DANIELLE SMITH WANTS YOU TO PAY OUT OF POCKET TO SEE A FAMILY DOCTOR
Read that twice. While tens of thousands of Albertans struggle to find a family doctor (alongside struggling to make ends meet with the rising cost of living) Danielle Smith wants those that have a family doctor to pay to see them. Out of pocket.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is heard speaking with outspoken Calgary pastor Artur Pawlowski in a newly-revealed video, creating questions about her influence on Alberta court cases.
On previous occasions, Smith has denied that she or a member of her staff made direct contact with Crown prosecutors in order to influence their decisions on cases involving COVID charges.
But that’s not what she said to Pawlowski.
The video, recorded by Pawlowski – who faces charges of inciting the Coutts border dispute in early 2022 – involves a conversation between himself and the premier. Critics say it could be evidence that Smith has been interfering with the justice system — or at least involving herself more than she claimed to be.
The taped conversation starts with admiration on Smith’s part.
“I’ve been watching your public advocacy for many years,” she said. “I’m sorry to hear what they’ve been putting you through.”
“As you are aware, I am still on house arrest, facing 10 and a half years imprisonment for my speech in Coutts,” Pawlowski responded, adding that he reached out to her “because of the promises that were never fulfilled.”
Smith told him that she didn’t have the same power of clemency that the U.S. president or U.S. governors have, but said she could “ask prosecutors (if) there is a reasonable likelihood of conviction, and is it in the public interest?
“I assure you that I have asked them that, almost weekly, ever since I got started here,” Smith said in the recording.
“There have been a number of cases that have been abandoned as they have gone through that assessment and I’m very hopeful that will be the case for more cases but there really isn’t a mechanism for me to get them to drop cases.”
In January, Smith’s office responded to a CBC Calgary story that stated one of her staffers challenged prosecutors on several criminal cases that were connected to the Coutts border dispute.
CTV News hasn’t yet been able to independently confirm the allegations.
Smith’s office says the article was not true.
“The CBC published a defamatory article containing baseless allegations that Premier’s Office staff had sent a series of emails to Alberta Crown prosecutors concerning charges related to the Coutts protest and other pandemic-related matters before the courts. The CBC admitted that it had not seen any of the emails,” Smith’s office said in a statement attributed to no one in particular.
Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt said there’s a blurry line between asking questions and applying political pressure.
“Now her defenders may say she’s just asking questions,” Bratt said. “But if you ask the same question over and over again, is that pressure?”
Back in the video, Pawlowski is heard appealing to Smith about the charges, saying they could have been dealt with differently.
“Instead of sitting down and solving the problem, we had to hire an entire legal team, which will cost over $150,000 extra to comb through this massive additional disclosure that we never had before,” he said.
Pawlowski accused Justice Minister Tyler Shandro “of playing a game” and Crown prosecutor Steven Johnson of “following directives.”
Smith continues by saying she would check on that, but said she didn’t think it had anything to do with Shandro.
“I think the issue is once the ball is rolling, these Crown prosecutors seem to be very independent and we can only ask them two questions as I mentioned to you,” she said.
“I don’t very much see this as driven by the minister, but I have also raised this with the deputy minister.”
The Alberta NDP says it was shocked to hear about the call between the premier and a man accused by police of encouraging violent actions, including the “admiration” Smith had for Pawlowski.
“The fact that someone accused of encouraging violence against police can get the premier on the phone at all is extraordinary,” said Irfan Sabir, the NDP’s justice critic, in a statement.
“That she greets him with such admiration says a lot about who Danielle Smith is. It’s clear that interfering in Pawlowski’s case, and the cases of the other accused Coutts blockaders is a priority for Danielle Smith and the UCP.”
Sabir said he wrote to Shandro, asking for an independent investigation into the alleged interference, but has never received a response from him.
“Shandro is clearly aware of the premier’s actions, and he has failed in his duty to uphold the justice system,” Sabir said.
“Smith lied to Albertans when she said she had never contacted prosecutors, and when she said no one in her office had contacted prosecutors.”
Sabir says the solution is an independent investigation.
“One hundred per cent Albertans deserve to know what happened,” said Sabir. “And deserve to be reassured their justice system is independent of political interference. Conversations like this do put a big question mark on that independence.”
On Wednesday morning, Smith’s office preemptively released a new statement, ahead of any new news articles.
In it, she said the organization is continuing its “campaign of defamatory attacks” against her.
Smith said she had already addressed the Jan. 26 conversation she had with Pawlowski during a media availability on Feb. 9.
“This should come as no shock since I spent a lot of time before and during my leadership campaign talking to hundreds of Albertans about COVID-related public health orders and violations,” she stated.
Smith reaffirmed her statements that she was working with the justice minister’s office, not Crown prosecutors, on the cases.
Those discussions recommended “against pursuing amnesty” for individuals charged with non-violent, non-firearms COVID-related charges.
“At no time have I spoken with anyone from the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service, nor to my knowledge have any of my office’s staff.
“Allegations to the contrary are defamatory and will be dealt with accordingly.”
Experts point out the call wasn’t illegal, but if Smith wasn’t bluffing, it does raise questions.
