The Globe and Mail - 19.10.2019

SATURDAY,OCTOBER19,2019 | THEGLOBEANDMAILO A

The Albertagovernment has re-
versed plans to make it easier for
agricultural truckers and school-
bus drivers to obtain and retain
their permits after three weeks of
public outcry.
The United Conservative Party
was considering creating a sepa-
rate safety standard for new semi
drivers operating in the agricul-
ture sector, which The Globe and
Mail first reported in September.
In the meantime, thousands of
new drivers were also set to re-
ceive permanent exemptions
from the new testing.
The changes prompted pro-
tests from families tied to the
Humboldt Broncos bus crash,
which killed 16 people last year.
They wrote letters to the province
and on Wednesday appeared
with the Opposition New Demo-
crats to urge thegovernment to
reconsider.
Ric McIver, the Transportation
Minister, said in the legislature
Wednesday that he would listen
to the families, but was not ready
to make any policy announce-
ments or promises.
The government abruptly
backed off Friday. Mark Jacka, Mr.
McIver’s chief of staff, said the
province is no longer considering
creating a separate training curri-
culum for people wanting Class 1
licences for farm purposes or
Class 2 licences for school buses.
“The strict training is here to
stay,” Mr. Jacka said in an inter-
view.
The government also nixed
plans tied to testing waivers. Al-
berta originally allowed new
Class 1 drivers operating on farms
and new Class 2 drivers piloting
school buses to skip the manda-
tory training programs, but re-
quired them to pass tougher road
and knowledge tests by Nov. 30,

2020, and July 31, 2020, respec-

tively. The UCP in September

changed this policy, saying it

would allow drivers who ob-

tained their Class 1 or Class 2 li-

cences under the farm and school

programs to keep their permits

so long as they had clean driving

records. On Friday, Mr. Jacka said

the government will no longer

give out waivers. Instead, drivers

in these categories will, indeed,

need to eventually pass tests

based on the mandatory safety

courses.

The UCP government also re-

vised its own changes related to

Class 1 and Class 2 drivers who re-

ceived permits between Oct. 11,

2018, and March 1, 2019 – after the

new training rules were an-

nounced but before they took ef-

fect.

Originally, these people were

required to eventually pass road

and knowledge tests based on the

higher safety standards to stay

certified. Both the previous and

current governments made that a

requirement. In September, how-

ever, thegovernment changed

the rules and said people who re-

ceived licences in this six-month

window were eligible for testing

waivers if they had clean records.

Roughly 6,800 people fall into

this category, dubbed “transition

drivers.”

Mr. McIver, the Transport Min-

ister, announced the backtrack

on social media. He had met with

some family members related to

some of the Humboldt Broncos

victims, as well as a woman

whose husband was killed in a

trucking collision, this week.

“Following our conversation

with families, we’ve decided that

transition drivers will be placed

on [two years] probation, in addi-

tion to already required clean

driving record. If they receive an

infraction of any kind within

their probation, they’ll be re-

quired to retest under” the man-

datory training program, Mr.

McIver said on Twitter.

The government has spent the

last three weeks arguing the soft-

er rules were appropriate because

these drivers had still passed the

old standard and that there was a

backlog of people wanting to take

driver’s exams. The UCP blamed

the problem on the former NDP

government, arguing the previ-

ous government’s decision to end

privatized testing resulted in few-

er examiners and a long waitlist.

Shauna Nordstrom was among

those who met with Mr. McIver

this week. Her son Logan Hunter

was killed in the Broncos crash.

The government’s reversal

caught her off guard.

“It feels pretty good. I have to

say that I’m maybe a little bit sur-

prised,” she said in an interview.

“I thought we were really going to

be in battle for a long time. I’m

estactic that we made a differ-

ence.”

The new mandatory training

programs for Class 1 drivers can

cost up to $10,000 and requires

more than 100 hours to complete.

The Class 2 programs can run up

to $5,000.

The pricey program is among

the reasons farmers were upset,

arguing it they can’t compete for

labour given many of their driv-

ers are seasonal employees. The

UCP, Mr. Jacka said, intends to

drum up solutions to this hurdle.

The agricultural industry had

urged the province to treat them

differently, arguing that farmers

hauling grain and other products

to market should not need the

same training as long-haul com-

mercial truckers.

