EDMONTON—Greetings and welcome to your Alberta politics weekly lookahead, where we continue our special edition of talking about more than just provincial politics because, you guessed it, it’s federal election season!

This week, we check out a federal politics debate in Edmonton, the Public Sector Compensation Transparency Act, an extension to the United Conservative government’s rural crime tour, what Premier Jason Kenney is doing at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, Bow River stuff, and some energy war room news to ponder.

So, grab a beverage and kick back for a few before you start working.

Federal election debate

Professors at the University of Alberta are hosting an environment-focused debate featuring the federal candidates from each party in the riding of Edmonton Strathcona. Laurie Adkin, the lead organizer of the debate, said all major party candidates will be in attendance, except for Conservative hopeful Sam Lilly.

Adkin said the debate is focusing on the environment because many see it as the most-pressing and overarching policy issue in the federal election. The debate is one of more than 100 taking place in ridings across Canada on the same day. Edmonton Strathcona’s debate is the only one organized for Alberta’s capital. Two others will be held in Calgary, and one in Banff-Airdrie, Adkin said.

Edmonton Strathcona will be a riding to watch. It is the only federal NDP seat in the province, held by MP Linda Duncan since 2008. Duncan, however, will not be seeking re-election, which analysts say could make room for what may be Justin Trudeau’s only chance at capturing a Liberal seat in the province.

The federal Liberal leader visited the riding on Day 2 of the campaign trail — his only stop in Alberta so far.

The candidates’ debate on climate will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday at the University of Alberta’s ETLC building.

Premier’s plans

Alberta’s competitiveness and economic barometer will be on the agenda Tuesday as Premier Jason Kenney speaks at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. He’ll also be sharing how the provincial government intends to improve Alberta’s competitiveness — within Canada and internationally.

Kenney’s address comes shortly after a trip to the United States to promote Alberta’s oil and gas sector as a reliable, integral oil supply. Investment in the sector has fallen sharply since 2015 — but the phenomenon isn’t confined to Alberta alone.

Public compensation

The standing committee on resource stewardship is inviting people and organizations to make oral presentations on Friday as it reviews the Public Sector Compensation Transparency Act.

The committee meeting will be broadcast live.

Its review must end in the producing of a report, which should be presented to the legislative assembly in December.

Bow River woes

The government is holding three information sessions in Calgary and Cochrane “that will share details on the government’s work to assess three potential flood and drought storage projects on the Bow River upstream of Calgary.”

On Monday, the first session will be held at the Cochrane RancheHouse, and then on Thursday, at the RockPointe Church in Calgary. (The final session is scheduled for Oct. 15 at RockPointe Church.)

The province is looking at several options for a reservoir on the river and you can read about them more in detail here.

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Energy war room

According to exclusive documents obtained by the Star last week, Monday is the deadline for energy war room visionary Claudia Cattaneo, a former National Post journalist, to deliver on the information campaign’s strategic plan.

The Star revealed that Cattaneo had been contracted to work for the United Conservative government for about $50,000 until the end of October. The war room is being set up to fight back against alleged misinformation circulating on media about the energy industry in Alberta. Its price tag comes in at $30 million and it’ll be based out of Calgary.

While the makeup of the controversial war room has been underway for months, little is known about its day-to-day operations.

Rural crime

The government had Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer touring the province throughout September to consult with Albertans on rural crime issues, but has now extended his tour through until the end of October.

He’ll be in Medicine Hat on Monday and in Okotoks on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, the Opposition NDP slammed the UCP government after it obtained some documents that showed the government pondering a strategy that would see small rural communities pay more for policing. It could mean that some small communities fork over up to 70 per cent of the cost, or about $406 per person.

Thank you

This is a new feature being rolled out by the two Star newsrooms in Alberta. Please let us know if there’s something you like, dislike, love or absolutely can’t stand about this newsletter by emailing Kieran.leavitt@torstargroup.ca

We want to hear your suggestions for how to make this even more awesome.

With files from Brennan Doherty and Nadine Yousif

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