MLAs don’t expect to be impressed by spring session throne speech
Posted Mar 2, 2014 5:35 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The province’s ministers are packing up and heading to Edmonton to get ready for Monday’s throne speech from Premier Alison Redford and the start of the spring sitting of the legislature.
Keith Brownsey, a political scientist at Mount Royal University, expects no surprises in the throne speech this year.
“I think this government will be particularly vague tomorrow and there are also predictions, there are a number of insiders, saying that it will be a very short session; three weeks, maybe four weeks.” said Brownsey.
He added Redford will likely get more flack this session then she would want to handle for a long period of time.
“At this point in the election cycle, it’s the midway point; it will be very pragmatic, there will be a number of initiatives announced, but nothing to startle voters.”
The premier has said she wanted this upcoming session to be about laying groundwork for beyond the 2016 election.
Moe Amery, a Progressive Conservative MLA for Calgary-East, anticipates the throne speech will set the stage for the next two years.
“We promised 50 schools, yes we built some of them, but there is still a lot to be done,” said Amery.
He notes after talking to his constituents, problems with emergency services at Calgary hospitals will be on his mind.
“This is a problem that has been going on for a long time and I think this is one of the main concerns,” he said.
David Swann, the Alberta Liberal health critic, isn’t very optimistic going into this session and the secrecy of the legislative agenda makes for a bit of a run around.
“We often get into the session and we’re going day and night meeting on these issues without adequate chance to do the research,” said Swann.
“We are also expecting that, while the premier will be promising many things, she has been short on delivery and the budget may well look like another three-and-a-half billion dollar deficit.”
Doug Horner, Minister of Finance, will deliver the 2014-15 budgets on Thursday and during the spring session is expected to table public-sector pension reforms.
Jason Hale, the Wildrose energy critic, said he wants to see spending restraints “On their sunshine lists, their expenses that have been brought to light in the last year,” said Hale.
He said he’ll continue to press for regulations to work with industry as well as market access to make way for the Keystone XL, west-east and the Northern Gateway Pipelines.
Manmeet Bhullar, minister of human services, said he wants to introduce changes to the publication ban on naming children who die in the province’s care.
“I’ve made a commitment to reverse that law so that the people are in power and not government,” said Bhullar.
Heather Forsyth, the Wildrose health critic, said after the throne speech she wants some answers.
“One of the most anticipated mental health and addictions reports for the government, the government decided to bury it … they just put it quietly on their website, to me that is a disservice to Albertans and anyone battling mental health and addictions,” said Forsyth.
Premier Redford has insisted the spring session will shy away from a focused on getting re-elected and focus on the accomplishments of the last two years and the work needed to be done beyond the next election.