“The Crown prosecutor’s office has denied that they’ve had any conversation with the premier’s office about this,” said MRU justice studies professor Doug King. “So somewhere, someone isn’t telling the truth.”
CTV News has reached out to Pawlowski for further information about his discussions with the premier.
A large majority of Albertans support the idea of the government providing universal access to free birth control, suggests a new poll from a Calgary-based public relations firm.
ThinkHQ, an Alberta public and government relations and opinion research firm, provided the poll to CBC. It found that 74 per cent of Albertans surveyed approve of the idea of free prescription birth control while only 18 per cent disapprove.
British Columbia will soon become the first jurisdiction in Canada to make prescription birth control free to its residents. Starting April 1, the province will cover the cost of oral hormone pills (commonly known as “the pill”), injections, implants, IUDs, and the morning-after pill.
Marc Henry, ThinkHQ president, said the support shown in the poll results are surprising.
“Getting three-quarters of a population to agree with any piece of public policy these days, it is a bit astounding. It’s very popular in Alberta,” Henry said.
He added that approval of the idea largely crosses all demographics and regions of the province.
Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley said earlier in March that if elected premier, her government would also cover contraceptives. She said it will save Albertans money, help prevent unintended pregnancies, and ensure women have more control over their lives and economic futures.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said contraception is available to Albertans who are enrolled in government-sponsored drug and supplemental health benefits.
“The vast majority of prescription drugs are covered under private plans,” Smith said.
Lori Williams, associate professor of policy studies at Mount Royal University, agreed that it is unusual to see the kind of consensus demonstrated by the poll among a diverse population.
“Some people think of this as an issue affecting only half of the population, but of course it affects families, people that are trying to … have access to medication,” she said.
She added that people can use birth control to treat a variety of health conditions and that it can often be quite expensive. Most birth control pills cost $20 a month while an IUD can cost around $500.
Albertans are expected to go to the polls in May — Williams said that recent polling shows that health care and affordability are the most important issues to voters in the province.
“If those continue to be the important issues, it will be a question of which party, which leader, which vision is seen as most credible and effective at achieving that vision.”
The poll surveyed more than 1,100 people online. The sample is weighted to reflect the gender, age, and location make-up of the Alberta population, and has a margin of error of close to three per cent, 19 times out of 20.
Alberta’s United Conservative Party-led government was challenged Monday on why affordability programs like the gas tax holiday, utility rebates and targeted cost of living measures are scheduled to end by July.
During the return of oral question period, provincial cabinet ministers were asked about inflation relief measures and why they are slated to end, with projections by provincial economists indicating high inflation and cost pressures continuing through 2023.
“These programs all start expiring right after the polls close,” Notley said. “I’ve seen jugs of milk last longer.
“No more affordability cheques, no more gas tax relief, no more rebates and Albertans will have to start paying off their deferred electricity bills,” the Opposition leader added.
Premier Danielle Smith said she did not want the provincial inflationary support to “have an implication” on the election, with it slated for May 29.
“The payments will go on until June 30,” the premier responded. “We will continue to look and hear from our constituents… and ask Albertans whether or not we continue to have the pressures.
“As we all know, leading into a winter season when you have electric charges, higher home heating bills, higher cost of gas and diesel charges, that’s why we targeted winter.”
Matt Jones, affordability and utilities minister, said the province has provided an estimated $900 of relief per household through the Affordability Action Plan and further targeted relief to families with children, seniors and vulnerable Albertans.
That includes the fuel tax holiday, utility rebates, and direct affordability payments for eligible Albertans.
“We will continue to assess inflation and cost of living and provide support to Albertans,” Jones added.
When asked why only families with children received some targeted payments, Jones said, “families with children face higher fuel, energy and fuel costs.”
“We wanted to make sure they got those benefits,” he said.
According to Jones, to date, 1.8 million Albertans have enrolled and received affordability payments, and two million homeowners will qualify for electricity rebates until April.
From January to June, Jones says the fuel tax relief will save most drivers between $200 and $400.
“Albertans are seeing significant cost reductions and savings and inflation has eased more in our province than every other province in Canada,” he added.
Notley claimed the reason the cost of living support will end in June and not continue long-term is “the money is already spoken for” in the proposal formerly referred to as RStar.
That plan, developed by an industry group, would enable companies to use taxpayer-funded royalty breaks to fulfill their legal obligations to clean up old oil wells. Legal experts, energy economists and the province’s own internal analysts have criticized the scheme.
The proposed program is not funded by the latest provincial budget, but “liability management” is listed as a key priority for both the ministries of energy and environment and parks.
Smith didn’t directly address the implication, instead saying if Notley was concerned about the increasing cost of living, she would oppose further federal carbon tax increases.
Independent MLA Thomas Dang, representing Edmonton South, asked why the province isn’t taking action on addressing rising non-refundable childcare waiting fees, which he says can be as much as $700.
“Why are these operators allowed to charge excessive waiting fees?” he probed.
Mickey Amery, children’s services minister, said fees imposed by operators, whether for-profit or non-profit, are closely monitored by the government.
