At a Glance - Week of April 9, 2025
Alberta Signs New Contract with Nurses Union
A new contract has been signed between the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) and Alberta Health Services. The contract term ends in April 2028 and will see an eventual 20 per cent increase in pay for UNA members, with an immediate increase of 15 per cent.
President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance Nate Horner stated that “the Graduate Nursing Transition Pilot Program commits to hiring 1,000 new nursing graduates every year, throughout the term of the contract,” and that “Investment into recruitment for rural and remote areas will triple, to more than $22 million per year, attracting nurses in all communities.”
Private Career College Registry Established to Increase Transparency
Alberta’s Ministry of Advanced Education has created a new Private Career College Registry. The registry will increase the transparency of private career colleges by alerting prospective students about institutions that fail to meet key legislation and licensing requirements.
The government announcement prefaced that the registry “offers a comprehensive list of all licensed vocational training programs in the province, providing key details like program names and duration, cost, location and licence status. The licence status of each program is clearly highlighted with indicators for active, stop order or suspended.”
Mature Energy Asset Management Strategy
The Government of Alberta has released a new Mature Asset Strategy, designed to address oil and gas assets nearing the end of their productive lives. “Supporting the work of cleaning up orphan wells and implementing a new mature asset strategy will complement the efforts that Alberta is already taking to help accelerate the clean up of inactive wells and sites across Alberta.
That said, I am committed to ensuring that no taxpayer dollars go to private companies to clean up their wells,” stated Minister of Energy and Materials Brian Jean. The report compiles recommendations from municipal governments, landowners, Indigenous communities, regulators, producers and industry experts, and will inform implemented regulations in the coming months.
Extended Producer Responsibility
Alberta’s new Extended Producer Responsibility program has come into effect this week. EPR makes producers, not municipalities, pay for recycling costs, pushing them to reduce packaging waste and design more recyclable products. Minister of Environment and Protected Areas Rebecca Schulz stated that the change to EPR “will keep more waste out
of landfills while saving communities and taxpayers money. And we’re doing it without creating more work or costs for Albertans or making them change their recycling habits.”
Resignation of Edmonton-Ellerslie MLA
Rod Loyola, the MLA for Edmonton-Ellerslie, has resigned formed his seat in the Alberta Legislature. First elected in 2015, Loyola was mid-way through his third elected term. Upon his resignation, he declared he had been nominated as a candidate for member of parliament in the federal riding of Edmonton-Gateway. Loyola had sat as a member of the Alberta New Democratic Party; however, he chose instead to run for the Liberal Parry of Canada for the upcoming 2025 Canadian election.
Prime Minister and Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada has since stated that Loyola is “no longer a candidate,” and will not be permitted to run under the Liberal banner. This decision follows the reporting of a video in which Loyola praised Hezbollah and Hamas at an anti-NATO protest in 2009. Both the Liberal Party and Loyola have yet to elaborate further on the matter. A by-election in Edmonton-Ellerslie will be called within the next six months to fill the vacated seat.