The Alberta government intends to lower electricity and auto insurance costs, as well as use the Sovereignty Act against the federal government if it tries to enforce emissions caps or a net-zero electricity grid by 2035, Lt.-Gov. Salma Lakhani said in Monday’s throne speech.
The speech, which outlines the province’s priorities, marks the start of Alberta’s 31st legislature. It comes five months after Premier Danielle Smith and her United Conservative Party won a majority government.
The speech focuses on affordability issues as well as grievances against the federal government. Ottawa is called one of the “powerful forces” in Canada forcing Albertans to fundamentally alter our provincial economy and way of life.”
The province is prepared to use the Sovereignty within a United Canada Act in order to ignore legislation implemented by the federal government.
At a news conference Monday, Smith said motions could be used against emissions caps on oil, gas, methane, and fertilizer, and the plan to make the electricity grid net-zero by 2035, which she contends is not realistic.
“Those are all circumstances that if they proceed unilaterally, we would have to defend our constitutional jurisdiction,” she said.
Smith believes the recent Supreme Court opinion on the constitutionality of the Impact Assessment Act backs up her assertion that Alberta has sole jurisdiction over these areas.
Smith also suggested the government would even put money toward new natural gas electricity generation plants to “de-risk” them in light of the federal plan for the zero-emissions grid.
“Whatever it takes to be able to get natural gas plants built,” she said. “Right now, no one is offering up a large-scale natural gas because of the uncertainty that’s been created.”
High-speed rail?
The throne speech listed other actions the government plans to take, albeit in broad strokes with few details.
On the affordability front, the government is promising a package of “substantive reforms” to bring down high electricity prices.
Alberta Lt.-Gov Salma Lakhani reads the throne speech in Edmonton on Monday. The Alberta legislature resumed Monday with promises of a referendum on tax increases and more threats to unsheathe a law that the United Conservative Party government says defends the province from federal overreach. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)
That includes adding supply generated by natural gas plants to the grid, and ensuring the market isn’t subject to manipulation. Smith said the regulated rate option is a misnomer as it gives people a false sense of security.
“We will very likely abandon that terminology and talk about variable rates versus fixed rates,” she said.
The province also intends to provide incentives to homeowners who install solar panels or add other energy-efficient products to their homes.
Smith said a new regulatory regime for renewable energy will be introduced in early 2024, adding that the current pause on project approvals will not be extended past February.
Albertans can expect reforms to auto insurance when the current rate freeze expires at the end of this year. The measures will limit premium increases for good drivers and help insurance companies keep their costs down.
Smith also intends to take action on one of her election promises — to create a new eight per cent tax bracket for Albertans who earn less than $60,000 a year.
The throne speech indicates changes to Alberta Health Services promised by Smith will be introduced soon. The measures will decentralize decision making and move more resources and staff to the front lines.
The government is promising to plan for rail between the Calgary airport and Banff, as well as a high-speed line along the Calgary-Red Deer-Edmonton corridor.
NDP Leader Rachel Notley said the throne speech was full of vague commitments that do not address what Albertans are most worried about.
She said Smith’s threat to use the Sovereignty Act will create economic uncertainty in Alberta.
No pension mention
Notley noted the government’s consultation on creating an Alberta Pension Plan wasn’t mentioned at all in the 13-page speech.
“Why is that, I wonder?” Notley asked.
“Perhaps because the entire scheme is based on numbers that the premier herself admitted last week are made up.”
The throne speech was followed by the introduction of the Taxpayer Protection Amendment Act, the government’s first piece of proposed legislation. Under the bill, increases to personal or business taxes would need to be approved via a referendum.
Notley called the bill a gimmick. She said the government has many other ways to download costs onto families.
“It chains Albertans to the revenue royalty rollercoaster because it makes it impossible to confront and adapt to changing economic conditions,” she said.
The order paper, published on the Legislative Assembly of Alberta website, shows four other pieces of legislation are coming soon: Alberta Pension Protection Act, Opioid Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Amendment Act, Tax Statutes Amendment Act and the Public Sector Employer Amendment Act.
