Alberta Minute: Election Results, Legislature Returns, and Allan Report Released

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

This Week In Alberta:

• Official results will be released tomorrow for the provincial referenda that coincided with Alberta’s Municipal Election last week. Voters cast ballots on whether or not to remove equalization from the Canadian Constitution, as well as whether to move permanently to Mountain Daylight Time. Preliminary results suggest an overwhelming majority voted to remove equalization, while the time-change vote is set to be a nail-biter.
  
  
• The Legislature finally returns from summer hiatus today, with sittings scheduled for the afternoons, starting today through Thursday. The order paper suggests that the first bill to be introduced in this sitting will be Bill 49, the Labour Mobility Act. As this was just an adjournment and not a prorogation, there will not be a new throne speech.
  
  
• The Public Accounts Committee is scheduled to meet on Tuesday from 8:00 am to 10:00 am to discuss the Fall 2021 committee schedule, as well as the Ministry Annual Report and Auditor General recommendations regarding Service Alberta.

Last Week In Alberta:

• Along with the provincial election (see above), Albertans voted in municipal elections across the Province. In Alberta’s largest cities, new mayors were elected in Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Red Deer, and Medicine Hat. Jyoti Gondek will lead Calgary, while Amarjeet Sohi, will lead Edmonton. In Lethbridge, Blaine Hyggen will take the Mayor’s chair, while Ken Johnston will set the agenda in Red Deer, and Linnsie Clark takes over in Medicine Hat.
  
  
• While Albertans were distracted by the municipal elections and the referenda, the UCP voted to give their own MLA, Joseph Schow, a $12,000 pay raise for being the Deputy Government House Leader. We’re not convinced Alberta politicians need a pay raise at all, but we’re 100% certain they don't in the middle of a pandemic and associated economic downturn. Sign our petition if you agree!

• Steven Allan released his final report on the public inquiry into anti-Alberta energy campaigns. The report found $1.3 billion of foreign funds, and $145 million of taxpayer money, was given to Canadian environmental groups between 2003 and 2019. It also noted, however, that none of these groups broke the law in spending this money to campaign against oil and gas.

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