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☆ Explainer: What is Alberta's Sovereignty Act?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Below are some key aspects of the act:WHAT IS THE ALBERTA SOVEREIGNTY ACT? Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act was approved by the legislature in December 2022 after the initial bill was diluted to its current form. The act affirmed that the Alberta legislature, not Smith's cabinet, would have the last word on lawmaking. The Sovereignty Act was one of the most eye-catching policies Smith promised to introduce after becoming premier last year. Former conservative premier Jason Kenney has blasted the Alberta Sovereignty Act as a "full-frontal attack on the rule of law" that risked turning Alberta into a "banana republic".

Persons: Danielle Smith, Todd Korol, Justin Trudeau's, Smith, " Smith, Trudeau, Jason Kenney, Denny Thomas, Rod, Deepa Babington, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Calgary Stampede, REUTERS, Smith's United Conservative Party, Liberal, ACT, Alberta, United, First Nations, Ottawa, federal National Energy Program, Wildrose Party, Reuters, Former, Thomson Locations: Alberta, Calgary , Alberta, Canada, ALBERTA, United Canada, Saskatchewan, Alberta . Alberta, Ottawa

☆ Canada warns of economic uncertainty if Alberta quits national pension plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOTTAWA, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Canada will face rising economic uncertainty if the province of Alberta carries out a threat to withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Friday. Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner later on Friday said the province would not leave fellow Canadians without a stable pension and its associated benefits. "For the past several weeks, Alberta has been having an open discussion about the possibility of establishing an Alberta Pension Plan that will benefit our seniors and workers," he said. The so-called Alberta Pension Protection Act would require Albertans to vote in favor of a pension plan for the province during a public referendum before the provincial government would seek to withdraw assets, the statement said. "Alberta would need to negotiate complex time-consuming portability agreements with the CPP and with the Quebec Pension Plan," she said.

Persons: Finance Chrystia Freeland, Susana Vera, Chrystia Freeland, Freeland, Nate Horner, Justin Trudeau's, Danielle Smith's, Smith, Trudeau, Pierre Poilievre, Maiya Keidan, David Ljunggren, Kirsten Donovan, Paul Simao Organizations: Finance, IMF, World Bank, REUTERS, Rights OTTAWA, Canada, federal, Alberta, Liberal, Danielle Smith's United Conservative Party, Conservative Party, Thomson Locations: Marrakech, Morocco, Canada, Alberta, Quebec, Toronto, Ottawa

☆ Leaving Canada Pension Plan could save Albertans billions, says study
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Maiya Keidan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"I believe that an Alberta pension plan would be fairer," Premier Danielle Smith told a news conference on Thursday. However, he noted the pension respects the right of Albertans to consider withdrawing from the Canada Pension Plan. Albertans will have until spring 2024 to submit views on a provincial pension plan to a panel, which will submit a report to the Albertan government. Former Premier Jason Kenney announced in June 2020 that his government would study a recommendation from a panel to replace the CPP with a provincial plan. Any province has the right to withdraw under the Canada Pension Plan Act but written notice is required, enabling legislation has to be passed and the value of assets to be transferred must be negotiated.

Persons: Danielle Smith, Todd Korol, LifeWorks, Smith, Michel Leduc, Albertans, Chrystia Freeland, Premier Jason Kenney, Maiya Keidan, Steve Scherer, Barbara Lewis, Josie Kao Organizations: United Conservative Party, REUTERS, Rights, Canada, Global, Public Affairs, Communications, Investments, Plan . Finance, Premier, CPP, Investment Board, Thomson Locations: Calgary , Alberta, Canada, Canadian, Alberta, Ottawa, Province of Alberta, Quebec

☆ Canada's Trudeau and Alberta Premier Smith look for agreement on climate policies
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meet as the annual Calgary Stampede rodeo, exhibition and festival kicks off in Calgary, Alberta, Canada July 7, 2023. REUTERS/Todd KorolJuly 7 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on Friday said they hoped to find agreement on climate and energy policies that have been a sore point between the federal government and the largest oil-producing province. Trudeau was visiting Canada's oil capital Calgary at the start of the city's annual Stampede event, a 10-day celebration of rodeo and western cowboy culture. The Liberal Prime Minister and United Conservative Party leader Smith have clashed over federal climate policies including a proposed oil and gas emissions cap and clean electricity regulations. But I can say there's been a really positive and constructive working relationship between our ministers and our folks from the very beginning," Trudeau said.

