An opposition organization hosted an anti-sovereignty rally outside the Alberta legislature on Sunday afternoon, making it clear that people affiliated with the NDP party are not in favor of the new UCP bill.
The sovereignty bill, which was introduced to the provincial legislature last week by Premier Danielle Smith, has received a lot of criticism, particularly from the NDP.
Alberta’s Democracy, the organization hosting the protest, said in a press release “the act is far worse than anyone could have predicted … As a community, we have a responsibility to mobilize against this undemocratic power grab by Premier Smith.”
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The bill aims to allow the province to refuse to follow federal laws it deems unfair to Albertans.A clause in the law originally gave cabinet sweeping powers to make decisions for Alberta — without having to go through the legislature.
After much scrutiny, Premier Smith is now backtracking and saying decisions will always go through the legislature.She has chalked this “misunderstanding up” to “awkward wording” which she and her cabinet are now working to correct.
“This bill is unsalvageable,” NDP economic development critic Deron Bilous said during an unrelated news conference Sunday.“It must be recalled.
It must be stopped.Too much damage has already been done.
“The absolute last thing we need right now is weeks of backtracking and clarification – it just brings more uncertainty.It’s time to restore peace of mind to investors, it’s time to restore confidence in our laws and in our economy .I’m here to make it clear that the Alberta NDP will not support changes to this law.”
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The Prime Minister’s Office responded to the NDP’s remarks in a statement to Global News that read in part: “It is disappointing to see the NDP vote against Bill 1 before they see it, or propose amendments that they feel will strengthen the bill, which shows that they” are not willing to stand up for Albertans against the Trudeau-Singh coalition’s continuous attacks on our economy and provincial rights.
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“The intent of Alberta’s sovereignty within a United Canada Act is to enable the legislature to direct cabinet to take steps to defend the interests of Albertans; however, the Premier will speak to her caucus on Monday about potential changes to ensure that this fact is crystal clear in the final legislation when it is ultimately voted on in the 3rd.rd reading.”
About 100 Albertans rallied outside the legislature in downtown Edmonton, both for and against the bill.
Haruun Ali, co-chair of Alberta Democracy, said the entire bill is “poisoned” and that it is “undemocratic.”
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“This bill is trying to save something that, frankly, shouldn’t even have been introduced… This is a rise in authoritarianism across this continent and what we need to see is… loud action by people, who are ready to fight this,” he said.
He said it’s undemocratic to let cabinet make decisions instead of having them go through the legislature, as is minimizing the role of the courts “by allowing her government to decide what’s against Alberta’s interests.”
Benita Pedersen attended the meeting as part of the counter-protest, in favor of sovereignty for Alberta.
“The Sovereignty Act sends a very clear message to Ottawa that Alberta is capable of standing on its own two feet for freedom.
But freedom is only one side of the coin.The other side of that coin is responsibility,” she said.“We doesn’t technically need anything from Ottawa.
“It is through conversation with people who disagree that we solve the problems today.”
— With files from Nicole Stillger, Global News
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