It’s a grey and rainy day in Edmonton, but it was exciting catch the Alberta Legislative Assembly’s Question Period. I was last here as a page in around 1996, so it was a very different vantage point from those days. It’s a much smaller chamber than in Ottawa, and unlike Ottawa, the tradition of desk-thumping endures in the Assembly. Also, there is no French, so no simultaneous interpretation is required.

The sitting day began with a rather lengthy introduction of guests, and two-minute statements by members, Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith using hers for a blistering denunciation of the government exactly two years after last being elected. QP began with Smith asking about a leaked email with regards to a Freedom of Information request, and politicization of the process. Premier Dave Hancock responded by saying that the ministers were not interfering, but simply being made aware of what information was being released. Smith insisted that Hancock had not read the memo from the Information Commissioner, and said that press secretaries were developing key messages for release. Hancock said that they take the advice of that Officer of Parliament. Smith pressed, saying that releases were being delayed. Health minister Fred Horne carried on about taking advice and the importance of freedom of information. Smith changed topics, and asked about healthcare figures and the “broken” health system, to which Horne blunted by saying that such information would come out because of FoIP, and that they were really doing fairly well with increased volumes. Smith pressed, and Horne read statistics about how they had brought down wait times with a fast growing population. Smith wanted the premier to say something to Albertans who are dealing with healthcare delays amidst delays, to which Hancock rose to laud how hard the health system is working. Smith changed topics again, this time bringing up about pension changes, and the process of it being pushed through. Doug Horner, the finance minister and president of the Treasury Board, spoke about consultations and the challenges of sustainability. Smith asked about “easy fixes” that the unions were in favour of, and Horner insisted that they were using expert advice. Smith wondered how the government’s approach to labour relations had gone so far off track, but Horner insisted once again that they were consulting, and that defined benefit plans were largely unsustainable unless addressed.

Liberal leader Raj Sherman was called, and he insisted that there was a need for more public sector workers given the growing population, and whether they were planning on offering fewer services. Horner was back up, and insisted that simply growing the public service didn’t make sense, and that they were faced with a tripling of retirees. Sherman talked about how pensioners were being punished during tough times. Hancock responded to this one, calling out Sherman’s repetition, and said that the plans couldn’t pay out more than they had. Sherman carried on with a talking point about “Republican-style cuts” and called on Hancock to call an election to get his own mandate, to which Hancock reminded him about the parliamentary process. Next up was NDP leader Brian Mason, who returned to the report from the Information Commissioner, and the fact that she had not approved of his processes. Thomas Lukaszuk insisted that ministers needed to know what information was being released so that they could speak to it when asked in the media. Mason gave the dates that showed that the Commissioner had not approved of the policy, to which Lukaszuk reminded him that it came from a telephone conversation, as expressed in the letter, and that there was no issue in principle. Mason pressed, and pointed out that the source of the FoIP in question was partly released to the minister. Hancock wanted the province to know that the FoIP process works, and that ministers should know what information was going out — without interference — in order to be able to speak about it.

The leader’s round over, things moved onto Heather Forsyth asking about healthcare performance data (Horne: Why do you want to pay for outdated information when we’re getting new information from the Canadian Institute of Health Information), and why was that FoIP request held up by the minister for two months (Horne: If you’re saying I’m interfering, then just say it), George VanderBurg asked about the delays to the Keystone XL pipeline (Hancock: This decision is a great disappointment for many Canadians and many Americans, and we will encourage the right decision; Campbell: We were the first jurisdiction to introduce a price on carbon, and we have to own the environmental agenda; McQueen: We’ll continue to share the facts about our responsible resource development to the US), Ron Anderson asked about the Auditor General’s criticism of the government’s accounting practices (Horner: He gave his opinion on the policy statement, not the financial statements; we’re talking to him about constructing budgets in the way he’s requested), Cathy Olesen asked about the dismal state of the court facility in Sherwood Park (Denis: The are now funds to get the ball rolling on constructing a new court house), Laurie Blakeman returned to the issue of FoIP status update reports (Scott: We are delivering on transparency and are talking about ways to improve the Act; Hancock: You’re confused as to the process given coordination and ensure vetting about cabinet documents), David Eggen asked about “attacking working people” (Hancock: We take our responsibility seriously, and we respect those who provide services to Albertans), Bruce McAllister asked about changes to the province’s math curriculum that haven’t been successful (Hancock: Manitoba’s problems are not the same as those in Alberta, and the fundamentals remain strong), David Xiao asked about concerns of the College of Pharmacists (Horne: They have urged a change to exclude loyalty programmes for prescriptions, but we are looking at expanding the kinds of care that they can offer), Kerry Towle returned to the FoIP question once again (Scott: We are conducting a review of the Act and the opposition wouldn’t participate — to which someone heckled “you wouldn’t let us”), and Moe Amery asked about emergency room wait times despite investment in the system (Horne: We have taken action to reduce wait times while volumes continue to increase).

Overall, the tone is quite different from that in Ottawa — far quieter for a start. (For more, see my column on Loonie Politics).

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Danielle Smith for a grey dress with a salmon jacket, and to Bruce McAllister for a tailored dark grey suit with a crisp white shirt and a pink and fuchsia tie and pocket square. Style citations go out to Peter Sandhu for a pale salmon shirt and striped tie with a black suit, and to Mary Anne Jablonski for a shapeless blue twin set.