Poll suggests fighting Ottawa is a political winner for Danielle Smith and the UCP

IT'S WORKED SINCE THE DIRTY THIRTIES UNDER BIBLE BILL ABERHART AND SOCIAL CREDIT ONE PARTY RULE TILL 1970

CBC
Wed, May 29, 2024 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in Ottawa last year. A new CBC News poll finds that standing up to the federal government matters a lot to Albertans who approve of the governing UCP. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press - image credit)


EDITOR'S NOTE: CBC News commissioned this public opinion research in April, leading into the first anniversary of the United Conservative Party's general election win last May. The poll offers insight into how Albertans feel about Danielle Smith's UCP government and the Opposition NDP.

As with all polls, this one provides a snapshot in time.

This analysis is one in a series of articles from this research.


Danielle Smith's critics often charge the Alberta premier's constant battle with Ottawa wastes time and resources, ignores federal benefits and even backfires.

But it works from a purely political perspective — keeping United Conservative (UCP) supporters happy — according to recent CBC News polling.

"There is a real close tie between being satisfied with how the UCP government is dealing with the federal government and liking the government," said Janet Brown, who conducted the survey for CBC News.

Using a statistical analysis that estimates the relationships between policy and supporting the government, CBC's polling data predicts what issues drive overall support for the governing UCP.

Imagine all the polling data flowing through statistical software simultaneously to mathematically sort out the most meaningful — or statistically significant — issues driving satisfaction with the provincial government. The modelling reveals which issues predict the overall approval of the UCP government.

Despite the sustained controversy surrounding invoking its contentious Sovereignty Act to beat back federal clean energy regulation, floating an unpopular Alberta-only pension plan and establishing a provincial police force, analysis of the polling shows that standing up to the federal government matters a lot in the minds of Albertans who strongly or somewhat approve of the governing UCP. After honesty, it's the second biggest issue predicting support for the UCP.

Smith's constant barrage against Ottawa is a winning issue with UCP supporters, helping the governing party keep the support it had among Alberta voters last May and underscoring the good news in the poll for the governing party.

Despite a modest approval rating of 4.5 out of 10 among Alberta voters, Smith's aggressive stance against Ottawa keeps her core supporters happy.

Historically, wrestling with Ottawa works

Alberta's political leaders have waged an unrelenting war on the federal government for generations, with the most effective premiers acting as "guardians against a marauding federal government."

This political posturing works because it turns the federal government into a scapegoat, hides provincial problems such as health care and sidelines the opposition.

The notorious National Energy Program (NEP) showdown over Alberta's energy wealth in the early 1980s sparked an upswing of Western separatism and a rancorous political battle between Alberta and the feds.

Former Alberta premier Ralph Klein was a proponent of equalization as a singular program, but he opposed equalizing other federal transfers based on need.

In battling with Ottawa, Smith is following in the steps of other Alberta premiers, including Ralph Klein. (John Ulan/The Canadian Press)

Ottawa wanted a piece of Alberta's oil wealth to help cushion the pinch of inflation.

But premier Peter Lougheed pushed back, cutting oil production by 15 per cent, tightening the supply to the rest of the country.

Fast-forward a quarter century. A different Alberta premier — this time, Ralph Klein — echoed Lougheed, telling the federal Liberals to keep their "hands off" Alberta's ballooning oil revenues.

Smith vs. Ottawa

The rinse-and-repeat cycle of Edmonton and Ottawa clashing over rights and resources persists today, with Smith making it the signature feature of her political rhetoric.

The radio call-in host turned politician came to power proclaiming, "We need less Ottawa in our lives."

While heralding the expansion of the federally owned Trans Mountain pipeline as a "game changer" that triples the flow of Alberta's oil to tidewater, critics have called out Smith for burying her thanks to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in her public pronouncements.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in Calgary on Wednesday, March 13, 2024.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in Calgary in March. Smith's constant barrage against Ottawa is a winning issue with UCP supporters. (Todd Korol/The Canadian Press)

On top of the UCP's Sovereignty Act, the centrepiece of Smith's attack on federal intrusion, the UCP introduced legislation this year to counter — even veto — deals Alberta municipalities strike with the federal government for money for transit and affordable housing.

Also this spring, the ruling UCP proposed plans to vet federal research grants to Alberta universities.

When the federal government announced plans last December to cut methane emissions from the oil-and-gas sector by three-quarters by 2030, Smith blasted the proposal as "dangerous and unconstitutional."

Earlier this month, the UCP similarly called changes to the federal Impact Assessment Act "unconstitutional," threatening to challenge the legislation in court.

While her critics decry Smith's supercharged, anti-Ottawa rhetoric, the CBC News poll suggests that UCP supporters like the premier's tough stance.

Leader of the Conservative Party Pierre Poilievre rises in response to the Speaker asking him to withdraw language during Question Period, Tuesday, April 30, 2024 in Ottawa.

Standing up to Ottawa becomes considerably more 'complex' for the UCP should Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's party win the next election. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Standing up to Ottawa is strongly correlated with overall support for the UCP. Voters who strongly or somewhat support the governing party's handling of Ottawa are 44 per cent more likely to approve of the government overall.

But Smith's heated rhetoric could be a disappointment to Albertans if, as polls suggest, Canadians fire Justin Trudeau's Liberals next year.

Bashing Ottawa works now — but might not in the future

Alberta conservatives tend to get a political boost from beating up on Ottawa when the Liberals run the federal government.

Polls suggest the Conservative Party, led by Pierre Poilievre, is on track to win a majority.

The "menace becomes less menacing" with conservatives in charge in both Ottawa and Edmonton.

Alberta premiers such as Don Getty and Jim Prentice found it challenging to get Alberta voters to blame Ottawa for the Prairie province's sluggish economy with a conservative government in power federally.

Standing up to Ottawa becomes less politically potent potentially and considerably more "complex" for the UCP with a Conservative federal government, said University of Calgary political scientist Lisa Young.

"It will be interesting to see how the Smith government adapts to that change and whether they're able to maintain that sense that they are looking out for Alberta's rights when they don't have … the foil of Justin Trudeau in Ottawa," added Young.

If the polls are correct, Smith could face a Conservative prime minister for nearly two years before heading back to the polls in the fall of 2027.

The CBC News random survey of 1,200 Albertans was conducted using a hybrid method between May 1 and 15 by Edmonton-based Trend Research under the direction of Janet Brown Opinion Research. The sample is representative of regional, age and gender factors. The margin of error is +/- 2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. For subsets, the margin of error is larger.

The survey used a hybrid methodology that involved contacting survey respondents by telephone and giving them the option of completing the survey at that time, at another more convenient time, or receiving an email link and completing the survey online. Trend Research contacted people using a random list of numbers, consisting of 40 per cent landlines and 60 per cent cellphone numbers. Telephone numbers were dialed up to five times at five different times of day before another telephone number was added to the sample. The response rate among valid numbers (i.e., residential and personal) was 11.7 per cent.

Alberta UCP government limits debate on contentious bills, drawing Opposition anger

The Canadian Press
Tue, May 28, 2024 



EDMONTON — Alberta’s government is limiting legislature debate time to pass four controversial bills, a tactic the Opposition New Democrats say runs roughshod over the democratic process.

With the spring sitting set to wrap up this week, Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party government is passing motions to limit debate to one hour at each stage for the bills.

The NDP said Tuesday the tactic stifles elected members who won't have a chance to voice concerns from constituents about the proposed legislation.

