By Chris Brown (CHAT News Today)

On fall municipal ballot

Albertans will vote on equalization, daylight saving time, senators

Jul 15, 2021 | 2:18 PM

When Albertans go to the polls this fall, they’ll do more than just choose mayors, councillors and school board trustees.

People can have their say on ending equalization payments and daylight saving time, and electing nominees to the Canadian Senate.

Premier Jason Kenney called it an important step forward in direct democracy.

“(We’re) giving Albertans more power to make decisions on big issues that matter to them and to our future,” he said.

He said the United Conservative government was elected on allowing Albertans to say yes to a fair deal by having a vote on equalization in the Canadian Constitution.

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Albertans will vote on removing the principle of equalization from the Constitution “to maximize our leverage as we fight for a fair deal on all fronts and fight for a strong Alberta economy,” Kenney said.

The premier said Alberta has been the engine of the country’s prosperity in recent decades, contributing more than $600 billion through federal taxes to the rest of Canada.

He said he believes Albertans are happy to help their fellow Canadians in times of need.

“But what we find very frustrating is a system which has had us contributing on average $20 billion a year net, through our federal taxes to other provinces, even while we have been living through a prolonged recession, period of economic decline and stagnation, high unemployment, lower incomes and huge provincial deficits,” Kenney said.

He said Alberta has been contributing to provinces with higher rates of economic growth, lower rates of unemployment and running big provincial surpluses.

“It just isn’t fair,” Kenney said.

Albertans will also get to have their say on daylight saving time.

The province first adopted daylight saving time following a referendum in 1971. A 2019 survey by Service Alberta found 91 per cent of more than 141,000 Albertans that responded to be in favour of year-round summer hours.

Saskatchewan never adopted the practice of changing its clocks twice a year and other neighbouring jurisdictions are choosing to abandon it as well.

The questions will read:

• Equalization payments – Should the principle of making equalization payments be removed from the Constitution?
• Daylight saving time – Should Alberta end the practice of changing our clocks twice a year?

Kenney also says Albertans will get to choose this fall which senators will sit in the Upper Chamber.

Senators are appointed by the prime minister, and Kenney says he has asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to leave Alberta’s current vacancies be left open so they can be filled by the top vote-getters on the fall ballot.

Removing equalization from the Constitution was one of 25 recommendations in the Fair Deal Panel Report that was released last year.

Two other recommendations from the panel – creating an Alberta Police Service and Alberta Pension Plan – require further examination, Kenney said.