Alberta Votes 2019: The week so far- jobs, oil and gas and cracking down on crime

Alberta’s political parties are in full-on campaign mode as Election Day approaches on April 16th. Each day the parties release information about their policies and platforms, candidate information and reactions to the day’s news. It can be difficult to try and keep up with it all, so from now until the election we’ll regularly compile information released by the parties and present the main points here.

For more information, click on party names to visit campaign websites.

(Parties listed in alphabetical order)

Alberta Party

Alberta Party announces plans to invest in new technology material sciences and bitumen pucks and create jobs from Alberta’s oil and gas resources.

“As Wayne Gretzky once said, you have to skate to where the puck is going. Passively sitting around and hoping the market works is yesterday’s approach. We need to aggressively get in the game and make big moves to generate more refining and petrochemical processing here in Alberta.”

Stephen Mandel – Leader of the Alberta Party

An Alberta Party government will energize the development of refining and petrochemical processing, creating more value within the province and thousands of good jobs for Albertans.

Supporting the Development of CanaPux

● Commonly referred to as bitumen pucks, CanaPux are developed by CN and Wapahki Energy, owned by Heart Lake First Nation (approximately 300 km northeast of Edmonton).

● The technology converts bitumen into a solid puck product that is capable of being exported by rail or other methods (rather than pipeline).
● This is a potential revolution for Alberta’s oil sands industry — one that enables Albertans to realize the full value of their resources by avoiding pipeline politics.
● An Alberta Party government will expedite approvals for the pilot facility and contribute financial support for one-third of the pilot ($16.7 million).

Increasing the Alberta Innovates budget with a focus on material sciences.
● Alberta Innovates contributes to the creation of new industries in Alberta and strengthens existing ones. It diversifies the economy and creates jobs and increases exports.
● Alberta Innovates currently funds research that focuses on turning bitumen into products other than gas, diesel and other fuels such as asphalt, vanadium batteries, plastics and carbon fibre.
● The development of these alternatives is a long term approach that will help to increase demand for our resources, create jobs, lower our exposure to global oil prices, and help diversify our economy.
● The NDP have reduced the Alberta Innovates budget going from $288M in 2018-19 to $244M in 2020-21.
● An Alberta Party government will not only reverse those cuts but increase the total Alberta Innovates budget by 30% to $375M by 2020-21 and direct the additional funds to a rapid expansion of research into new uses for our resources.

Expanding Refining in Alberta
● Once Phase 1 is proven out, an Alberta Party government will support construction of Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the Sturgeon Refinery.
● This helps Alberta expand its refining capacity, creating more value here in the province and creating thousands of skilled jobs for Albertans.
● An Alberta Party government will expedite the review of necessary approvals and expand its Bitumen Royalty in Kind (BRIK) program.
● Construction of both Phase 2 and 3 have a combined total construction expenditure of an estimated $18.0 billion which will result in an increase in GDP of $16.0 billion, and create 140,000 person-years of employment.
● Once construction is complete, the additional the two phases will increase GDP by an average of $5 billion per year, and result in an estimated 13,000 additional jobs per year.

Energizing Petrochemical Processing
● To stimulate petrochemical processing in the province, an Alberta Party government will establish a Gas Royalty in Kind program that takes a similar approach to the Bitumen Royalty in Kind program.
● This will have the Government of Alberta take a portion of its natural gas royalties “in kind” rather than in cash. This will enable the government to market the natural gas in ways that stimulate gas processing and petrochemical plant expansions in the province.
● An Alberta Party government will also establish Alberta’s petrochemical diversification program as a 10 year program, rather than the NDP’s unpredictable annual program. This would provide stability and certainty to the market, helping attract more investment.
● The petrochemical diversification program will also be adjusted to move from a royaltycredit to a more efficient subsidy program.

NDP

Rachel Notley pledges to expand heavy-load roads and build new access highway to Fort McMurray, creating 7,500 jobs.

“We will never forget the sight of families fleeing out of the city on Highway 63 while flames licked at the trucks and cars. It was one of the scariest moments of people’s lives,” said Notley. “Fort McMurray needs a second route out and we will get it done. We will keep families safe and help people sleep a little easier a night.”

Rachel Notley – Leader of the New Democratic Party of Alberta

Under Notley’s plan, the government would expand the Alberta High Load Corridor, a 6,500 kilometre network of designated routes across Alberta that can accommodate heavy loads with heights of up to 12.8 meters and weights of up 800 tonnes.

