Your Alberta Blog

It was a big day at Calgary's McDougall Centre on Thursday, with the government's release of the competitiveness review.

Premier Ed Stelmach arrived shortly after noon following a morning event in Edmonton.

The Premier and Energy Minister Ron Liepert met over lunch for a final briefing on the document, Energizing Investment, that was months in the making.

Premier Stelmach participates in a briefing with L to R Energy Minister Ron Liepert, Chief of Staff Ron Glen, Premier Stelmach and his executive assistant Jason Ennis.

Preparations for the day began early in the morning.

The Pekisko Room on the third floor was prepared for several dozen members of the news media and spectators, with podiums set up for Premier Stelmach and Minister Liepert.

The news conference was live-streamed on the government website, and audio hookups allowed media from across the province to ask questions. (If you missed it, it will be archived online by end-of-day Thursday.)

Members of the media were invited to an hour-long technical briefing in advance of the official release of the report. Technical briefings are intended to give reporters time to ask officials in-depth questions about the report prior to the main news conference. The technical briefing was subject to lock-up rules, meaning reporters had to agree to turn over cell phones and BlackBerries to a sheriff if they wanted to attend.

Alberta Sheriff Marcia Gonder collects Blackberries and cell phones from media participating in the technical briefing.

Media participate in the technical briefing.

Due to the market sensitivity of the information, no communication with anyone outside the briefing room was allowed until the report was released at 3 p.m.

An edition of the Your Alberta e-Newsletter went out shortly after 3 p.m., too, summarizing the plan to subscribers.

For more information about the review, including detailed reports, visit energy.alberta.ca.

Alberta Plaza is quickly becoming known as one of Vancouver's hottest venues during the Winter Olympic Games.

Wayne Gretzky paid a visit last weekend, Canadian medalists Jennifer Heil and Alexandre Bilodeau dropped in to surprise the crowd Tuesday night, and one radio reporter dubbed it the "rockingest" pavilion.

Located right across from B.C. Place at the corner of Robson and Beatty streets, the plaza offers visitors a cozy, warm and hip place to gather with friends or family and enjoy a drink and selections from the Alberta-themed menu.

"You've gotta have the best beef, right?" said Vancouver resident Joey Sherren as she waited to get in earlier this week.

Alberta musicians perform nightly on the plaza stage and sports fans can catch Olympic events on multiple screens throughout the venue Crowds often gather on the street outside to watch when Canadian athletes compete. Cheers could be heard down the block when Bilodeau made his gold medal-winning run Sunday.

"People have been really good," remarked doorman Gord Wendell. "Everybody that I've talked to has enjoyed the entertainment and the food."

The building itself has drawn a lot of attention, too. Tourists can frequently be seen posing for photos below the giant Alberta logo facing Beatty Street.

"It's gorgeous," said Vancouver resident Dasha Kvyatkovski. "It absolutely looks great."

Albertans are already some of the most giving and generous people anywhere. There is a way that could make it even more worthwhile to support your favourite charitable organization – the Community Spirit Program. Two parts make up the program: the charitable tax credit and a donation grant.

When you make a donation to a Canada Revenue Agency-registered charity, you receive an official income tax receipt. Once your annual income tax return is completed, you will receive a federal and provincial non-refundable charitable tax credit.

When the provincial (21 per cent) and federal (29 per cent) tax credits are combined, Albertans receive a 50 per cent non-refundable tax credit for every dollar donated over $200. On total donations up to $200, Albertans receive a 10 per cent provincial tax credit and a 15 per cent federal tax credit. For example, if you donate a total of $500 to four or five charities over the year, you will receive a combined federal and provincial charitable tax credit of $200.

To take advantage of this tax credit, simply keep your charitable receipts and claim them on your annual income tax return.

More support from donors also means there is a greater opportunity for organizations to obtain a provincial grant to support their work in the community. The donation grant allows non-profit and charitable organizations to apply for a grant based on the amount of money donated by individual Albertans over a 12-month fiscal period. The more funds that are raised, the better chances the organization has of receiving a grant that can be used to support its operations, programs and/or capital projects.

For more information, visit www.communityspiritprogram.ca.

- Jared Majeski, for Alberta Culture and Community Spirit

On Wednesday, October 14, Premier Stelmach will address Albertans on CTV (at 6:40 p.m.) and on Access (at 7:00 p.m.).

This is the first address to be made in the Government of Alberta's social media era, so we've got a few more places to receive your feedback. This blog entry is being posted as a place to take your comments before, during and after. We will be moderating comments and promptly accepting those that adhere to our comment policy until 9 p.m. Wednesday, then after that during office hours of 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

You're also encouraged to tweet your thoughts with the #abgov tag, or to @PremierStelmach or @YourAlberta.

And, the address will be posted on YouTube as soon as we can get it there after 6:40 p.m. Wednesday.

Finally, the usual place for feedback, questions and comments is always available: Alberta Connects via internet or telephone (toll free in Alberta 310-4455).

Every year, Premier Stelmach has a cabinet retreat to give his ministers the opportunity to share information about any issues in their ministries and to have a good discussion about the upcoming budget.

The retreat is held in a rural locale each year. This year they went to Pincher Creek and took some time to take a tour of a Canadian Hydro wind power site.

See pictures