Other Bills

Alberta also plans to table its 2026 budget on Feb. 26. Premier Danielle Smith has said the budget will include a multi-billion dollar deficit, partly due to lower-than-expected oil and gas prices that have reduced resource revenues in the province.

Alberta had an $8.3 billion budget surplus in the 2023-2024 fiscal year but has said it expects to face a shortfall of about $6.4 billion on this year’s budget.

Schow said the deficit is not expected to lessen key services provided by the provincial government.

“Budgets are always tough, especially when you have depressed oil prices. But it doesn’t mean that we can’t walk and chew gum at the same time,” he said.

The budget is expected to include a sizeable increase in health-care spending, including a 22 percent pay increase for doctors.

Alberta’s Opposition NDP has criticized the UCP government over delays in putting in place more emergency room triage physicians after the death last month of a patient who waited hours for care in Edmonton.

Opposition Leader Naheed Nenshi said the government is trying to shift blame for what happened and had “invented the jobs on the back of a napkin.”

The province’s Hospitals Minister Matt Jones said Alberta has earmarked $20 million for the new hires and had promised they would be on the job by Feb. 1; however, as of Feb. 24, the positions have not yet been filled. Jones said implementation has been delayed by negotiations with the Alberta Medical Association.

Immigration policy is also set to be a key part of this session of the Alberta legislature, with Schow saying the province wants to “give greater control to the province over immigration and protect newcomers from bad actors in the immigration system.”

“It has become clear the federal government has lost control over immigration,” Schow said.

In a Feb. 19 televised address, Smith said Alberta will hold a referendum on Oct. 19 that asks Albertans if they agree with limiting which migrants are approved for provincially funded programs, including health care and education.

The referendum will also ask if Albertans agree to abolish the Senate and whether provinces should select justices for provincial courts of King’s Bench and appeals courts instead of Ottawa.

Alberta to Propose Stricter Limits on MAID, Advance Provincial Police Plan

Number of Assaults Reported in Montreal Metro Rises 15 Percent in One Year, to 726

Australia Is Shipping LNG to Canada’s East Coast via 25,000 km Journey: Report

Adamson Barbecue Owner in Court for Challenge of Ontario’s COVID-19 Lockdown Measures