Three of the bills have been characterized by critics, including rural municipal leaders, as an authoritarian power grab.

One would give the province the power to veto federal funding deals with cities, towns and universities, while another would give Smith’s cabinet authority to overturn local bylaws it finds unsavoury.

NDP Leader Rachel Notley said the UCP is now pushing legislation through at a record pace.

She said the average time for debate on a bill under the NDP, and the UCP when Jason Kenney was in charge, has now dropped by half under Smith.

"She's using this legislature to consolidate power in her office."

A third bill will push provincial elections into the fall, instead of the spring, and gives more authority to the province to step in on local responses to emergencies like wildfires and droughts.

The fourth will pave the way for Smith to re-haul the public health-care system, the most expensive line in the budget, creating four new bureaucracies that report directly to her health minister.

"The consequences people will feel, and the more they feel the consequences, the more they will probably care about the fact that it was jammed through in a way that has made Alberta probably the least democratic jurisdiction in the Commonwealth," said Notley.

Among the four, the only bill the government has moved to change in response to feedback has still inspired an ad campaign against it.

Alberta Municipalities - the organization representing towns, cities and villages - confirmed Tuesday one billboard asking if Albertans were consulted on the bill is being displayed across the street from the legislature.

Government house leader Joseph Schow dismissed the Opposition's concerns, saying the NDP doesn't want to offer input on the bills and just wants them scrapped.

"The NDP has shown zero interest in helping us on legislation.”

The government used its majority in the house to reject a string of amendments proposed later Tuesday by the NDP.

However, Schow said there are other ways to get feedback from Albertans, including town halls.

"This isn't the House of Commons, we're not gonna give at least 40 hours of debate again. We're not going to let them hold it up," he said.

Schow also rejected the idea that public feedback was being ignored, even though every riding in Edmonton is represented by the Opposition.

"We have lots of stakeholders that we meet with regularly here in Edmonton, whether they support us or not," he said.

Since the UCP took power under Kenney in 2019, the special time limit has been invoked 54 times, compared to four times under the NDP’s four-year mandate.

The government is now on pace to use the power 18 times this session, since Smith won last year's election.

The legislature sitting is scheduled to finish Thursday, but it could see members break for the summer as early as Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2024.

The Canadian Press

Alberta UCP wraps spring legislature sitting marred by accusations of overreach

The Canadian Press
Wed, May 29, 2024 



EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's government capped off the spring legislature sitting Wednesday after passing bills slammed by critics as an undemocratic power grab.

One proposed law, which would give the United Conservative Party government the ability to overturn municipal bylaws, passed debate in the house shortly before members adjourned for the summer.

Backlash from municipalities about the bill going too far spurred the UCP to make amendments and claw back a plan for cabinet to be able to quickly fire mayors and councillors.

When the bill officially becomes law, the government would have to call for a local recall vote.

The widespread criticism didn't stop with the amendments.

Municipal leaders have said the changes don’t provide guardrails to prevent the province from strong-arming municipal decision-making.

Alberta Municipalities launched on Tuesday an ad campaign against the bill, including a billboard near the legislature building.

Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver has defended the bill and pointed to a clause in it that would remove property taxes to incentivize affordable housing.

"It's a good bill," he said.

The fast pace of the final weeks of the sitting drew condemnation from Opposition New Democrats. They accused the government of ramming through four contentious bills as quickly as possible, limiting the opportunity of members to voice concerns from constituents.

The NDP said the government ran roughshod over the democratic process by using motions to limit debate time to one hour at each debate stage.

NDP Leader Rachel Notley said Smith, with the municipalities bill, is giving her government the ability to intimidate and bully any local officials who might stand up publicly against it.

“It doesn’t respect the democratic will of the people. This is a government that thinks that it can just make decisions on its own with no regard to the opinions of Albertans or, quite frankly, the truth,” Notley said.

Government house leader Joseph Schow defended the use of time limits, saying the Opposition has neither supported the bills nor offered constructive criticism.

"We got a lot of good bills through," Schow said of the UCP's first 12 months in office.

The last bill of the sitting to get the stamp of approval from UCP legislators later Wednesday would pave the way for Smith to restructure the public health-care system and create four new governing bureaucracies that report to Health Minister Adriana LaGrange.

Legislation passed earlier this week would push provincial elections into the fall, instead of the spring, and give more authority to the government to step in on local emergency responses, like wildfires and droughts.

Another bill would give the province the power to veto federal funding for cities, towns and universities.

That bill has sparked concern the province will interfere with academic freedom and free speech from student and faculty groups.

The sitting came to a close against a backdrop of provincewide protests against the UCP, pushback from Pride groups over proposed rules for transgender youth and an NDP leadership race to replace Notley.

With NDP members set to choose a new leader June 22, Wednesday marked the last day Notley stood in the house as the leader of the Opposition.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2024.

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press

Pierre Poilievre called lobbyists 'utterly useless,' but they're still attending his fundraisers

CBC
Tue, May 7, 2024 

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks during a rally in Ottawa, on Sunday, March 24, 2024. A CBC News analysis shows Poilievre has headlined roughly 50 fundraisers at private venues since becoming Conservative leader in 2022. A party spokesperson says Poilievre is available at events across the country and there's no need to attend a fundraiser to get access to him. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press - image credit)More


As Pierre Poilievre presents himself as both a prime minister in waiting and a champion of "the working-class people," he's headlined roughly 50 fundraisers at private venues since becoming Conservative leader in 2022 — some of them in Canada's wealthiest neighbourhoods and most exclusive clubs.

A CBC News analysis of fundraising reports the Conservatives submitted to Elections Canada show these fundraisers have attracted dozens of registered federal lobbyists who paid up to $1,725 each to attend events featuring Poilievre.

Business executives — including a billionaire oil tycoon, an airline executive and a vice president at AtkinsRéalis, formerly known as SNC-Lavalin — are on the lists of attendees.

These fundraisers are legal and have a long history in Canadian politics. In a statement issued to CBC News, a Conservative Party spokesperson said Poilievre makes himself available at events across the country and there's no need to attend a fundraiser to get access to him.

But such fundraisers have led to media scrutiny and opposition criticism in the past — some of it coming from Poilievre.

Poilievre has criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over his fundraising events in the past. He described one event in 2019 as a "$1,500 ticket fundraiser where he was speaking to a bunch of well-connected Liberal lobbyists and wealthy donors."

Last Friday, Poilievre published an opinion piece in the National Post calling on corporate Canada to fire its lobbyists, describing them as "useless and overpaid."

Poilievre criticized lobbyists in the article, saying the only way "any business lobby has born fruit" has been through "undue handouts, privileges and protections" that "Justin Trudeau has been all too willing to grant." He said businesses will "get nothing from me unless they convince the people first."

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre addresses the national Conservative caucus on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024. The Conservative Party of Canada raised more than $35 million during Pierre Poilievre's first full year as leader — and the federal Liberals brought in less than half that amount.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre addresses the national Conservative caucus on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024. The Conservative Party of Canada raised more than $35 million during Pierre Poilievre's first full year as leader — and the federal Liberals brought in less than half that amount. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

The Liberal Party's fundraising practices came under scrutiny in 2016 when the Globe and Mail revealed Prime Minister Trudeau attended a fundraiser with a Chinese businessman who went on to donate $200,000 to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.

