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FFWD | By Suzy Thompson | Thursday, February 9, 2012 Original Source

CALGARY- The provincial government opened the spring legislative session February 7 with a throne speech that left many puzzled over what exactly Alberta’s in for.

“It was pretty Seinfeldian,” says Alberta Party MLA Dave Taylor. “There’s absolutely nothing to sink your teeth into. It touches on almost everything that forms the universe of government, you know, but it didn’t say anything about what they’re going to do.”

At a press conference following the speech, confusion over the meaning of vague proposals, including the promise to make a “foundation shift,” put a typically calm Premier Alison Redford on edge.

“You know what? A foundational shift is everything we’ve done in the past six months,” she snapped in response to a reporter’s question. “It’s a new premier and a new cabinet with new ideas that care about Albertans, that want to make sure we have a social policy framework, that we’re fiscally accountable, that we care about environmental sustainability, that we want to have a new role in Canada and the world and we want to have pride as Albertans. And to me, that’s a foundational shift.”

A backgrounder provided by the premier’s office provides more specifics about the government’s immediate plans. A wholesale review to determine where the government can eliminate inefficiencies is part of the new “results-based” budgeting policy, something Redford says she’s excited about. But Taylor argues it will preoccupy civil servants with “justifying their own jobs, their own existence, their own programs, to the bean counters, and so there won’t be any energy left over for innovation.”

The government also says it will continue to support anti-gang initiatives, begin three family health-care centre pilot projects, and work with the federal government to create a Canadian Energy Strategy while promoting Alberta’s energy sector internationally.

With the legislature back in session and an election within the next three months, opposition parties are preparing pointed questions for the Conservative government.

“Oil is at $100 a barrel, and what are we getting for it? We’ve got the lowest high school completion rate, lowest university participation rate, families are getting nickel-and-dimed for school fees and tuitions for their education. Seniors are having to ante-up, paying more than ever for basic essential care, and despite that, we actually have a deficit. I want to know where the money went,” says Liberal Leader Dr. Raj Sherman.

The government will table its budget on Thursday, February 9, which should shed some more light on its priorities.

© Copyright (c) FFWD

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Calgary Sun | By Rick Bell | Wednesday, December 7, 2011| Original Source

CALGARY- She doesn't use the old Ralph line. When facing heat the former premier would say "I ain't gonna blink."

He said it a lot.

But Redford, on Wednesday, after her first stint in the legislature as boss, does have her eyes wide open.

Those of us fishing for a yarn ask about grumbling in the Tory ranks, criticism over the new drinking and driving law, objections to steamrolling through six new laws in no time flat.

"We accomplished what we wanted to do," says the premier, elected just over two months ago.

"We are the government. We're allowed to do that. We're allowed to set the agenda and pass the agenda. I'm very aware of the fact, as we move ahead, one of the things I will be asking Albertans is whether or not that was the right agenda."

"I'm quite prepared to ask them that question in an election."

That election will be in the spring.

A budget will be presented before the ballot battle and it can't possibly be pretty.

Unsteady Eddie kept spending when the boom went bust and then the economy didn't go back up to where he thought it would be by now.

The Stelmach spenders got out of the jam blowing through most of the money saved up in the boom.

Now there aren't many cookies left in the jar. Redford will be tested and she will have to stand firm, even against some of those who bought a $5 Tory party card and turned the party outsider into the longshot calling the shots.

Rockin' Ron Liepert will roll out the budget and he doesn't worry about pretty. Sources say he isn't running in the next election. Redford thinks Tory MLAs packing it in is a good thing.

She uses the word "change" when mentioning any exits and wastes not a smidgen of emotion on their hasta la vista.

The new premier sounds convinced of her path.

She refers to what she's done as "commitments I made" and "what I heard Albertans saying they wanted to see."

Redford says in her position you "determine where you think Albertans want the direction to be."

She thinks she's "got that right."

This is the exact tone Redford used as a law-and-order justice minister.

Then it was about kicking down the doors of crack dealers and confiscating the ill-gotten gains of scumbags and giving the cops more bodies and more power to go after the gangsters treating Alberta as their perverse little playground.

Now it's about running the province.

The tone does not let up.

As for the Opposition saying Redford rammed through six laws, well, they wanted the legislature to sit in the fall. You want the legislature to sit then the government brings forward laws. Be careful what you wish for. The premier dismisses any dissing she's getting.

"There's no doubt right now as we move toward an election an awful lot of politics is being played."

As for sending the new drinking and driving law to a committee for further study and suggestions she shoots back: "To accomplish what?" To the premier the new law "reflects Albertans' values" and "we needed to move ahead."

Looking at moving ahead, Redford ballparks the full law going in force in "three or four months" either before, during or after the spring election campaign.

As previously mentioned on this page, the over .08 stuff comes first, taking your licence when you're charged and not giving it back until your court case is done.

The .05 to .08 deal, where you're hit with a licence suspension and vehicle seizure for three days on first offence, comes next.

Redford says they have to get the computer system in place to keep track of offenders so the cops have a record if you've had prior suspensions since penalties go up with each offence.

Write comments under this column if you wish, she's not sweating.

"There will be criticism of me as premier. I know that. I believe at the end of the day the question to ask Albertans is whether or not they're comfortable with how government has conducted itself. I'm pretty confident they will be."

Psst ... the Tories have done some polling.

"I'm a pretty deliberate person. I set my mind to something. I ensure we've done the work we need to do. I think it's important to show leadership."

Hopefully, in the fullness of time, Redford keeps another Ralphism in mind, the one he used when people revolted big-time and were right.

"We made a mistake. I stepped on a snake."

© Copyright (c) Calgary Sun

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Calgary Herald | By Sean Myers | Thursday, November 17, 2011| Original Source

CALGARY- Calgary Currie MLA Dave Taylor said he'll meet both the health and seniors ministers as early as next week to discuss moving support services for brain injury clients to the Ministry of Seniors.

Alberta Health Services has cut in half the funding for a contract to support 21 Calgarians with major brain injuries in group homes.

The Universal Rehabilitation Services Agency, which runs the homes, didn't bid on the new contract in the summer because it said it couldn't provide adequate services for its clients with the money that was left.

AHS has begun moving those clients out of their current homes so they can be taken care of by other agencies that URSA claims do not have the same level of expertise in caring for clients with severe brain injuries.

URSA wants these clients to be funded through the Alberta Brain Injury Initiative run through the seniors ministry.

Health Minister Fred Horne and Seniors Minister George Vanderberg have agreed to talk to Taylor about the issue and the possibility of having URSA run a pilot project.

"They both seem very open to the idea of discussing, at least in principle, what it might look like to transfer support services for the brain injured from Alberta Health Services to Alberta Seniors," said Taylor who had held a press conference with URSA and families of some of the affected clients to highlight the issue.

"So that's positive." Taylor also wants the province to agree to a moratorium on the relocation of URSA's 21 clients until a decision is reached, but AHS has already begun moving them, according to the agency's executive director Doug Hauser.

Both Taylor and Hauser say those living with brain injuries should be funded and supported with the same long-term vision as the Persons With Developmental Disabilities program overseen by the seniors ministry.

smyers@calgaryherald.com

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

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Calgary Herald | By Kelly Cryderman | Tuesday, November 8, 2011| Original Source

CALGARY - As a teenager, Dean Christoffersen was struck in the back of the head with a baseball bat and suffered severe brain injuries. Three decades later, he needs help with the basics of life - eating, bathing and using the bathroom.

Christoffersen, now 48, speaks softly as a result of his injuries, but one thing is clear: he doesn't want to leave his shared house in Inglewood.

"This is my home," he said repeatedly on Monday.

But Christoffersen's spacious group home for Cal-garians with major brain injuries is being cleared out between today and Christmas due to a long-standing dispute between Alberta Health Services and the non-profit Universal Rehabilitation Service Agency.

A new contract offered by AHS this summer included a severe funding cut, said agency chief executive Doug Hauser. The budget was slashed by about 50 per cent, he said, and what was left wasn't enough to provide adequate service or staffing for the high needs of their clients.

Hauser said the agency didn't bid on the new contract, under which the agency would have continued to care for 21 brain-injured clients who are housed in Inglewood and other community homes.

Those people must now move to facilities operated by other organizations, which Hauser believes don't offer the same level of care.

"Our whole philosophy is community inclusion," Hauser said. "Watching TV all day is not participating in the community."

The issue has been taken up by Alberta Party MLA Dave Taylor, who represents Calgary Currie. The former Liberal MLA said Premier Alison Redford needs to step in to halt the move. "Step up for these Calgarians," Taylor told reporters. "Let them stay in their homes."

Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne said he requested more information about the case Monday, but it doesn't appear any change is in the works.

"One of the key things for me was to be assured that those residents and their families had some input into planning for the next placement," Horne said in an interview.

"I'm concerned, obviously, for the stress and the difficulty with the transition that they're going to face."

But at the same time, the minister said he knows several meetings were held in recent months to plan for a transition. "I don't have any reason to believe that these residents and their families won't be well-served by the new placement," he added.

Pam Brown, AHS executive director of integrated seniors health, said the funding model has been changed from a one-size-fits-all system to one based on specific individual needs. The change is not about saving money, she said.

"It might have resulted in them (the agency) getting less funding. It might not have," Brown said. "But it would be the appropriate care for the client."

Brown noted there are 16 other local service providers for people with brain injuries that replied to the contract offering, as did four new operators.

"We appreciate the challenge that this change means for the residents and their families," she said. "But our reality is we need to move forward."

In Inglewood, Hauser said AHS amended its initial summertime offer but didn't make clear how much money is available.

He also questions whether AHS understands the needs of the clients, saying the superboard is putting too much emphasis on superficial indicators rather than the level of care.

At the Inglewood house, Christoffersen's mother Lexie doesn't care about the finger pointing.

She had finally found a group home where she wasn't worried about her son's health, safety, or how many baths he was getting each week. "Now I'm stressed," she said. "We'll never go away. We'll never be able to take a holiday. . . . Basically, my husband and I are the only people around to look after the situation."

kcryderman@calgaryherald.com

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

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Edmonton Journal | By Karen Kleiss | Thursday, October 20, 2011| Original Source

EDMONTON - Opposition parties on Thursday unanimously slammed Alberta's ruling Tories for delaying the bulk of the fall session until late November.

The move comes two weeks after Premier Alison Redford flip-flopped on whether to hold a fall sitting at all, announcing first that the session would be cancelled, then announcing it will commence Oct. 24.

Now, the opposition parties say the decision to split the session and postpone most of it will stall government business, limit debate and undermine accountability.

"They are taking their sweet time and Albertans are going to pay for it," Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman said.

"We are going to have 10 questions periods, probably, in this fall sitting. Boy, it's tough to hold a government accountable in 10 question periods, especially given that Alberta is unique in having half of the questions asked by their own backbenchers - commonly called puffball questions - which soak up a lot of time."