The High Load Corridor is considered among the very best in North America, giving Alberta industry a distinct competitive advantage. The six-year, $1.35-billion expansion would:
• Add 3,500 kilometres, for a new total of 10,000 kilometres.
• Create 7,500 construction jobs.
• Support northern industrial development, with specific benefits for oil and gas.
• Extend and improve the network in southern Alberta, with specific benefits for the renewable energy industry as more, larger wind turbines are transported.
• Maintain roughly 150,000 oversized/overweight permits issued annually.

Notley’s plan to expand the High Load Corridor builds on previous announcements such as the Highway 40, Highway 43X bypass and the Vinca Bridge. The Vinca Bridge will shorten trips from the Industrial Heartland to Fort McMurray by 200 kilometres, saving industry $10,000 per trip. Industrial stakeholders including heavy haul carriers, oil sands developers, pre-fabricated home builders, and municipalities have been consulted by the Government of Alberta.

A New Way Out. For a Safer Fort McMurray.
Rachel Notley is committed to building a secondary access highway in Fort McMurray, which would ease congestion, improve access, and boost safety throughout the region. The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo formally endorsed the East Clearwater Highway project in 2016 as the preferred option to respond to recommendations from the Fort McMurray fire and build a new evacuation route for all communities between Anzac and Fort McKay. The Government of Alberta has invested $5 million into pre-design and planning.
Consultations will be held with Indigenous peoples, municipalities, industry, and area residents.

More processing, upgrading and refining. Made-In-Alberta.
The International Energy Agency forecasts that global demand growth for petroleum products in the coming decades will be strongest in the petrochemical and aviation fuel sectors. Alberta has the potential to seize tens of billions in global petrochemical, upgrading and refining investment over the next decade, but it will not happen on its own. Rachel Notley’s Made-in-Alberta plan to significantly increase the volume of oil and gas that is processed, upgraded or refined in Alberta before it’s exported. Notley’s plan has already attracted $12.6 billion in private investment and created over 11,700 direct jobs.

2030 target and strategic goals:
• Secure $75 billion in mid-to-downstream private capital investment and 70,000 jobs.
• Double Alberta’s current petrochemical production within established methane and ethane value chains.
• Leverage the emerging propane value chain currently under development to attract tertiary manufacturing facilities.
• Capture more value from liquid rich natural gas produced in Alberta and B.C. by incenting new infrastructure connections between Alberta’s four value-added industrial clusters (Heartland, Red Deer, Grande Prairie and Medicine Hat), and emerging coastal Liquefied Natural Gas export terminals in B.C.
• Leverage the commercialization of new partial upgrading technologies to unlock more refining markets in the U.S. and globally to meet growing demand for aviation fuel and low-sulphur marine fuel. Export up to 30 per cent more bitumen on available pipeline space.

UCP

UCP outlines plans to tackle growing crime wave.

“We will do everything within our power to stop the revolving door in our justice system, and to keep Albertans safe.”

The UCP has promised more judges, more prosecutors and stronger laws part of a plan to tackle Alberta’s growing crime wave.

Kenney cited statistics that reveal a growing crime problem in Alberta:

Auto theft is way up and Alberta leads the country in auto-theft—at three times the national average with 62 stolen vehicles per day, on average.¹ The Alberta Motor Association says there has been a 32% increase in vehicle thefts since 2014². 29% percent of all vehicle thefts in Canada happen in Alberta, according to Statistics Canada³
By 2018, the rural crime rate in some communities rose by 250% compared with 2011.⁴They included communities such as Innisfail and Bonnyville where property break-ins were up 94% and up by 133% respectively between 2016 and 2017.⁵
In 2018, Edmonton Police Service reported⁶)that since 2015, assaults were up 11%; property crimes were up 13%, and sexual assault incidents were up 17%.
In 2018, Calgary Police services reported⁷ that over the last five years there was a 6% increase in property crimes, a 25%increase in financial robberies, a 26.3% increase in sex offences, a 27.6% increase in robberies, and a 35.9% total increase in assault crimes.⁸
Maclean’s reported last November that 7 of the top 10 cities in their Canada’s Most Dangerous Places 2019 ranking (based on 5-year change in crime severity index) are from Alberta.⁹

Kenney stated a United Conservative Party government will hire 50 new prosecutors and support staff, a $10 million investment.

