Alberta.

• Author: Rempel, Jody
• Position: Legislative Reports

Spring Sitting

The spring sitting of the Third Session of the 30th Legislature commenced on February 22 and adjourned on May 26. The fall sitting is scheduled to begin on October 31, 2022. The spring sitting saw the introduction of 24 government bills, 22 of which have received royal assent, including:

* Bill 15, Education (Reforming Teacher Profession Discipline) Amendment Act, 2022, which creates the Alberta Teaching Profession Commission to oversee teacher conduct and competency complaints.

* Bill 18, Utility Commodity Rebate Act which repeals the Natural Gas Price Protection Act in order to allow for rebates on electricity bills. The Government is now working to implement both an Electricity Rebate Program and a Natural Gas Rebate Program.

* Bill 22, Electricity Statutes (Modernizing Alberta's Electricity Grid) Amendment Act, 2022 responds to the changing needs of producers and consumers. The updated legislation provides for unlimited self-supply and export and it reassigns many of the responsibilities of the current Balancing Pool in order to allow the Pool to wind down its operation once its statutory responsibilities are complete.

Two private bills and eight private members' public bills were introduced and referred to the Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members' Public Bills. Both private bills have received royal assent. Of the private members' public bills one remains with the committee, three will not proceed if the Assembly concurs with the committee's recommendation, and the others are in various stages of consideration. The one exception is Bill 205, Human Tissue and Organ Donation (Mandatory Referral) Amendment Act, 2022, sponsored by R.J. Sigurdson, which received royal assent. Bill 205 will require health care practitioners to report imminent deaths to the province's organ procurement organization in order to minimize lost donation opportunities and permit potential donors to make the necessary arrangements in a timely fashion. The bill will come into force on April 1, 2023.

United Conservative Party Leadership Race

Premier Jason Kenney has announced his intention to resign as leader of the United Conservative Party (UC). Mr. Kenney will continue to serve as the leader and Premier until the party announces a new leader, which is set to occur on October 6. Some members of the current UC caucus have already announced their candidacy for party leader and three ministers have resigned from cabinet in order to...