Planstoeasetruckingstandardscancelled

Albertabacktracks

onproposalto

create separate safety

guidelinesfornew

agriculturaltruckers

andschool-busdrivers

afterpublicbacklash

Farmershaulgraintothe

PatersonGrainterminal

inBowden,Alta.,on

Friday.Theagricultural

industryhasurgedthe

provincetotreattheir

driversdifferently,

arguingthatfarmers

whohaulgrainand

otherproductsshouldn’t

needthesametraining

aslong-haul

commercialtruckers.

TODDKOROL/

THEGLOBEANDMAIL

CARRIETAITCALGARY

A

lberta’s coming budget on
Oct. 24 could be a turning
point for the province. Al-
bertans face a choice between
righting Alberta’s fiscal trajectory
by confronting overspending – or
postponing difficult choices with
a harder reckoning down the
road.
Many economic headwinds –
for example, roadblocks to petro-
leum exports – are not Alberta’s
fault. However, undisciplined
spending growth hid behind
flush resource revenues during
past decades, and the province
failed to save. Deficits since 2015
have plunged the provincial bal-
ance sheet into net debt. And, like
all provinces, Alberta faces an ag-
ing population on the horizon.
Without making bold moves to-
ward a significant course correc-
tion, any balanced budget will be
temporary.
So, how can Alberta’s spending
be reined in over the coming
years?
Alberta’s present circumstanc-
es are addressed in the “Shadow
Budget” published by the C.D.
Howe Institute this past week,
which builds on former Saskatch-
ewan finance minister Janice
MacKinnon’s recently released
report on provincial spending.
The Shadow Budget confirms
that an effective four-year freeze
on program spending growth is
appropriate. A freeze will reduce
Alberta’s inflation-adjusted per-
capita provincial spending to the
nationwide average. While Alber-
ta’s per-capita government
spending exceeds that of any oth-
er province – notably on health
and education – its major cities’
living costs sit at the nationwide
average. Further, neither Alber-
ta’s health or education indica-
tors show better outcomes or ser-
vice levels than in lower-spend-
ing provinces, suggesting less
bang for one’s buck.
Over the course of this down-
turn, Alberta’s private sector has

rigorously rationalized costs.

Similar scrutiny – and according-

ly tough decisions – must be ap-

plied to public-sector spending.

While a freeze might be achieved

in other ways, those options

would involve trade-offs – either

deeper cuts elsewhere or higher

taxes.

One place that is ripe for re-

vamping is health spending.

While on-the-ground transfor-

mation is needed to find efficien-

cies, Alberta must also bring

nurses’ wages and physicians’ fee-

for-service rates into line with

their counterparts in other prov-

inces.

These hard-working profes-

sionals should not be scapegoat-

ed, as they have been elsewhere.

But Alberta cannot sustain rates

for physicians that exceed na-

tionwide benchmarks by more

than 10 per cent. Alongside bring-

ing fee-for-service rates in line

with other provinces, the fee

schedule should be rationalized

to recognize productivity gains in

certain specialties. Alberta

should also experiment with a

“dual practice” model, where

physicians can bill up to 10 per

cent of their time in private ser-

vices. This would encourage doc-

tors to work more hours and re-

veal competitive market rates for

compensation.

In the education sector, Alber-

ta should reduce non-instruction

spending, moderate teacher sala-

ries and increase average class

sizes. This would bring Alberta’s

spending into line with other

provinces, such as B.C., whose

students have outperformed Al-

bertans on internationally ad-

ministered standardized tests.

The province should reduce

provincial funding for each stu-

dent and move to performance-

based allocations. The purpose of

public investments in postsec-

ondary education must be to en-

hance students’ human capital.

Tying institutions’ funding to

graduates’ labour market out-

comes gives universities and col-

leges a stake in their students’ in-

vestment.

As well, tuition in Alberta is be-

low the nationwide average. Uni-

versities and colleges should have

flexibility to set tuition locally. To

ensure access, the province

should move to an income-con-

tingent student loan program,

where repayment terms vary

with postgraduate earnings.

Nonetheless, even with rigor-

ous spending restraint, rebalanc-

ing revenues will take two more

bold steps, as short-term savings

alone won’t prevent a downward

spiral of deficits.

