EDMONTON — Premier Jason Kenney is defending Alberta’s lieutenant-governor after she suggested she may not automatically pass a sovereignty act bill proposed by a candidate vying to replace him as United Conservative leader.
Kenney, speaking on a radio show Friday morning, also renewed his criticism of Danielle Smith’s signature proposal.
He characterized it as “cockamamie,” illegal and a recipe for business and investment to flee a province no longer committed to the rule of law.
Smith, should she win the UCP leadership race on Oct. 6, has promised to immediately introduce a bill allowing her government to ignore federal laws and court rulings deemed not to be in Alberta’s best interests.
Legal scholars and politicians, including Kenney and government house leader Jason Nixon, have sharply criticized the plan and questioned whether it would even pass in the legislature.
Lt.-Gov. Salma Lakhani, when asked by reporters Thursday whether she would pass Smith’s proposal, said she would not prejudge it but that she has a duty to ensure any bill she signs into law follows the Constitution.
“(Lakhani) was asked unprompted questions by media and I think she gave general answers about her duties as lieutenant-governor: that if she faces something problematic, she would take on expert advice and consider all the constitutional principles,” Kenney told Edmonton radio station CHED.
Kenney said the proposal has put Lakhani, and the entire province, in a potentially chaotic and dangerous bind.
“It’s really the anarchy act or, as one conservative constitutional scholar puts it, the Alberta suicide act,” said Kenney.
“It would put the lieutenant-governor in a very awkward position for the legislature to pass a law saying that it will not enforce the laws. That is without precedent, at least in Canadian and perhaps in British parliamentary history.
“It would also send a devastating message about investor confidence,” he added.
“If the government proposes (a law) saying that we will rip up contracts, we won’t enforce court orders, we’ll ignore the rulings of the Supreme Court, we’ll choose which laws we enforce, we’ll ignore the Constitution, well, what investor in their right mind would put money at risk in Alberta?”
Smith responded in a statement, urging Lakhani to retract her comments.
“The lieutenant-governor is an unelected figurehead, appointed by the prime minister, that plays a wholly ceremonial role in our system of government,” Smith said.
“She does not have authority to refuse assent to bills democratically passed in the provincial legislature.”
Smith also renewed her criticism of Kenney for abandoning his promise of impartiality in the leadership race to speak out against her.
“Never in our province’s history has an outgoing leader of a party so brazenly and inappropriately inserted himself into the election of his successor,” she wrote.
“I urge him to do a better job of acting like a responsible statesman.”
Two weeks ago, Kenney labelled Smith’s sovereignty plan “nuts.”
He has repeatedly defended his comments by saying he is not speaking on Smith’s proposal but on the underlying policy paper on which it is based.
That policy paper — titled the Free Alberta Strategy — was introduced a year ago by former Wildrose Party member Rob Anderson, University of Calgary political science professor Barry Cooper and lawyer Derek From.
In the paper, they call for radical action like refusing to implement federal laws and court rulings in order to combat decisions that are mortally wounding Alberta’s development.
Cooper himself, in a June newspaper op-ed, said the unconstitutionality of such a proposal is not a bug in the program but its primary feature.
Smith grabbed headlines with the proposal in June as the campaign heated up, calling it necessary to administer a shock to a “lawless’” federal government undermining Alberta’s economy.
However, as criticism of such a bill mounted in recent weeks, Smith began downplaying the original proposal.
She has recently been characterizing it as a lawful recitation of how Alberta views the separation of powers under the Constitution, prompting confusion over what it is she is really proposing.
Smith said she will answer that after the Labour Day weekend.
“The entire objective of the sovereignty act is to uphold and defend the constitutional rights of Alberta and the Charter freedoms of our people from continued unconstitutional attacks by Ottawa,” Smith wrote.
“I will be announcing further details of the proposed particulars and mechanics of the bill next week, with the actual language of the bill to be drafted.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 2, 2022.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
