#lethbridge-west

[the-quotable-alberta-hansard]

May 6, 2025

Member Miyashiro: I ask the minister: was anyone consulted prior to making the decision to cut funding, or was it just another deliberate, unilateral decision to inflict pain on people with disabilities and their families?

The Speaker: I just want to provide a caution to the hon. member. In the last two questions you made an allegation that the government would intentionally bully people, that they would inflict pain on people. I think that’s getting very close to the level of a point of order.

[the-quotable-alberta-hansard]

May 14, 2025

Member Miyashiro: Given that high-wall mining involves mining coal seams of an open-pit mine, meaning there needs to be an open pit before high-wall mining can begin ... to the minister: if there’s no open-pit mining and there’s no technical way to extract eastern slopes coal without it, does he agree that there cannot be any open-pit coal mining on the eastern slopes?

Mr. Jean: We’re going to do a great job on protecting Albertans, the water, the air, the animals, human life.

But what Albertans want to know is – he started off with Calgary, then he went to Edmonton, then he went to Winnipeg; he went Liberal, he went NDP, then he went Liberal, maybe Alberta Party in there, Mr. Speaker. Now, apparently, if you go orange, purple, and red, it makes this yucky-looking brown colour. I’m just concerned about that generally, and I think Albertans want to know: what does he actually stand for? We just want to know before going into the summer break, and I’d really like to know, too.

[the-quotable-alberta-hansard]

May 14, 2025

Member Miyashiro: This government claims Alberta’s coal modernization initiative will ban open-pit mining in the foothills and keep selenium out of our water. It will prohibit mountaintop removal mining and require that any new mining must use techniques that prevent adding selenium to waterways. Albertans remain skeptical. They’ve seen the realities with Teck in B.C., who spent billions to remove selenium from water and failed. They know the coal is under the mountaintops and the best way to get at it is to dig it out. To the minister of energy: what is the difference between mountaintop removal mining and open-pit mining?

Mr. Jean: I thank the member for the question, Mr. Speaker. Albertans are very curious and are concerned, and that’s why they know that this government is going to do a better job than the former NDP government was trying to do and certainly better than the B.C. government is doing with coal mining in B.C.

What Albertans really want to know is: where is No-show Nenshi, Mr. Speaker? They’ve been looking everywhere for him. You know, we’ve seen him in the past. He’s been wearing a Calgary jersey, he’s been wearing an Edmonton jersey, and now he’s wearing a Winnipeg jersey. We don’t know where he is. We’re asking if he could actually show up for work because I know Albertans need him.

[the-quotable-alberta-hansard]

May 28, 2024

Ms Phillips: The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team has recommended criminal charges against Lethbridge police officers who targeted me when I was a minister. I am grateful that ASIRT undertook a fulsome investigation and found what I’ve known for years, that my records were accessed in 2018 for no lawful purpose other than political intimidation.

The years that led up to ASIRT’s findings have been a bit rough on me. I know people think I’m strong. I’ve been the face of some tough files in Alberta and nationally, and that is true. I have a reserve of all the strength in the world for building a better world with my NDP colleagues, but I was not prepared for how hard the years-long grind of trying to get a bit of police accountability has been on me, my family, and my love of political life. The LPS did incredible harm to my career and my reputation. They’ve never shown accountability or responsibility.

It also has a profound and important effect on democracy. In particular, these findings of criminal behaviour by sworn officers send a message to progressive people who might want to participate in politics: in Lethbridge you might be a police target for your views. The threat that law enforcement may violate a citizen’s right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure if they don’t like that citizen’s politics is intolerable in a free and democratic society.

The lesson for the community and for Albertans is that we have still not seen accountability for the LPS, and at some point we have to send the message that police intimidating elected officials or anyone else is intolerable.

At this point none of it’s over, but I do want to issue some words of thanks to Lisa Lambert, my assistant, who has endured all of this with me in my constituency office; to Geoff Braun, my partner – it hasn’t been easy on him either – to my kids and my mom, who helped me with the legal bills; and to the Member for Calgary-Mountain View for all of her support and friendship.

The arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice. It only bends that way if we are the ones who do the work.

[the-quotable-alberta-hansard]

November 1, 2023

Ms Phillips: On the weekend the Finance minister told a national TV audience that his UCP government doesn’t have a precise plan to move ahead with a referendum on gambling with Albertans’ pensions by pulling out of the CPP; the Finance minister is going to consult his feelings. And then just a couple of days ago the Premier said that it will be a confluence of inputs, whatever that word salad means. The UCP’s plan to gamble with our retirement security is based on feelings and vibes. Albertans are not sold. A referendum campaign, that the government will lose badly, sounds like my kind of fun, so when is the date, Minister?

Mr. Horner: They know a lot about word salad on that side of the House. I’ll give them that. I would say that there are many ways that we’re going to be able to gauge the interests of Albertans to proceed with this.

Ms Phillips: Vibes. Ouija boards.

[the-quotable-alberta-hansard]

December 6, 2023

Ms Phillips: The Premier said that her reason for this bill and the reason why we have so vociferously opposed it – indeed, the Premier’s stated reason for this bill was that she was sad that she couldn’t accept free access to private parties at Stampede. Albertans should know – probably a lot of folks don’t know this because they don’t get invited to these slick corporate suites – these suites are worth a lot because they’re full of free, expensive food and booze. The Premier did not even hide the UCP’s intent with this bill. It should be renamed: we feel the need to change the law to allow no limits on gifts to MLAs because the UCP want the right to get crackered on work time on someone else’s dime. So we are trying to amend this bill.

[the-quotable-alberta-hansard]

December 7, 2022

Ms Phillips: Bankes and Olszynski, which my friend from Edmonton-Rutherford tabled earlier this afternoon, go into some detail on this, and I’ll quote from it. “Grounded in the judicature provisions of the Constitution Act, 1867” – and just, you know, to open a bracket here, we’ve heard the Premier variously go on and on about the founders, as if we live in America, and the integrity of our foundational documents, which is of course the Constitution Act of 1982 brought in by Pierre Elliott Trudeau, but she overlooks that because the rhetorical flourish makes, I guess, her feel better about what she’s about to do

[the-quotable-alberta-hansard]

December 7, 2022

Ms Phillips: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I rise to speak to the amendment on Bill 1, the hot mess express that is Bill 1.