Alberta Minute: Provincial Oversight, Funding Snubs, and Jumbo Vodka Jugs

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

This Week In Alberta:

• There will be afternoon sittings of the Legislature Monday through Thursday. Up for Second Reading are Bill 11 (Public Safety Statutes Amendment Act), Bill 12 (Consumer Protection (Life Leases) Amendment Act), Bill 13 (Real Property Governance Act), Bill 18 (Provincial Priorities Act), Bill 17 (Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence Act), and Bill 16 (Red Tape Reduction Statutes Amendment Act). There are three committee meetings this week. The Standing Committee on Families and Communities will meet today at 9:00 am. Tomorrow at 8:00 am, there is a meeting of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. The Select Special Ethics Commissioner and Chief Electoral Officer Search Committee will convene on Wednesday at 8:00 am.
  
  
• Alberta will be allowed to accept more international students at its post-secondary institutions despite new federal regulations designed to cut back. The province's allotment of student permits will increase by 10%, while Ontario and British Columbia are having their numbers reduced by 18% and 41%, respectively. With the increase, almost 12% of Alberta’s student population will be made up of international students.
  
  
• Alberta has yet to receive funding from the National Trade Corridors Fund for nine proposals aimed at improving highways across the province. The Fund has favoured other regions over Alberta. Despite the federal program’s objectives to enhance transportation systems, Alberta's submissions, totalling $685 million, have remained unanswered since 2022. It seems that when Steven Guilbeault said he wouldn’t be investing in any more roads, that only applied to Alberta.

Last Week In Alberta:

• Alberta introduced a Bill that would require provincial oversight for any agreements between federal entities and municipalities or provincial institutions like school boards and universities. Premier Danielle Smith highlighted concerns about federal interference and the need to ensure Alberta's priorities are respected. The proposed Provincial Priorities Act aims to review and approve agreements to prevent federal decisions from conflicting with provincial interests, particularly in areas like housing standards and healthcare programs. It is modelled on a similar piece of legislation in Quebec, which no one who's opposed to Alberta's proposal seems to have a problem with. Funny that!
  
  
• Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally expressed concern over the sale of four-litre vodka containers resembling milk or water jugs, stating it's not responsible and doesn't add to the quality of the distillery industry in Alberta. The jugs were photographed at a liquor store in Edmonton and priced at $49.95 each. After backlash from free market-minded Albertans - including us - Nally clarified that the government won't set floor prices for alcohol. (Though AGLC already does set floor pricing, which should also be removed). The distillery, T-Rex Distillery in St. Albert, felt unfairly targeted on social media and is seeking an apology from Minister Nally for his remarks.
  
  
• The Alberta government has announced its intention to seek intervenor status in a legal challenge against Saskatchewan's Parents’ Bill of Rights, which requires parental permission for children under 16 to change their names and pronouns in school. Alberta contends that Saskatchewan's utilization of the notwithstanding clause should have blocked an examination of the law's constitutionality. Alberta also asserts that this review will not just affect parental rights nationally but also the implementation of the notwithstanding clause, a fundamental component of both the Charter and Canada's Constitution.

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