To ward off claims the Liberals were giving wealthy donors preferential access to Trudeau and his cabinet, the party changed its policy in 2017 to limit these events to publicly available spaces and to allow journalists access.

The government also changed the law in 2018 to require that parties make these fundraisers more transparent by posting online notices in advance and reporting details, including lists of attendees, to Elections Canada.

The Conservatives said they were "concerned" about the bill earlier that year and later voted against it. Then-finance critic Gérard Deltell said these fundraisers were "unethical" and would legalize what he called "cash-for-access, or paying to get access to decision-makers."

Poilievre calls lobbyists 'utterly useless'

The National Post article is not the first instance of Poilievre accusing business leaders of trying to cozy up to the governing Liberal Party.

In December, Poilievre expressed disdain for Bay Street executives, saying he "almost never" speaks to crowds in downtown Toronto or "anywhere close to Bay Street."

Fundraising records show Poilievre has headlined three fundraisers for the Conservative Party on Bay Street and at least four others in downtown Toronto since 2023.

In March, Poilievre told the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade that, rather than speaking to business associations like it, he's appeared at "110 shop floors and five union local facilities." He said his experience with corporate lobbyists in Ottawa has "been that they have been utterly useless in advancing any common sense interests for the people on the ground."

Poilievre said these lobbyists are focused on getting lunches with ministers at the elite Rideau Club atop a downtown Ottawa office tower.

"When I'm prime minister, my obsession — my daily obsession — will be about what is good for the working class people of this country," Polievre said during his speech on March 8.

CBC News examined the lists of attendees on the Conservatives' fundraising reports filed with Elections Canada since Poilievre became leader in September 2022. CBC cross-referenced those lists with names in the federal lobbyist registry, then verified the names of lobbyists directly or through cross-referencing publicly available information.

CBC News found that more than 25 active federal lobbyists have attended these fundraisers since Poilievre became leader in 2022. The names of more than 100 inactive (but still registered) federal lobbyists matched those of listed attendees at these fundraisers during that time frame.

The Breach conducted an analysis in March and reported that out of the 35 Poilievre fundraising events it examined, 29 were attended by at least one lobbyist active in the past several years.

NDP ethics critic Matthew Green said his problem is with the "hypocrisy of Pierre Poilievre." Green accused Poilievre of "cosplaying as a working class guy" while privately attending fundraisers in exclusive clubs "most Canadians would have never heard of."

"This is a guy who is not who he says he is," Green told CBC News. "This is somebody who is the 'elites' that he rails against."

CBC News contacted the Conservative Party and Poilievre's office with questions about the fundraisers.

In an email, the Conservatives accused CBC News of "exposing its bias by investigating Canadians, who are supporting common sense Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his promise to defund the CBC."

Sarah Fischer, a spokesperson for the Conservative Party, told CBC News in an email that Poilievre makes "himself available across the country at rallies, visiting small businesses, lumber yards and factory floors.

"There's no need to attend a fundraiser to get access to Pierre Poilievre."

Big pharma, an oil 'tycoon' and top Canadian executives

Active lobbyists representing the oil and natural gas company Cenovus, Pharmascience Inc. and the Pembina Pipeline Corporation are among those listed as having attended Poilievre fundraisers.

Other lobbyists from the shipbuilding, energy and pharmaceutical industries confirmed their attendance to CBC News.

Adam Waterous, recently described in a media report as an "investment banker turned oil tycoon," is listed as having attended a Poilievre event with his wife Jan and son Connor, who lobbies, in April 2023 in Banff, Alta., where he owns a ski resort.

Waterous has not yet responded to CBC's request for comment.

Robert Deluce, the founding president and former CEO of Porter Airlines, attended a fundraiser in January 2023, co-organized by Mark Mulroney, the son of former prime minister Brian Mulroney. Deluce now serves as the company's executive chairman.

A spokesperson for the airline told CBC News Deluce contributed to the fundraiser "in a personal capacity" and spoke briefly to Poilievre but not about Porter.

Poilievre supports a runway expansion to bring jets to the Billy Bishop airport in Toronto — something Porter has long sought.

Erik Ryan, a vice president at AtkinsRéalis, formerly known as SNC-Lavalin, attended a reception in January with Poilievre and told CBC News he gave a personal contribution. Ryan was involved in a lobbying effort to get a deferred prosecution agreement for SNC-Lavalin from the federal government.

Ian Stedman, an associate professor of public law and governance at York University, said the "public should care about these events and who's there."

"It tells you something about who has privileged access to a politician who might have the ability to affect change or advance policy initiatives," Stedman said.

York University professor Ian Stedman said lobbying is not inherently bad, but exclusive fundraisers create a mechanism for people with more money to get "preferential" access to politicians.

York University professor Ian Stedman said lobbying is not inherently bad, but exclusive fundraisers create a mechanism for people with more money to get "preferential" access to politicians. (Hugo Levesque/CBC)

Stedman said "lobbying is not bad" but "the problem here is that some people get better access and more preferential access than others, and it seems to be because of the money they have."

But Fred DeLorey, the national Conservative campaign manager during the 2021 election, said lobbying at these fundraisers is "unheard of."

DeLorey, who is a lobbyist himself, said it "would be very poor form to try to bend the ear of a leader at a place like that."

Asked whether those attending these fundraisers would get increased access to political leaders, Delorey said no.

There's a strict limit on how much individual Canadians are allowed to give to a federal political party each year. In 2024, the limit is $1,725.

"There's no political influence on cutting a check at that amount to a leader that's trying to govern a G7 country," said DeLorey, who is a partner at NorthStar Public Relations and Government Relations. "It's just not a thing."

Riding high in the polls, the Conservative Party of Canada continues to out-fundraise other parties and broke its own record in the most recent quarter. The party raised more than $10.6 million from more than 51,000 donors between January and March.

About 700 of those donors attended fundraising events with Poilievre — fundraisers which could have collected up to $1 million during that time period. Fischer did not answer when asked how much money the party collected in 2023 and over the first quarter of this year at fundraisers Poilievre headlined.

She said that out of 200,000 contributions, the average donation to the Conservatives was $175.

"Hundreds of thousands of Canadians are choosing to put their hard-earned dollars behind Pierre Poilievre and his mission to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime," she said in an email.

Private clubs

Poilievre has headlined fundraisers at Canada's oldest private club — the Toronto Club — at the members-only Terminal City Club in Vancouver and at the Royal Glenora Club in Edmonton, where the fee for a membership is more than $20,000.

Poilievre has headlined more than 16 fundraisers in private homes since becoming leader, including in one of Montreal's wealthiest neighbourhood — Westmount — and affluent neighbourhoods in the greater Toronto area. Another one is booked for later this week in North York.

One of these "Evenings with Pierre Poilievre in support of the Conservative Party'' took place at a home in Forest Hill South in Toronto, the records show. Two homes are for sale in the same postal code with asking prices of $7.5 million and $16.9 million.

Poilievre also has been touring the country holding public events and fundraisers in local businesses and restaurants.

'Like a town hall meeting'

Yaroslav Baran, co-founder of Pendulum Group and former Conservative director of war room communications under prime minister Stephen Harper, said there's a "mythology" around these fundraisers that doesn't reflect reality.

"People picture cigars, brandy snifters and mahogany furniture," said Baran who ran communications for the Conservative Party during the 2022 leadership race.

"It's really a lot like a town hall meeting … except it's a closed event. You need to buy a ticket to get in. It usually consists of a mini speech, a stump speech by the featured speaker."

