What to Expect
With the Legislature having risen until the fall, the provincial and federal conservative leadership races will be the political focus throughout the summer. Conservative Party of Canada members will be choosing a new leader on September 10. The United Conservative Party has not yet selected a date.
This week is also the Global Energy Show in Calgary. The government will be looking to use the event to highlight Alberta’s recovering industry as well as unveil (or re-announce) new initiatives, especially those around hydrogen and carbon capture utilization, and storage.
The Week That Was
The Government of Alberta, via the Child and Youth Well-being Action Plan, is dedicating $110 million over a three-year period to support the mental and educational needs of students. Additionally, the province will reinstate a pilot program that will provide $3 million to support school nutrition projects during the upcoming academic year.
One of the first surgical facilities built on First Nations land in Canada is set to be complete in 2023. Enoch Cree Nation, in partnership with Surgical Centres Inc., is negotiating with Alberta Health Services on the project, which will increase surgical capacity and decrease wait-times.
With the investment of an additional $81 million in Budget 2022, the province will increase home care hours from 12 million in 2021-22 to 13 million.
On June 2, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller participated in a signing ceremony with Chief Ouray Crowfoot of Siksika First Nation, its council, and community members. The agreement provides $1.3 billion in a one-time settlement payment from the federal government over a wrongful land surrender from Siksika’s reserve dating back to 1910.