Persons: Danielle Smith, Justin Trudeau, Todd Korol, Trudeau, Smith, " Trudeau, Nia Williams, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Alberta, Canadian, Calgary Stampede, REUTERS, Liberal, United Conservative Party, Ottawa, Paris Climate, Thomson Locations: Calgary , Alberta, Canada, Calgary, Alberta, Paris

☆ After a Hard-Right Turn, Alberta’s Conservatives Retain Power
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Ian Austen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The result, while a win for conservatives, is likely to be seen as a rebuff of the politics of Danielle Smith, the hard-right leader of the United Conservative Party who has been Alberta’s premier for seven months. Ms. Smith came to power after the party effectively rejected a more moderate conservative, Jason Kenney, as premier over his refusal to end pandemic restrictions and vaccine mandates. The views of Ms. Smith, a former radio talk show host and newspaper columnist who previously led another conservative party, are firmly aligned with that faction. She has declared that the unvaccinated were the “most discriminated-against group” she’d seen in her lifetime and suggested that police officers who enforced pandemic measures had committed crimes. In May, a video surfaced of her likening people who chose to be vaccinated to Germans who came to support Hitler.

[1/2] Danielle Smith of the United Conservative Party (UCP) gestures during her party's provincial election night party after a projected win in Calgary, Alberta, Canada May 29, 2023. Smith, leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP), defeated left-leaning New Democratic Party leader Rachel Notley on Monday, and immediately targeted Trudeau, threatening the country's ambitious climate goals. Some analysts have said deep emissions cuts are not possible without reducing oil production, which Smith fiercely opposes. "As premier I cannot under any circumstances allow these contemplated federal policies to be inflicted upon Albertans." "One of the challenges is there is a political class in Alberta that has decided that anything to do with climate change is going to be bad for them or for Alberta," Trudeau told Reuters in a January interview.

May 29 (Reuters) - United Conservative Party (UCP) leader Danielle Smith's election victory in Canada's main oil-producing province Alberta on Monday is likely to herald further friction with Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, particularly over climate change. The populist premier's win signals a further rightward shift in the traditionally conservative province, and comes despite a series of controversies and gaffes from Smith, 52, since she first became premier in October. In her victory speech, Smith was quick to take aim at Trudeau and what she described as the federal government's "harmful policies". "As premier I cannot under any circumstances allow these contemplated federal policies to be inflicted upon Albertans. In early 2022 she announced plans to run for leadership of the United Conservative Party, which was born in 2017 from a merger of the Progressives Conservatives and Wildrose Party.

☆ Alberta heads to the polls with Canada's green agenda in balance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks during the Canada Strong and Free Networking Conference in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada March 23, 2023. The battle between populist Premier Danielle Smith's United Conservative Party (UCP), which is seeking a second consecutive term, and Rachel Notley's left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) is expected to be extremely close, pollsters say, even though Alberta is traditionally a conservative bastion. Alberta is Canada's highest-emitting province, largely due to vast oil sands operations in the northern boreal forest and produces 80% of the country's 4.9 million barrels per day of crude oil. She held another major rally in NDP stronghold and Alberta capital Edmonton on Sunday. Polls are open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time and the result is expected to be called late Monday night.

☆ Factbox: Biggest issues in Canadian province of Alberta's May 29 election
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Below are the main issues in the election:HEALTHCAREIn the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare has become a big issue in Alberta. The UCP last month committed to keeping Alberta's publicly-funded healthcare system, contrasting with comments previously made by Smith about dismantling universal healthcare paid for by taxpayers. The UCP has pledged to lower taxes by creating a new 8% tax bracket on income under C$60,000 ($44,033.47). ENERGY AND CLIMATEBoth the UCP and NDP are supportive of the energy sector, recognising it as Alberta's main economic engine. ($1 = 1.3626 Canadian dollars)Reporting by Nia Williams; Editing by Paul SimaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Alberta Election Tests Conservatives’ Hard-Right Turn
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Ian Austen | Amber Bracken | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Sitting at a cafe terrace overlooking a park commemorating the birthplace of the vast oil industry in the western Canadian province of Alberta, Audrey Cerkvenac and Ernestine Dumont, wrestled with a political dilemma. In a province long the epicenter of Canada’s conservative politics, the two older women had been unwavering conservative supporters. But now, as Monday’s provincial election approached, they said they had been turned off by the strident right turn the province’s conservative party had taken as it ruled Alberta during the pandemic, fueled by extremist protests against Covid restrictions and baseless claims about vaccines. The hard-right turn of the United Conservative Party has put a province that was once a sure win for Canada’s conservatives up for grabs in Monday’s elections. Beyond a referendum on the ideological shift of the party, the vote could also serve as a gauge of the conservative standing nationwide.

