Op-ed: Referendums are good for Alberta

There is a law in Alberta called the Citizen Initiative Act. This law allows Albertans to initiate a referendum even if some politicians and others do not like what the referendum will be about.

Alberta enacted the Citizen Initiative Act in 2022.

And while the Act at that time purported to give Albertans the right to initiate referendums, there was a big problem – it was a fake law. The referendum petition thresholds were impossible to achieve.

It appears the old premier wanted to virtue signal that he gave Albertans this right while moving the goal posts to exercise this right so far away that Albertans could never reach them.

When this new law was being debated in the legislature there was a proposed amendment to reduce referendum petition thresholds to a level that was hard but achievable.

I supported this proposed amendment, stood up, spoke, and voted in favour of it, including on division, standing with a fringe minority.

But the old premier did not want an achievable petition threshold and the vote to amend the law was lost. Yet, I am glad to have supported an achievable petition threshold; laws that purport to give rights to Albertans, but in practice do not, lack integrity and are fake.

Many Albertans saw the old premier’s conduct, including this, as part of an unfortunate pattern, where words and actions did not align, also fake, and they got rid of him.

Fast forward to last week, a good week for Alberta!

The Citizen Initiative Act was amended, and now the referendum petition threshold, while very difficult, is no longer impossible to achieve.

It is good that Premier Danielle Smith fixed a fake law.

For Albertans to initiate a referendum, the number of signatures required on the petition is equal to 10% of the number of Albertans who voted in the last election. Currently, that is 177,732. Getting 177,732 signatures on a petition is very difficult but not impossible.

Yet, some politicians are afraid that Albertans will want to have a referendum on something that they do not want. But isn’t that the point of a citizen-initiated referendum? Politicians reliably will do what they want, but what about what their citizens want?

Some want to veto what Albertans can vote on. They do not trust Albertans.

But it is important to remember who the bosses are. It is not a king or any other figure head. It is not a special interest group or an activist judge. It is not Ottawa or some of their media of which they are paymaster. It is not even the Alberta government. It is the people of Alberta. Albertans are the bosses!

Having referendums engage Albertans with opportunities to obtain facts, to discern the truth of how things were, as they now are, and as they are coming to be.

And the truth is sobering.

Over the past ten years, Justin Trudeau added more to the national debt than all prime ministers prior to him combined! Now his successor wants to add about another quarter of a trillion dollars to it.

Ottawa now pays more interest on their debt than they collect from the GST.

For the past 10 years, Canada had the second lowest per capita GDP growth in the 38 country OECD. The OECD forecasts Canada will have the lowest per capita GDP growth to 2060.

There are other hard facts, inconvenient truths.

And Canadians chose to reward this?

But Albertans did not – if you are being led over a cliff, do you have to follow like a lemming?

Some are afraid of Albertans having a referendum vote on not staying in Canada. But if Alberta is treated with fairness and integrity in Canada what is there to fear?

Referendums provide Albertans with opportunities to inform themselves with the truth on a matter. Not in anger, but in hope. Truth produces hope.

But there are some who gain much from the status quo of a broke and dysfunctional federal system and will use:

false narratives and assumptions,

red herrings and ad hominem attacks,

labelling and name calling,

lying and fear mongering,

all against anyone and anything they perceive as a challenge to it.

We are seeing this now even though no referendum petition by Albertans has even been commenced.

In the coming days there will be more, and it will be loud, and it will be mad at Albertans who want change.

The status quo is unacceptable. That is the truth.

Let the truth prevail. The more truth for Albertans, the better.

Alberta is a land of freedom and prosperity. We must be vigilant to keep it that way.

Referendums are one way for Albertans to do so.

Referendums are good for Alberta!”

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The views expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of rdnewsNOW or Pattison Media. Column suggestions and letters to the editor can be sent to news@rdnewsNOW.com.

by Jason Stephan, MLA, Red Deer-South

Op-ed: Referendums are good for Alberta

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