If the proposed schedule is implemented, the provincial government will sit for a total of 44 days this year. The session could be longer or shorter, depending on the volume of government business.

Progressive Conservative House Leader Dave Hancock said Thursday the fall sitting of the legislature will begin Oct. 24, as required by law, but will last for just two days before it is adjourned for nearly four weeks, resuming Nov. 21.

The move is unprecedented, Hancock said, but is necessary because Redford was elected as Tory leader just three weeks ago. "Obviously between Oct. 1 and now there's not enough time for an agenda to be put together and some legislation to be prepared," Hancock said.

"This year is going to be shorter because of leadership processes and other things, I acknowledge that," he said. "I don't think that diminishes our democracy ... The government is held accountable on a daily basis by the public, by the media.

"We absolutely, definitely have to be in the legislature annually and frequently to be held accountable in the legislature, and we will be."

On Monday, Redford is scheduled to make a speech in the legislature about Alberta's response to the global economic crisis, and the other parties will have an opportunity to respond. Hancock would not reveal what else, if anything, the government plans to do during the session.

Opposition parties said if the government isn't ready the time could have been used to debate private members' bills, including a tailings pond reclamation bill put forward by the Liberals and a health bill put forward by the NDP.

Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith said her party was prepared to table a spending limit bill and a bill to limit MLA severance.

"The other thing is that there is a lot of business she promised to do during her PC leadership," Smith said. "She talked about fixed election dates; reviewing or repealing Bills 19, 24, 36 and 50; we need to know when the public health care inquiry is going to be.

"The sad part is that we're seeing that the premier is far more comfortable governing behind closed doors ... than in the open process of the legislature."

NDP house leader Rachel Notley said debate in the legislature is a key component of democratic accountability.

"The government is playing hooky," she said. "We have a forty-year-old government that takes the legislative assembly for granted."

Alberta Party MLA Dave Taylor said Redford has broken her promise to lead a transparent and accountable government.

"We were promised a lot more openness and transparency, and a co-operative, constructive approach to making law that rises above partisanship and involves all parties," he said.

"Despite claims to the contrary, government and politics in this province still lag far behind what Albertans want."

kkleiss@edmontonjournal.com

twitter.com/ablegreporter

© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal

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Globe & Mail | By Dawn Walton| Thursday, October 20, 2011| Original Source

Alberta Premier Alison Redford cancelled the fall session of the legislature and then quickly reversed the decision, but now she has announced the sitting will be cut to two days next week followed by a month-long recess.

"This will allow time for Premier Redford to consult with caucus on the legislative agenda to ensure it meets Albertans' priorities," the Progressive Conservative government said in a statement issued this morning.

Ms. Redford, who was selected Tory leader earlier this month, will address the legislature on the global economic crisis on Oct. 24 and the next day, asked for an adjournment until Nov. 21.

Government House Leader Dave Hancock, who will discuss the fall session with reporters later this morning, said in a statement that all parties have agreed that on its first day with a new premier and a new leader for the Official Opposition Liberals, the legislature should adjourn.

"The leaders of the opposition parties will have the opportunity to respond," the statement said.

But the smaller opposition parties, who pointed out that it means Alberta's legislature will only sit for 44 days in 2011, were not impressed.

Liberal Leader Raj Sherman said he was disappointed with a shortened session.

"We supported the premier when she changed her mind and decided to hold a fall sitting after all, but this is the wrong approach," he said.

"The PCs are playing hooky," Rachel Notley, one of two New Democrat MLAs, said in a statement. "Having a full fall sitting is important to getting work done for Albertans."

Wildrose Party MLA Rob Anderson turned to Twitter to voice his displeasure.

"Premier Redford's disrespect for democracy by announcing a 2-day fall session is shameful," he wrote.

The Alberta Party, which has one member in the legislature, said Ms. Redford is already falling short on the change she promised while campaigning for leader.

"We were promised a lot more openness and transparency, and a co-operative, constructive approach to making law that rises above partisanship and involves all parties," MLA Dave Taylor said in a statement.

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Calgary Herald | By Deborah Tetley| Saturday, September 24 2011| Original Source

Floating down the Bow river on a hot, lazy day in autumn sounds like a perfect day at the office. For a handful of Aldermen and an MLA, it turned out to be an eye opener as well. The civic and provincial officials, along with senior staff got to see more than a century of Calgary's riverbank development from the Bow River's perspective.

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OpenFile | Reported by Rhiannon M. Kirkland | Tuesday, June 28 2011| Original Source

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Anyone who has walked along 4th Street has no doubt noticed what locals refer to as "the pit" or "the hole." This four-story excavation has occupied the street between Mission and Cliff-Bungalow for nearly 10 years.

An engineering firm told the local community, including the Cliff-Bungalow Community Association and Alderman John Mar, that the site was certified as safe.

"It's left us no ability to go after [the developer] and say something needs to be done," says Mar. "So, I asked the MLA for the area, Dave Taylor, to work with the city and try to come up with a legislative change that would allow cities in Alberta more opportunity to preserve public interest."

In response, Taylor has proposed Bill 205, a private member's bill that would give municipal governments the authority to take action when a construction project becomes significantly delayed.

Currently, municipal governments are responsible for monitoring sites and ensuring their safety, but can't respond to aesthetic issues.

Cliff de Jong, senior special projects officer for building regulations at the City of Calgary said the city has been able to force developers to deal with stalled sites if there have been security concerns.

"We've had some success with court applications and Municipal Government Act orders," said de Jong. "It's not a complete overhaul that needs to be done to the MGA. Some of the additional tools we've asked municipal affairs to consider would certainly put us in a better position to deal with [stalled sites]. Clearly there is a need to address the sites that become stalled."

The bill passed first reading on March 15 and is scheduled to be debated during the fall session of the provincial legislature.

While "the hole" in Cliff-Bungalow Mission is the most well known example of a stalled construction site in Calgary, other areas of the city have similar problems. David Lowe, executive director of the Victoria Park Business Revitalization Zone, said there are two stalled sites in the Victoria Park area, and about five or six in the Beltline area.

"For the most part, it's just the inconvenience of blocked sidewalks, water that has to be pumped out of excavation sites constantly," Lowe says. "Probably the biggest thing though is uncared for or unattended construction or plywood around construction sites, which unfortunately become magnets for illegal postering and graffiti."

De Jong says as the economy recovers, the number of abandoned sites has decreased and some previously stalled developments are getting developed.

"Obviously no one, including the developer, wants a hole where they once envisioned a successful development," de Jong. "When the financial conditions are favourable, absolutely it does end up making that issue less of a concern."

Leah Purdy of Strategic Group, the developer that owns the Mission site, says she's optimistic that their project will move forward in the future.

"You just have to wait for the timing," she says. "It would be irresponsible to build something and then have it sit empty. It would be expensive to operate something that isn't optimal so we have to look at it from the economics as well as from the community perspective."

"We really don't want to fill the site," de Jong says. "That's a very extreme measure and that's something that we don't take lightly, however, at the end of the day having a significant excavation in the centre of the city is absolutely not acceptable."

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Calgary Herald | Jason Markusoff | Tuesday, July 19 2011| Original Source

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CALGARY- The Kerby Centre had already shifted focus to other sites for its new home by the time the developer that owns the infamous construction pit in Mission pressed forward with plans for its commercial development, says the seniors' centre CEO.

Over the past decade, the stalled project at 4th Street and 21st Avenue S.W. has become a gaping hole on Mission's main drag.

In the home stretch of last fall's civic election, Ald. John Mar claimed a breakthrough on a long-nagging issue.

The "tentative deal" he touted would have seen Meals on Wheels and the Kerby Centre - both looking to relocate - fill in Strategic Group's unfinished site, which had bounced between several owners over a painful decade for surrounding residents and businesses.

That apparent win-win-win scenario never materialized. Earlier this month, the city announced Strategic's building permit to finish its previously planned six-storey development that mixes offices and retail.

Kerby had told the developer about three months ago the 4th Street location wasn't going to work, CEO Luanne Whitmarsh said Monday.

"It wasn't a building that was conducive to what we were wanting, should we decide to move," she said.

Officials are still studying three potential sites, including Kerby's current downtown location at 11th Street S.W. The organization has long mulled moving away from in wake of the west LRT station's construction on its doorstep.

In fact, Kerby officials never gave consideration to the Mission pit above other possibilities, Whitmarsh said. But the location became the only one promoted during Mar's re-election bid.

Mar said he's glad the economy's recovery has prompted the developer to complete its commercial project, dubbed Strategic on 4th. He also believes the idea of a joint complex for a few non-profit agencies has "awesome legs."

Strategic is still seeking tenants for its six-storey development, and hasn't decided when to start construction, a spokeswoman said.

Dave Taylor, Alberta Party MLA for the Mission community, was promoting Monday his private member's bill that would give municipalities more power to crack down on developers that let such properties languish for years.

jmarkusoff@calgaryherald.com

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

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660 News | Ian Campbell | Tuesday, July 18 2011| Original Source

CALGARY- It's taken close to a year, but some help for the residents of Cliff Bungalow and Mission may soon be on the way.

The southwest communities have been dealing with a large undeveloped construction pit that has sat vacant along 4th Street for close to a decade.

Now, a private member's bill in the Alberta legislature aims to hold the right people responsible and give the city the authority it needs.

Calgary Currie MLA Dave Taylor says it's unfair residents have been forced to put up with the site for as long as they have. He says the neighbouring communities have lost businesses and have been at the mercy of a developer that can't get its project off the ground.

"It's the most egregious example of a stalled or delayed development in the province of Alberta," says Taylor.

The Cliff Bungalow-Mission Community Association's Natasha Pashak says she's grateful for the help, but won't hold her breath until construction crews show up to get the project up and running again.

"It wasn't a building that was conducive to what we were wanting, should we decide to move," she said.

Officials are still studying three potential sites, including Kerby's current downtown location at 11th Street S.W. The organization has long mulled moving away from in wake of the west LRT station's construction on its doorstep.

© Copyright (c) 660 News

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Global Calgary | Tuesday, July 19 2011| | Original Source

CALGARY- A Calgary MLA is spearheading a campaign to solve the problem of an unsightly construction pit on 4th Street S.W.

Over the past decade, the stalled project at 4th Street and 21st Avenue S.W. has become a gaping hole on Mission's main drag.

If the company refused, the bill would allow the city to clean it up, and then charge the owners.

The bill will return to the legislature this fall for a second reading.

Strategic is still seeking tenants for its six-storey development, and hasn't decided when to start construction, a spokeswoman said.

Earlier this month, the city announced Strategic's building permit to finish its development that mixes offices and retail.

- with files from the Calgary Herald

© Copyright (c) Shaw Media Inc.

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Banff Crag & Canyon | Hamish MacLean | Wednesday, May 18 2011| Original Source

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CANMORE- There was a call to action by local public school's this week. An email sent out to the Canmore Collegiate High School mailing list Monday, spelled out an upcoming budget shortfall that some believe could hurt public education in the Bow Valley. In the email to parents and guardians the tone was set early.

