Bill 4 – Fiscal Planning and Transparency (Fixed Budget Period) Amendment Act, 2020 essentially gives the government a set period in which to release a budget. While this can put things like municipalities and school boards in chaos if governments don’t release their budgets in a timely fashion, this bill is pretty benign in terms of improving the lives of Alberta’s women. It also segues into Bill 5 – Fiscal Measures and Taxation Act, 2020 and Bill 6 – Appropriation Act, 2020, which is the budget.

I want to dig into these bills, but honestly, they affect everything. These bills move post-secondary education back to then-Premier Ralph Klien’s embarrassing performance-based funding from the late 1990s, give the government more control over how education boards spend money (including money in reserves), and create a whole host of other issues. To discuss these issues, I’d prefer to cover them by topic. That’s why I will consider these bills neutral.

Want to learn more about how the UCP has handled other topics? Go here.