Baran said what follows after that is "an endless stream of grip-and-grin" photos, where the headlining politician shakes hands, smiles for the camera and then moves on to the next person with about two or three seconds to exchange a few words.

"The idea of being able to have any kind of a prolonged, deep policy conversation to, you know, sway somebody, it's just laughable," he said.

Yaroslav Baran, a former director of war room communications under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said there's an inaccurate "mythology" to private fundraising events, but that they typically involve shaking hands with the guest of honour and listening to a stump speech.

Yaroslav Baran, a former director of war room communications under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said there's an inaccurate "mythology" to private fundraising events, but that they typically involve shaking hands with the guest of honour and listening to a stump speech. (Pierre-Paul Couture/CBC)

Lobbyists go to these events to build relationships and be seen, Baran said. But he cautions that if they're looking to lobby someone directly, they shouldn't go to their party fundraisers.

Trudeau attended 14 of these events to raise money for the Liberal Party in 2023 and one so far in 2024, held at convention centres, hotels and the Canadian War Museum. Last year, the Investigative Journalism Foundation reported that 166 lobbyists have attended Liberal fundraisers since 2019.

Liberal Party spokesperson Parker Lund said the party is "committed to the strongest standards in federal politics for openness and transparency with political fundraising events." The party also posts its fundraising reports on its website.

In 2021, Lobbying Commissioner Nancy Bélanger made preliminary recommendations to strengthen the lobbying regime, calling for expanding the amount of contextual information required in communication reports to include things like political donations.

Ethics Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein has described the current reporting requirements for these fundraisers as "perfectly good." He said that if the government wants to, it could go further and legislate its existing fundraising and lobbying best practices for ministers and parliamentary secretaries to cover opposition critics.

Just how far is Pierre Poilievre willing to take the notwithstanding clause?

CBC
Tue, May 7, 2024 

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre rises during Question Period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, May 6, 2024. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press - image credit)


In January, the Federal Court found that the Trudeau government's use of the Emergencies Act to respond to the protests of the self-styled freedom convoy in 2022 was not properly justified — a decision the federal government is now appealing.

At the time, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre celebrated that ruling.

"Today, in a landmark victory for the freedoms of Canadians, the Federal Court ruled that Trudeau broke the highest law in the land," he said in a prepared statement, apparently referring to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.


"Common-sense Conservatives will protect the Charter rights of Canadians, and as prime minister I will unite our country and our people for hope and freedom."

A few months later, Poilievre's support for the Charter rights of Canadians seems less than absolute.

Last week, the Conservative leader appeared before a meeting of the Canadian Police Association and outlined — or at least hinted at — his plans to use the notwithstanding clause to safeguard his government's laws from being overturned by the courts.

"All of my proposals are constitutional. And we will make sure — we will make them constitutional, using whatever tools the Constitution allows me to use to make them constitutional," he said. "I think you know exactly what I mean."

Poilievre went on to explain his own theory of how the use of the notwithstanding clause could be justified.

"I will be the democratically elected prime minister — democratically accountable to the people, and they can then make the judgments themselves on whether they think my laws are constitutional, because they will be," he said.

Unloved and controversial, the notwithstanding clause is an unavoidable feature of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms — part of the negotiated agreement that created the Charter in the first place. There are also reasonable, if theoretical, arguments to be made for its necessity — judges are not infallible and a mechanism to overrule egregious decisions could be better than the alternatives.

The question, then, is what circumstances justify its use.

How would Poilievre use the notwithstanding clause?

Poilievre's office insists a Conservative government would use the notwithstanding clause only to deal with "matters of criminal justice." But that could cover a number of things.

Would a Poilievre government use the clause to save mandatory-minimum sentences that the Supreme Court has found constitute cruel and unusual punishment? What if the court ultimately rules against the bail restrictions that Poilievre has said he would implement?

In 2011, the Supreme Court ruled that the previous Conservative government's attempts to block a supervised drug consumption site in Vancovuer — Insite — violated the Charter right to life, liberty and security of the person. Would the Poilievre government use the notwithstanding clause to implement elements of its response to the opioid epidemic?

In his remarks to the Canadian Police Association, Poilievre said he would prioritize the right of Canadians to live free of crime.

"Those are the constitutional rights that we have to start to focus on in this country — the rights of the victims and the law-abiding people," he said.

But that necessitates another question — would any of his proposed changes actually reduce crime? Would using the notwithstanding clause actually make Canadians safer, or would it merely satisfy a desire to get "tough" on crime?

Alexandre Bissonnette, a suspect in a shooting at a Quebec City mosque, arrives at the court house in Quebec City on Tuesday, February 21, 2017. The accused in Quebec City's deadly mosque shooting formally changed lawyers on Thursday during a brief court hearing. Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, appeared briefly before Quebec court Judge Jean-Louis Lemay and acknowledged he was bringing in a new attorney.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mathieu Belanger - POOLMore


At the moment, the Conservatives like to point to the case of Alexandre Bissonnette, who killed six men inside a Quebec City mosque in 2017. The Supreme Court later ruled that forcing Bissonnette to serve his sentences consecutively — effectively eliminating his chance of ever being eligible for parole — "shakes the very foundations of Canadian law."

During his campaign for the Conservative leadership in 2022, Poilievre said he would use the notwithstanding clause to revive consecutive sentences (a law originally passed by Stephen Harper's Conservative government).

Lisa Kerr, a law professor at Queen's University, noted in an op-ed this week that being eligible for parole does not mean you necessarily receive it.

Using the notwithstanding clause to "stack life sentences to infinity would add nothing to public safety," she wrote.

The politics of Poilievre's position are obvious — probably no politician is eager to be seen defending the rights of an individual such as Bissonnette. But if or when Parliament crosses the Rubicon (the federal Parliament has never before used the notwithstanding clause), it will be impossible to guarantee the ramifications will be felt only by society's least sympathetic members.

What message would it send?

"Whatever the use he wants to make of it," Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said last week, "the fact a federal leader would want to use the notwithstanding clause makes it clear that it's absolutely legit for Quebec or any province to do the same."

That is not an abstract argument.

The original theory of the notwithstanding clause was that "political accountability" would restrain governments from using it. That restraint hasn't been much in evidence in recent years.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks during a funding announcement, Friday, April 5, 2024 in Ottawa. Ontario Premier Doug Ford is one of several premiers to use the notwithstanding clause to protect laws from being overturned for violating a Charter right. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

The Ontario government has invoked the clause to protect a law that limits political advertising by third-party groups. The Saskatchewan government is applying the notwithstanding clause to protect legislation that could affect the rights of transgender children. Quebec's Bill 21 raises major questions about religious freedom.

As Blanchet's response suggests, federal use of the notwithstanding clause would only give these provinces an example to justify their own actions. Poilievre's position on the clause also likely would disqualify him from weighing in as prime minister against any current or future provincial action.

Poilievre's reply to all this seems to be that it's ultimately up to voters — if Canadians don't like how the notwithstanding clause is being used, they can put another government in power.

But elections are rarely fought as single-issue referendums. (Advocates of electoral reform would also note that, under first-past-the-post voting, governments regularly hold power without having won 50 per cent of the popular vote.) And deferring to the will of voters contradicts one of the primary reasons for codifying rights in the first place — to protect individuals and minorities from the whims of the majority.