"This could not be more important - please read."

The email announced a letter writing workshop - hosted by Elizabeth Rummel School council for parents on Wednesday, May 18.

Banff-Cochrane MLA Janis Tarchuk said Tuesday that she has already started receiving letters voicing concerns over the budget shortfall facing Canadian Rockies Public Schools.

In most schools in the division, 16 teaching positions are being lost, support staff will be reduced and student fees are going up.

As the CRPS budget went to the public on May 10, board chair Kim Bater said that he did not anticipate the budget playing out in terms of the $1.6 million shortfall and the subsequent cuts.

The school division's budget shortfall, Bater said, was due to negotiated increases, deficit financing, declining enrolment and a decrease in grants.

Tarchuk said that she has spoken with Bater and that the next best step is to sit down and talk about CRPS's somewhat extenuating circumstances.

"We have a set of circumstances here that are problematic for Canadian Rockies," Tarchuk said. She said that bearing in mind the declining enrolment and the wealth of experienced teachers in the system here, there ought to be a good discussion when she sits down with CRPS representatives and Education Minister Dave Hancock.

"Budgets tend to impact people in different ways and that's why it's important to sit down with them afterwards and say 'How does this impact Canadian Rockies?' And I think maybe we do have some circumstances here that are making the budget a little more difficult for them."

Esme Comfort, the vice chair of the CRPS board, she said that while the board was not behind the parents' letter writing campaign, at meetings with the school councils and other stakeholders, she said that the board came up with the suggestion of advocacy for those interested in helping.

She said that school councils were provided with a backgrounder and with a sample letter in order to get their "thoughts going."

"We sort of primed the pump as it were," Comfort said. "But we're definitely not driving it."

And she said she understood how many feel it to be a "complex, difficult" issue.

"There are so many dilemmas within it that have to be addressed or met," Comfort said.

She said though that her key concern was the incongruency between the school board's budgeting process and the province's allotment of funds; she said preparing a three-year education plan "without ever knowing" what funds will come to CRPS year by year created uncertainty and an unpredictable course for schools. She said it leads to updating CRPS plans every year.

"To me education should be something with a very long-term vision," Comfort said.

"It's not a short-term thing and it's a shame that the government makes it a short-term thing. "When you make education funding dispensable, that's the message that you're sending to the kids - education doesn't really matter."

The current situation though, she said, is a two-pronged problem. The board, she said, needs immediate funding to stay on what she called "the right track."

Dave Taylor the Alberta Party's lone MLA and de facto "everything critic" called the problem systemic. And he said that the problem faced by CRPS was in fact not unique.

He called the quick fix of increased funding "really only a Band-Aid solution." He too called the problem a lack of long-term planning.

Tarchuk called this year's budget very tough: "The interest at the time was to make sure that the operations of the government was balanced. The two biggest beneficiaries in terms of increases were health and education and in order to ensure that, many other departments had to take cuts."

She said that the decision to dip into sustainability funds was specific to infrastructure so as to take advantage of the good building costs. She said that increased staffing costs and the impacts of changes to grants made at that time took some time to understand.

Tarchuk said: "I think one thing you never want to stop doing is taking a look at your funding formulas. You always want to keep an eye on that and make adjustments."

Taylor suggested the budget process played more into the hands of politicians than educators.

"If you're planning for five years out then it's more difficult when you're a politician to only do the politically expedient thing," he said.

"It seems to me that absolutely everybody in this province, no matter what party they belong to, no matter what business they work in, what they do for a living, agree that the future in Alberta is education, that we have to build a knowledge economy."

Hamish@canmoreleader.com

© Copyright (c) The Banff Crag & Canyon

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Calgary Herald | Darcy Henton, | Tuesday, May 17 2011| Original Source

Expert warns of increased threat, seeks fire code revamp

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CALGARY- The head of a task force that probed Alberta's last major urban wildfire says the fire at Slave Lake is a "wake-up call" for the province to consider adopting mandatory measures to better safeguard forest communities.

Gerry DeSorcy, who chaired the 2001 probe into the wildfire that destroyed 10 homes in Chisholm, north of Edmonton, says the Slave Lake tragedy should be a reminder to all Albertans that the threat posed by wildfires is probably only going to increase in coming years and building code changes may be needed to protect communities.

"If we accept some of the things we hear about climate change, it could get worse in the future," he told The Herald. "I think the entire matter should be revisited and we need to seriously consider making some of these things mandatory, particularly for newer buildings."

DeSorcy says the province should look at amending building codes to require builders of new homes and structures in wooded areas to use more fire retardant materials.

"Surely this is enough of a tragedy to warn us that this is a big issue and we have to be vigilant about it," he said.

DeSorcy said he was not aware of what preventive measures Slave Lake officials had taken to safeguard the community, but Premier Ed Stelmach said he doesn't believe any measures would have helped.

"This is a wild fire," he said after touring the community Monday. "I am not a specialist here but I can tell you a fire retardant wouldn't have helped. They had winds at 100 km/h."

Stelmach said the fire indiscriminately chose buildings, burning some to the ground and leaving adjacent ones standing.

"This is well beyond fire code. This is just an unprecedented situation and it's amazing how quickly the fire spread."

Following the fire at Chisholm and another at Lost Creek in the Crowsnest Pass in 2003, the province launched a FireSmart program to educate Albertans residing in forested areas on measures to make their homes and communities more fire-resistant, but a new study shows municipalities are slow to fully implement the program.

Tara McGee, a University of Alberta faculty of science associate professor, says research published last month in the Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, shows a reluctance of municipalities to implement measures to make buildings safer -even their own.

"The study showed they provided education to residents, but they weren't really taking a lead in implementing the measures on their own buildings," she said. "It's do as I say, but don't do as I do."

The study, called Implementation of wildfire risk management by local governments in Alberta, said only four of 18 municipal governments had installed fire retardant roofs or siding on government buildings. "It appears that many municipal governments are not yet leading by example to encourage homeowners to implement measures to reduce the flammability of their homes," said the study, co-written by McGee, Lauren Harris and Bonita McFarlane.

It noted that "a few" municipal officials "were not even aware that their municipality could be affected by wildfire."

McGee said municipalities implement mitigation measures that are required by law, such as drafting an emergency plan, and other measures that provide associated benefits, but few are planning the development of their communities to safeguard them from fires.

"We found that planners weren't often involved in discussions about wildfire mitigation," she said. "The planners, making land use decisions, and the emergency managers weren't working together."

The study cited a lack of resources -funding and staff -for their inability to implement FireSmart.

The study says just providing the information to residents on how to protect their homes is not sufficient. It urged government to take advantages of "windows of opportunity" to drive the point home.

Paul Kovacs, executive director of the Toronto-based Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, said Alberta is the leading province in Canada with respect to proactive wildfire risk reduction, but it can do more to protect lives and property.

"More communities would implement FireSmart if there is more provincial support to help pay part of the cost," he said. "Legislation may be required to ensure that these safety measures are adopted by communities at risk across the province, but a decision to use legislation should be based on an assessment of the costs and benefits."

Calgary Currie Alberta Party MLA Dave Taylor said there may have been nothing that could have been done to prevent the Slave Lake disaster, but the province should take all reasonable steps to prevent it from happening again in another community.

He said that may mean bringing in stiff new building codes that make homes in forested areas more resilient to fire damage. "It's not good enough to say: 'Gosh, it happened, but we just can't bring in a law,'" he said.

dhenton@calgaryherald.com

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

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CTV Edmonton | The Canadian Press | Thursday, March 10 2011 | Original Source

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EDMONTON - Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach resisted renewed opposition calls Wednesday for an independent inquiry into the health system, saying citizens are happy with what's going on.

Stelmach said 62 per cent of Albertans in a 2010 survey suggest they have confidence in the health system -- a jump of 10 percentage points in less than a decade.

"We have a lot of work to do, but it's going in the right direction. We're not going backwards," Stelmach told the house in question period.

"Sixty two per cent won't get you into medical school," shot back opposition Alberta Party member Dave Taylor.

"Sixty two per cent gets us elected, thank you very much," replied Stelmach as his colleagues laughed and applauded.

Stelmach faced renewed calls from three opposition parties for an independent review of the health system, given recent allegations and documented evidence of substandard patient care and patients suffering and even dying awaiting treatment.

It has become a proxy war, with each side trotting out health professionals and leaders to back its case.

The Alberta Medical Association and the Calgary and Area Physicians Association have called for a review to clear the air on patient concerns.

Alberta's Health Quality Council -- whose survey Stelmach quoted -- is an arm's-length agency of physicians and other professionals. It has also said this week it would review the matter, but by law, must wait for Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky to give it the green light.

The allegations involve the documented case of 322 patients at Edmonton's flagship University of Alberta hospital.

The documents suggest the patients suffered through substandard care and in some cases died.

Alberta's health bureaucrats are already reviewing that case.

Stelmach dismissed calls from opposition Alberta Liberal Leader David Swann to let the Health Quality Council look into it, but said, "Anything we can do to improve the confidence of Albertans and the health system, we will continue to do that."

* The second set of allegations come from Raj Sherman, a former junior health minister in Stelmach's government who was turfed from caucus almost four months ago for criticizing his own department's handling of emergency room wait times.

Sherman is also an emergency room doctor and now sits as an Independent.

He alleged in the house last week that in 2006 or earlier, about 250 patients died, many from cancer, while on a wait list for surgery in Edmonton.

He said health officials covered up the deaths, bribed doctors with millions of dollars to keep quiet, and doctored up two sets of financial books to bury the hush money.

He also accused Dr. Trevor Theman, registrar of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Sheila Weatherill, who now sits on the board that oversees health delivery provincewide, as being complicit.

Theman has denied it and Weatherill has not commented. Sherman's comments were made within the immunity of the legislature, so he can't be sued for defamation.

Sherman has not provided evidence to back up his claims, and Stelmach has publicly labelled him reckless for falsely accusing private citizens of misconduct.

The premier reiterated Wednesday he will not pursue Sherman's allegations and read aloud comments from Dr. John Cowell, the CEO of the Health Quality Council.

"He said and I quote, 'The allegations are very serious. There's no question about it, Dr. Sherman is saying up to 250 people have died on a waiting list. He needs to provide further evidence this is true,"' said Stelmach.

Sherman did not speak on the issue Wednesday, as he didn't have a turn in the legislature question rotation.

His allegations, made 10 days ago, have dominated debate in the spring sitting but have been undermined by a series of bizarre pronouncements and actions.

On the day of his allegations Sherman declined to provide evidence. The next day he said he would provide it, then two days later announced he wouldn't. He Tweeted a day later he would, then told reporters a day later he wouldn't.

On Monday morning he announced he would table evidence, called reporters to a news conference to discuss the tablings, then refused to answer questions. Many of the documents turned out to be previously publicized correspondence referring to the 322 cases.

