Alright so next up on the UCP power trip, handing powers from the Chief electoral officer to a minister, putting naming restrictions on political parties (likely a direct target against the AB party trying to rename to the AB PC's), and discontinue any court proceeding brought by the chief electoral officer (who referred a separatist referendum petition to the courts to see if its wording was even legal), limits to the training the Law society can mandate. For any healthy democracy, the amount of power the UCP in trying to concentrate on them is worrisome, especially the justice minister.
So I think here is the crux of the issue, and I suspect it's just one of those things that will generate debate among people for the foreseeable future...
When it comes to a healthy democracy, that's exactly what I see when it comes to Danielle Smith. Someone who has, and is, trying to protect people's freedoms at a fundamental level.
For example - I agree with her that citizen led movements aren't supposed to have a bunch of gatekeepers that either allow or disallow those movements to take root.
If it's an unpopular idea, then it won't go anywhere. And if it's an idea that people can get behind, it'll find itself supported by the common citizen.
Her point is that it shouldn't be up a court to determine whether or not work on that idea can proceed - especially at the citizen initiated, grassroots level...and that doesn't sound unreasonable to me on the surface
...
Support for the idea of seperation may very well be starting to simmer down now that Trudeau is gone.
Regardless of his policies, Mark Carney is a new face & a lot more likeable, and I think people have put some pretty high hopes on him pulling thru for us in the end...so I think people in general will want to work with him & see what he can do for the province, and will consider that a
far safer option than separating altogether
I personally think the seperation movement will gain some steam before it starts to lose steam, but in the end I imagine Alberta won't vote to seperate.
But the fact that it is even being discussed by so many people, so openly that the government & courts are starting to weigh in on the matter, I think
proves just how hated he was by Albertans & how completely gone that trust with Ottawa is.
