Alberta Minute: Agriculture Recovery, Pepper Spray, and a Mobile Vaccine Clinic

Alberta Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Alberta politics.

This Week In Alberta:

• The Legislature is still on summer break, but work continues, including on the Select Special Committee on Real Property Rights, which is accepting submissions from the public.
  
  
• The Public Inquiry into Anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns is supposed to present its report to the Provincial Energy Minister on Friday . However, given the inquiry has already been extended four times, we're not sure we actually expect this event to happen. Environmental groups are up in arms over the inquiry as it stands.
  
  
• The provincial government will be launching a mobile vaccine clinic next week, which will tour around areas of the province with lower than average vaccine uptake, including farming operations and work camps. The government is hoping, by reducing the inconvenience of getting a vaccine, uptake will increase in rural and remote areas.

Last Week In Alberta:

• The provincial government apparently received a verbal guarantee that AgriRecovery will be implemented for Alberta farmers and ranchers after a dry growing season has substantially reduced some crops’ yields per acre and raised concerns about cattle feed. Details of the program are still being worked out.

• After a series of attacks against racial and religious minorities in the province, the Alberta government has asked for changes to the federal criminal code. The provincial Justice Minister requested, in a letter to the federal government, that people be allowed to carry pepper spray and that it be no longer classified as a prohibited weapon. Edmonton Police Association opposed the move, claiming pepper spray would be used too frequently, including against police officers.

• The provincial government unveiled a $150 million scheme to promote faster internet speeds in rural and remote communities. According to the provincial government, about 67% of households in rural Alberta do not have access to acceptable internet speeds. Details, including who will be eligible for the funding, are expected soon.

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