When asked again by reporters Tuesday why he won't provide proof, Sherman announced he never made such a promise in the first place.

"I never once said I would table those documents," he said.

Sherman also gathered reporters together to announce that he has anointed one of them as his designated truth-seeker.

"Amongst you there is a reporter who has been given the path on where to go sniffing," he said.

"One of you -- I won't say who -- has been given the roadmap on where to look."

The Canadian Press

© Copyright (c) CTV Edmonton

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Edmonton Journal | Karen Kleiss | Friday, February 25, 2011 | Original Source

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EDMONTON - Premier Ed Stelmach's government tabled a 2011-2012 budget Thursday that holds the line on spending but plunges the province deep into the red with a projected $3.4-billion deficit.

Albertans won't see any tax increases, but there will be increased fees for services such as drivers licences and campsite rentals, which will add $86 million to government coffers.

Finance Minister Lloyd Snelgrove said the government will charge ahead with its controversial three-year, $17.6-billion capital plan that will put $6.6 billion toward infrastructure in the coming year.

"The forecasted deficit in the year ahead is a result of the government's decision to continue its strong commitment to build hospitals, schools, roads and other infrastructure that Alberta needs as we return to growth," Snelgrove said.

"We could have made cuts that some critics were calling for, cuts that would have been damaging to core programs or infrastructure plans. But that would be short-sighted. We didn't panic during the darkest days of the recession, and we're not going to panic now."

The budget contains no tax cuts, but no major program cuts, either.

Revenue is projected to increase $1.6 billion to $35.6 billion in the coming fiscal year, with bitumen bringing in a projected $4.1 billion while natural gas and crude oil expected to contribute $1 billion and $1.9 billion in royalties, respectively. The government expects the economy to grow 3.3 per cent.

Government spending is set at $39 billion, a 0.5 per cent increase over last year.

The $3.4-billion deficit will be covered with money from the Sustainability Fund, and the withdrawal will bring the balance on the savings account to $5.2 billion. It was $15 billion in 2009.

The government predicts it will run a $681-million deficit next year, and be back in the black by 2013-14, with a surplus of $1.3 billion.

Wildrose Alliance Leader Danielle Smith, who doesn't have a seat in the legislature, said the government is full of spending addicts.

"They're practically vaporizing our savings accounts," she said. "You can't just keep on hoping that revenue increases are going to bail you out of this problem."

She said that once the dwindling Sustainability Fund is gone, the government will be forced to implement deep spending cuts or tax increases.

"In fact, they've actually already started," she said. "They're now nickel and diming taxpayers to death. You want to register your car or get a new veteran's plate or incorporate a business or a charity, they've increased fees by 20 to 150 per cent."

NDP Leader Brian Mason said the government doesn't have a spending problem, it has a revenue problem.

"I think they've given tremendous gifts to their friends in the oil and gas industry, letting them take most of the value of the resources that belong to the people of this province," he said. "They have continued to charge the lowest royalties in the world.

"Here again we have this government giving massive billion-dollar gifts to its corporate friends and nickel and diming ordinary people. The priorities are wrong."

Liberal Leader Dr. David Swann said the government has failed to make the difficult decisions that were necessary.

"This looks like a pre-election budget to me," he said. "They've made no tough decisions.

"This Conservative government continues to act as if its playing with an endless supply of Monopoly money. This is not a game."

Alberta Party MLA Dave Taylor said the province should be focused on creating an aggressive, long-term saving strategy.

"We need to get in the saving habit ... and we are most assuredly not there right now," he said.

Snelgrove said his government is confident in its decision to dip into the Sustainability Fund during the economic recovery, and that priority areas will see the greatest increases, including health, education and support for the vulnerable:

* Alberta Health Services gets a six-per-cent, $545 million increase that will bring its budget to $15 billion
* School boards will see a $257-million increase in funding to help cover a 4.4-per-cent increase in teachers' salaries
* Children's services' budget jumps 2.6 per cent to $1.2 billion improve intervention, increase child-care subsidies and support families caring for children with disabilities.
* Increases in budgets that support people who receive Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped, Support to Persons with developmental Disabilities, Seniors benefits and Alberta Aids to Daily Living.

Funding to municipalities will stay the same, dip next year and increase the following year. Under the Municipal Sustainability Initiative, Edmonton will receive $164.6 million, up $3 million from last year.

"We are glad it wasn't cut," Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel said. "The province had some difficult times. They were able to maintain the funding plus giving us a small increase.

"Consistency in any funding for government is important. Especially when you're relying on another person to fund you that money. .When it's up and down, that makes it more difficult."

Guy Smith, president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, said missing from the budget was funding to hire more front line staff in critical areas like environmental protection and children and youth services.

Scott Hennig of the Canadian Taxpayers' Association said the province is still a long way from being free of a deficit.

"Their projections that we are going to be out of debt by 2014 are very rosy," he said. "They need to start cutting. If they continue on this pace, it will be 10 years before we balance this budget."

Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan said the Wildrose party could have written the budget themselves.

"When you look at the bottom line, it's clear that this is a Wildrose budget," he said.

"There are two sides to every budget and both the Tories and the Wildrose Alliance are fixated on the spending side of the budget, when the real problem in Alberta is on the revenue side.

The $15.8 billion Heritage Savings Trust Fund - which is separate from the Sustainability Fund - is expected to earn $970 million in interest this fiscal year. The province plans to transfer $631 million of that interest to the general revenue fund, where it will be used to pay for programs and services. The remaining $339 million will be left in the fund for "inflation-proofing."

Last year, the province forecast a record $4.8-billion deficit, but officials now say they received a $2.2 billion windfall from corporate taxes that arrived late in the fiscal year, after a corporate merger. That money was funnelled into the Sustainability Fund.

Stelmach did not speak to reporters Thursday.

With files from Darcy Henton, Jodie Sinnema and Hanneke Brooymans

Budget facts:

Top three departments with the largest operating expenses for 2011- 2012 are:

* Health and Wellness $14.8 billion
* Education $5.8 billion
* Advanced Education and Technology $2.8 billion
* Sustainability Fund value forecast at March 31, 2011: $11.2 billion
* Sustainability Fund value forecast at March 31, 2012: $5.3 billion
* Sustainability Fund value forecast at March 31, 2013: $2.4 billion
* Sustainability Fund value forecast at March 31, 2014: $1.7 billion
* Pocketbook Expenses
* Vehicle registrations: $75 up from $61
* Campsite reservation fee: $12 up from $10
* Mortgage land title: $50 up from $15
* Top Three Revenue Sources for 2011-12
* Personal income tax: $8.7 billion
* Non-renewable resource revenue: $8.3 billion
* Federal transfers: $4.8 billion
* Provincial deficit
* 2010-11 forecast: $4.8 billion
* 2011-12 estimate: $3.4 billion

kkleiss@edmontonjournal.com

© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal

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Braid Buzz | Don Braid | Wednesday, February 22, 2011 | Original Source

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With all the ejections and defections, the Alberta legislature seating plan has been changing as often as a premier's dress shirt.

The new one is the most fascinating yet, with former minsters Doug Horner and Alison Redford across the aisle from the government, along with the opposition. They have a so-so view of their former seats in the government front row.

The third leadership candidate, MLA Doug Griffiths, sits between Horner and Edmonton MLA Carl Benito, the fellow who neglected to pay his city taxes. Griffiths says he's delighted - it's the same chair he had nine years ago when he was first elected.

Independent Raj Sherman, the Tory ejectee, sits in the back row behind the Liberals, in a curious space that looks halfway between government and opposition. Maybe that's appropriate, since Sherman says he might run for the leadership of the PCs, Liberals, or Alberta Party.

Former Liberal Dave Taylor looks like the loneliest MLA. He's placed in a back corner, wedged between the New Democrats and Wildrose members.

But it's actually a victory for Taylor and his new Alberta Party friends. He's formally listed on the seating plan as an Alberta Party MLA, which sounds like a small thing to mere mortals, but is significant in terms of legislature recognition.

dbraid@CalgaryHerald.com

© Copyright (c) Calgary Herald

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The Gateway Online | April Hudson | Monday, February 15, 2011 | Original Source

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Alberta's various political parties all agree that postsecondary education should be a priority in this province, but they're unable to agree on how to make it sustainable and affordable.

Representatives from each of Alberta's major political parties gathered in Dinwoodie Lounge Monday afternoon to discuss the future of advanced education in Alberta as part of a roundtable discussion organized by the Students' Union.

Parliamentary Assistant for the Ministry of Advanced Education and Technology Greg Weadick was there to represent the Progressive Conservative party, since current Minister Doug Horner stepped down to seek the leadership of the party. Also in attendance were the leader of the Alberta Liberals David Swann and members from the Wildrose Alliance, the NDP, and the Alberta Party, who spent the afternoon debating the importance of postsecondary education in Alberta.

Topics of discussion included funding for undergraduate and graduate students, the importance of attracting international students, the issue of student voting, and what course should ultimately be taken in order to ensure the best possible education for Alberta students.

"We are creating an extremely talented group of people," Weadick said. "It's not just about having the cheapest costs, it's about having the best."

Although opinions differed on how this would be achieved, all of the panelists agreed that the Government of Alberta needs to develop a plan for long-term, sustainable funding for postsecondary education. Weadick argued that the solution was to attract international students, while other attendees countered that Alberta should look to its own before worrying about students from other countries.

"The more educated our population, the better," said NDP representative Rachel Notley, who identified accessibility, high quality, and affordability of postsecondary education as the three important factors to consider.

When the issue of supporting a proposed 30 per cent increase in graduate student enrolment was brought up, Notley said that it couldn't be done within the current budget. Dave Taylor, an Alberta Party representative, added that first and foremost funding would be needed for infrastructure in order to support this increase.

"It is time the government stopped looking at postsecondary education as an expense and started treating it like an investment," Taylor said, adding later that dealing with the consequences of unsustained funding would pose the biggest challenge for postsecondary education in the next 10 years.

Weadick said that the education system had been able to weather a full year without a government funding increase rather well, but agreed that it was dubious whether this could continue for more than a year. He also reminded his fellow panelists that the PCs have delivered sustainability, in the form of a 40 per cent increase to research funding over six years.

Wldrose Party representative Rob Anderson said that Alberta's postsecondary institutions, as well as its K-12 system, are essential to economic growth and continued levels of prosperity, and called out the PC government for breaking their promise of freezing tuition.

"In order to have a first-rate, world-class province, we need a first-rate, world-class postsecondary education system," Anderson said. "If we're ever going to move towards a more knowledge-based economy, we have to start in our postsecondary institutions."

Anderson also suggested that separate faculties be given funding based on their ability to attract students, arguing that students should be able to pursue their interests and the funding should follow those interests.

Notley said the problem with the idea is that this would lead to a voucher system, but Weadick argued that a voucher system was already in place; anyone with a research idea could get funding and invest in an institution to research their ideas. He argued that it tied Albertans back into the system and enticed them to stay in the province.

