This week in AB: November 29, 2024
It was a big week for Danielle Smith, at least.
Notes from Question Period
For the week:
In committee, MLAs voted to boost the monthly housing allowance for out-of-Edmonton members by $170, retroactively from January 2024, and into the future.
“I think everyone knows that there’s such a thing as reimbursement of expenses, and you have to be able to have a policy to reimburse those, especially in this job where the vast majority of MLAs come from outside of Edmonton.” Danielle Smith, Hansard, pg. 2162; 11/27/2024
$2,200 a month for people who make over $100,000/year, and only have to be in Edmonton 12-15 weeks of the year, but rent or purchase second residences anyway.
I know the argument — they have to sign leases. Try telling your boss that you don’t like staying in a hotel for the few weeks each year you have to meet in person, and need a year-long housing allowance instead so you can have something that’s more “homey”, or your “own”, and let me know how it goes.
With that being said, if your employer also allows you and your colleagues to pay yourselves more without having to show up cap in hand, let me know where to send my resume.
The NDP used the increase as a segue to affordability for Albertans who can’t just hold a meeting to increase their income today, tomorrow, and for the past 10 months (unless they have a union; heyoooo).
Namely, the fact that Alberta has the highest rates on insurance and inflation in the country. While the NDP also brought up utilities, electricity rates vary, and Alberta’s have been hovering under the national average in recent months.
Smith said that Albertans are already better off because they live in the low tax paradise they do.
I challenged this idea back in July by using in an identical grocery order at a local Walmart in every province, changing my delivery address to get PST or HST included in the total. Oddly enough, my order was least expensive in Quebec (where they have the highest HST added to taxable items).
St. John’s, Newfoundland was most expensive, but rounding out the top three was my hometown of Strathmore, Alberta, followed by Calgary. I found it especially strange that the totals were so similar in Vernon, B.C., Saskatoon, S.K., and Winnipeg, M.B. — all lower than Alberta.
If you’re new here, I am a firm believer that “the Alberta Advantage” belongs to businesses because they can profit from the margin that would be a PST/HST in other provinces but does not exist here.
Government whip Shane Getson, MLA for Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland, used his member’s statement on November 27 to “clear up” confusion around the purposefully misleading term, “no fault” insurance.
It’s not “no-fault”.
More accurately, but less marketable, it’s “insurance companies will no longer accept full liability when you, the ‘insured’, are at fault.” Which is probably fair because the only reason most of carry insurance is we know that one day, we’re just going to want to cause some extreme damage with our vehicle and we sleep better knowing someone else will pick up the tab when we do. Hopefully the sarcasm isn’t too subtle.
The province launched a website with a canned list of questions and answers about the new “Care-First” model that focus almost exclusively on the cost and very little on the value.
My favourite has to be the following, which only makes sense if you can manage to convince yourself that Alberta didn’t have a “competitive market” of private delivery for decades before the government intervened.
Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA Justin Wright tabled an “article to point to the truth around our opposition leader in Ottawa, who is actually now going to be able to talk about foreign interference because he was given clearance.”
Takeaways
tackling affordability challenges is so much easier when you can just hold a vote with your colleagues and pay yourselves more
inflation is only a problem if you can blame a Liberal government
the UCP has bought itself two years on implementing public liability insurance by bribing insurance companies with our money
we’re getting public insurance; the UCP just needs some time to find the right way to say that government provides services private industry cannot profit from, without admitting they sell off profitable government services because they don’t want the public to profit
Incoming President Donald Trump says there will be no tariff exemption on oil and gas
Danielle Smith is sympathetic. Alberta will be creating a provincial border patrol to make sure no contraband exits the province. Actually, I think she said more information on that would be coming soon, but I heard Trump yell “dance!” and her playlist was already set to '“repeat”.
Energy Minister Brian Jean hasn’t yet bragged that oil and gas will pay for that, too, but I imagine he’s just biting his tongue until the NDP asks.
Another possibility I’ve seen floated is that Smith mobilizes the staff but gets the federal government to chalk it up under defence spending. Win/win.
It’s hard to complain about swift action; no one wants a massive economic depression to hit the country, or the province, and Alberta decided long ago that it would rely on the goodwill of a foreign entity for our economic benefit.
Takeaways
Smith is doing something, and no, she’s not on “Team Canada”
the probability of Smith getting her MAGA merch signed when she goes to Trump’s inauguration is increasing
Smith’s first test of Alberta’s sovereignty
Aside from the whole “we’re going to champion government insurance” thing, Danielle Smith is having a fantastic week.
She gets to put herself on Donald Trump’s radar before his inauguration, thumb her nose at Canada and the Liberal government, and dump a barrel of oil over her head to remind everyone exactly why a libertarian wanted to lead government.
Smith says that through the use of the Sovereignty (Within a United Canada) Act, the Alberta government will now take over approval of any and all access to oil and gas facilities, ownership of their regulatory data, and prohibit oil and gas companies from disclosing emissions data to anyone other than the Alberta government, and the federal government will have to take her to court if they don’t like it.
It’s a Christmas miracle for everyone who thinks government overreach is a bad thing!
Alberta’s oil and gas industry, a global commodity that has absolutely no power on the world stage, is probably on edge over this. As much as they might like to refuse to provide data required by the federal govt, they are responsible for providing it to the level of government that has regulatory authority. That’s the feds, in case anyone believes Smith’s fantasy that the Sovereignty Act means anything outside of separatist daydreams.
Industry, word has it, was not consulted; probably because libertarians never have to worry if their actions affect others.
Takeaways
oil and gas is in a tough spot; they are beholden to the feds, as well as governments outside of Canada, and the rules they have in place for imports, but they know their biggest supporters are here at home. It’s unlikely they’ll weigh in on the record.
Timing is still on Smith’s side; by the time this would reach the court, Poilievre will be Prime Minister. Undoubtedly, he will remove the emissions cap, and withdraw any challenge from the federal government, leaving the true believers feeling like it’s powerful legislation.
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