Former Alberta premier Peter Lougheed gestures during a news conference in Calgary in 2002. Former Alberta premier Peter Lougheed came to believe in the need for guardrails around the notwithstanding clause. (The Canadian Press)

Poilievre's calculus might also offend more than just critics of the notwithstanding clause. Peter Lougheed, the former Alberta premier who played a significant part in getting the notwithstanding clause into the Charter, eventually came to believe that a supermajority vote of 60 per cent of members of a legislature should be required to invoke the clause. (In a 343-member House of Commons, that would mean the support of 206 MPs.)

Between Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe deciding to defy (or unilaterally reinterpret?) federal carbon-pricing legislation and Poilievre's position on the notwithstanding clause, Conservatives seem to be moving toward the view that premiers and prime ministers have wide latitude to decide which laws they must follow.

Alberta NDP leadership race set to enter 'persuasion period' with close of membership sales

Story by Matthew Black • Edmonton Journal

Alberta NDP leadership candidates Naheed Nenshi, left, Kathleen Ganley, Sarah Hoffman, Gil McGowan and Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse outlined their platforms and visions for the party during a leadership showcase hosted at Sherwood Park's Agora on April 3, 2024.

© Provided by Edmonton Journal

The Alberta New Democratic Party (NDP) is set to take another step Monday towards replacing outgoing Leader Rachel Notley as membership sales close and the party’s membership list will begin being finalized.

The end of the day marks the last chance for candidates to sell memberships. Tuesday will mark the start of the “persuasion period” where the prospective leaders will pitch their platforms to those members, including through three debates in the weeks to come.

The party will announce its new leader on June 22 at an event in Calgary.

Postmedia spoke to all five candidates ahead of Monday night’s deadline.

Scroll down or follow the links below to read what they each had to say and to learn more about their platforms ahead of Monday night’s deadline.

Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse | Kathleen Ganley | Sarah Hoffman | Gil McGowan | Naheed Nenshi

Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse


Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse announces her candidacy for the Alberta NDP in the constituency of Edmonton-Rutherford during a news conference on April 24, 2022. David Bloom/Postmedia

Entered the race: Feb. 23
Policies and priorities: Alberta Water Rights Act, conservation
Endorsements: MLAs Brooks Arcand-Paul and Sarah Elmeligi
Website: voteforjodi.ca

Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse joined the race as a first-term MLA representing Edmonton-Rutherford.

She’s focused her campaign on the environment, specifically her proposed Alberta Water Rights Act that calls for improved protection of rivers and other headwaters.

“We have to figure out how we are mitigating and managing our most precious resource that is needed for every single economic system,” she said.

She described the province’s health care and education systems as being “broken” and called on the government to better listen to those working in those areas.

Despite her relative newcomer status to the Alberta legislature, Calahoo Stonehouse believes she could lead the party to victory in the next election.

“I will beat Danielle Smith and I’ll clean up the mess.”

[ top ]

Kathleen Ganley


Alberta NDP leadership candidate Kathleen Ganley in downtown Calgary on Feb. 19, 2024. Jim Wells/Postmedia
Entered the race: Feb. 6
Policies and priorities: Income tax cut, boosting minimum wage, public auto insurer
Endorsements: Former party leaders Brian Mason and Raj Pannu, eight NDP MLAs
Website: teamganley.ca

Kathleen Ganley was the first candidate to enter the contest and said that she wants to address issues of affordability that are at a “crisis point.”

“The most common concern we hear are families that don’t know if they’re gonna be able to keep a roof over their head or buy their groceries.”

The Calgary-Mountain View MLA said the party needs to bolster its economic platform from where it was during the last election in order to grow support and win in 2027.

“People whose top issue is health care, education, they voted with us last time. What we need is people whose top issue is the economy,” she said.

“Our ideas on the economy are better.”

Sarah Hoffman


Sarah Hoffman, MLA for Edmonton-Glenora and former deputy premier and minister of health, officially launches her campaign for the leadership of the Alberta NDP on Feb. 11, 2024, in Edmonton. Greg Southam/Postmedia
Entered the race: Feb. 6
Policies and priorities: Health, climate, housing
Endorsements: Former party leader Ray Martin, Edmonton Coun. Michael Janz, Edmonton Strathcona MP Heather McPherson
Website: sarahhoffman.ca

Sarah Hoffman entered the race on its opening day and said she’s worked with experts to develop what she terms “bold policy” around housing, health, and climate change.

The three-term Edmonton-Glenora MLA also cited her experience and work ethic as keys to her campaign.

“New Democrats have to work three or four times as hard in the province,” she said. “I know what it’s going to take for us to help get over the finish line.”

Hoffman said she is best positioned to help the party grow its presence outside of the two major cities, including in rural Alberta.

“There are so many people across this province who want to vote NDP and they need to get to know us.”

Gil McGowan


Gil McGowan at a news conference in Calgary on Oct. 12, 2022. Jim Wells/Postmedia
Entered the race: March 7
Policies and priorities: Workers, affordability, economic transition
Endorsements: Alberta Federation of Labour
Website: gilforalberta.ca

Longtime labour leader Gil McGowan said the province needs to “relearn the lessons of Lougheed” and start pivoting the economy towards the future amid a global energy transition.

For him, that means expanding the party’s appeal among the working class, something he believes is essential to the NDP winning the next election.

“If we’re not laser-focused on winning workers back, then we will continue to lose not just in 2027 or beyond.”

He also said the leadership race will determine the future of the Alberta NDP itself.

“We’re making a decision about whether the party remains true to its social democratic roots or whether it becomes an Alberta version of the Liberal party or the Alberta party.”

Naheed Nenshi


NDP leadership candidate Naheed Nenshi after speaking at an Alberta Chambers of Commerce event in Edmonton on March 14, 2024. David Bloom/Postmedia
Entered the race: March 11
Policies and priorities: Economic growth, affordability, expanded public health care
Endorsements: Rakhi Pancholi, eight other current NDP MLAs, Jann Arden
Website: nenshi.ca

Naheed Nenshi was the last of the candidates to enter the contest but managed to double the size of the party within two weeks, according to MLA Rakhi Pancholi who dropped out of the leadership race to endorse the former Calgary mayor .

He described the current government as being divisive and coming from a place of negativity, something he said he would change.

“Politics these days, for the last decade or so, have been the politics of being ‘against,'” he said. “We’ve got a chance to be ‘for.'”

Nenshi’s policy pitches include boosting funding to both public health care and education, reversing the government’s policies on 2SLGBTQ+ youth, and fully implementing $10-a-day child care.

“We have a lot of work to do to rebuild Alberta.”

B.C. Housing seeks massive expansion of East Vancouver social housing project


CBC
Tue, February 6, 2024

B.C. Housing says the buildings at Skeena Terrace in East Vancouver are approaching 'the end of their economic life cycle.' (Shawn Foss/CBC - image credit)

One of the largest and oldest social housing projects in Vancouver may soon become much larger — and much newer.

City council's Tuesday agenda includes a proposal to redevelop the Skeena Terrace social housing project near Rupert Street and East Broadway.

B.C. Housing owns the site, which currently has 230 subsidized housing units in 20 apartment and townhouse buildings built over 60 years ago. About 600 people live on the hillside site, which is visible to drivers coming to and from Burnaby on Lougheed Highway.

The housing corporation has been seeking for several years to expand the site to 1,928 social housing units in 15 buildings four to 36 storeys high.

An artist's vision of how the new site is planned to appear taken from the B.C. Housing application. Lougheed Highway is the curved, large road at the drawing's top and right.

