Autonomy, Support, and Reform – The 31st Legislature Begins

In a chamber packed to the brim with elected officials, dignitaries, and special guests, a Speech from the Throne officially kickstarted a brand-new term in the Alberta Legislature. New and returning MLAs graced the halls of the Assembly for the first time since June 20th when Speaker Nathan Cooper was re-elected to his position following the end of the most recent campaign.

Government is back in session.

With that being said, it is time for us to dive into the speech delivered by Lieutenant Governor Salma Lakhani as we learn what this new government will prioritize during this first session of a new term. As the title of this article suggests, there are a few key themes that most of the discussion can be focused on.

Autonomy – Provincial Rights

With recent news of a carbon tax carve out implemented for Canadians that use heating oil to warm their homes over the winter – coupled with the recent victory at the Supreme Court of Canada on the Impact Assessment Act – it is unsurprising that provincial rights took a key role in the speech. Specifically, the focus of provincial autonomy centred around our province’s energy sector.

“There are powerful forces in our country, including in the federal government, that believe our province must fundamentally alter our provincial economy and way of life, and that we must do so without delay or concern of cost.”

Given the impact of recent events, it is unsurprising to see the Alberta Government use this opportunity to signal their intent to protect the energy industry in our province. And the province is apparently ready and willing to use a new tool in this fight.

“If the federal government continues down its current path, Alberta’s government will, over the coming months, introduce several motions under the Sovereignty within a United Canada Act detailing provincial initiatives and legislation necessary to protect Albertans from these unconstitutional and harmful policies.”

Over the past few months, Premier Danielle Smith has said that she would be willing to use the Sovereignty Act against the federal government with respect to the proposed clean energy regulations (CERs) coming down the pipe, though she indicated she hoped a motion would not be necessary.

This is the first time the province has suggested that multiple Sovereignty Act motions could come forward.

Support – Affordability and Growth

On a more broad stroke, there was discussion centred on how best to support Albertans – both those currently here and those who will soon arrive. We will see more accurate projections when Budget 2024 is released, however, this week’s speech suggests that Alberta should expect to surpass the 5 million resident threshold within the next 24 months.

“Alberta’s government must set priorities and guide its work through the lens of understanding that by 2050, our province is projected to be the second largest in the country with a population approaching ten million people.”

This led to points about ensuring that our province is ready with the infrastructure (roads, schools, etc.) and technology needed to support such a population.

On the affordability side of support, the speech highlighted items such as interest rates, fuel and electricity costs, as well as insurance premiums. They also addressed the need to keep taxes low to combat affordability which led to reaffirming the commitment to create a new tax bracket and the tabling of Bill 1 (more on that later).

Additionally, they discussed electricity supports. “Over the coming months, Alberta’s government will work collaboratively with industry and consumers on a package of substantive reforms to ensure Albertans have an electricity grid that gives them access to affordable and reliable power and supports the expansion of a power grid that will need to more than double its base load capacity in the coming decades.”

The speech also highlighted the need to modernize the electricity grid and to incentivize energy-efficient technologies such as solar panels.

“Simply put – Albertans will have affordable and reliable electricity when and where they need it. And the province will accomplish all of this while moving towards a carbon-neutral electrical grid by 2050.”

Reform – Policing and Healthcare

The province has signaled their intent to move forward with their proposed compassionate intervention program – a framework designed to force those struggling with mental health and addictions into mandatory support. It will also work towards adding eleven new recovery communities and 10,000 new publicly funded addiction treatment spaces.

While the speech highlighted the intent to bring forward “multiple justice system reforms”, there were no details on what those changes may be. However, the province did indeed signal that it will hire hundreds of new police officers across the province.

On the healthcare side of the coin, the speech highlighted that more needs to be done to address the capacity of our system. We already know Health Minister Adriana LaGrange has the mandate to explore how to decentralize Alberta Health Services; however, no real details were included in the throne speech about what these changes may be. What this does is confirm that the province intends to explore the possible changes early in this new term – not saving it for the next election.

Other Highlights from the Speech

On the subject of economic diversification, the speech reinforced the idea that Alberta will continue to be a leader in the natural resource space, saying that “Alberta will not be content with fourth place” with reference to being one of the largest oil and gas producers in the world. The province will form a cross-ministry working group to explore natural resource development going forward. It also intends to “remove barriers for new Albertans to qualify to work in the jobs our economy most needs…”.

And the province said it will once again balance the budget.

With respect to education, the province acknowledged it needs to significantly expand the number of spaces available in grade school and post-secondary institutions.

“Not only does our province need many more classrooms, teachers, assistants and support staff, we also need more quality educational choices for parents by growing capacity in, and improving the quality of, our public, separate, charter, independent and home-schooling systems.”

Bill 1 - Alberta Taxpayer Protection Amendment Act, 2023

As promised during the spring election, the UCP Government has introduced legislation aimed at keeping taxes low in our province. As written, the bill proposes that governments must hold a referendum prior to introducing legislation to create a provincial sales tax or increase either personal or corporate tax rates.

While that is the gist of what this bill hopes to accomplish, this bill sets itself up to be a problem for a future government that wishes not to be bound by such legislation. While there is nothing in the bill that prohibits a future government from repealing the legislation (should it pass this term), it may be considered a politically unpopular decision for a government to move away from direct democracy on this issue.

There have been criticisms about the proposal citing a need for a government to retain full control of its own fiscal policy; however, there is little reason to suspect this UCP Government will introduce increases to taxes or introduce a PST this term. While it is fair to say a government needs to retain full financial control, this bill can be described as a “political landmine” for a future NDP government rather than substantive legislative change.