At a Glance: March 7 - 18
Fort McMurray – Lac La Biche Byelection
It’s official – Brian Jean will be returning to the Legislature as an MLA for the first time since 2018. On March 15th, the former leader of the Wildrose walked away with more than 63% of the popular vote and will represent Fort McMurray – Lac La Biche for the UCP. The seat was last held by Laila Goodridge who resigned to run in the 2021 federal election for the Conservative Party of Canada.
Jean has made it very clear that his return to politics is about challenging Premier Jason Kenney for the leadership of the UCP. "I'm talking to my team, I'm talking to Albertans, I'm trying to get people excited about going to Red Deer on April 9.” Jean will be sworn in as an MLA on April 5, 2022.
COVID-19 Reporting Frequency Reduced
Going forward, Alberta will be reducing COVID-19 reporting to weekly release. The change will be in place effective March 23. The province had originally scaled back the frequency of COVID-19 press conferences, but this change will also apply to data publishing.
The province has also announced that it will be moving to consolidate some of its COVID-19 data as well. While not all of the consolidations have been announced at this time, Health Minister Jason Copping indicated one example would be the removal of the province’s source-of-exposure graphic from the government’s website.
UCP Staff Asked to Take Time Off to Campaign
United Conservative political staffers received emails requesting that they take time away from their duties to volunteer on the Premier’s leadership review campaign. Reports suggest the emails were sent by Chiefs of Staff and Ministers, indicating they should volunteer unless they have a critical commitment.
Press Secretary for the premier, Justin Brattinga, responded to the news by saying that it is very common for political staff to take time off for the purposes of political volunteering. He would also confirm that “any staff who do so will be required to take time off” as is mandatory. Opposition leader Rachel Notley suggested that “the staff who have been hired to do the work of the people should be focused on doing that.”
Ammolite Will Become Alberta’s Gemstone
If passed, Bill 6 will officially add another provincial emblem to our collection. The Emblems of Alberta Amendment Act proposes to name ammolite as our province’s official gemstone. Minister Ron Orr indicated the reason ammolite was chosen is due to its unique nature and importance to both the Indigenous population and mining industry.
In a post on the government’s website, Minister Orr indicated there is also economic recognition to be made for ammolite. “Economically, the ammolite industry is important to First Nations and the mining industry. First Nations prospectors have been surface mining this beautiful stone for decades.”