Kenney also announced that a UCP government will boost funding by $20 million over four years (69 percent) to the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT), who deal with children’s exploitation, domestic violence, stalking, and gang issues, among others. The $20 million funding increase will:

Double ALERT’s funding for its sub-unit, the Integrated Child Exploitation (ICE) unit that tracks, arrests and prosecutes child pornographers
Double the funding for its sub-unit, the Integrated Threat and Risk Assessment (I-TRAC) unit, the police unit that helps combat domestic violence and stalking
Create a new Opioid Enforcement Team

A UCP government will also work with ALERT to obtain a charitable foundation (akin to the Calgary and Edmonton Police foundations) which can then attract additional funds from the private donors.

Kenney also promised that under a UCP government Albertans would know the truth about crime in their province.

“We will pass the Public’s Right to Know Act. This bill will require an annual report to the legislature containing detailed provincial crime statistics.”

A UCP government would also replace the Parole Board of Canada with an Alberta Parole Board for offenders serving sentences of under two years.

And because crime victims can often fall through the cracks, a UCP government will also conduct an immediate review of the current model of victim service delivery, victim assistance funding, and victim compensation to ensure optimal assistance to victims of crime.

A UCP government would also invest $5 million to increase access to Drug Treatment Courts as an effective way of helping drug addicts to leave the cycle of crime and addiction through treatment, testing, incentives, sanctions and social support.

The responsibility for law enforcement is shared with the federal government. A UCP government will therefore also negotiate with the federal government (and with other provinces as necessary) to:

Secure additional Queen’s Bench justice appointments to reduce the backlog in superior courts.
Ensure that Grande Prairie be given its own Queen’s Bench.
Develop and put in place a specific Repeat Offender Policy.
Ensure the return of criminals who have fled to other provinces, to face justice in Alberta. (According to Alberta police forces, flight-across-borders has become a critical problem given the number of jurisdictions involved, especially in western Canada.)
Review current Criminal Code sentencing principles to ensure that in rural crime offences, specific facts be considered by a sentencing court as aggravating factors, and that the principles of deterrence and denunciation be prioritized.”

In 2018, the UCP released its Alberta Rural Crime Strategy, calling for a provincially regulated police response system linking all enforcement agencies to pursue the relatively small number of organised, repeat offenders who are responsible for most rural crime.

Up Next

5 Golf Prizes will be won this weekend! Ticket sales close Sunday, April 7!!

Don't Miss

More media downsizing hits Central Alberta as 25 are laid off from Red Deer Advocate

Lindsey Lubkey

Follow Author

Australia Has Lost a Cricket Legend – Shane Warne

Sports / 2 years ago

Pia Babnik excited to defend individual title in Jeddah finale of Aramco Team Series

Sports / 2 years ago

The 2022 Olympics Are Over – Here’s What You Need to Know

Alberta

Red Deer Doctor critical of Alberta’s COVID response to submit report to Danielle Smith this May

Published on April 24, 2024

Todayville

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

Leading the task force is Dr. Gary Davidson, who was skeptical of mandates at the time.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith will soon be receiving a little-known report she commissioned which tasked an Alberta doctor who was critical of the previous administration’s handling of COVID to look into how accurate the province’s COVID data collection was, as well as the previous administration’s decision-making process and effectiveness.

As noted in a recent Globe and Mail report, records it obtained show that just less than one month after becoming Premier of Alberta in November of 2022, Smith tasked then-health minister Jason Copping to create the COVID data task force.

Documents show that the Alberta government under Smith gave the new task force, led by Dr. Gary Davidson – who used to work as an emergency doctor in Red Deer, Alberta – a sweeping mandate to look at whether the “right data” was obtained during COVID as well as to assess the “integrity, validity, reliability and quality of the data/information used to inform pandemic decisions” by members of Alberta Health Services (AHS).

As reported by LifeSiteNews in 2021, Davidson said during the height of COVID that the hospital capacity crisis in his province was “created,” was not a new phenomenon, and had nothing to do with COVID.

“We have a crisis, and we have a crisis because we have no staff, because our staff quit, because they’re burned out, they’re not burnt out from COVID,” Davidson said at the time.

Davidson also claimed that the previous United Conservative Party government under former Premier Jason Kenney had been manipulating COVID statistics.

In comments sent to the media, Smith said that in her view it was a good idea to have a “contrarian perspective” with Davidson looking at “everything that happened with some fresh eyes.”