Weadick said the decreasing population of future students coming to town would prove a huge challenge for the Albertan postsecondary system, and that advancing educational attraction to international students was essential to solving this problem.

By last year "I was growing more curious about what this party might become, and if I might fit," he says.

online@gateway.ualberta.ca

© Copyright (c) Gateway Student Journalism Society (GSJS)

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Calgary Herald | Don Braid | Monday, January 24, 2011 | Original Source

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Ex-Liberal MLA Dave Taylor will throw his support to the Alberta Party today, adding a fourth opposition party to the increasingly crowded legislature floor.

"I am joining the Alberta Party and that obviously means I will sit as an Alberta Party MLA," Taylor told the Herald on the weekend.

"I've taken a long time to make this decision but I believe it is the right one. The Alberta Party is a good fit with my values and my principles. I can be very comfortable with these people."

The Calgary-Currie MLA will make the announcement this morning at a downtown news conference with interim party Leader Sue Huff, other party advocates, and members of his Currie riding association.

His decision is a "tremendous boost to this new party and another nail in the coffin of the Liberals," says Mount Royal University professor David Taras.

"So far the Alberta Party is below the radar with most Albertans. Not many could pick the leader out of a lineup.

"And now here's Dave Taylor all of a sudden. He's known, he's articulate and he's effective. People could start to get really interested in this new party."

Formed by the amalgamation of earlier groups, the moderate Alberta Party has consulted Albertans in their homes through its Big Listen campaign and an active presence on social media.

The style is similar to Naheed Nenshi's recent mayoral campaign -- no surprise, since his chief of staff, Chima Nkemdirim, is a major force in the party.

Taylor's decision now makes Independent MLA Raj Sherman's choice even more fascinating.

Liberal Leader David Swann said last week that Sherman, kicked out of the Tory caucus in December for his opposition on health care, could choose between his Liberals and the Alberta Party as early as Tuesday.

But the Wildrose Alliance and the New Democrats both have hopes of nabbing him. Sherman, meanwhile, has been non-committal.

Taylor says his move to the Alberta Party "has not been a quick courtship. It has been a long one."

He quit the Liberals to sit as an independent last April 12 while voicing deep discontent with Swann.

He was already impressed with Nkemdirim's handling of Liberal MLA Kent Hehr's 2008 election campaign, he says.

By last year "I was growing more curious about what this party might become, and if I might fit," he says.

Taylor won't say yet if he'll run for the Alberta Party leadership at a convention set for May 28, although he'd be an obvious contender as the group's high-profile voice in the legislature.

"At least let me kick my shoes off before I actually think of the next step. But this is a party of hope and possibility. The people I've met want to build something, they want a dream we can all share.

"I think that's what Albertans want. They want more than competent management.

"They don't want a government or party driven by ideology and partisanship, but a government that produces sensible, moderate solutions, that's socially responsible, fiscally responsible, and puts Albertans first."

He says the Liberals, "like all the other parties, are not talking about the possibilities, about what we Albertans can do if we want to."

As for Swann and Premier Ed Stelmach, Taylor says dismissively: "They're the best thing that's ever happened to each other."

Dbraid@calgaryherald.com

© Copyright (c) Calgary Herald

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AlbertaVote.ca | Don Braid | Monday, January 24, 2011 | Original Source

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The Alberta Party, all the buzz in some circles, barely heard of in others, is about to cross the rubicon into the consciousness of many more as Calgary-Currie MLA Dave Taylor has announced he is joining the party and more importantly, becoming that party's first MLA. This was a move I thought natural quite some time ago, indeed noting the very careful words Mr. Taylor gave to the media when he chose to leave the Liberals - he said he would not be joining any party existing in the Legislature without a by-election. But the by- election debate is a rather tired one in my opinion. The #ableg Twitter feed exploded on my computer this morning as people heard the news. Dozens slammed the move from both the right and the left, others defended the move. It was wild to see the echo chamber of Twitter move so quickly from interest to discourse and then finally to name-calling. I suppose that is the life cycle of a political news story over Twitter but as always I'm fascinated, like watching a car crash. Nevertheless, this post isn't about Twitter (although I'm sure I have one in me) but rather about today's news.

I have rather strong opinions about floor crossing, ones I have expressed in earlier blog posts "On the Subject of Floor Crossing"and "Good Bye Minister Emerson". I like it. It is an essential part of our democracy in my mind and lets not forget that the people of Calgary-Currie will either have an opportunity to express their opinion on Mr. Taylor's actions when the time comes or Mr. Taylor will retire and what party he was a member of upon retirement will be considered rather moot. In any case, I don't think Mr. Taylor's mistake was his actions today or even backtracking on his original suggestion that a by-election would be needed but rather making the statement that a by-election would ever be needed in the first place. Honestly I think voters are able to see through crass opportunism and in any case joining a party that has no MLAs, only a few hundred members and virtually no profile before today can hardly be called opportunism. I'm glad Mr. Taylor is giving another shot at finding a political home and hope it works out for him and the Alberta Party, but more importantly I hope it works out for his constituents in Calgary-Currie and for the political world of our province.

What will be interesting is looking at what happens now inside the Alberta Party. A party that has had no profile and virtually no scrutiny has been organizing, preparing and laying the ground work for an election campaign that may catch a lot of people by surprise. Of course - as it stands - the party is 12 months away from an election with few constituency associations, little money, no candidates, brief policies and most importantly, no leader. But they along with the Wildrose Alliance have been an interesting and comfortable tabula rosa, a place for people to project all of their hopes, dreams and aspirations for the Government of Alberta on to. Even more than the Wildrose I have seen people see the Alberta Party as the true centrist-progressive hope for Alberta, essentially being all things to all people. Enough so that there is a great video parody of the party making the rounds:

Enter into this Dave Taylor. As this nascent political party starts to define itself and runs its leadership race the dulcet tones of Dave Taylor will fill the Legislature (as much as the house rules of the Legislature will allow) and serve as the defining and for the most part the only voice of this new party. Indeed, there is a pretty good chance that Mr. Taylor himself will consider and run for the job of Alberta Party leader. When he ran for the Alberta Liberal Party Mr. Taylor received 1,616 votes - not enough to beat Dr. David Swann's 2,468 but that might be close to the magic number needed to get the Alberta Party leadership. Regardless of whether he goes for the leadership or not Mr. Taylor is the kind of guy who will be a powerful force as the only MLA of the party and someone who has the voice you can absolutely fall in love with.

In the end, it may well be that Dave Taylor is a gamble the Alberta Party would be better off without, or vice versa, but that's ok because as a friend of mine said earlier, if anyone could use a little luck and win a difficult bet, it would be the Alberta Party. And the payoff is huge. Consider - one MLA moving to the Alberta Party can be written off as just a politically homeless guy finding a home. The consequence of earlier decisions. Where else would Mr. Taylor go? But what if someone else goes? Dr. Sherman finds himself in a similar place as Mr. Taylor did earlier. There are bound to be a few red Tories who will not be pleased with Dr. Morton's first real budget as Minister of Finance. Rumours abound that not all in every caucus is happy (except the NDP - my understanding is that both Brian Mason and Rachel Notley are comfortable with their caucus). If another MLA goes to the Alberta Party that is the beginning of momentum. And in politics, momentum is everything.

© Copyright (c) AlbertaVote.ca

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CBC.ca | CBC | Tuesday, November 30, 2010 | Original Source

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CALGARY - Calgary-Currie MLA Dave Taylor wants to put the brakes on idling.

The Independent member introduced a private members' bill on Tuesday calling for a $100 fine for motorists caught idling their vehicles for more than three minutes in a one-hour period.

"This is designed to stop the practice, that some people engage in, of letting their cars run 10 to 15 minutes in the morning to warm up, letting them run while they pick up the kids at school … It's just not necessary with today's automotive technology," Taylor said.

He said cutting down on idling would keep the air cleaner.

"[It is] something pretty easy that we could all do to make a difference to our greenhouse gas output, to make a difference to our tailpipe emissions, and to make a pretty clear and easy-to-execute statement about the degree to which we care about our environment."

Buses, emergency vehicles and cars idling in temperatures below -23 C should be exempt, Taylor said.

Anti-idling laws already exist in several Canadian municipalities, including Toronto, Vancouver, and St. Albert and Jasper, Alta.

Last week, Nova Scotia became the first province to introduce anti- idling legislation.

If Taylor's private members' bill is approved, it would take effect on Jan. 1, 2012.

© Copyright (c) CBC.ca

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Hanneke Brooymans and Karen Kleiss | Edmonton Journal | Friday, November 26, 2010 | Original Source

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EDMONTON - Conservation groups were elated and relieved Thursday when the province suspended legal progress on a new parks bill critics said could lead to development in Alberta's parks, including resort construction, ATV trails, logging or oil drilling in sensitive areas.

"I really think the last couple of weeks have shown Albertans are passionate about their parks and protected areas," said Sarah Elmeligi, senior conservation planner with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.

Local and national conservation groups have campaigned against Bill 29 since it was tabled on Nov. 4. They called it one of the worst pieces of conservation legislation to come forward anywhere in Canada in a decade.

If passed, protecting ecological integrity would no longer be the priority of parks and major decisions about protection would be left up to the discretion of the minister, they said, threatening everything from woodland caribou to World Heritage Sites.

Some groups, such as the Alberta Off-Highway Vehicle Association, were in favour.

On Thursday, Tourism, Parks and Recreation Minister Cindy Ady said the government did three years of consultation before bringing the bill forward and will continue to consult before tabling it again in the spring.

"I actually believe the bill could have worked, but there are some groups that want a higher degree of comfort," she said outside the legislature Thursday.

Liberal Parks critic Harry Chase said withdrawing the act was a political trade-off made by house leaders. "I think the government recognized that this had now become a poor piece of legislation, but it was a trading chip, if you want to look at it that way," he said.

"They said: 'It is very important to us that we move forward on Bill 27, the Police Amendment Act. An agreement was made that we would get it up and start the debate," he said, adding opposition parties also agreed to move quickly on uncontentious legislation while debate on Bill 17, the Alberta Health Act, was adjourned.

Other opposition members saw the negotiations differently.

"I think the Conservatives were looking for and exit strategy on Bill 29," Independent MLA Dave Taylor said. "They knew they were in big trouble. They knew that regardless of how much they thought it was a good idea, the people of Alberta felt differently. So when the government house leader came over to our side of the house and offered to take our amendments to the minister, that was the government blinking. That's the kind of offer that just never gets made in session."

NDP MLA Rachel Notley said there was no agreement, but that Conservatives understood there was a profound level of concern on the part of the public.

"We had a whole swack of amendments, and they could see that if we could make Bill 17 (the Health Act) last this long, how long were we going to make the Parks Act go? I think they knew there was no way they were going to be able to push this through."

Shaun Fluker, a law professor at the University of Calgary, said the fact that the bill was so vulnerable to attack was probably more the overriding factor.

