Alberta Minute: Grid Alerts, Recovery Organizations, and Jurisdictional Overreach Concerns

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

This Week In Alberta:

• There are afternoon sittings of the Legislature Monday through Thursday. Bill 10 (Financial Statutes Amendment Act), Bill 11 (Public Safety Statutes Amendment Act), Bill 12 (Consumer Protection (Life Leases) Amendment Act), and Bill 13 (Real Property Governance Act) will receive Second Reading. The Standing Committee on Public Accounts will meet on Tuesday at 8:00 am.
  
  
• Premier Danielle Smith is urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to convene a meeting with the Premiers to discuss the impact of the federal carbon tax program and explore alternative emissions reduction strategies. In a letter to Trudeau, Smith highlighted the economic challenges faced by Canadians due to inflation and high interest rates, criticizing the recent carbon tax increase as further burdening citizens.
  
  
• There is a new bus service in the province. FlixBus plans to run daily trips between Edmonton and Calgary, as well as additional services to Lethbridge, Red Deer, Claresholm, and Fort Macleod. Initial fares will start at 50 cents as a promotion. The bus service is aiming to bridge the gap left by Greyhound Canada's exit in 2018.

Last Week In Alberta:

• The Alberta government expressed "deep concerns" about a $6-billion federal housing announcement, stating it lacks sufficient information and bypasses provincial jurisdiction. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the fund during his pre-budget tour, in which he said that provinces must adopt specific housing policies to access the money. Alberta criticized the federal government for not consulting provinces, raising concerns about funding distribution and potential limitations on housing types. They highlighted Alberta's progress in affordable housing projects and opposed federal interference, advocating for removing barriers like the carbon tax to accelerate construction and affordability.
  
  
• The Province detailed the first major step in its strategy to transform Alberta Health Services (AHS) into four separate entities, introducing two new organizations tasked with overseeing mental health and addiction service delivery. Recovery Alberta, a new entity, will take over these services from AHS by July, and another new organization, the Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence (CoRE), will research best practices and provide evidence-based recommendations.
  
  
• The Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) issued two grid alerts for the province, the second of which led to rotating power outages in Calgary and Edmonton. The situation arose due to “tight supply” - several generators were offline, wind generation was low, and solar power had not contributed significant megawatts. The outages affected around 20,000 customers. Premier Danielle Smith addressed the issue and said that the Province is collaborating closely with AESO to understand the situation and take any necessary measures.

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