At a Glance - November 29, 2022
Indigenous Leaders Speak Against Alberta Sovereignty Act
Chiefs of Treaty 6, Treaty 7, and Treaty 8 held a joint press conference to indicate they will stand united against Premier Smith’s proposed Alberta Sovereignty Act and the “Alberta First” agenda. According to a media advisory, they indicate that “the Chiefs of Sovereign Nations Treaty 6, Treaty 7 and Treaty 8 assert their Inherent Rights and Jurisdiction to our lands and territories. We vow to work united against the forthcoming “Alberta Sovereignty Bill” and the “Alberta First Agenda”.
On behalf of the Premier’s Office, Rebecca Polak indicated that “we are committed to ensuring the legislation specifically states nothing within the act is to be construed as abrogating or derogating from any existing Aboriginal and Treaty rights of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada that are recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act 1982.” It was also indicated that Minister Rick Wilson will have discussions with the chiefs on the issue.
Mask Mandates, Online-Only Learning Prohibited in School Settings
Effective November 24th, schools across the province will not be permitted to introduce their own mask mandates nor operate in an online-only fashion. In a public letter to parents, Education Minister Adriana LaGrange indicated that “we have heard first-hand from students, parents, and teachers that learning disruptions over the course of the past couple of years have impacted the mental health and wellbeing of students, significantly impacted learning development, and has placed financial burdens and additional stress on working parents and families.”
In October, the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta had ruled that the provincial government improperly implemented a similar restriction in the previous school year as it was not made through a regulatory change, something that has been done this time around. As respiratory illness season is upon us, schools across the province have been facing significantly high absentee rates, at times impacting more than 20,000 students in Edmonton alone.
Alberta Posts $12.3 Billion Surplus
Our province’s economic recovery continues a strong trend, largely due to strong returns on natural resource royalty revenues. Alberta is forecasting a $12.3 billion surplus, slightly less than the $13 billion projected earlier this year. Total revenues are expected to hit a staggering $76.9 billion, marking a $14.3 billion increase from budgeted projections. The province also indicated that the surplus will drop in the next two fiscal years - $5.6 billion in 2023-24 and $5.3 billion in 2024-25.
Additional details were released about the UCP’s inflation relief package announced on November 22. The total value of the package is now set at $2.8 billion over the course of the next three years. $1.3 billion will be set aside for this fiscal year; $1.2 billion will be used in 2023-24; the remaining $300 million will be used in 2024-25.
Justice Minister Calls for RCMP Firing
Justice Minister Tyler Shandro issued a public statement calling on the federal government to rescind the appointment of RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki. “Over the past two years, commissioner Lucki has failed to deal with the RCMP’s history of systemic racism in a forthright and public manner, and has risked the integrity of an investigation into a mass shooting. Further, as revealed last week, she failed to inform the federal cabinet of all law enforcement options available prior to the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act.”
“I am calling on Minister Mendicino to immediately rescind commissioner Lucki’s appointment. The commissioner of the RCMP must be held to the highest of standards. So far, Minister Mendicino has stood idly by while commissioner Lucki has failed to meet even the most meagre of standards for the past two years. This is an abrogation of the minister’s core responsibility to Canadians and must be rectified before the RCMP’s reputation as Canada’s federal police service is further damaged.”