Alberta government to introduce over a dozen new bills as MLAs return Tuesday

In the wake of Monday’s referendum and with less than a year until the next election, Alberta MLAs will return to the legislature early next week for a sitting the government says will emphasize affordability and growing the economy, but one the Opposition says will divide Albertans.

The fall sitting of the second session of Alberta’s 31st legislature will begin Tuesday morning and is scheduled to run 19 sitting days spanning from Oct. 27 to Dec. 3.

On Friday, government house leader Joseph Schow told reporters at the legislature that the province’s United Conservative Party (UCP) government planned for around 14 bills to come over that time.

“Each of these initiatives I’ve laid out are addressing some of the very real concerns that we have heard from Albertans, and I am confident we will have constructive debate that ensures any legislation passed is done with the best interests of Albertans in mind,” he said.

Schow confirmed a number of previously-announced legislative priorities in announcing some of what to expect in the coming weeks.

Relative to health care, Schow said coming legislation would aim to increase oversight of mental health supports as well as updating the provinces’ compassionate intervention program that will begin next year.

On education, new bills will aim to improve student support and also overhaul report cards, a change Schow said was “really about clear and consistent information.”

Plus, more changes are in the works for the provincial auto insurance regime ahead of its roll-out in January, though Schow declined to say if it would include altering the coming no-fault style system to allow for some litigation.

Other new legislation will introduce protections for the development of data centres that Schow said will answer concerns over potential rising residential power bills, managing the electricity grid, and managing the province’s water supply.

“It’s important that as we attract new investment and new technologies into Alberta, being early adopters, that we are being mindful of some of the potential pitfalls.”

As noted in the spring, a new bill regarding roadways and planning is expected to be tabled, with Schow saying it will in part pertain to bike lanes. It may further include regulations of micro-mobility devices such as e-scooters.

The province will also introduce merit-based hiring requirements for the public sector and also consumer protection legislation around defective vehicles and event ticket resales.

Other bills will aim to lower utility bills, protect personal information, increase fines for illegal dumping, bring in harsher penalties for dangerous driving, and boost provincial oversight of licensed child care facilities while also mandating parental notification at such facilities for some incidents.

Schow added that the immigration reforms supported in Monday’s referendum will not yet be introduced in the legislature this fall.

The government has also already taken action on zoning bylaws in Edmonton and Calgary, aimed at managing infill development, through an order-in-council published late Thursday.

Opposition house leader Christina Gray said New Democrats (NDP) plan to introduce private members bills and government motions addressing affordability, healthcare, education, and employment.

She said the government’s agenda was mis-focused, overlooked affordability, and did not deal with continued long wait times in emergency rooms.

“The UCP we see and have seen throughout the entire summer are distracted by culture wars, party infighting, and chasing agendas that don’t match what Albertans want,” she said.

“I heard that the government is interested in continuing to pick fights, more Trump-style politics, and trying to sow division.”

Gray also noted the start of the sitting on Tuesday will coincide with the one-year anniversary of the government invoking the notwithstanding clause to quash a strike by teachers.

“Kids today are still in overclouded classrooms. Kids today still don’t have the schools being built that they need.”

Both parties are also gearing up for an election that is scheduled for next October, beginning with a potential fight over the province’s new electoral map.

In April, the government rejected proposed boundaries recommended by an independent commission and referred to an advisory panel that delivered its report on a new map to a UCP-led committee of MLAs on Thursday.

The committee is slated to meet Wednesday and the new map is required to be tabled in the legislature by Nov. 2.

Schow said he hadn’t yet seen the map and that coming government legislation would be unrelated to next October’s vote.

“Timing is less important in terms of elections, as it is about how it affects Albertans and how it’s going to make their lives better.”

Gray, who is on the electoral boundary committee, said the government’s process was “illegitimate and likely unconstitutional” and accused the UCP of trying to rig the next election.

The NDP said in the spring it was considering legal action over the new map. Gray said Friday that remains on the table though the party wants to see the report and map first.

“The opportunity still exists for the government to reject attempts at gerrymandering and instead bring forward the majority recommendation that came from an extremely fulsome process that happened earlier in the year.”