Braid: Separatism is a ruse; the real battle for autonomy is fought with UCP legislation
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What the government owns it can also sell. AHS alone has 380 land titles and 700 structures.
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The UCP flatly denies any such intention. But the government will be strapped for cash as low oil prices threaten a deficit far higher than $5 billion.
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From now on, public health policy and management will be run by the health department. Regional public health officers, now employed by AHS, will work directly for a minister (if they still have jobs at all).
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The UCP government will have an iron grip on controversial policies and programs, including vaccination. This is a political takeover of a medical matter.
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The legislation also repeals references to health regions and Alberta Health Services itself. Hospitals and private surgery clinics come under the authority of new minister Matt Jones.
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On the federal front, the province is being shaped into a spearhead aimed at Ottawa. The UCP is amending a pile of legislation to make this happen.
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One example is Bill 45, the Critical Infrastructure Amendment Act, which claims control over every economic area Ottawa has power to regulate.
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Oil and gas and other economic assets are designated as critical. The bill prohibits Ottawa from collecting data that relates to an emissions cap or new projects.
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Earlier amendments to the Alberta Firearms Act have the same basic purpose. They say that only Alberta agents have control over firearms seizures.
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This drive extends far beyond political demands for Prime Minister Mark Carney to approve pipelines and scrap the emissions cap.
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The real fight is down on the ground, where legislation pulls Alberta ever farther away from the federal system.
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A Canada flag, left, and an Alberta flag flap in the breeze with Mt. Kidd in the background at the site of the G7 Leaders meeting in Kananaskis, Alta., Monday, June 2, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney has tried to pare down Canada's priorities as the G7 summit host, but there's still a lengthy list of global issues for leaders to discuss over the coming days. 'Leaders (will) meet at a moment of enormous flux globally, when tensions among G7 members are especially pronounced,' Carney's foreign policy adviser David Angell told a panel this week. He did not directly reference U.S. President Donald Trump, who famously walked out of the last G7 summit Canada hosted in 2018. Here's a look at what's on the agenda in Kananaskis, Alta., and what to expect. Economics On the formal agenda, the first discussion is about the 'global economic outlook,' followed by a working lunch on economic security and supply chains. 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This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2025. Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
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John Kirton, head of the G7 Research Group at the University of Toronto, notes that two G7 ministerial meetings already hosted by Canada generated much consensus on issues like artificial intelligence in banking and maritime security. Kirton said he is 'predicting a significant performance' even if there is no joint communiqué. 'I'm expecting that there will be probably a short, crisp, compact concluding chair's statement,' he said. He also predicts Canada will release six subject-specific documents summarizing the general position of G7 members. G7 hosts also tend to unveil a major development or humanitarian project — a 'signature initiative' — in a bid to get funding from partner countries. Canada has previously used the G7 to advance education for girls in conflict zones and maternal health in poorer countries, while Italy last year focused on biological threats in Africa. It's not clear if Canada will have the cash to make a major announcement this year. 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This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2025. Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