"The bill was drafted in such a way that it delegated just about all the law-making powers to the minister or to cabinet. ... The most offensive part of the bill was basically that, that all the legal rules concerning protected areas would be set behind closed doors."

The minister said she would further "engage" Albertans on proposed parks legislation but she didn't specify how that would occur.

Sam Gunsch, of the Sierra Club, said Albertans have already told the government that they don't want legislation that weakens protection of parks, and in fact they want more parks. "Albertans didn't want legislation like Bill 29 that throws away 40 years of wilderness area legislation going back to Lougheed."

Jason Unger, staff counsel for the Environmental Law Centre, also expressed strong concerns about the original bill's lack of emphasis on ecological integrity and reliance on ministerial discretion. He was glad to hear Ady say she looks forward to continuing work with Albertans and conservation experts.

"I think the open-door policy there should be engaged by the public as much as possible to ensure that legislation is protective."

No one from the Alberta Snowmobile Association or the Alberta Off- Highway Vehicle Association could be reached for comment Thursday. The Alberta Off-Highway Vehicle Association had hired Dave Coutts, former minister of Sustainable Resource Development and Government Services, to lobby the parks ministry earlier this year on its behalf. Bill 29, as it was presented, would have allowed the minister to establish delegated authorities for recreational trails.

© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal

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Dave Taylor, MLA | For the Calgary Herald | Wednesday, November 24, 2010 | Original Source

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Thirty-eight years ago almost to the day, Alberta moved to preserve three great swaths of unspoiled wilderness on the eastern boundaries of the Rocky Mountains.

The Ghost River, White Goat, and Siffleur Wilderness Areas had already been established a decade earlier by the government of Premier Ernest Manning. But it was the government of Premier Peter Lougheed that enshrined their preservation in The Wilderness Areas Amendment Act of 1972, providing in legislation the highest level of protection available in Alberta.

Allan Warrack was Lougheed's minister of lands and forests, and here's how he explained it on Nov. 22, 1972, when he moved third reading of Bill 93, as the Wilderness Areas Amendment Act was known before passed into law:

"This opportunity is one that people want. It is a reasonable thing for people to want as they maintain a balance in their lives, having regard to the intensity of their schedules at some times, the activities that they need to carry forward with their own responsibilities in society, and that opportunity for retreat," Warrack said in the legislature.

"Even though, for some, the use of it may be relatively infrequent, it is still an opportunity that is there and would not be there if we did not have the Wilderness Areas Act and if we did not have bill number 93, The Wilderness Areas Amendment Act, to finalize these matters: to have three wilderness areas in the province of Alberta for people to enjoy that opportunity for quiet communication with nature; and to do so unencumbered by any mechanization that would detract from that quiet enjoyment of nature." (Alberta Hansard, Nov. 22, 1972, pages 80-70)

It is worth noting that Bill 93 passed third reading without any words spoken in opposition. Bill 93 finalized the protection of these wilderness areas from industrial and, indeed, any high-impact human use.

The Lougheed government removed pre-existing petroleum and mineral leases from the wilderness areas in exchange for new leases elsewhere. There was among our lawmakers then a deep understanding of the value of wilderness and of preserving our natural heritage. Protecting our most special landscapes in perpetuity seemed like a good idea at the time.

If you've ever wondered how long "forever" is, ask Cindy Ady. The minister of tourism, parks and recreation is currently trying to steer Bill 29, The Alberta Parks Act, thru the legislature, and if the minister succeeds in that, the answer will be: 38 years.

Bill 29 purports to do you and me and visitors from out-of-province a big favour: it will "clarify" park use for the public by consolidating and replacing three separate pieces of legislation to simplify the classification system and bring all the lands governed by those acts under the minister's administration.

On the surface, it's a compelling argument. Over the years, Alberta has developed a spectrum of green space categories ranging from highly protected to more recreation oriented -- ecological reserves, wilderness areas, wildland provincial parks, provincial parks, natural areas and provincial recreation areas.

The fact is, Bill 29 removes the legislated protection that wilderness areas, ecological reserves, and wildland provincial parks now have, and proposes one catch-all "park" category, leaving it up to the minister to decide the level of protection in "zones" that are not defined in the bill. It gives the minister the authority to permit industrial or tourism developments inside any park, including the wilderness areas. It removes the certainty of long-term protection that seemed like such a good idea 38 years ago.

In reality, Alberta's current classifications are consistent with national and international protected area standards.

What's most regressive is the bill removes from Alberta law the commitment to making protection of a park's ecological integrity the first priority in management -- a monumental step backwards for Alberta's wilderness.

Is it truly difficult for people who live here or people who visit to figure out what we can or cannot do in all our different categories of green space? Not really. The AlbertaParks.cawebsite clearly spells everything out for those interested.

Premier Lougheed and his lands and forests minister, Allan Warrack, understood the value of protecting our most special landscapes in perpetuity. Premier Ed Stelmach and his parks minister, Cindy Ady, will dismantle that legacy with Bill 29.

Lougheed and Warrack got it right 38 years ago this week, and if they proceed this week in the legislature, Stelmach and Ady are about to get it irreversibly wrong.

It's time to withdraw Bill 29 and get back to nature.

Dave Taylor is the former deputy leader of the Alberta Liberals and is now an Independent MLA for Calgary-Currie.

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

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ctvcalgary.ca | CTV Calgary | Friday, November 12, 2010 | Original Source

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CALGARY - Several Alberta conservation groups say a proposed bill is regressive and harmful to the protected areas.

Bill 29 essentially lumps all of the province's wilderness areas under one umbrella of parks.

The proposal could open the door to development in sensitive areas, say conservation groups.

"To try to throw them all into one pot, to give them one designation, and to try to manage them as they're all the same is so fundamentally flawed, it's kind of scary how the protection of some of those crucial wilderness areas could be watered down in this legislation," says Nigel Douglas with the Alberta Wilderness Association.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Association says protected areas are important for all Albertans, and restrictions are there for a reason.

"There can't be any motorized activity, no horses, no hunting. These areas of the province have been set aside to help protect the ecological goods and services that they provide Albertans, so they provide us with clean water, clean air, and they help protect our biodiversity," says Sarah Elmeligi with the association.

Tourism, Parks and Recreation Minister Cindy Ady says Bill 29 was a result of public feedback to simplify parks regulations, to help enforcement, and to make it easier for people to know what they can and cannot do in parks.

But independent MLA Dave Taylor says the province is still suffering the impact of negative publicity over the oil sands and needs to change its environmental image.

"We need a win and we need a real win. We already lost the public relations battle. What better way to protect our bread and butter and also protect everything else about Alberta than to bring in legislation that enhances protection for our landscape? And here we are going the other way."

The second reading of the bill is expected early next week.

© Copyright (c) CTV Calgary

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Keith Gerein | Edmonton Journal | Wednesday, November 3, 2010 | Original Source

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Distracted-driving law under debate in Alberta

EDMONTON - New provincial legislation banning cellphones, grooming and texting while behind the wheel is nearing approval in the Alberta legislature, though some opposition members believe the bill needs to go further.

Much of the debate has so far focused on whether hands-free phones should be added to the proposed law, with a handful of MLAs suggesting they pose as much of a danger to drivers as the hand-held variety.

"There is that added danger with a hand-held phone, but the evidence indicates the real distraction is the fact you are engaged in conversation ... with someone not in the vehicle with you, someone who is not capable of changing traffic patterns in front of you," Independent MLA Dave Taylor told the legislature.

Taylor proposed an amendment to remove the exemption for hands-free phones, but it was ultimately defeated.

Tory MLA Art Johnston, who initiated the legislation, said there are currently too many questions about enforcement, though the government plans to study the issue and could consider banning hands-free devices in the future.

He said a police officer witnessing a driver talking out loud would be insufficient evidence, since motorists could be speaking to themselves or singing to the stereo.

The only way to tell for sure might be to get a search warrant for the driver's cellphone records.

"It takes over three hours to get a search warrant on an impaired driver. I don't know how long it would be for cellphone records, but even if it's an hour, you take that officer off the street and that's counterproductive," said Johnston, who was a Calgary police officer for 25 years.

"We can't go back and ban everything.

"We'll be reviewing (hands-free) in the future and the way technology is evolving, this could change even next year."

Don Szarko of the Alberta Motor Association said the hands-free debate should be revisited in the future since research shows it's the length and intensity of a conversation that provides the danger, regardless of what kind of phone is used.

The province should also look at imposing demerits on a driver's record in addition to a ticket, which is done in some jurisdictions in Canada and the United States, he said.

Johnston said his consultations found some interest in demerits, including support from a few insurance companies, but the government decided to leave them out of the legislation for now.

Nearly all other provinces already have traffic laws specifically banning cellphones or other distractions while driving. Yet Szarko noted Alberta's pending legislation is unique in Canada because it addresses a whole range of dangerous behaviours. Illegal driving activities will include applying makeup and other forms of grooming, using a laptop, reading printed material, writing notes, texting and e-mailing. GPS devices can be used, but can't be reprogrammed while driving.

"If you can do something momentarily, whether it's turn up the radio or even eating a biscuit, that's fine," Johnston said. "But if you are having a cheeseburger and a bowl of soup, you're going to be in trouble, and everybody around you is going to be in trouble, too."

He noted people caught for distracted driving might often receive two tickets. Police will first notice someone running a red light or making an illegal turn, then realize the driver is on a cellphone or texting.

One amendment to the bill that did pass will provide an exemption for drivers who use a two-way radio as part of their job.

This could include taxi operators, couriers, search-and-rescue workers, and drivers escorting wide loads on a highway.

Debate in the legislature is expected to continue this week. If approved, the law would likely come into effect next spring, although some motorists may begin adhering to the regulations right away, Szarko said.

When similar legislation was passed in the U.S., some states saw 50 to 70 per cent of drivers immediately comply, he said.

Szarko called the distracted driving legislation "a Christmas present for Albertans," saying it has come along at the right time for the province.

"Albertans don't like being told what to do, but we are seeing more and more discontent from the public around people who not just talk on cellphone, but are doing texting, or writing little notes while driving," he said.

"People are becoming extremely irritated with this."

kgerein@edmontonjournal.com

© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal

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Renata D'Aliesio | Calgary Herald | Thursday, October 7, 2010 | Original Source

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A provincial all-party committee has shot down a Tory private member's bill that aimed to standardize some of the fees Albertans pay on their electricity and natural gas bills.

Fielding staunch opposition from municipalities across Alberta, the Tory-dominated committee decided Wednesday against supporting Bill 203, proposed by Calgary-North Hill Conservative MLA Kyle Fawcett.

Instead, provincial politicians recommended referring the thorny issue to the province's Municipal Affairs Department for further study and consultation with urban and rural municipalities.

"In the end, whatever that end would be, at least along the process part that there's further consultation with the stakeholders," Edmonton-Decore Tory MLA Janice Sarich contended as she suggested referring the issue.