“I needed somebody who was going to look at everything that happened with some fresh eyes and maybe with a little bit of a contrarian perspective because we’ve only ever been given one perspective,” she told reporters Tuesday.

“I left it to [Davidson] to assemble the panel with the guidance that I would like to have a broad range of perspectives.”

After assuming her role as premier, Smith promptly fired the province’s top doctor, Deena Hinshaw, and the entire AHS board of directors, all of whom oversaw the implementation of COVID mandates.

Under Kenney, thousands of nurses, doctors, and other healthcare and government workers lost their jobs for choosing to not get the jabs, leading Smith to say – only minutes after being sworn in – that over the past year the “unvaccinated” were the “most discriminated against” group of people in her lifetime.

As for AHS, it still is promoting the COVID shots, for babies as young as six months old, as recently reported by LifeSiteNews.

Task force made up of doctors both for and against COVID mandates

In addition to COVID skeptic Dr. Gary Davidson, the rather secretive COVID task force includes other health professionals who were critical of COVID mandates and health restrictions, including vaccine mandates.

The task force was given about $2 million to conduct its review, according to The Globe and Mail, and is completely separate from another task force headed by former Canadian MP Preston Manning, who led the Reform Party for years before it merged with another party to form the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada.

Manning’s task force, known as the Public Health Emergencies Governance Review Panel (PHEGRP), released its findings last year. It recommend that many pro-freedom policies be implemented, such as strengthening personal medical freedoms via legislation so that one does not lose their job for refusing a vaccine, as well as concluding that Albertans’ rights were indeed infringed upon.

The Smith government task force is run through the Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) which is a provincial agency involved in healthcare research.

Last March, Davidson was given a project description and terms of reference and was told to have a final report delivered to Alberta’s Health Minister by December of 2023.

As of now, the task force’s final report won’t be available until May, as per Andrea Smith, press secretary to Health Minister Adriana LaGrange, who noted that the goal of the task force is to look at Alberta’s COVID response compared to other provinces.

According to the Globe and Mail report, another person working on the task force is anesthetist Blaine Achen, who was part of a group of doctors that legally challenged AHS’s now-rescinded mandatory COVID jab policy for workers.

Some doctors on the task force, whom the Globe and Mail noted held “more conventional views regarding the pandemic,” left it only after a few meetings.

In a seeming attempt to prevent another draconian crackdown on civil liberties, the UCP government under Smith has already taken concrete action.

The Smith government late last year passed a new law, Bill 6, or the Public Health Amendment Act, that holds politicians accountable in times of a health crisis by putting sole decision-making on them for health matters instead of unelected medical officers.

Alberta

Alberta’s baby name superstar steals the show again

Published on April 24, 2024

Government of Alberta

Olivia and Noah continue to reign as top baby names in 2023.

Olivia and Noah are once again topping the lists in Alberta, highlighting the enduring appeal of the names. Olivia maintains a record setting streak as the most popular girls name in Alberta for the 11th year in a row, while Noah remains top pick for boys’ names for a fifth consecutive year.

“Congratulations to those who welcomed a new addition to their family in 2023. Bringing a child into the world is a truly momentous occasion. Whether the name you chose was in the top 10 or one of a kind, these names are only the beginning of the endless possibilities that lie ahead for each child. I look forward to supporting this generation by ensuring Alberta remains a place where they can thrive.”

Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction

In choosing names for their new arrivals, parents appear to have found inspiration in a variety of places. Some parents may have been inspired by plants like Ivy, Rose, Juniper, Poppy, Azalea or in nature like Wren, River, Meadow and Flora.

Others may have taken a literary approach with names like Bennett, Sawyer, Juliet and Atticus or been inspired by notable names from religious texts like Eve, Noah, Mohammed and Gabriel.

As always, popular culture may have had an influence through famous musicians (Aretha, Lennon, Presley, Hendrix), athletes (Beckham, Crosby, Evander), and even fairytale princesses (Tiana, Jasmine, Aurora, Ariel, Belle).

Quick facts

A total of 47,263 births were registered in Alberta in 2023
Notable changes to the early 2020s lists:

Evelyn rose to seventh place on the girls’ names list after tying for 19th place in 2022.
Emily returned to the top 10 list for girls after taking a short break in 2021 and 2022 after a 10-year stretch in the top 10 that started in 2010.
Violet has cracked the top 10 list for the first time in at least four decades, tying with Ava and Emily in ninth place.
The top 10 boys’ names remain the same as last year but with a slight change in order.