☆ Ethics official cites Alberta premier for violation, ahead of election
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

OTTAWA, May 18 (Reuters) - Alberta Premier Danielle Smith interfered with the judicial process, the Canadian province's ethics commissioner said in a ruling released on Thursday, two weeks before a provincial election that is expected to be hard fought. Ethics Commissioner Marguerite Trussler said Smith had breached conflict of interest laws by contacting the province's justice minister about the case of a Calgary pastor facing criminal charges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In statement on Thursday, Smith said she would seek legal advice on how a premier could talk to a justice minister about sensitive matters in the future. Last week Smith apologized for having compared Albertans vaccinated against COVID-19 with followers of Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany. In March, another UCP candidate resigned after claiming children are exposed to pornography in schools and teachers help them change their gender identities.

☆ Thousands of Albertans evacuated in "unprecedented" wildfire situation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Maiya Keidan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ET), 24,511 Albertans were evacuated from homes with 103 active wildfires across the province, burning 121,909 hectares. "I don't know that I ever recall seeing multiple communities evacuated all at once in fire season," said Smith. So far this year, there have been 43,000 hectares burned from wildfires, Smith said. "It is very unusual for us to see this much fire activity this early in the season," said Christie Tucker, an information unit manager for Alberta Wildfire. "This is a much much busier than average wildfire season so far."

☆ Alberta's ethics commissioner probes premier's alleged meddling in COVID prosecution
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

OTTAWA, April 10 (Reuters) - Alberta's ethics commissioner is investigating whether Premier Danielle Smith interfered with the judicial process tied to the prosecution of an offence related to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a statement from the premier's office on Monday. "The premier welcomes this investigation, is fully cooperating with the commissioner, and is confident this examination will confirm there has been no such interference," the statement said. The office of Alberta's ethics commissioner did not respond to a request for comment. Pawlowski is facing charges related to COVID-19 protests in Canada last year, which included a weeks-long blockade of the Coutts border crossing into the United States from southern Alberta. Smith became UCP leader and premier last October, replacing Jason Kenney, by appealing to grassroots UCP members in the traditionally conservative province.

☆ Rough week for Alberta's ruling UCP casts shadow ahead of May election
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Polls show Alberta's election, scheduled to take place no later than May 29, will be a tight two-way race between the UCP and left-leaning New Democratic Party, led by Rachel Notley. "I think it will make a difference (to voters), it's going to keep coming up," Bratt said of the recording. "It's going to be reluctant conservatives in Calgary who are concerned about the judgment and trustworthiness of Premier Smith and this adds to questions about that." Smith became UCP leader and premier last October, replacing Jason Kenney, by appealing to grassroots UCP members in the traditionally conservative province. read moreLast week's controversies come just days after two senior Alberta government minister, Finance Minister Travis Toews and Environment Minister Sonya Savage, said they would not seek re-election.

☆ Alberta Premier Danielle Smith seeks more autonomy from Canada in new bill
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 29 (Reuters) - The government of Canada's main oil-producing province Alberta introduced proposed legislation on Tuesday to resist federal laws it deems harmful to Alberta, fulfilling a controversial promise from new Premier Danielle Smith. If passed, the bill, known as the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act, would give the province a legislative framework to defend its jurisdiction in areas such as natural resources, gun control, and health and education. Trudeau avoided commenting directly on the Sovereignty Act when asked by reporters on Tuesday. Smith became premier in early October and promised to introduce the Sovereignty Act as her first piece of legislation. read moreThe government said nothing in the proposed act undermines any existing treaties with First Nations.

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