NEW GLASGOW, N.S. – Police in New Glasgow, N.S., say a 44-year-old woman faces fraud charges after funds went missing from the Pictou East Progressive Conservative Association.
New Glasgow Regional Police began the investigation on Oct. 7, after Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston reported that an undisclosed amount of money had gone missing from his riding association’s account.
Police allege that a volunteer who was acting as treasurer had withdrawn funds from the association’s account between 2016 and 2024.
The force says it arrested Tara Amanda Cohoon at her Pictou County, N.S., residence on Oct. 11.
They say investigators seized mobile electronic devices, bank records and cash during a search of the home.
Cohoon has since been released and is to appear in Pictou provincial court on Dec. 2 to face charges of forgery, uttering a forged document, theft over $5,000 and fraud over $5,000.
Police say their investigation remains ongoing.
Houston revealed the investigation to reporters on Oct. 9, saying he felt an “incredible level of betrayal” over the matter.
The premier also said a volunteer he had known for many years had been dismissed from the association and the party.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
PICTOU, N.S. – A Nova Scotia excavation company has been fined $80,000 after a worker died when scaffolding collapsed on one of its job sites.
In a decision released Wednesday, a Nova Scotia provincial court judge in Pictou, N.S., found the failure by Blaine MacLane Excavation Ltd. to ensure scaffolding was properly installed led to the 2020 death of Jeff MacDonald, a self-employed electrician.
The sentence was delivered after the excavation company was earlier found guilty of an infraction under the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Judge Bryna Hatt said in her decision she found the company “failed in its duty” to ensure that pins essential to the scaffolding’s stability were present at the work site.
Her decision said MacDonald was near the top of the structure when it collapsed on Dec. 9, 2020, though the exact height is unknown.
The judge said that though the excavation company did not own the scaffolding present on its job site, there was no evidence the company took steps to prevent injury, which is required under legislation.
MacDonald’s widow testified during the trial that she found her husband’s body at the job site after he didn’t pick up their children as planned and she couldn’t get in touch with him over the phone.
Julie MacDonald described in her testimony how she knew her husband had died upon finding him due to her nursing training, and that she waited alone in the dark for emergency responders to arrive after calling for help.
“My words cannot express how tragic this accident was for her, the children, and their extended family,” Hatt wrote in the sentencing decision.
“No financial penalty will undo the damage and harm that has been done, or adequately represent the loss of Mr. MacDonald to his family, friends, and our community.”
In addition to the $80,000 fine, the New Glasgow-based company must also pay a victim-fine surcharge of $12,000 and provide $8,000 worth of community service to non-profits in Pictou County.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Investigators found the remains of a 77-year-old American man on Wednesday at the scene of a fire that destroyed a hotel in western Newfoundland on the weekend.
Eugene Earl Spoon, a guest at the hotel, was visiting Newfoundland from Kansas. His remains were found Wednesday morning during a search of the debris left behind after the fire tore through the Driftwood Inn in Deer Lake, N.L., on Saturday, the RCMP said in a news release.
“RCMP (Newfoundland and Labrador) extends condolences to the family and friends of the missing man,” the news release said.
Spoon was last seen Friday evening in the community of about 4,800 people in western Newfoundland. The fire broke out early Saturday morning, the day Spoon was reported missing.
Several crews from the area fought the flames for about 16 hours before the final hot spot was put out, and police said Wednesday that investigators are still going through the debris.
Meanwhile, the provincial Progressive Conservative Opposition reiterated its call for a wider review of what happened.
“Serious questions have been raised about the fire, and the people deserve answers,” Tony Wakeham, the party’s leader, said in a news release Wednesday. “A thorough investigation must be conducted to determine the cause and prevent such tragedies in the future.”
The party has said it spoke to people who escaped the burning hotel, and they said alarm and sprinkler systems did not seem to have been activated during the fire. However, Stephen Rowsell, the Deer Lake fire chief, has said there were alarms going off when crews first arrived.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
