Alberta Minute: Land Agreement, Surgical Clinic, and Leadership Candidate Announcements

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

This Week In Alberta:

• The Legislature is now off on summer break until October 31st, but this is subject to change depending on the priorities of the new UCP leader - see below for an update on that. We expect that a new leader would provide a Speech from the Throne to lay out their agenda, but we will keep you updated.
  
  
• Two committees will be meeting this week. On Tuesday, the Select Special Committee to Examine Safe Supply will meet from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. The Committee will finalize discussions and begin work on its report to the Assembly. Astute observers will remember that this committee had all its opposition members quit this past winter so it is entirely composed of United Conservative Party members. On Wednesday, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, there will be a meeting of the Select Special Ombudsman and Public Interest Commissioner Search Committee. No agenda is available for this meeting.
  
  
• Candidates continue to announce their campaigns for the United Conservative Party leadership race. Todd Loewen, Brian Jean, Danielle Smith, and Travis Toews are all running to replace outgoing Premier Jason Kenney. The UCP has yet to announce dates, fees, or the structure of the race, but we’ll let you know as soon as we get the information.

Last Week In Alberta:

• It was announced that a private surgical clinic specializing in knee and hip surgeries will be built on Enoch Cree Nation, just outside of Edmonton. This clinic will be run by a private group (Surgical Centres Inc.) and aims to perform about 3,000 publicly funded surgeries a year. The Province says private delivery of public health care could save big bucks.
  
  
• In other healthcare news, it was announced that DynaLife will take over non-urgent lab procedures, potentially saving taxpayers substantial money. The agreement will take effect December 5th and will see DynaLife operate patient service centres and mobile collection facilities in urban centres and large rural communities, including Alberta’s largest cities. Savings are estimated to be between $18 million to $36 million per year.

• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Alberta to sign an historic agreement with Siksika First Nation. The federal government said the settlement dates back more than a century when Canada violated the Blackfoot Treaty and sold the Siksika Nation’s reserve land to people settling in the area. Members of the First Nation can expect to receive $20,000 per person in July.

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