Alberta Minute: Papal Visit, Lithium Wells, and a UCP Leadership Panel

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

This Week In Alberta:

• The Legislature continues its break until October 31st, but there will be a meeting of the Standing Committee on The Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund on Tuesday at 9:00 am. The Committee will discuss the draft of the 2021-2022 Annual Report as well as put together a plan to host the Fund’s Annual Public Meeting.
  
  
• There will be no regularly scheduled COVID-19 updates this week, or going forward. Public data will still be gathered, but last week marked the final in-person briefing. In the fall, Alberta will report on the disease using the dashboard for reporting influenza.
  
  
• Alberta’s first lithium evaluation wells will be drilled in Leduc, on the same site as the historic oilfield that launched the province’s oil and gas industry. Calgary startup E3 Lithium will be teaming up with Imperial Oil on the pilot project. The goal is to create a domestic supply chain for lithium, which is used for electric vehicle batteries.

Last Week In Alberta:

• The Free Alberta Strategy team held a virtual discussion panel with UCP leadership candidates focused on the Free Alberta Strategy, equalization, pension, police, and more. More than 4,000 people attended the event live, but if you missed it, it was recorded and is now available to view online here.
  
  
• The provincial government y announced that rebates for consumers would begin to appear on energy bills soon. In July, August and September, eligible electricity consumers will receive a $50 dollar rebate directly on their bill for a total of $150 in rebates. The provincial government said this kind of targeted relief will help bring down the cost of living. The province has also extended the gasoline tax holiday into September.

• The schedule for the Papal visit to Alberta was announced. The Pope will arrive in Edmonton on July 24th. The following day, he will preside over the reopening of the Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples as well as travel to Maskwacis to visit the former site of Ermineskin Residential School. On July 26th, the Pope will hold Mass at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton and visit a pilgrimage site at Lac. Ste. Anne.

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