Fawcett's bill proposed standardizing how utility access and franchise fees are calculated, tying them to the amount of energy used by a consumer. Local access or franchise fees vary between municipalities. These fees are charged to companies for access to municipal land required for gas lines, power lines and other utility corridors. The cost is then passed on to consumers.

In Calgary, franchise fees have long been fixed as a percentage of utility bills. Currently, the charge is 10 per cent. The city is expected to collect about $180 million in revenue from the fees this fiscal year, said city manager Owen Tobert. In comparison, Edmonton expects to collect roughly $83 million. Airdrie-Chestermere Wildrose Alliance MLA Rob Anderson, a committee member, voted against punting the issue to Municipal Affairs.

He told the committee some Albertans, particularly Calgarians, are getting "ripped off" under the current system.

The committee voted Wednesday to recommend the government continue to link minimum wage with changes in economic indicators.

"They essentially put a sales tax on everyone's bill," Anderson said. "Let's protect the taxpayer here."

Independent Calgary-Currie MLA Dave Taylor, who also voted against Sarich's motion, argued the province shouldn't interfere in the affairs of municipalities. Taylor added his constituents haven't complained about utility fees, but Fawcett said residents and business owners have raised concerns in his riding.

While the Tory backbencher is disappointed his bill failed to garner strong support from fellow MLAs, he's content that the issue has been aired. He's also hopeful the government will move forward with change.

"It's needed to bring more accountability and transparency to how these fees are charged," Fawcett said.

"If this is truly a fee, then it should be used as such and not used as an additional measure of taxation."

Richard Truscott of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, which supported Fawcett's proposal, is frustrated the committee didn't take immediate action. The delay, however, is being welcomed by the City of Calgary. City manager Owen Tobert said the municipality believes the current system is working fine, cautioning provincial changes would negatively affect revenues that help finance municipal services.

"We have very little autonomy, but that autonomy that we do have we guard," Tobert said. "One size does not fit all."

Along with voting to refer the utility fee issue to Municipal Affairs, the all-party committee is recommending that the energy minister change regulations to require greater transparency on utility bills and on franchise fee revenue reporting.

rdaliesio@calgaryherald.com

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

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Sarah McGinnis | Calgary Herald | Wednesday, October 6, 2010 | Original Source

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After years of stalled developments, a four-storey empty pit considered the "blight" of Mission could be replaced by a non-profit seniors complex.

The Kerby Centre, located at the western end of downtown, is looking at relocating to 4th Street and 21st Avenue S.W., where it would occupy a new building to be constructed with other "like-minded" organizations, said CEO Luanne Whitmarsh.

"People call it the pit or the hole, but really it's a very attractive site. With the right alliances, partnerships and funding, it will certainly get due consideration from Kerby," said Whitmarsh.

The current building at 1133 7th Ave. S.W. is an aging facility and nearby LRT expansions is making access to its offices more difficult, according to officials.

But the Mission proposal -- which could provide office space for other charities or affordable housing -- is still preliminary. The site is one of a few being considered by the organization, which offers seniors day programs and meals.

The 4th Street S.W. property is owned by Strategic Group, a commercial real estate developer that acquired the land from a failed development in 2006. Strategic Group had plans to build a six storey office building. The economic downturn led the company to back away from the project. "We can confirm discussions have begun regarding a solution to the 4th Street development project," said Strategic Group spokeswoman Kathy Thompson.

The massive hole left on 4th Street has been a "blight" on the community for six years, said Bob Lang, president of the Cliff Bungalow -- Mission Community Association.

Known as the "swimming pool," the void interrupts the street's retail shops, presents safety concerns and brings down property values.

Lang wants to believe this new plan to move Kerby Centre and other senior agencies will work. But he's heard plans for the property before.

"We're hopeful, but we'd like to learn more about it," said Lang. "Sometimes the devil is in the details."

Ald. John Mar said he's been in talks with Kerby Centre and Meals on Wheels for months to discuss relocation to 4th Street S.W.

He envisions a six-storey building with approximately 40,000 square feet of space and 400 underground parking stalls.

"Seniors are the largest growing segment of Canada's population. It really made too much sense," said Mar, who added the city's administration "leapt on this opportunity."

Ward 8 aldermanic candidate Zak Pashak questions the timing of this project, and called Mar's involvement "grandstanding."

He said city hall should be creating a permanent solution to a string of failed developments instead of meddling in individual cases.

He suggested enacting special assessments on property owners under the Municipal Government Act to cover the cost of filling in abandoned sites. "It's a huge ongoing problem the city hasn't dealt with, this council hasn't dealt with and John Mar hasn't dealt with," Pashak said.

But Mar said the city doesn't have the power to just fill in holes with dirt.

The alderman noted he's been working with MLA Dave Taylor on a private member's bill that would allow changes to the Municipal Government Act to allow all communities to be more aggressive in addressing such situations.

smcginnis@calgaryherald.com

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

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Karen Kleiss | Edmonton Journal | Thursday, September 16, 2010 | Original Source

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Albertans earning minimum wage will get a 25-cent-an-hour raise and the province will implement a poverty reduction strategy if the government accepts new recommendations from an all-party committee.

The standing committee on the economy voted Wednesday to recommend Employment Minister Thomas Lukaszuk quickly raise the minimum wage to $9.05 and that he take steps to implement a provincewide poverty reduction strategy similar to the 10-year plan to end homelessness.

The current minimum wage of $8.80 an hour and has not changed since April 1, 2009. Alberta is one of three provinces that does not have a poverty reduction strategy.

"As with homelessness, there are good economic reasons to introduce a poverty reduction strategy," said Dave Taylor, the independent Calgary MLA who suggested the recommendation. "If you're on social assistance, and I can get you working, that's a win for the government. ... And it's just the right thing to do."

The committee recently reviewed the province's minimum wage policy. Members are to formally deliver their seven recommendations to Lukaszuk next month.

The review began in February after Lukaszuk froze the minimum wage and terminated a three-year-old policy that tied it to an average weekly earnings index set by Statistics Canada. Had the old policy been maintained, the minimum wage would have gone up in April.

Lukaszuk said at the time the move was necessary to keep people employed, to keep small business competitive and to help address unemployment.

The committee voted Wednesday to recommend the government continue to link minimum wage with changes in economic indicators.

However, the recommendation will encourage Lukaszuk to adopt a made- in-Alberta formula that "could include" not only Statistics Canada's average weekly earnings index for Alberta, but also "market basket measures and inflation."

The new language was hotly debated, with critics on the committee claiming it is too vague. The vote ended in a tie that was broken by committee chair and Conservative MLA Naresh Bhardwaj.

The committee will also recommend the formula be enshrined in legislation, so the process of calculating minimum wage is transparent.

The motion to immediately raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour was tabled by Conservative MLA Moe Amery, and NDP MLA Rachel Notley persuaded committee members to recommend an increase to $9.05 instead. Wildrose Alliance MLA Paul Hinman won a clause that gives employers three months' notice before minimum wage increases.

The committee received nearly 220 submissions, roughly 75 per cent of which were form letters from members of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association.

The association had asked the committee to unhook the minimum wage from the annual wage inflation rate and wanted new rules that allow employers to pay lower wages to trainees and those who serve liquor and get tips.

The committee will also recommend that minimum wage earners be exempt from income tax.

kkleiss@edmontonjournal.com

© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal

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Renata D'Aliesio | Calgary Herald | Wednesday, September 15, 2010 | Original Source

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Alberta dropping to second-lowest rate in Canada

Alberta's minimum wage -- frozen earlier this year -- is set to sink to the second lowest in Canada as a group of provincial politicians weigh possible changes that would affect how much low-paid workers make.

An all-party MLA committee meets today to hash over about a half- dozen draft recommendations on the future of the province's base pay after Employment Minister Thomas Lukaszuk requested a review in February.

Debate has already proven divisive between employers and social agencies, many of whom have relayed their positions to the political committee.

Several organizations aiding poor workers are lobbying for a wage hike that would vault Alberta employees to the front of the pack, noting that at $8.80 an hour, full-time workers earning minimum wage only take home about $15,000 a year.

"Here in Calgary alone, we've got 90,000 people working for less than a living wage," said Dan Meades of Vibrant Communities Calgary, which is advocating for a $12.25 hourly minimum wage to raise low- income earners above the poverty line in big cities.

"People need to have enough money for housing, food and to save a little for the future."

But representatives of the restaurant, retail and hotel sectors argue many businesses would suffer and jobs would be lost if employees' base pay was hiked so high.

The industry groups are urging the Stelmach government to adopt a tiered minimum-wage system that would eventually see new hires and workers who garner tips make as much as $1.50 less an hour than other minimum-wage employees.

They also want the province to reverse course on its three-year-old policy of tying annual hikes in Alberta's base pay to increases in average weekly earnings.

"It doesn't reflect the actual labour market at that time," said Mark von Schellwitz, an executive with the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association.

The all-party economy committee reviewing minimum pay is expected to submit final recommendations to the legislature this fall. Employment Minister Lukaszuk spoke about the review in Calgary recently, saying the study will consider practices in other provinces and countries.

"The question is more complex than just how much," the minister said. "Also, what indexation do we use or do we index it at all? And is it one-size fits all?"

Roughly 20,000 Alberta workers earn $8.80 an hour, according to Alberta Employment.

As of Oct. 1, when Prince Edward Island's minimum wage is slated to rise to $9 per hour, only British Columbia will offer a lower base pay than Alberta ($8 an hour).

Independent Calgary MLA Dave Taylor, a member of the Tory-dominated economy committee, said he plans to introduce a motion at today's meeting calling on the province to draft a poverty reduction strategy.

"Whatever is done for minimum wage, it's not going to address the root causes of poverty," said Taylor, adding that Alberta is one of three provinces without such a strategy.

Calgary restaurant owner Stuart Allan wants provincial politicians to also consider the health of small business entrepreneurs like him.

Owner of Buzzards Restaurant in downtown Calgary for three decades, Allan said last year's 40-cent minimum wage hike came at a difficult economic time and hurt his bottom line.

He'd like to see the Alberta government follow the path of several other provinces and pay food and liquor servers a wage slightly lower than regular minimum pay.

"The reality is their take-home pay is significantly greater than minimum wage," Allan said.

"It doesn't matter how much I pay them. If they're not making money from the customers in tips, they're going to move on somewhere else."

rdaliesio@theherald.canwest.com

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

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Rick Bell | Calgary Sun | Thursday, September 9, 2010 | Original Source

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There they sit, up in Edmonton, the paper-shuffling Batman and Robin from the big blue playpen.

City manager Owen Tobert and city boss bean counter Eric Sawyer try to explain to provincial politicians why Calgary gouges its citizens. Read carefully and hold onto your wallet.

Instead of smacking Calgarians with a tax hike of over 10% every year and enraging everybody, Calgary charges higher fees on your electricity and natural gas bills than elsewhere -- every year.

