December 5, 2024
The fall session in Alberta concluded late Wednesday evening, with 13 Bills passing over five weeks of the sitting. As usual, there was significant activity both inside and outside the Chamber.
Key Legislation:
- Alberta Bill of Rights: Strengthened to protect medical choices, property rights, and legal firearms use.
- Parental Consent and Gender Identity: Addressed issues related to gender-affirming treatment.
- Electoral Boundary Commission: Established to increase electoral divisions from 87 to 89 and clarify factors for drawing new boundaries.
- Access and Privacy Laws: Major upgrade splitting the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act into the Protection of Privacy Act and the Alberta Access to Information Act.
- Dispute Resolution: New Bill to help owners and boards resolve disputes outside of court, including prompt payment rules for public sector construction projects.
These changes, while not headline-grabbing, are crucial for more efficient government programs and systems.
Announcements Outside the Legislative Assembly:
- Auto Insurance: A new ‘care-focused’ system will be in place by January 2027. Establishing a public insurer would cost $3 billion and take years.
- Health Care: Launch of Primary Care Alberta and planned launch of Acute Care Alberta in spring 2025. The Northern Alberta Youth Recovery Centre will be established by modernizing part of the Edmonton Young Offender Centre.
Municipal Announcements:
- Positive Changes:
- Stop Housing Delays Portal: To prevent red tape and speed up home building.
- Affordable Housing Partnership Program: Reopening applications with up to $150 million available.
- Passenger Rail Master Plan: Informed by global best practices.
- Challenges:
- Calgary and Edmonton Metropolitan Region Boards: Membership in these boards will become voluntary.
- Automated Traffic Enforcement: Ending on numbered provincial highways, restricted to school, playground, and construction zones. Intersection safety devices will only enforce red light violations.
AIMCo Restructuring:
- Chaired by the Right Honourable Stephen J. Harper, with new board members and the Deputy Minister of Treasury Board and Finance as a permanent member. Ray Gilmour, former Deputy Minister for Executive Council, appointed as interim CEO.
Legal Challenges:
- The provincial government announced a legal challenge to the federally amended Impact Assessment Act, adding to a series of ongoing challenges by Alberta, including those related to the federal firearms ban, Emergencies Act, the plastics ban, Fertilizer Act, and the carbon tax exemption on home heating oil.
AI Data Centre Strategy:
- A new strategy, “Powering the Future of Artificial Intelligence,” outlines opportunities for Alberta in the global AI landscape, focusing on power capacity, sustainability, and economic growth.
Overall, the fall session was highly active, impacting many areas of government and the economy.
We’re Here to Help
For more information and insights about what these developments mean for Alberta’s political landscape, please contact:
Rick Fraser -Senior Strategy Advisor
rick@prairieskystrategy.ca
403.701.7584
Whitney Issik – Senior Strategy Advisor
whitney@prairieskystrategy.ca
403.815.2582
Dan Nielsen – Senior Strategy Advisor
dan@prairieskystrategy.ca
780.235.7625
Colleen Potter – Senior Strategy Advisor
colleen@prairieskystrategy.ca
587.500.2336
Mat Steppan – Vice-President
mat@prairieskystrategy.ca
780.236.1543
Jeff Sterzuk – President
jeff@prairieskystrategy.ca
403.612.1724
Ben Thibault – Senior Strategy Advisor
ben@prairieskystrategy.ca
587.897.6261
Richard Truscott – Vice-President
richard@prairieskystrategy.ca
403.998.0494
To learn more about Prairie Sky Strategy, please visit our website.