An artist's vision of the new site, as shown in B.C. Housing's application. Lougheed Highway is the curved, large road at the drawing's top and right. (Shawn Foss/CBC)

"The buildings and infrastructure at Skeena Terrace were built in the 1960s and need extensive and ongoing repairs," the B.C. Housing application to council states.

"As they are nearing the end of their economic life cycle, and with the city in dire need for more affordable housing, the redevelopment of Skeena Terrace as a large transit-oriented site is an excellent opportunity to meet that need.

"Skeena Terrace redevelopment provides a significant opportunity to increase the number of secured rental homes, particularly for low and moderate-income households."

City staff are recommending the project proceed to a public hearing in the spring.

"This rezoning application represents a significant delivery of affordable, publicly-owned housing for the city," the city's general manger of planning wrote, adding the project is "envisioned as a complete community in close proximity to rapid transit, providing housing, shops, services and community amenities."

Several playgrounds are on site at Skeena Terrace. The redevelopment calls for a daycare to be built on the grounds. A person walks by one of several playgrounds at Skeena Terrace. The redevelopment plan includes a daycare on site. (Shawn Foss/CBC)

Long-time resident excited about changes

B.C. Housing promises no one currently living at the complex will be unhoused because of the redevelopment.

A spokesperson said in an email that monthly meetings have been held with residents and existing tenants will get their first choice of new units without a rent increase "unless their income or unit size has changed in the interim."

Long-time resident Roberta Scherger is excited about the redevelopment. She says she's grateful to be living in social housing — "I could not afford rents out there," she said — but after about 30 years at Skeena Place, the buildings are showing their age.

Roberta Scherger says she's been happy living at Skeena Terrace but the buildings are showing their age. (Shawn Foss/CBC)

"Sometimes … like in the very, very bad winters we have, it's cold in my room," Scherger said, adding that B.C. Housing has been quick to fix problems.

She's optimistic about the new Skeena Place development, however, and is glad about commitments to keep the community together.

"A lot more people will have homes, which is great," she said. There'll be daycare … just more space for us, more garden space, more walking space, more safe space."

B.C. Housing says the project will be built in phases and has tentatively planned for a 2024 start.

A public hearing, if council approves, is expected for the spring.

Alberta invests in program to stop grizzlies from wandering onto farms


CBC
Thu, January 4, 2024 

The Carnivores and Communities Program aims to teach farmers how to live alongside grizzly bears and prevent unnecessary interaction. (Anne Woods - image credit)

The provincial government announced Wednesday its spending $700,000 over five years to prevent conflict between ranchers and large carnivores in southwestern Alberta.

Funds will go to the Waterton Biosphere Reserve Association's Carnivores and Communities Program to keep predators away from rural properties.

Residents in the area have expressed concern about growing grizzly bear, wolf and cougar populations and their impacts on community safety, says the province.

"Coexisting with wildlife, including large carnivores, is an everyday part of living and working in rural Alberta," said Alberta's Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen in a statement.

"This investment will help protect humans, wildlife and infrastructure."

The majority of human-wildlife conflicts in the Waterton Biosphere region are attributed to wolves and grizzlies, according to the reserve association.

Conflict arises because the animals are attracted to livestock, grain and animal feed, and roam onto farms to chow down.

Dead livestock disposal and electric fences

To keep the carnivores away, the Waterton Biosphere Reserve Association has helped farmers manage attractants by picking up dead farm animals for free and pointing people to carcass-disposal bins in their area.

"Across the region, I'd say we've seen a generally positive trend," said Carnivores and Communities Program co-ordinator Jeff Bectell. "But it's not perfect and not 100 per cent [successful]."

The CACP also advocates for strategies to keep away grizzly bears based on landowners' specific needs, like livestock guardian dogs or horseback herd supervision.

If necessary, the program also helps farmers pay for electric fences or more secure grain bins to quash access to food sources.

"We don't do the same project on every property because different people have different needs in terms of the amount of stuff they're storing, how they access it," said Bectell.

"There's just lots of differences from one farm to another and so it is pretty customized."

A Grizzly bear and cubs were spotted alongside Highway 40 in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park on June 15, 2021, the day the road to Highwood Pass reopened for the summer.

Wildlife ecologist Andrea Morehouse said some bears are being found further east in southern Alberta, in areas previously considered outside grizzly territory. (David Gray/CBC)

Grizzlies moving further east

In the past several decades, grizzlies bears have been recorded farther east in southwestern Alberta, outside their expected range.

Wildlife ecologist Andrea Morehouse, who has worked under contract for the Waterton Biosphere Reserve Association, says the easterly bears are exposing more farmers to the potential for human-wildlife conflicts.

"If you're not used to ranching with grizzly bears, it's certainly a new problem that you need to figure out how to deal with, and learn ways to share the landscape with those critters," she said.

"That's part of what the Carnivores and Communities program is doing … helping to find creative solutions so that people are able to maintain their business, ranchers can still do what they need to do, but bears are also maintained on the landscape."

Morehouse said the most current data on grizzly bears in the Waterton Biosphere region, collected from 2011 to 2014 for her Southwest Alberta Grizzly Bear Monitoring Project, showed the population was growing, which could be why some are ranging farther east.

Bectell said the funds will help rural ranchers feel supported and appreciated for their contributions to the province.

"Landowners dealing with these kind of problems sometimes feel alone," he said.

"When funding like this is provided, that does come out of the public purse, I think it demonstrates to agricultural producers that they're not being left alone and ignored."

The Alberta government has supported the Carnivores and Communities Program through different grants since 2009.

Amid inflation, a housing crisis and conflict with Trudeau, Alberta adopted rent control — 48 years ago


CBC
Thu, October 19, 2023 


Sky-high inflation. Exorbitant rent increases. Conflict between Alberta and Prime Minister Trudeau.

The year is not 2023.

It's 1975.

Albertans were grappling then, like they are now, with a surging cost of living, high interest rates and a housing crisis.

The Progressive Conservative government of premier Peter Lougheed had just been re-elected in the spring with a commanding majority. That summer, amid growing calls from tenants groups who felt gouged by what they described as frequent and unreasonable price increases from landlords, the PCs were adamant that rent controls were not the solution.

By autumn, they had changed their minds.

In the face of mounting pressure both locally and federally — as prime minister Pierre Trudeau's government prepared its own set of wage and price controls — the Alberta government reluctantly adopted legislation in December 1975 that put an 18-month cap on rent increases in the province: no more than 10 per cent in 1976 and no more than nine per cent in the first six months of 1977. After that, the rent-control law would be phased out.

It was a controversial move. Free-market advocates abhorred the government intervention, while tenants groups felt the rules were too lenient. Enforcement was also a challenge, with numerous cases ending up in court.


A Calgary Herald article from Oct. 22, 1975, in which Calgary-Buffalo PC MLA Ron Ghitter discusses 'reluctantly and unhappily' calling for rent control in Alberta. (Newspapers.com/Screenshot)

Today, Ron Ghitter looks back at the rent control legislation as an extraordinary measure at an extraordinary time. He was the PC MLA for Calgary-Buffalo and one of the architects of Alberta's landlord-tenant policy of the 1970s. And while he sees many parallels from that era to today, he doesn't believe a return to rent control is the right way to tackle the current housing crisis.

"I would be opposed to it personally," he said in an interview. "The problems that we've got are much deeper than what rent controls will solve."

Alberta's current United Conservative government has also rejected recent calls for rent control in the province.

