The Alberta government plans to propose three pieces of legislation to protect Albertans while continuing the fight against COVID-19.
Two of the bills, if passed, will bring into force the public health enforcement activities and rental protections announced by Premier Jason Kenney on March 27. An additional bill is proposed to support economic activity in the energy sector in light of job losses due to COVID-19 and the recent oil price wars.
“We continue to prioritize the health, safety, security and economic interests of all Albertans during this unprecedented time. We know there is a tremendous amount of stress being felt in the province. To combat this, we are proposing two bills that include decisive actions to protect Albertans and ultimately help reduce the spread of this virus, and a third bill to support jobs in the energy sector, “Jason Nixon, government house leader, said in a press release.
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The three proposed bills include:
- Bill 10, Public Health (Emergency Powers) Amendment Act, 2020 – If passed, this bill will provide law enforcement agencies full authority to enforce public health orders during a pandemic.
- Bill 11, Tenancies Statutes (Emergency Provisions) Amendment Act, 2020 – If passed, this bill will ensure no one will be retroactively charged for residential rent increases or late fees while the state of public health emergency is in effect.
- Bill 12, Liabilities Management Statutes Amendment Act, 2020 – If passed, this bill will enable government to clarify and enable expanded, delegated authority for the Orphan Well Association to maintain and manage orphan well sites.
