Alberta Minute: Utility Rebates, Avian Flu, and Committee Meetings Aplenty

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

This Week In Alberta:

• The Legislature will be in session today for afternoon and evening sittings, followed by morning, afternoon, and evening sittings on Tuesday and Wednesday, and morning and afternoon sittings on Thursday. The Monday routine will begin with Question Period before Bill 13, The Financial Innovation Act, is considered.
  
  
• There are plenty of Committee meetings this week. This morning, from 8:00 am to 10:00 am, the Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members' Public Bills will meet. No agenda has been posted for this meeting. On Tuesday, at 8:00 am, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts will meet to discuss the Committee’s annual report as well as the Executive Council Annual Report 2020-21.
  
  
• On Tuesday night, the Standing Committee on Alberta’s Economic Future will meet from 6:00 pm to 7:15 pm to discuss the Lobbyists Act review. Finally, on Wednesday from 6:15 pm to 7:15 pm, the Standing Committee on Legislative Offices will meet. No agenda has been posted for this meeting.

Last Week In Alberta:

• The government has tabled Bill 18, the Utility Commodity Rebate Act. This Bill would replace the Natural Gas Price Protection Act, making it possible for the Province to implement the rebate programs for natural gas and electricity that were announced earlier in the year. No specific dates have been set for the electricity rebate, but it is expected to amount to $150 and appear directly on consumers' bills at some point over the summer. The natural gas rebate is expected to be in effect from October of this year to March 2023 and kick in if the price for natural gas is over $6.60 per gigajoule.
  
  
• Avian flu was detected in Southern Alberta counties as well as Saskatchewan. Mountain View County, Warner County, and Cardston County are affected by the disease. Millions of chickens and turkeys have been slaughtered in the United States in an attempt to control the spread of the virus, and Canadian small flock owners are encouraged to mitigate exposure of their birds to the disease by keeping them indoors as much as possible.

• Alberta Investment Management Corp. (AIMCo) posted its strongest year ever, earning a 14.7% average return on its investments for 2021. Total client assets under management amounted to $168.3 billion at the end of year. Earlier this year, AIMCo divested all of its Russian holdings as a response to the war in Ukraine. While overall AIMCo had a successful year, some areas did lose value - money market and fixed income investments were down 1.1%.

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