At a Glance
New Parliamentary Secretaries Appointed
Following the United Conservative Party’s annual general meeting last weekend, Premier Jason Kenney has appointed five MLAs parliamentary secretary positions with the provincial government. Although these individuals do not have the same capacity as a minister or associate minister, parliamentary secretaries provide critical support to ministers by assisting with house business and department-related duties.
The appointments were made as follows:
· Nathan Neudorf - Ministry of Environment and Parks for Water Stewardship
· Jackie Lovely - Associate Ministry of Status of Women
· Jeremy Nixon - Ministry of Community and Social Services for Civil Society
· Dan Williams - Ministry of Culture and for la Francophonie
· Searle Turton - Ministry of Energy
Possible Breach on Vaccine Records Website
On the day Alberta was set to release an updated vaccination QR code for travelling Albertans, a possible breach has been reported to the Information and Privacy Commissioner. While first indications do not suggest it is an external breach, some Albertans attempting to access their own information reported that they downloaded another individual’s information.
The information included in the downloads include the name, birthdate, and COVID-19 vaccination information. When the reports were received, the provincial government shut down the website to correct the issue. Health Minister Jason Copping apologized, saying “protecting Albertans’ personal information is always our top priority and I apologize for this potential breach. Alberta Health took immediate action by taking the website and the updated record down. I want to assure Albertans they will be kept informed once the investigation is complete and the updated record for travel will be available as soon as the technical issue is addressed.”
The End of Photo Radar as We Know It?
Many Albertans will be celebrating the news out of Edmonton this week that will change the rules around photo radar. It was announced this week that starting April 2022, municipalities will no longer be allowed to use photo radar in areas like freeways and off ramps where drivers need to rapidly accelerate. Municipalities will also keep photo radar off roads with speed limits lower than 50km/hour, with the exception of school zones and construction zones where children or workers are present.
The new rules also state that radar locations must be advertised online and through social media. Photo radar has been a hot button issue for Albertans for years, many saying that it does little to increase safety and is just used as a money grab. Photo radar generated an astounding $203 million in Alberta in the 2019-20 year. Both the NDP and UCP initiated studies to determine the benefits of photo radar, and the NDP said they are prepared to outright ban it.
First case of Omicron variant confirmed in Alberta
Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw confirmed on Tuesday, November 30th that the first case of the COVID-19 Omicron variant had been identified in Alberta. The traveler returned to the province after traveling to Nigeria and the Netherlands. Medical professionals fear that the omicron strain may be more infectious than previous versions, but they haven’t determined if the strain will lead to more a severe illness. The Canadian government has already banned travel from many African countries to slow the transmission of the virus.
Despite the ban, 156 Albertans have visited the banned locations in the past two weeks, these travelers were connected and advised to isolate for two weeks to prevent the spread of infection. As of Tuesday, there are 434 people in Alberta hospitals with COVID-19, including 81 in intensive care. A total of 3,248 Albertans have died since the beginning of the pandemic. No confirmation as to what the restrictions will look like over Christmas.