Alberta Minute: Rising Inflation, Referendum Results, and a Controversial New Minister

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

This Week In Alberta:

• The Legislature will continue sitting this week, starting Monday afternoon and evening, Tuesday and Wednesday all day, and Thursday Morning and afternoon. First up is Question Period, followed by government bills.
  
  
• Committees will also be meeting, with the Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members' Public Bills meeting today from 8:00 am to 9:00 am, though an agenda has not yet been released. On Tuesday from 8:00 am to 10:00 am the Standing Committee on Public Accounts will meet to consider the Annual Report and Outstanding Auditor General Recommendations for the Ministry of Education.
  
  
• Meanwhile, Albertans can expect to continue to feel the pinch in their pocketbooks as inflation soars to a 30-year high. The Bank of Canada says that inflation is expected to run closer to 5% this winter, the highest rate since 1991. We’ve certainly noticed at the grocery store and at the pump.

Last Week In Alberta:

• With the Legislature back, two notable bills were introduced by the government. Bill 49 - "The Labour Mobility Act" - should make it easier for professionals accredited in other provinces to see their credentials recognized in Alberta, while Bill 73 - "The Infrastructure Accountability Act" - aims to evaluate each capital project against 6 main criteria.
  
  
• The official provincial referendum results were revealed. Albertans voted heavily in favour of removing equalization from the Canadian Constitution (61.7% to 38.3%), while the vote on daylight savings failed narrowly (49.8% to 50.2%). Our friends at Project Confederation pointed out that, while our victory in the equalization referendum is a huge step in the right direction, it is only the first step.

• Finally, the federal government responded to Alberta's equalization referendum by appointing a radical environmental activist, Steven Guilbeault, as the new federal Environment and Climate Change Minister. Justin Trudeau's appointment of Guilbeault puts Ottawa and Alberta on an inevitable collision course. You can read more about the appointment and sign our petition to Stand Up For Alberta Resources here.

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