Historically, girls’ names that held the No. 1 spot for the longest consecutive time period include:

Olivia: 11 years (2013-2023)
Jessica: six years (1990-1995)
Emily: five years (1998-2002)

Historically, boys’ names that held the No. 1 spot for the longest consecutive time period include:

Ethan: nine years (2001-2009)
Liam: seven years (2010-2016)
Matthew: five years (1995-1999)
Noah: five years (2019-2023)

Parents have up to one year to register their child’s birth. As a result, the list of 2023 baby names and birth statistics may change slightly.

Boys’ names and frequency – top 10 names 2018-23

(In brackets is the number of babies with each name)

Place	Boy Names (2023)	Boy Names (2022)	Boy Names (2021)	Boy Names (2020)	Boy Names (2019)	Boy Names (2018)
1	Noah (276)	Noah (229)	Noah (274)	Noah (239)	Noah (275)	Liam (225)
2	Liam (181)	Liam (176)	Jack (220)	Oliver (229)	Liam (234)	Oliver (212)
3	Oliver (178)	Theodore (173)	Oliver (208)	Liam (206)	Oliver (225)	Noah (199)
4	Theodore (173)	Oliver (172)	Liam (198)	Benjamin (182)	Ethan (213)	Ethan (188)
5	Jack (153)	Jack (159)	Theodore (191)	William (178)	Jack (198)	Logan (182) Lucas (182)
6	Henry (146)	William (146)	William (174)	Jack (169)	William (185)	Jacob (181)
7	Lucas (140)	Benjamin (138)	Ethan (162)	Lucas (163)	Lucas (174)	William (178)

Girls’ names and frequency – top 10 names 2018-2023

(In brackets is the number of babies with each name)

Place	Girl Names (2023)	Girl Names (2022)	Girl Names (2021)	Girl Names (2020)	Girl Names (2019)	Girl Names (2018)
1	Olivia (210)	Olivia (192)	Olivia (210)	Olivia (236)	Olivia (229)	Olivia (235)
2	Amelia (145)	Sophia (152)	Charlotte (166)	Emma (184)	Charlotte (188)	Emma (230)
3	Sophia (138)	Emma (149)	Ava (165)	Charlotte (161)	Sophia (181)	Charlotte (175)
4	Charlotte (135)	Amelia (133)	Emma (164)	Ava (159)	Emma (178)	Emily (164)
5	Emma (133)	Harper (125)	Amelia (161)	Sophia (151)	Ava (161)	Ava (161)
6	Isla (120)	Charlotte (117)	Sophia (137)	Amelia (145)	Amelia (159)	Abigail (153)
7	Evelyn (114)	Ava (115)	Isla (135)	Isla (133)	Emily (150)	Harper (150)
8	Chloe (101) Violet (101)	Isla (101)	Abigail (120) Chloe (120)	Emily (127)	Abigail (141)	Sophia (146)
9	Ava (99) Emily (99)	Lily (100)	Evelyn (119)	Lily (123)	Hannah (137)	Amelia (145)
10	Hannah (98) Hazel (98)	Chloe (92)	Aria (112)	Abigail (114)	Elizabeth (124)	Elizabeth (130)

Related information

Alberta’s top baby names
Baby boy names registered in Alberta
Baby girl names registered in Alberta
Frequency and ranking of baby names by year and sex (dating back to 1980)

Energy2 days ago

Anti-LNG activists have decided that they now actually care for LNG investors after years of calling to divest

Energy2 days ago

Reflections on Earth Day

International2 days ago

UN attacks stay-at-home motherhood as ‘gender inequality’

Housing2 days ago

Trudeau’s 2024 budget could drive out investment as housing bubble continues

2024 City Councilor By-Election2 days ago

Chad Krahn wins City Council by-election: Official results Friday

Alberta2 days ago

Alberta government should create flat 8% personal and business income tax rate in Alberta

Censorship Industrial Complex1 day ago

Desperate Liberals move to stop MPs from calling Trudeau ‘corrupt’

National2 days ago

Low and middle income Canadians hit hardest by high marginal effective tax rates

Todayville

Alberta Votes 2019: The week so far- jobs, oil and gas and cracking down on crime

Alberta