Province plans to issue industry-specific rules as businesses relaunch
EDMONTON Some Alberta businesses will get industry-specific details on how to open up safely during the first phase of the province’s economic relaunch early next week, the premier said Friday.
Most of the province’s businesses have been shut down since mid-march amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Some, including restaurants, hairstylists and retail stores will be eligible to reopen May 14.
But business owners and employees have expressed concern that they don’t have enough information to open safely. On Thursday, the City of Edmonton said it was holding off on unveiling its relaunch plan until May 13 because of unanswered questions that require clarity from the province.
During question period on Friday, Premier Jason Kenney pointed to general business guidelines that have been published by the chief medical officer of health.
“In many cases, that guidance is more specific and more detailed than the industry-specific guidelines available in other provinces,” he said.
“Early next week, the Department of Economic Development, Trade and Tourism will be issuing more specific guidelines where there have been requests for that information from specific industries.”
Kenney did not say which industries would be included.
The NDP spent much of the week pushing the government to offer more industry-specific information. On Thursday, NDP Leader Rachel Notley pointed out that Ontario has produced 60 industry-specific guidelines.
“We should be able to do the same kind of work here before we ask folks like this to walk into what public health tells us is a risky situation,” Notley said.
Meanwhile, the NDP is calling for a retroactive 25 per cent reduction on auto insurance premiums for March, April and May since fewer people are behind the wheel during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“With public health orders in place to stay home and socially distance, Albertans are driving their vehicles less,” NDP Service Alberta critic Jon Carson said in the Legislative Assembly on Friday.
“For many, their car’s been little more than a 3,000-pound paperweight parked in their driveway the past few months.”
The NDP also wants, retroactive to April 1, a freeze on all premium increases until mandated social distancing is lifted as well as extensions for consumers whose policies were set to expire.
When questioned about the proposed 25 per cent reduction in the Legislative Assembly on Friday, Finance Minister Travis Toews said the government “strongly encouraged” the Insurance Bureau of Canada to offer relief and that some businesses have.
He said the government “inherited a broken system from the members opposite.”
The former NDP government imposed a five per cent cap on auto insurance rates, which was removed when Kenney came to office.
On Friday, Kenney said that cap led to insurance companies leaving the market. Carson, meanwhile, said Albertans have seen “massive increases” to insurance since the UCP took power.
In December 2019, Kenney’s UCP government created an advisory committee to look at the province’s auto insurance rates, which are among the highest in the country. The committee was tasked with coming up with “solutions that will ensure affordable, accessible and sustainable auto insurance options for the long term,” according to a news release at the time.
Toews said the committee’s report is coming in “weeks.”