So how did the government of 1975 come to adopt the policy, albeit reluctantly?

A combination of factors coalesced at the time, some of which may sound familiar to Albertans today, while others may seem quite foreign. And rent control wasn't the only measure the provincial government took in response to the housing crisis of the era. Additional policies included a temporary ban on apartment-to-condo conversions and a renters' tax credit. Those worked in concert with long-since-expired federal policies aimed at encouraging the construction of more rental housing.

Opinions then, like today, differed on which policies would provide the best solutions. In retrospect, there is still disagreement. But the experiences from nearly half a century ago still hold relevance — and may offer some lessons — when it comes to the housing crisis facing so many people today.

What's old is new again — sort of

On the surface, the parallels between the mid-1970s and today seem numerous.

Economically, both eras saw high levels of global inflation, high interest rates, rapid population growth in Alberta and rapidly surging rents — especially in Calgary.

Politically, both eras saw a conservative government in Alberta that was often at odds with a Liberal government in Ottawa — led by a prime minister named Trudeau.


Pierre Trudeau, left, was prime minister in 1975. His son, Justin Trudeau, is prime minister in 2023. (AFP/Getty Images, Evan Mitsui/CBC)

Both eras also saw the Alberta NDP calling for more government action on affordable housing, led then by Grant Notley and today by his daughter, Rachel Notley.

Then, a group calling itself the Calgary Tenants' Committee circulated a rent-control petition that had amassed 12,000 signatures by November 1975. Among the signatories were two Calgary aldermen (although both said they didn't fully support the petition's demands.)

Today, there have been also been calls for rent control, including public rallies and an online petition that has collected 6,000 electronic signatories. One city councillor in Calgary has also directly called on the province to institute a rent cap.

At first, the PC government of the 1970s came out against the idea, saying rent control would inhibit the construction of new rental housing, disincentivize maintenance on existing rental properties and ultimately harm the lower-income tenants it aimed to protect.

"The record in other parts of Canada and elsewhere indicates that such tenants in the long term suffer greater indignities when rents are controlled," Alberta's consumer affairs minister, Graham Harle, was quoted as saying in a July 1975 newspaper article.

Nearly a half-century later, Community and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon made much the same argument.

At left, Graham Harle, who served as Alberta's consumer affairs minister in 1975. At right, Jason Nixon, the province's current minister of community and social services. (Newspapers.com, Alberta.ca)

"I don't want to see more good, hard-working people become homeless," he told the Calgary Sun in August 2023. "That's what rent control in the end will do. It will create less space for people to be able to live."

The current Alberta government has so far stuck to its position.

So why did the Alberta government of 1975 end up backtracking?

Then vs. now

One difference between then and now has been the target of public ire over the housing crisis.

Today, much of the attention in Calgary has been focused on the municipal government, especially as it debated a contentious new affordable housing policy earlier this year. Federally, the opposition have also made housing a key point of attack on the Liberal government.

Meanwhile, the Alberta government has not faced the same level of political pressure.

Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley has stopped short of calling for rent control directly, instead saying it should be one of a host of options that ought to be considered.

Back in 1975, by contrast, the opposition Social Credit party had been calling for rent control specifically and, when the PCs finally introduced it, NDP Leader Grant Notley criticized the legislation as not going far enough.

"There was great pressure on us as a government to do something about rent," Ghitter recalled of the era.


Grant Notley, left, led the Alberta NDP in 1975. His daughter, Rachel Notley, leads the Alberta NDP in 2023. (CBC Archives, Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

Adding to the local pressure was a situation in federal politics that had not been seen since wartime and has never been seen again since. To deal with spiralling inflation in 1975, Ottawa brought forward a broad set of wage and price controls — a staggering degree of government intervention that was ultimately tested (and approved) by the Supreme Court.

Landlord-tenant relations, as a provincial responsibility, were outside Ottawa's direct purview but the federal government exerted pressure on provincial premiers to go along with the national plan when it came to housing costs.

In the end, Lougheed — sometimes known as "Peter the Pink" by more hard-line conservatives — agreed with the feds, but on the condition that agricultural and energy products would be exempted from federal price controls. Also, Alberta's rent control would be phased out after 18 months instead of the the three-year period Ottawa had been asking for.

The Alberta premier struck a conciliatory tone in announcing the about-face on rent control, saying the province needed to join the national effort to break the cycle — and psychology — of inflation.

"I agree with the prime minister's statement that Canadians are developing a significant fear of of inflation and are trying to overcompensate for the most severe inflation they can imagine," Lougheed said during the opening of the provincial legislature in November 1975.

"This attitude must be checked, and for this reason Alberta will work with the federal government."

Similar measures would be harder to imagine in today's political climate.

The federal wage controls were sweeping in their scope and scale, and nothing remotely close has been proposed by the current Liberal government in response to the modern inflation situation.

And Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, to date, has also been less willing than Lougheed to find common ground with the current Trudeau government on a host of issues — especially those involving federal overlap into provincial jurisdiction.

How it worked out

Opponents of rent control feared Lougheed would break the 18-month promise, but his government indeed began to unwind its policy in June 1977.

It took a phased approach and, by June 1980, all units that had been subject to rent control in Alberta were decontrolled.

In 1982, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation commissioned a report into the Alberta government's dalliance with rental-market regulation.

It found the province's policy had largely managed to achieve the goal of mitigating the housing crisis in the short term without stifling the construction of new rental housing in the longer term — which was a primary concern among rent-control opponents. It credited the short duration of the policy and nuances in the regulation that allowed landlords to pass on some additional costs to tenants in exceptional circumstances.

"These two aspects of the program served to alleviate any negative impacts on the rental housing market," the report reads. "New housing starts do not appear to have slowed due to rent control by itself."

The CMHC report also praised the decision to phase out the rent controls over time rather than having them end abruptly.

"The decontrol scheme did serve to soften and spread out the increases that would have taken place had the controls been lifted with no thought to the resultant increases that might occur," it reads.

Another key aspect of the legislation was the prohibition on the conversion of rental apartments to condominiums for sale, which the report found was effective and "made any transfers out of the rental market negligible."

There was also another provincial policy that helped ease the burden on renters during that era.

Renters tax credit

Flip through newspaper archives from the 1970s and, scattered among the many articles, opinion columns and letters to the editor debating the pros and cons of rent control, you'll find advertisements from the Alberta government promoting its "renter assistance credit."

This was a benefit individuals could claim on their income taxes and was available to most people who paid rent. The value of the benefit was on a sliding scale: the amount of money you could receive diminished with your household income.

Today's rent assistance, by contrast, must be applied for separately and is aimed at low-income people living in subsidized units provided by housing management bodies.


A newspaper ad from 1975 promoting the Alberta government's renter assistance credit, which was a benefit claimed on individuals' income taxes. (Newspapers.com)

Alberta kept the renters tax credit even after ending rent control, and even boosted it. By 1983, it was worth up to a maximum of $500 annually minus one per cent of a household's taxable income.

The province cancelled the renters tax credit in its 1987 budget, amid a host of austerity measures brought in after a crash in oil-and-gas royalties. By that time, the rental market had completely changed as well, and provincial treasurer Dick Johnston defended the decision, noting "the vacancy rate across most of Alberta is, in fact, at the highest levels ever."

Today, you can still find tax credits aimed at renters in other provinces. Ontario's Trillium Benefit and Manitoba's Residential Renters Tax Credit, for example, both offer modest benefits to low-to-moderate-income tenants.