First, resource revenues paid to

the province should be saved in

the Alberta Heritage Savings

Trust Fund. This is because royal-

ties from companies extracting

our resources represent a one-

time conversion of Alberta’s nat-

ural capital. Future generations of

Albertans should also get to share

in it.

Second, following the project-

ed return to balance in 2022-23,

Alberta should implement a con-

sumption tax. This consumption

tax should be accompanied by a

tax credit for low-income individ-

uals and a 2-per-cent cut to the

marginal rate for the lowest per-

sonal income tax bracket. This

would reduce the average tax rate

for middle-income workers to a

competitive level with other

provinces.

A 3-per-cent consumption tax,

harmonized with the federal

Goods and Services Tax, would

replace forgone revenues from re-

ductions in corporate and per-

sonal income taxes. Revenues

from a consumption tax would

allow Alberta to run continuing

surpluses and save revenues from

resource royalties. This saving

would in turn grow the invest-

ment returns from the Heritage

Fund. In this way, the establish-

ment of a consumption tax

would position Alberta to save for

a sustainable fiscal future.

On Oct. 24, Alberta will have a

once-in-a-generation opportuni-

ty to get back in the saddle. It

won’t be easy, but the alternative

is falling off the horse.

TheboldstepsAlbertashould

taketoaddressitsfiscalwoes

GRANTBISHOP

OPINION

Associatedirectorofresearchatthe
Calgary-basedC.D.HoweInstitute

Overthecourseof

thisdownturn,Alberta’s

privatesectorhas

rigorously rationalized

costs.

A young person has been found guilty of shooting a German

tourist in the head on a highway west of Calgary last year in

what court heard was likely a case of mistaken identity.

A judge convicted the boy from the Stoney Nakoda First

Nation, who cannot be identified because he was 16 at the

time, of aggravated assault and recklessly discharging a fire-

arm into a vehicle.

Court heard that Horst Stewin was driving a black SUV on

the First Nation’s land in the foothills of the Rockies with his

family when someone in a passing car shot him. His vehicle

veered off the highway and crashed into some trees.

Mr. Stewin survived and was transported back to Germany,

where doctors removed eight bullet fragments from his

brain. He is paralyzed on his right side, gets confused and has

memory issues.

“In respect to the eyewitness testimony and statements,

the Crown has proven that [the 16-year-old] was the shoo-

ter,” said Justice George Gaschler in a brief statement in court.

“That evidence meets the required standard of proof beyond

a reasonable doubt.”

The teen, who is now 17, stared blankly when the verdict

was read. He later smiled andwaved athis family members

who were in the courtroom.

A sentencing hearing is to be held on Feb. 10. Both a Gladue

report, which considers an offenders Indigenous background

as part of the sentencing process, and a psychological assess-

ment have been ordered.

The trial heard how Mr. Stewin and his family were in the

area because Mr. Stewin rides horses and was a fan of the

Western lifestyle.

Mr. Stewin’s wife told police that a vehicle passed by with

its front passenger window rolled down, and a man wearing a

ball cap shot her husband. She said she heard a pop and

smelled smoke before Mr. Stewin slumped forward.

“Ms. Stewin’s eyewitness testimony is subject to the limita-

tions of the fleeting time of observation, her recollection im-

pacted by an immediate, unknown fear and stress of the sit-

uation to the natural effort to make sense of an event that is

so out of the normal,” the judge said in his written ruling.

Three other people who were in the car with the teen testi-

fied that the teen was the shooter, although they said they

had not actually watched him pull the trigger.

The car’s driver testified that he and his three passengers

had been drinking vodka and smoking meth that day. He said

he thought the black SUV belong to a man who had beaten

up his younger brother.

The defence argued that the witness’s statements were

hard to believe, but the judge disagreed.

“I find that the three witnesses ... each in their own way

and each from their own position and perspective identify

[the accused] as the shooter.”

Justice Gaschler also believed a Facebook message attri-

buted to the accused boasting about the shooting and how

the police were looking for him.

“It was made with the obvious knowledge of [the teen]

that he was vulnerable to penal consequences,’ ” the judge

found.

THECANADIANPRESS

Albertateenfoundguilty

infatalhighwayshooting

ofGermantourist

BILLGRAVELANDCALGARY

NEWS |