Fall Session Preview - A Change in Direction for Political Survival?
With the whirlwind that was the alleged “best summer ever”, it is easy to forget that MLAs will be returning to the Legislature on October 25th to kick off fall sittings that are currently scheduled to run until December 2nd. The Chamber has been adjourned since the summer break began on June 16th; however, there has not been a lack of political action or news coming from the provincial government. This article does not propose to engage in retrospective reflection, so we will save that discussion for another issue of The NEWS.
The fall sittings are scheduled to run for 20 days, but this government has demonstrated no fear in extending session to handle legislative business (the fall sittings of 2020 ran for 25 days which may be a more accurate prediction for what is to come this year).
Political observers have been keenly aware that when the last session ended, Government House Leader Jason Nixon suggested that it was likely that the current session would be prorogued. This means a few things: all unfinished business on the Order Paper would be wiped clean, there would be a brand-new speech from the throne, and prorogation effectively acts as a political and legislative ‘reset’ without an election being necessary. Despite previous notions of a prorogation, it appears that plans may have shifted.
There is good reason to believe that this government may elect to use the fall sittings as a continuation of the existing session rather than start afresh later this month. Two pieces of evidence point to this being a strong possibility: outstanding business from the current session remains on the Order Paper and the Legislature’s standing committees continue to operate. While it needs to be understood that politics is an incredibly dynamic organism that can be reshaped in a moment’s notice, these are good indicators of what this government’s plans could be.
Ultimately, what does it matter if the government continues the current session or starts afresh? Does government business not get handled regardless?
The short answer is ‘it is complicated’.
The long answer is that there is a fair amount of strategy involved in this particular hypothetical that Premier Jason Kenney is acutely aware of. Regardless of one’s thoughts and opinions of him, Premier Kenney is a parliamentarian to the core and is well aware of both the tools available to him and the consequences of their use. Ultimately, it may actually be in the premier’s personal best interest to continue session and not employ a strategy used by our two most recent prime ministers.
Should the Assembly be prorogued, it would be the premier’s responsibility to write a new throne speech for Lieutenant Governor Salma Lakhani to read on October 25th. While there is a significant amount of pomp and circumstance involved in a throne speech, the spectacle is much more than a nice ceremony to signal a government’s good intentions. There are political consequences that follow – primarily a confidence vote.
While it is not expected that such a vote would topple the UCP Government as it still enjoys a strong majority in the house, confidence votes allow for mostly free-flowing debate on any topic referenced in the speech. It is the opposition’s job to go through the contents and identify what the government plans to do, how it plans to do it, and to critique and offer their input into what ought to have been included from their perspective. As always, context is critical (especially in this circumstance).
Over the course of 2021, we have seen dissent growing within the UCP Caucus which seems to be worsening. Most Albertans remember the very public letter tabled by a now-independent member which resulted in the expulsion of MLAs Todd Loewen and Drew Barnes from the United Conservatives.
“Hindsight has proven this to be only the tip of the iceberg as Premier Kenney is facing mounting pressure from both his party and constituency associations, including the recent decision to accelerate the party’s leadership review which is currently set for April 8-9, 2022. ”
Recently, some MLAs, including Deputy Speaker Angela Pitt, have expressed their concerns with the premier’s leadership and handling of the COVID-19 crisis.
"The answer to that question (if she has confidence in Jason Kenney’s leadership) is no, I don't. And I don't think my constituents do either."
A decision to not prorogue the Legislature is a decision that does two things: gives Premier Kenney an opportunity to retain a bit more control over his political opponents and avoids a confidence vote. We should reiterate that we do not yet know if this is the direction the Premier will go, but the evidence outlined above points to a continuation of session as a logical possibility.
Shifting focus away from Premier Kenney, the promise of a new sitting also brings with it the promise of new legislation being tabled. At the time of writing, only Bill 49 – Labour Mobility Act remains on the Order Paper. There are many rumblings in circulation that the UCP intends to make this fall a very legislation heavy sitting, another reason we believe MLAs will sit past December 2nd.
While we do not have a list at the ready, there are a few pieces of legislation that Alberta could see based on what is publicly available.
Extended Producer Responsibility
During the last fall sittings, Spruce Grove-Stony Plain MLA Searle Turton tabled Motion 510 which proposed that the government “examine the feasibility of implementing measures such as extended producer responsibility that balance the environmental and economic needs of Albertans.” As the motion was passed unanimously, the province has been undergoing research into how this could become reality.
In a nutshell, EPR would require that producers be responsible for the environmental costs that a product requires throughout it’s life cycle. This includes the disposal and recycling costs of the product in question.
“While this would be an important step in the process, the real changes would come in the form of regulatory amendments that could impact disposal and recycling across the province. With that said, anytime legislation is re-opened, there is opportunity to make additional changes to an act.”
The first thing that would need to happen is Minister of Environment and Parks, Jason Nixon, would need to table an amendment to the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act which would allow for the necessary changes to be put in motion.
Personal Information Protection Act Update
We live in an everchanging digital world which has transcended the scope of many now-outdated pieces of legislation governing privacy rights. The provincial government is currently working with the private sector to discuss potential changes in an effort to better protect user data, including changes to the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) which has not seen a significant update since 2010.
As of September, the province is looking at the issues of data portability and deletion, privacy management programs, privacy impact assessments, and the role of service providers. They are also looking at the de-identification of data, information sharing frameworks, and the data economy.
It is of little surprise that Service Alberta Minister Nate Glubish has been spearheading these efforts. He has made it well known since taking office that one of his main priorities during his term is to modernize the whole-of-government. While these updates may be more likely to be tabled during the spring sittings, we could see some changes arrive this fall depending on how far along the process Service Alberta is and how long it takes to draft.
Post-Secondary Changes
Finally, we know the United Conservatives have spent considerable time working on the post-secondary education file here in Alberta. While the province started making changes prior to the pandemic (some of which have been postponed or rolled back), the crown jewel of the province’s vision for higher education is the Alberta 2030: Building Skills for Jobs strategy. There are numerous items in the document that will require changes to be made such as the new micro-credential program and the expansion of work-integrated learning.
While there is nothing concrete saying changes are coming during this upcoming sitting, there is potential for the government to open the Post-Secondary Act in order to table an omnibus bill which would include these changes (and potentially more).