The Alberta government is considering amendments to a controversial bill passed in early April, Premier Jason Kenney said in a Facebook video Thursday.

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During the live-streamed event, Kenney said the government drafted Bill 10 so it could still govern in the event of a legislative shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, but now it will consider “minor technical amendments.”

“Given the public concerns, which I think are reasonable or understandable, I’ve asked our lawyers to go back to the drawing board and we’re looking at possibly bringing forward amendments to the Public Health Act to narrow, circumscribe or limit what we brought forward in Bill 10,” he said, noting it could include bringing in more obvious sunset clauses for provisions.

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Shortly after the bill was introduced, NDP Opposition Leader Rachel Notley questioned why it was necessary since the power to enforce health orders and issue fines seemed to be already enforceable through regulations.

“We do think that there is merit in making sure there are consequences for those who endanger the health of others, but we’re not sure why we are debating this as legislation when it’s already in force and the government already has the authority to do this,” Notley said.

In a statement Friday, NDP Opposition health critic David Shepherd said the NDP looked forward to working with the government to amend a bill that represented a “colossal overreach.”

“We are happy to accept his admission of mistake and look forward to joining him in the legislature to pass the amendment he now admits should have been passed weeks ago,” Shepherd said.

Conservative legal advocacy organization plans to challenge bill

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) has voiced opposition to the bill , saying it opened the door for any one minister to unilaterally make new laws and offences for the entire province. The JCCF announced early this week it would file a legal challenge in the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench to the constitutionality of the new law.

“We intend to file the legal challenge to Bill 10, and will consider any eventual amendments to the Public Health Act through subsequent legislation when applicable,” said Jay Cameron, litigation manager at JCCF, in an email Friday.

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gives a minister the new power to “specify or set out provisions that apply in addition to, or instead of” existing laws. It only requires that a minister be “satisfied that doing so is in the public interest.” While the previous Public Health Act allowed ministers, during a public health emergency, to suspend or modify the application of a law, the act, updated by Bill 10,gives a minister the new power to “specify or set out provisions that apply in addition to, or instead of” existing laws. It only requires that a minister be “satisfied that doing so is in the public interest.”

On April 2, in the legislature, Health Minister Tyler Shandro said Bill 10 was “very important for us” to give the government the tools for public health inspectors and community peace officers to help enforce public health orders during the COVID-19 emergency. Government MLAs said that the bill was meant to clarify the language of the law.

But Cameron said in an interview Monday that’s not what it does.

“This is the creation of a new power. I think that people should be very concerned about that type of authority being vested in one individual. That’s not how Canada operates,” he said.

And, without a requirement to publish ministerial orders, the government might not have to give the public proper direction on what is legal or illegal, he said.

“People have to know what the law is.”