Alberta Minute: Federal Election, Unfair Curfews, and More Surgeries Cancelled

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

This Week In Alberta:

• The Alberta Legislature's break continues, but today from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm the Standing Committee on Alberta's Economic Future will meet although the agenda has not yet been released.
  
  
• Believe it or not, it's the final full week of the federal election and today is the last available day of advanced voting at federal polling stations across the province. Albertans will still have the chance to vote in person at any Elections Canada office, or apply to vote by mail, until Tuesday at 6:00 pm, or else you'll have to wait until next Monday for the big day.
  
  
• The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo's dispute with the province over EMS dispatch will be rearing its ugly head again, as the municipality continues to note several deficiencies in AHS centralized dispatch services, including ambulances being dispatched to locations that do not have road access in the summertime. The regional council unanimously voted to stop sending calls to AHS way back in February, however, a court injunction forced the municipality's hand. The municipality has vowed to fight the injunction, but a court date has not been set.

Last Week In Alberta:

• There were two Federal Leaders Debates, in French on Sept 8th and English on Sept 9th, but Alberta seemed more of an afterthought. Our province was only mentioned in the context of reducing carbon emissions and how Oil and Gas sector jobs will be considered in the post-pandemic economy. Did you get a chance to watch? What did you think?
  
  
• The Alberta Hospitality Association sought legal advice following the provincial government's move to limit last call for liquor and spirits to 10:00 pm. The Association said that only one industry is currently being targeted with restrictions and that the government did not provide any evidence as to why this curfew is an effective tool to fight COVID-19 infections. The Association estimated revenues dropped by 50 to 85% due to the curfew.

• Hundreds of surgeries were cancelled throughout Alberta, as COVID-19 put increasing strain on the province's health care system, in the context of increasing fourth wave infections. The provincial government said it will be opening a field hospital in Edmonton again, along with a smaller one in the Calgary Zone, and will invest more into continuing care homes as a way of opening up hospital beds.

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