basketball team; you have to be on the footba ll team – if those set tings are goi ng to work in a high school. So there’s great pressure on students in small high schools to take

part in school life, and it’s that engagement that we know is one of the fa ctors, a c ontributing factor, in k eeping youngsters in school and having them complete high school. We have to work to try to get that balance so that the pressure to leave school is balanced overwhelmingly in favour of the pre ssures to stay in school, and I think that that’s an important aspect of the whole problem. We know that it’s inform ed parents whose youngsters are more likely to stay in school.

By informed parents I mean parents who are engaged with the sch ool, the purposes of the school, who work at home to affect their youngster’s attitude towards school and school performance, and it doesn’t mean that they have to sit down and do the math 30 hom ework for youngsters. All they have to do as a minimum is to ask what’s going on, to que stion youngsters ab out what’s happenin g in school. “How’s your progress in this area? What kinds of things are you engaged in?” It’s that kind of activity that leads to y oungsters staying in school a long with the kind of emotional support that parents can provide.

We know that parental educational attainment has something to do with whether youngsters stay in school. If your parents completed to 10th grade, then the chances are there won’t be as much pressure on you to complete high school as children in families where parents are high school graduates. An important aspect of this bill is that it does make it, as I said befor e, the no rm that you compl ete high school. Youngsters that are positively engaged in extracurricular activities are more likely to stay in school than those who aren’t.

You know, if we’re really serious about the problem of dropouts, then we have to look at what’s happening in schools and what kinds of opportuni- ties are there provided for extracurricular activities and to make sure that when there are pressures on school funding those extracurricular programs are not sacrificed in the name of saving money. They have an important role in helpi ng young sters av oid being at risk f or dropping out. Those activities create a network that draws young- sters in and helps to keep them in school.

We know that youngsters living with both biological parents are more likely to complete high school. If you have a higher family income, you’re more likely to stay in school. If your parents are employed, you’re more likely to stay in school.

So there are a number of family factors where I think schools, by the programs that they have in place, can help youngsters stay in school. 3:50 We know that social bonding, educational engagement, achieve- ment that pays off eventually in employment are important factors for youngsters that stay in schools, and we also know tha t schools that provide a haven for youngsters from home problems and a place for vocational training programs, opportunities to build relationships – those are the youngsters that stay in school.

So we hav e some pretty good notions of the c haracteristics of youngsters that do stay in school, and it’s those characteristics that I think we have to buil d on. This la w will cause s chools to look maybe more s eriously at those pr ograms. Those c haracteristics I think are important in building program s that will help youngsters stay in school and again, as I said, build that very important norm, that the minimum in our prov ince is staying for the completion of high school. We can start things very, very early, Mr. Speaker.

We know, for example, that you can predict even as early as kindergarten who’s going to drop out. We know that youngsters that are engaged in disruptive behaviour is one indicator that youngsters might possibly drop out of school . Youngsters who exhibit aggressive behaviour that goes unrestrained in the early years of school is another possible predictor of som eone who m ay want to leav e school bef ore they

March 10, 2003 Alberta Hansard 369 complete high school, and we get caught up in con demning social promotion as b eing something very bad, but it’s also one of the surest predictors that someone will drop out of school if they have been retained by at least one grade. So by holding youngsters back, we make the probability of them dropping out of high school higher. There’s the whole notion of poor a ttitudes to school, whether that comes from the home or it’s allowed to be fostered with the school itself. T hat leads to youngsters opting to leave school ear lier or trying to.

There are a number of youngsters who are not mature enough to make the connect ion betwe en high school complet ion, fin ishing school, and better eco nomic opportunities dow n the road. T he previous speaker mentioned some of the c osts that w e all pay for those youngsters not being able to make that connection, and I think it’s good to ques tion the ability of 16 year olds to make that connection. Thanks, Mr. Speaker. The Acting Speaker: The hon. Member for Highwood. Mr. Tannas: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It’s my pleasure today to rise and speak a t second re ading to Bil l 203 , Scho ol (Compuls ory Attendance) Amendment Act, 2003, which is an a ct to amend the School Act and is sponsored by the hon. Member for Little Bow. Mr. Speaker, education is an absolute necessity in this part of the 21st century. It’s very difficult for children in today’s world to get employment and, better yet, to be able to remain employed without at the very least a high school diploma. This being the case , there are still fa r too many children in A lberta who are not com pleting their high school education.

I wonder whether this is due in part to the fact that our law s are, I guess you could say , lenient on those who wish to drop out of school. Currently any child in Alberta who is of the age of 16 is able to drop out of school uncontested by the truancy officials that we may have here, and I think that’s probably in today’s world quite unacceptable. Worse than that thoug h, Mr. Speak er and hon . members, is the fact that ma ny are able to le ave school on their 15t h birthday.

It takes two or t hree months, if w e are considering it, following the 15th birthday when they don’t show up to school before they appear on the truancy list. By the time the truancy officer gives the parents proper registe red lette r notice, authorized notice, if the proper address can be located, to present their child at the school that he or she is supposed to be in, two, thre e, four m onths can pas s, and finally the truancy officer sees that this is not bearing any fruit and takes the case to court. That may take tw