Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Premier Danielle Smith continues to play to the noisiest bleachers on the hard-line side of the United Conservative Party.
The latest is her talk about three new amendments to the Alberta Bill of Rights. They would guarantee gun ownership with “safe use,” clarify property ownership protections and enshrine the right to refuse any and all medical treatment, including vaccines.
The wording in her video announcement was vague. We still don’t know, for instance, how far she’ll go on gun ownership.
By parliamentary rules, the exact wording of a bill or amendment can’t be disclosed before it’s presented to the legislature.
That won’t happen until Oct. 28, when the fall session begins. The leadership vote happens at the party convention, Nov. 2.
It’s all very shrewdly timed for that crucial week.
But more than current issues are at play here. A massive shift in the power balance between the premier and her party is occurring.
The UCP board, elected by UCP members, is now developing and endorsing policy, and expecting the premier to implement it.
A draft bill of rights from a UCP group in Medicine Hat was endorsed “verbatim” by the board. It calls for “the right to bear arms,” a straight steal from the U.S. Second Amendment.
Remarkably, the party president even suggested the board vote should be taken as approval by the entire party membership.
This is unheard of in nearly 50 years of Alberta governments calling themselves conservative.
Party boards have always dealt with fundraising, the health of local constituency associations, planning and running annual meetings, and organizing party events for the premier.
A board can turn against the leader — just ask former PC premier Alison Redford. But when that happened, the problem was always a premier’s low popularity, poor performance and weak fundraising.
But boards never voiced a view on policy. That was a matter between the membership, which made suggestions, and government that made the final decisions. It was always understood that the premier couldn’t do everything the party wanted.
That ethic is dead.
Ex-premier Jason Kenney lost his job partly because he called his party opponents “extremists” and refused to coddle them. It happened even though the majority on his party board still backed him.
Now, the very people who overthrew Kenney ARE the board. And they want the party to control the government. They do not accept that the premier has to consider all Albertans and their various views.
It’s not hard to imagine this board going into open resistance if Smith displeases them.
And so, she coddles adroitly. She spent a good part of the summer making announcements and meeting people around the province.
Discontent that was rising in the party only weeks ago seems to be fading. Many expect her to do very well in the leadership vote — perhaps more than 80 per cent approval.
Smith’s gigantic education funding announcement — $8.5 billion over three years for new schools — included about $600 million to build charter schools, and even a commitment to help build private schools.
Astonishingly, more than a few people in her base believe public schools are sources of evil where teachers routinely groom kids for gender transitions.
Smith has dealt with rising discontent by promising legislation this fall to require parental consent for gender change, therapy and new pronouns for kids. Surgeries will be banned for people under 18, even though they aren’t happening now.
Smith has always declared herself a libertarian. As her bills and promises roll in, she looks more and more like a deep social conservative.
Politically, it appears to be working. For now.
Some expect the premier to tack to the centre after she wins that November vote.
But there’s no guarantee of that, as long as she has to worry more about her party than the public.
Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Herald
X: @DonBraid
1. Freedom of Religion, Belief and Conscience;
2. The Right to Life, Liberty, Property and the Pursuit of Happiness;
3. Freedom of Speech, Expression and from Private or Public Censorship in any Form;
4. Freedom of Parents to Make Decisions Concerning the Health, Education, Welfare and Upbringing of their Children;
5. Freedom to Keep and Bear Arms, including Ownership and Use of Firearms;
6. Freedom to Keep and Own Private Property, Including Land, Livestock and Chattels;
7. Freedom from Supervision, Surveillance, and Unreasonable Search and Seizure;
8. Freedom of Mobility, Including to Enter, to Remain, to Move about, to Leave and to Return to Alberta;
9. Freedom to Remain Silent under Questioning, Detention, Arrest or at Trial;
10. Freedom to Consult Legal Counsel and to be Properly Informed of Such Right;
11. Freedom to Demand Natural Justice and Procedural Fairness in all Criminal and Civil Matters; and to Demand Compensation for Denial or Infringement of Rights by a Person, a Corporation or a Government;
12. Freedom from Arbitrary Detention, to be Presumed Innocent in Criminal Proceedings, to be Provided with Full Crown Disclosure, to be Tried within a Reasonable Time;
13. Freedom to Democratically Elect and Recall Legislators by Voting through Secret Paper Ballots to be Manually Hand Counted;
14. Freedom to use Sufficient Force to Defend Person, Family, Home and Property from Any and All Occupation, Theft or Destruction;
15. Freedom of Informed Consent and to Make Personal Health Decisions, Including to Refuse Vaccinations, Medical or Surgical Procedures;
16. Freedom to Peacefully Assemble, Associate and Protest;
17. Freedom from Excessive Taxation, and from Taxation without Representation;
18. Freedom from Discrimination, Including upon the Basis of Diversity, Inclusion or Equity;
19. Freedom of Access to Financial Services, to Goods and Services, and to Conduct Commerce via Bills of Exchange;
20. Freedom to Demand Independent Public Inquiry into the Conduct of Legislators, Judges and other Government Appointed Officials;
21. Freedom to Access Government Services and Government Information;
22. The Right of Official Languages.
English