Presto! The difference between what Calgary charges and what Edmonton charges in these fees is equal to a total of an almost 6% tax hike.

By putting the equivalent of a 6% tax hike on the power bills and not on the tax bill, and calling it a fee and not a tax, many Calgarians don't even know they're getting the double whammy. Therefore, there is no tax revolt.

At the same time, the city crows about how its taxes are so low. It's shameless.

On Wednesday, provincial politicians question Tobert and Sawyer.

MLAs are considering whether to recommend the legislature vote to stop Calgary charging such high fees.

Listen to Rob Anderson, Wildrose MLA for Airdrie- Chestermere, who has both revolvers out of the holster.

"I don't see how this is anything more than just a way of inserting a tax into people's utility bills," says the MLA to the city's not-so- dynamic duo.

"You can call it by a different name but it looks to me like a ratepayer gouge." Ouch. Advantage Anderson.

"We can snicker and laugh about your designer bridges and we often do," he continues. They reportedly even laugh in Balzac.

"But I don't understand how you can sit there and say this isn't a tax. It clearly is a tax and it just looks to me like this is a loophole you're using to raise general tax revenue. Am I wrong?"

Tobert : "I don't have an answer for that."

Tobert and Sawyer dust off the old script.

If they didn't have the gouge they'd have to raise taxes, hike user fees or cut stuff. The city's power would be eroded. Besides, they know the needs of Calgarians and they need flexibility to meet those needs.

Anderson says hearing verbal swill of this type "kind of made me want to throw up."

It's a long line to the latrine. Ken Allred, an Edmontonarea Tory MLA, points out Calgary gets more than 7% of its dough from these fees and Edmonton only receives 3.3%. To Allred, this looks like an "unjust burden."

It hurts. A guy from the capital region telling Calgarians about unjust burdens.

He asks for an explanation of why Calgary hits its ratepayers so much more.

Sawyer : "We believe we have put in a mechanism that works for Calgary."

Tobert: "We do have lower municipal property taxes, especially for residential properties. We do tax less."

Allred later asks if the fact Calgary's fees are higher but taxes lower indicates Calgary is using the fees to transfer some of the taxation to the utility consumer.

Tobert talks about different tax bases and compares the downtown of Edmonton to the downtown of Calgary and eyes begin to glaze over.

Richard Truscott of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business calls the Calgary approach "a shell game."

He is "astounded." There's a long line of people astounded.

Plainly, like some wines, the Calgary brass don't travel well.

After the meeting, Anderson has a few choice words.

"Isn't it a little rich hearing these city bureaucrats talking like they're the mayor?" he asks.

The Wildrose MLA obviously doesn't see the puppet springs going all the way back to the office of the big man in Calgary.

Tobert and Sawyer should be sitting on Bronco's knee but that would be too obvious.

The group of MLAs from all parties will make its recommendation to the legislature later this fall. Don't hold your breath.

Even though Calgary Tory MLA Kyle Fawcett is the one pushing for changes, most of Ed's Tories have little heart, less guts and no backbone.

Dave Taylor, the Calgary independent MLA, expresses the truth about where the buck stops.

"If the citizens of Calgary were truly upset, truly outraged, they have the recourse to throw out the current council," says Taylor.

They have, but will they?

rick.bell@sunmedia.ca

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Shaun Polczer | Calgary Herald | Thursday, April 15, 2010 | spolczer@theherald.canwest.com
Click here to go to original source.

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China expert dismisses fears of bitumen exports

Chinese oil giant Sinopec could be considering an up-grader or refinery in Alberta, as opposed to shipping raw bitumen abroad, a leading China expert said Wednesday.

Wenran Jiang, the Mac taggart chair at the University of Alberta's China Institute, said the next logical step for Sinopec — one of the world's largest refiners, which bought into Syncrude Canada on Monday — is to invest in downstream refining in Canada to support China's growing upstream portfolio in Alberta.

In an interview with the Herald, he said concerns that China is looking to ship raw bitumen abroad are "laughable."

"I don't think it makes economic sense to ship raw bitumen to China at all. The oil produced there (at Syncrude) doesn't necessarily have to be shipped back to China," he said. "If they're going to invest billions in oilsands, why wouldn't they lead to followup refinery investments in Canada?"

Sinopec, which spent $4.65 billion Monday to acquire a nine per cent interest in the Syncrude consortium, joins a growing list of Chinese firms to acquire oilsands assets in Canada. Late last year, Petro- China spent $1.9 billion to acquire a 60 per cent stake in a pair of in situ leases owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp., which went public with a $1.35-billion initial public offering last week.

Other Chinese state firms such as China National Offshore Oil Corp., China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) and China Investment Corp. have also made significant investments in oilsands development.

A national media outlet reported Wednesday that Sinopec could use its new-found spot in the Syncrude joint venture to influence or even veto development decisions regarding future expansions, especially with respect to upgrading production, but Jiang said such speculation is misplaced.

In the absence of a pipeline to the West Coast, he said it makes more sense for Sinopec to build a refinery or upgrader near Edmonton to process its production from Syncrude and other Chinese partners.

Nonetheless, Premier Ed Stelmach was taking heat in the legislature over speculation the Syncrude deal would result in a loss of control over Alberta's resources.

"This agreement, from what I gather from what I know, does not ask for any bitumen to go directly to the country of China," he said in response to a question from Calgary-Currie MLA and former Liberal energy critic Dave Taylor.

"This is buying part of a share of an existing operation in the oilsands . . . $4.65 billion, that's a lot of jobs that are going to be created in Alberta as a result."

Several Canadian companies, including Cenovus Energy and Husky Energy have partnerships with American refiners to upgrade bitumen south of the border.

According to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Canada produced about 1.5 million barrels per day of bitumen last year, about 400,000 barrels of which was exported in its raw form to the U.S.

Energy Minister Ron Liepert noted former Syncrude partner Conoco- Phillips already ships most of its bitumen production to Louisiana and Texas and told the Herald he supports efforts on the part of companies such as Sinopec to increase processing in Alberta.

"In a general sense, that concept is exactly what we've been promoting. I don't see the big fear here."

Under Syncrude's complex ownership structure — which includes Canadian Oil Sands Trust, Imperial Oil, Suncor, Nexen, Mocal Energy and Murphy Oil Co. Ltd. -- decisions regarding future expansion need unanimous approval from all member companies, said Siren Fisekci, a spokeswoman with Canadian Oil Sands, the largest Syncrude owner, with 36.7 per cent.

Canadian Oilsands was widely rumoured to be on the losing end of a bidding war to acquire ConocoPhillips' stake, which was eventually snapped up by Sinopec. She said project owners tend to set aside competitive rivalries to act in the best interests of the group and suggested the Chinese contingent will do the same.

"They'll do what's in the best interests of the project," she predicted.

Although it's technically feasible to put bitumen on a boat and ship it half way around the world, Joan Embleton, the business research operations manager for the University of Calgary's Consortium for Heavy Oil Research, said it would be a "costly waste of time. . . . We have all the technology they need right here in Canada — right here in Calgary."

Vince Lauerman, president of Calgary-based Geopolitics Central, said China would prefer to take raw bitumen, but probably realizes it isn't economically or politically feasible.

"I was out for breakfast with the former head of economic and political research for CNPC last November, and he said they would prefer raw bitumen, but would settle for SCO (synthetic crude oil)," he said in an e-mail.

But Jiang said the worry over Sinopec's intentions amounts to fearmongering.

"People are asking the wrong questions. We need a national discussion about what happens when they put in $20 billion or $30 billion and we're freaking out over $4 billion. What are we worried about?"

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Jason Fekete and Lisa Schmidt | Calgary Herald with files from Canwest News Service | Thursday, March 25, 2010

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Alberta Says Efforts Pay Off; Proposed fuel standards may be weakened

CALGARY - The provincial government is chalking up a victory in its oilsands campaign as the European Union looks at weakening proposed environmental standards for the fuel.

Alberta Energy Minister Ron Liepert said Wednesday the EU appears to be "backing off " on tougher rules for oilsands-derived crude in response to a lobbying effort to protect the oilsands by Canadian governments.

A new discussion paper to be debated by a panel this week suggests that European officials will remove restrictions on fuel from the oilsands in its draft legislation, pending "further review."

"We're having an impact," Liepert said in Edmonton on Wednesday.

"We've got the European Union starting to look at how they need to reassess some of the initiatives they've taken, based on, I would say, not the best information, so we just got to keep up the campaign."

The EU standards must still go through a period of consultations and several months of debate prior to being adopted by the European Parliament, but the concerns raised in the meantime by Canadian offi- cials appear to have prompted a change.

Canadian ambassador Ross Hornby raised the issue in a Jan. 25 letter to the EU.

"In the original consultation document, oilsands-derived fuels (erroneously labelled as 'tar sand') are treated as a distinct fuel source, separate from all other crude pathways for petrol and diesel fuels," the letter said.

Hornby warned the reporting requirements of the original European standards, as proposed in 2009, would "create barriers to trade, particularly in light of the highly integrated nature of the North American oil industry," Hornby wrote.

The 2009 standards include a chart estimating oilsandsderived fuel produced more than five times the greenhouse gas emissions than fuel from conventional oil. The new proposal has removed those references to the oilsands, infuriating environmental groups.

Travis Davies, spokesman for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said the EU decision is a "positive" one for the oilpatch, but noted it hasn't been a pressing issue.

"The EU is not a market for Canadian crude at the moment, but it's about the future," Davies said.

CAPP believes the decision reflects the fact that producers are reducing the environmental footprints from developing the resource, arguing the so-called "life cycle" emissions from oilsands are no more than 15 per cent higher than conventional oil.

"Market access is going to be based on performance. Canadian oil can and will continue to compete," Davies added.

Environment Minister Rob Renner said the EU move is a sign that message is starting to resonate.

"With the existing technology, and more specifically with the opportunity for new technology to be applied, oilsands can compete very favourably with virtually any other source of fossil fuel," he said.

But Simon Dyer, director of the oilsands program at the Pembina Institute, an Alberta-based environmental think-tank, insists greenhouse gas emissions from oilsands development are as much as three times higher than conventional oil production.

Canadian governments are more worried about their environmental image than actually trying to reduce greenhouse gas reductions from the carbon-intensive resource, he said. Ottawa must implement greenhouse gas regulations that would establish solid environmental benchmarks for oilsands producers, he added.

"This is not an image problem. It's actually an issue problem," Dyer said. "What we need to see is improvements across the board and that's only going to come through regulation."

Liberal energy critic Dave Taylor said the Stelmach government has already lost the public relations battle, which could create market access problems.

"We do need to be concerned," he said.

"The environmental lobby got way out ahead, these guys were asleep at the switch. The oil industry as well, you know, (they were) maybe a little too busy looking for the oil to keep an eye on the ball."

jfekete@theherald.canwest.com

lschmidt@theherald.canwest.com