“I am pleased to announce daycare in this province has decreased to an average of $22-a-day and we are slated to get to a $15-a-day daycare fee within this year,” Amery said.
“We will not waver when it comes to protecting all operators in this province, and we will continue to respect parental choice and make it accessible for all.”
Your Pension is yours.
Or at least it used to, until actions taken by the UCP government.
Shortly after the 2019 election, the UCP under Premier Kenney introduced Bill 22 with no consultation. The legislation dramatically restructured how public pensions were governed, affecting the retirement security of hundreds of thousands of Albertans. With one piece of legislation, joint governance was dismantled, and all public sector plans were prevented from leaving AIMCo, irrespective of the investment managers’ performance. These actions made Alberta an outlier relative to other provinces.
Premier, Danielle Smith issued a mandate letter to her Finance Minister. Her direction was crystal clear: step up your efforts to leave the CPP.
Albertans have paid into CPP all their working lives. The value of any one individuals’ pension is a function of how long they worked, and how much they earned. The CPP doesn’t belong to any government, it belongs to the individuals who worked for it.
The message from working people is clear: they are concerned about their retirement security, and they want more done. They want better pensions.
The problem we are trying to solve is therefore simple: what can the Government of Alberta do to support good pensions and protect retirement security? What can we do to help the private sector create good workplace pensions for Albertans? What can we do to help attract and retain talent for Alberta employers?
Danielle Smith’s UCP has failed Alberta’s families.
With the election about to begin, we need all hands on deck to beat the UCP and elect an Alberta NDP government.
Now is the time. Together, we can top the UCP’s big donors and bring the change hard working families in Alberta need this spring.
Chip in to help us end Danielle Smith’s chaos and deliver a better future for Albertans.
All Albertans should be able to live in security and dignity.
When we were in government, vital benefits were indexed to inflation. In 2019, one of the first things the UCP did was to cut benefits for seniors and vulnerable Albertans; the Seniors Benefit, Income Supports and AISH payments were no longer increased to keep in line with the cost of living.
This cruel decision pushed already financially vulnerable Albertans further into poverty.
Simply restarting indexing does not undo the harm done to thousands of Albertans pushed deeper into poverty, during the worst inflation we have seen in generations.
An Alberta NDP government will immediately increase the value of these benefits to where they should be if they had kept pace with the cost of living, and then index to inflation from there.
Calgary’s downtown has long served as a fundamental part of Alberta’s economy. Activity within it has generated tremendous wealth.
But today, roughly 30 per cent of downtown office space sits empty. Calgary’s unemployment rate is the highest of any major Canadian city.
This is despite the UCP’s promise that their corporate handout would fill the office towers.
It will take support from all three orders of government, in concert with the private sector, to support a thriving modern economy in Calgary.
Our plan for Downtown Calgary includes:
We’re less than three months away from a spring election, and change is in the air. That means one thing: it’s time to clean up Danielle Smith’s chaos. Albertans deserve better: healthcare, affordability, and good jobs.
We have the tools to bring new life to our provincial government: a dedicated team, passionate supporters, and countless volunteers.
But we need resources to power the campaign. Will you help us grow a better Alberta?
Chip in now to help clean out the UCP.
Bill 9 amended the Workers’ Compensation Act to expand presumptive cancer coverage to all firefighters who served during the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire.
Alberta’s governing UCP is rejecting calls from Opposition New Democrats to amend a bill before MLAs that expands presumptive cancer coverage to all firefighters who served during the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfires.
The government’s Bill 9 — the Red Tape Reduction Statutes Amendment Act, 2023 — was tabled in the legislature last week and could be debated in second reading sometime this week.
The bill removes the current latency periods, or the number of years that a firefighter has been on the job.
That change will only take effect on the date of royal assent, should the bill be passed.
On Monday, NDP labour critic Christina Gray said she planned to propose amendments to the bill that would mean those protections would be offered retroactively.
“What the UCP have brought forward fails to meet the needs of firefighters on a number of fronts,” Gray said at a Monday news conference.
“The last thing that (firefighters) need or that their families need is to have to worry about whether they will have Workers’ Compensation Board coverage or not.”
Gray said she also wanted to expand the number of cancers covered by the legislation and to also add respiratory illnesses to the list of conditions.
Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally indicated his party would reject those amendments, and called on the NDP to support the legislation as it stands.
“The issue of retroactivity is that it opens up a host of other issues,” he told reporters.
“It won’t just be for Fort McMurray, it could then be applied to everything. So it comes with some challenges.”
He said retroactivity is currently an issue in only two cases, although that number could increase in the years to come,
“We are confident that those two can be dealt with through a fairness process review.”
Alberta Professional Fire Fighters and Paramedics Association president Matt Osborne spoke in favour of the bill when it was announced last Wednesday but on Monday he joined the NDP to back the call for retroactivity.
“We need to make sure that firefighters who are already battling cancer and these issues are looked after equally,” he said, adding that Bill 9 represents “a big step forward.”
“It is difficult enough when you’re battling cancer, and then at the same time you also need to prove a WCB claim to look after you and your family.”
