Alberta MLAs return to work Monday for their fall session with the opposition vowing to turn up the heat over a proposed bill to split the province's energy regulator into two bodies and to change the way public hearings are set up.

Bill 46, which would scrap the current Energy and Utilities Board and create two new entities, the Alberta Utilities Commission and the Energy Resources Conservation Board, is one of 26 bills up for debate during the month-long session.

Landowners worry Bill 46 will make it harder for the public to access hearings for new power lines and other projects.
(CBC)

Bills to ban smoking in most public places and to allow red light cameras to catch speeders are also expected to make waves.

The government says Bill 46 would create a more efficient process to oversee the province's energy dealings, but landowners in central Alberta say it will only make it harder for the public to participate in hearings for new power lines and other projects.

"I'm hoping that the government would look at this bill seriously and even consider scrapping it because it's just not productive for the greater interest of Albertans," said Anthony Heinrich, a councillor in Brazeau County who testified at an EUB hearing earlier this year against a proposed power line.

"What it does is allows industry and this new commission to basically approve them without any input or without any considerations for the impact on affected landowners."

Bill 46 would allow the new AUC to make a ruling without giving public notice or holding a public hearing. In some cases, it would also have the power to prevent people from making verbal presentations or for their views to be represented by a lawyer at any hearing.

The opposition parties have said they plan to take aim at Bill 46 when the session begins.

The Tory caucus has been receiving complaints about Bill 46 for months. Government house leader Dave Hancock said the legislation is open to some adjustments.

"I think it's prudent to look at that and see if there are other ways to reassure people that there's no intention to take away individual landowner's rights under that bill," he said.

Ambitious fall session includes 26 bills

With or without changes, the bill is expected to pass during this session. People have already been hired to work at the new commission and board that will replace the EUB.
 
Earlier this year, the EUB admitted to hiring private investigators to spy on landowners opposed to a proposed powerline between Edmonton and Calgary because of possible health risks.

Two provincial investigations later criticized the EUB's actions, which came after some pushing and shoving between landowners and board staff at a hearing in April.
Three people, including a senior executive, left the EUB in the wake of the spying scandal.