Alberta is to move forward with salary cuts to its legislators after an all-party committee unanimously voted in favour.

The committee voted to cut the pay of MLAs by 5 percent and the pay of the Premier by 10 percent.

Alberta MLAs will see their pay reduced from $127,296 to $120,931, and Premier Jason Kenney’s salary will decrease from $206,856 to $186,170.

Currently, Albertan legislators are paid the most out of any in Canada at $127,296, even with the pay cut they will still be making more than their provincial counterparts.

Premier Kenney noted the pay cuts as an important part of his party’s commitment to tackle the dismal financial situation of his province.

“I recall consulting all @Alberta_UCP candidates on this proposed pay cut in February. I was so impressed to see unanimous agreement to lead by example in getting Alberta’s finances back in order. Thanks to the entire @UCPCaucus team!” Kenney tweeted.

The committee also voted to reduce allowable travel expenses and end the practice of giving gas cards to MLAs.

While the opposition NDP on the services committee also voted in favour of the cuts, they still suggested that move may lead to more cuts in bureaucratic spending.

NDP MLA Thomas Dang, in particular, was worried that the salary cuts may be the prelude to cuts to the civil service.

“I think really what he’s doing by trying to introduce MLA pay cuts is to set up a larger cut that’s going to be for our public sector jobs and workers,” Dang said. 

In response, UCP MLA Laila Goodridge called Dang’s theory “one of the most cynical motions I’ve seen in my time in politics. It is absolutely ridiculous.”

Kenney remains proud of his government’s decision, saying that the decision reflects the need for leaders to take personal responsibility for the state of their province. 

“We were elected with a mandate to be fiscally responsible and that has to start at the top,” he said.

“Today’s decision is about leadership by example.”

A UN agency funded by Canadian taxpayers has been accused of massive abuses of power according to a leaked internal report.

The leadership of the United Nations Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA), a UN group which is supposed to provide relief for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, stands accused of abusing their authority through nepotism and sexual misconduct.

In 2018, the United States cut all funding to the agency in question.

In contrast, the Trudeau government contributed $110 million to UNRWA since 2016. The previous Conservative government cut all funding to the organization in 2010  because of allegations it had links to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization by Canada.

The UN report says it received “credible” and “corroborated” evidence that UNRWA’s upper leadership, including Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl, used agency resources for personal gain.

This is not the first time UNRWA has been accused of misconduct. The agency has been found to have connections to the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas.

At least one UNRWA driver has admitted to smuggling weapons and explosives to Hamas, and Hamas was found to be storing weapons, including rockets, in UNRWA-run schools during Hamas’ attacks on Israel.

The Canadian government has refused to say whether funding will be cut to the UNRWA.

Conservatives, on the other hand, have promised to cut funding to the agency if they are elected in the fall.

“Andrew Scheer and the Conservatives have long expressed concerns with UNRWA – especially surrounding their ties to Hamas, the anti-Semitism harboured by employees, and now these new allegations of misconduct,” a Conservative spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for the Trudeau government indicated that they are monitoring the situation, and will follow the recommendations of the UN. 

“Canada expects that the process that the UN and UNRWA are following to investigate and address any wrongdoing is rigorous and fair,” the spokesperson said.

An anonymous left-wing Twitter account which claimed that two paid actors pretended to be ordinary Canadians in photos with Andrew Scheer has been forced to apologize after the claim was proven untrue.

The Twitter page “Alberta Resistance” posted on Sunday that two actors had been hired for a photoshoot with the Conservative leader. The advertisement showed Scheer shaking hands with a man and talking to a woman who was a cancer survivor.

Alberta Resistance also claimed that these “actors” were Montreal actor Adina Katz and her brother Avi Katz, posting photos and the Twitter handle of the two in an attempt to out them. 

These tweets garnered hundreds of likes and retweets in only a few hours, with notable figures such as radio host Charles Adler and the husband of Liberal strategist Katie Telford spreading the misinformation.

Late Monday night, however, it was apparent that Alberta Resistance’s claims were false.

Adina and Avi Katz both took to Twitter to deny they were the ones in the photos with Andrew Scheer, calling out Alberta Resistance for making these claims without hard evidence.

A comparison of Adina and the woman in the advertisement posted by Avi show that while they look similar, they are clearly not the same person.

The Tweets by Alberta Resistance have since been deleted.

Alberta Resistance (@ResistanceAB) is a far-left Twitter account which associates itself with the Liberal Party of Canada. It appears to be run by only one person and has close to 500 followers.

Alberta Resistance on Monday posted a long apology to Adina, promising to do a better job doing research and fact-checking in the future.

“We should respect and apologize if she wasn’t truly involved with this,” they said.

“Again, Adina, I sincerely apologize for contributing to this whole mess.” 

The Liberal party has made “fighting misinformation” central to their platform, but high-profile Liberals are showing their own inability to discern between real and fake news.

According to a poll by Abacus Data, one in four Albertans want the province to separate from the rest of Canada.

Seperatist sentiments in Alberta have been on the rise. The province only marginally trailed behind Quebec in the Abacus poll. Quebec has had two different referendums on seperating from the rest of Canada.

According to the poll, 25 per cent of Alberta’s population would vote to separate from the rest of the country if given the chance. 

In comparison, the poll indicates that 28 per cent of Quebecers would vote to separate from Canada. 

An earlier poll by Angus Reid indicates a more worrying trend. According to those numbers, 50 per cent of Albertans responded by saying that separation was a real possibility, while 83 per cent feel that Ottawa has treated the province unfairly. 

Third party groups like Alberta Fights Back have been giving a voice to the province’s separatist intentions. Recently, the group funded several billboards in the province asking whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was leading Canada into a civil war. 

Despite his intention to keep the province within Canada, Premier Jason Kenney has warned that Albertan separatism is at an all time high.

“If we don’t see progress … then somebody’s going to come along and capitalize on that 50 per cent separatist sentiment in Alberta,” said Kenney.

Kenney has promised Albertans a referendum on equalization payments by the year 2021. 

According to the premier, if no progress is shown on getting pipelines built by that date, he will put the decision up to citizens whether they would like to cut payments to the rest of Canada.