Alberta Minute: Session Concluded, Candidates Selected, and Contentious Election Reforms

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

This Week In Alberta:

• The Legislature, having concluded its fall sitting, is on break. However, Committees are still quite busy, with the Select Special Child and Youth Advocate Search Committee meeting today from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts meeting Tuesday from 8:00 am to 10:00 am. Somewhat concurrently, the Special Standing Committee on Members' Services will also meet on Tuesday from 9:30 am to 11:30 am. Finally, on Thursday, the Select Special Information and Privacy Commissioner Search Committee will meet from 9:00 am until 12:00 pm.
  
  
• The Provincial Government is holding Budget 2022 consultations this week and will continue to do so until January 15th, 2022. Albertans can participate either by filling out an online survey with their budget thoughts or by taking part in various telephone town halls hosted by Finance Minister Travis Toews. Will the government finally get spending under control?
  
  
• Alberta’s COVID Cabinet Committee will hold the second of two meetings this Tuesday (the first was last week) to discuss changes to public health measures and guidelines in the lead-up to Christmas. Although Premier Kenney suggested the changes would be minor, we’ve been blindsided before, so who knows what could happen?

Last Week In Alberta:

• The Legislature wrapped up its fall sitting by passing the contentious Bill 81 amongst other items. Bill 81, the Election Statutes Amendment Act, was criticized for enabling people to buy party memberships for others without their consent. It also made changes to various other campaign finance rules. Three current UCP MLAs and the two former-UCP, now Independent MLAs joined the NDP in voting against the Bill. Given that the Legislature session is concluded, the next session will begin with a Speech from the Throne, likely sometime in February.
  
  
• The long-awaited UCP leadership review for Premier Jason Kenney was set for April 9th in Red Deer. The request from 22 constituency associations (the 1/4 required in the UCP bylaws) to hold the review earlier was denied by the Party's board.

• On Thursday, the NDP nominated Ariana Mancini to be their candidate in the upcoming by-election in Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche. Meanwhile, over the weekend, former Wildrose leader Brian Jean secured the UCP nomination, receiving 68% against engineer and economist Joshua Gogo.

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