BURST
UCP members erupted in cheers and applause when a leader of the Alberta separatist movement posed a question on the province’s independence on the first day of the United Conservative Party’s annual general meeting.
Jeffrey Rath with the Alberta Prosperity Act received loud cheers and a standing ovation during Friday evening’s bearpit session with Premier Danielle Smith and her cabinet ministers when he asked the room of thousands of UCP members if they are in favour of a “free and independent Alberta.”
“That so called MOU was signed yesterday, the ink wasn’t dry on the paper and Mark Carney went out and gleefully announced a 600 per cent increase to the industrial carbon tax in Alberta. My question for the room is how many of all of us favour a free and independent Alberta,” Rath said.
In response, Smith said, “I support an independent Alberta within a United Canada,” a line both she and her cabinet have said repeatedly when asked about separation. It earned her a mix of booing, heckling and cheers from the same crowd.
But that wasn’t the first instance separation came forward throughout day one of the three-day annual general meeting at the Edmonton Expo Centre.
During Smith’s opening talk with UCP president Rob Smith, a question that received positive cheers from the crowd was when a different member of the Alberta Prosperity Project asked if Smith had read the group’s document saying “an independent Alberta would reshape its fiscal environmental landscape.”
None of Saturday’s resolutions include separatism.
Recall amendments being considered
Recall, independent policing and auto insurance were some key issues brought forwarded by UCP members. D espite the news of the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Smith and Ottawa Thursday, there weren’t many questions from the crowd on it or strong response in support.
Smith said the province is considering modifying the rules when it comes to recall when asked about it by members. So far, 14 UCP MLAs are currently facing recall petitions.
The cost of the recall petitions is one of the factors Smith said her caucus is considering. Validating the signatures for each of the current recall petitions could cost more than one million dollars, according to Smith.
“If they manage to get recall petitions for all 87 of us, it’s gonna be $100 million just to validate the petition. That doesn’t even talk about the process going to recall, that doesn’t even talk about the process for byelections,” Smith said.
“That’s another factor that we have in our minds because we didn’t expect this abusive process.”
Independent police officers on the ground by spring
Constables are expected to be on the ground by the spring, Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis said during abearpit session.
He said the province is making progress with the Alberta Sheriffs Police Service and said he has one more piece of legislation coming in the spring which would be the “lift and shift” in the Crown corporation previously created.
“We’re working on a memorandum of understanding with municipalities all throughout this province right now,” Ellis said.
Ellis added that on Dec. 1 the province’s promised Alberta police review commission, an organization that will handle complaints against municipal police officers across the province, will be fully operational.