British Columbia also introduced a new renter's tax credit in its 2023 budget. Lower-income tenants in that province will be able to claim up to $400 in benefits when they file their income taxes in 2024.

Tim Richter, president and CEO of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, says these types of benefits administered through the tax system are an easier and more efficient way for tenants living in precarious rental situations to get financial support, compared to government programs that require a separate application process.

But he also noted that Ontario, Manitoba and B.C. each have some form of rent control today, too.

He cautioned that the hypothetical return of a renters tax credit in Alberta could have unintended consequences and end up benefiting landlords more than tenants.

"Alberta doesn't have rent control," Richter said. "I would be worried about a very large-scale subsidy of consumers being captured by landlords who now realize that, 'Everybody is going to get a subsidy of X per cent, so I'm just going to raise my rent by X per cent.'"

Lessons from the past?

In retrospect, Ghitter said the rent controls his government adopted nearly a half-century ago were ultimately "a negative force, economically" and shouldn't be repeated because he believes they would slow the construction of new rental housing.

"What you need to do, really, is you need to have programs that will create more affordable housing," Ghitter said.

One 1970s-era policy he would like to see resurrected is the Multiple Unit Residential Buildings (MURB) provision to the federal Income Tax Act, which allowed investors to claim depreciation and some other costs of building rental apartments against unrelated income.

"It invited investors — net worth people, doctors, lawyers, whatever — to invest in construction of multi-family housing," Ghitter said. "And it was a tax advantage to them. The investor could write that off immediately and they were hopeful that the housing would bring them some benefits."

The CMHC also commissioned a study into the MURB program in 1981, which found the policy to be "an important component of the recovery in rental construction in the mid to late 1970s."

"However, it appears likely that, if left to its own devices, the rental market would have begun to respond to the excess demand on its own — albeit at higher rents."

The report adds: "The main beneficiaries of the MURB provision from the supply side of the market have been the developer/promoters and investors with high marginal tax rates."

In a recent briefing note from the CMHC to Housing Minister Sean Fraser (obtained by CBC News under access-to-information laws), the MURB policy was credited with encouraging the construction of about 195,000 units at a cost of $2.4 billion in forgone taxes.

"Since the elimination of the MURB program in 1982, tax policy in relation to rental housing development has remained largely unchanged and current tax regulations are less favourable to rental investment than have been historically," the briefing note said.

Richter, with the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, believes the MURB program was an effective tool. After it ended, he said, "you saw the construction of rental housing drop off and investors getting more into things like condominiums, which … obviously had a better return."

"So tax incentives are a really, really powerful incentive," he said.

Ghitter believes the key challenge with today's housing crisis is a lack of supply. He believes the role of government should be to encourage the construction of new rental housing, rather than to restrict the price of rent. Over the long haul, he believes that will bring the most relief to people struggling to afford their housing.

Richter agrees a permanent solution is needed but also says people struggling to pay rent right now need immediate supports.

"You want to provide relief to people in the short term, for sure," he said. "But in the long term, you know, you've got to build the housing supply and you've got to have a housing supply that matches with the growth of the province, or else you'll just have people permanently struggling to pay rent, right?"

ALBERTA

Braid: Old-fashioned government incompetence wrecked a working lab-test system

Author of the article:

Don Braid  •  Calgary Herald

Published Sep 08, 2023  •  

Adriana LaGrange, Alberta minister of health, speaks at the Peter Lougheed Centre on Tuesday, Aug. 22. PHOTO BY AZIN GHAFFARI /Postmedia

Article content

What a mess. The DynaLife lab testing fiasco stands as one of the worst Alberta government blunders in many years.

It was driven by political pressures, AHS imperialism, a rushed contract that never should have been signed and costs yet to be revealed.

Article content

On Aug. 18, the UCP government and DynaLife parted ways after wait times for blood and other tests ran out of control in Calgary.

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DynaLife had done reliable lab testing in Edmonton and the north for many years. Suddenly it lost the whole province, not just the troubled south.

It’s not clear if DynaLife voluntarily decided to quit Alberta, or if the UCP pushed the company out. Lawsuits may yet emerge from this.

The government has provided no details of the original contract that disastrously extended private testing, or the cost of ending the agreement.

The NDP has asked provincial auditor general Doug Wylie to investigate. The auditor’s office says no decision has been made yet. If any current problem deserves urgent inquiry and disclosure, this is surely it.

New Health Minister Adriana LaGrange looked deeply uncomfortable on the August Friday afternoon as she tried to paint this move as an improvement in health care.

The truth is that the government, already facing so many health-care pressures in hospitals, family medicine and surgeries, virtually wrecked a public testing system that was working very well.

After the southern shift took formal effect on Feb. 23, wait times began growing in Calgary. They soon stretched to weeks for an online appointment, and then to months.

Clinics were swamped by walk-ins. People with appointments they booked far ahead often had to wait hours after they arrived at a clinic.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks at a press conference in McDougall Centre in Calgary on Monday, Aug. 14. PHOTO BY AZIN GHAFFARI /Postmedia

Doctors were alarmed. Many had patients with serious conditions that needed prompt diagnosis.

Lab technicians, who had no part in causing this, came under intense pressure and occasional abuse.

And it was all unnecessary. Testing under Alberta Precision Laboratories (APL) had been one area that seemed to work reliably in the south. DynaLife was still doing fine in Edmonton.

In near panic, the government threw resources at the problem, or said it did, shifting some community testing to the remaining APL labs in hospitals and urgent-care centres.

None of that had much effect. Then came the dramatic August cancellation that’s supposed to bring improvement.

It hasn’t — at least, not yet. The booking website (albertaprecisionlabs.ca) shows that wait times might have improved slightly, but can still be very long.

Edmonton, meanwhile, is still fairly well served.

Even in government, people were shocked at the dramatic move to end all dealings with DynaLife.

The new contract had been announced late last year — after Premier Danielle Smith took office — and painted in February as a money-saving move that would be more efficient.

People close to the matter say the original contract had to be deeply flawed. One obvious problem was that lab technicians, suddenly in the private sector, took a drop in pay. This was sure to cause trouble.

Dynalife might have expected adjustments to get funding for problems that arose.

But a new regime was in place. Smith’s crew may have taken a tougher attitude to the contract and resisted pressure for new funding.

Jason Copping, the health minister who announced the change, lost in the May 29 election. So did Tyler Shandro, the former minister who was involved earlier.

Former Alberta minister of health Jason Copping, centre, tours Alberta Precision Laboratories in Calgary with Dr. Dylan Pillai, South Sector Medical Director, Alberta Precision Laboratories, right and Jason Pincock, president and CEO, DynaLIFE Medical Labs on Thursday, June 2, 2022. Gavin Young/Postmedia

Jason Kenney, premier at the time the drive began, was long gone.

Another player was AHS, many of whose executives were against private community testing, and still are. They want a provincewide public system. Now they have it, in the most bizarre circumstances.

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Smith says all this took shape before she took office. But she was premier for ore than three months before the system kicked in.

A bad deal could and should have been killed before it saw the light of day. There’s plenty of blame to go around here.

AHS seems to be the winner in the background tussle for a public provincial system, but that may only be temporary.

There’s talk that the UCP will at some point move once again toward provincewide private lab testing.

Many people will blame privatization for this debacle, but the main villain seems to be old-fashioned incompetence.

Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Herald.