August 13, 2022 • 4 hours ago • 3 minutes read • 37 comments Premier Jason Kenney speaks at an event at Spruce Meadows in Calgary on Wednesday, May 18, 2022. During the speech, he announced his resignation as premier and leader of the UCP of Alberta. But the next day, it was announced that he would stay on until a new leader was chosen. Photo by Jim Wells /Postmedia Archive
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Premier Jason Kenney says the idea of advancing an Alberta sovereignty law to challenge controversial federal policies risks making the province a “laughing stock” in Canada.
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Kenney dismissed the proposal – a growing conservative talking point and a campaign staple of United Conservative Party leadership candidate Danielle Smith – as “crazy” in response to a question on his weekly radio show on Saturday. “The proposal is basically Alberta ignoring and violating the Constitution in a way that is unprecedented in Canadian history. To not enforce the laws of the land, including federal laws, which includes the Penal Code, is insane,” Kenney said. Smith, considered a front-runner in the party’s leadership race, has pledged to introduce legislation that would allow Alberta to ignore federal laws, court rulings and regulatory decisions opposed by the provincial legislature. “We’ve always been treated like we should just provide the revenue to the rest of the country and we should just shut up and take whatever policies are shoved down our throats,” Smith said in a social media post last month.
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“We’re not going to do it again. We will assert our rights under the Constitution and push back.” In a statement this week, Smith cited the federal carbon tax, a proposed reduction in fertilizer use by farmers and emission caps in the energy sector as federal policies that would not be enforced by any provincial agency under an Alberta sovereignty law. Kenney said such a “blatantly illegal” bill would almost certainly not get the approval of the lieutenant governor or survive a court challenge if it were to pass the legislature. “It would never become law. Alberta would be a laughing stock, with the lieutenant governor doing her job, which is to ensure the law and the Constitution are upheld,” he said.
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Kenney cited published analysis by Howard Anglin, his former general secretary, who has referred to the proposal as a “political and legal farce” that undermines investor confidence. “We should be talking about real, practical ways to fight unjust policies, to fight for a stronger Alberta, and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” Kenney said. Smith, who has dismissed repeated criticism of the proposed legislation, suggested a sovereignty act would give Albertans similar rights and freedoms to those granted in Quebec. Danielle Smith speaks during a UCP leadership webinar hosted by Free Alberta Strategy on Thursday, June 23, 2022. screenshot “If they don’t invade our territory and they don’t invade our jurisdiction, we will never have to invoke it,” he said in the video, which has been viewed 49,000 times. “We need a new relationship with Ottawa so they know we’ve had it, we’ve drawn a hard line and they can’t push us anymore.”
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The prime minister declined to comment on Saturday when asked about the UCP’s growing caucus support for Smith, who this week received the backing of two more cabinet ministers, or the tone of the party’s leadership race. “I’m just not going to get into it, it’s not my business. I’m not going to be a color commentator in the leadership election,” he said. In May, when he announced his resignation, Kenney said he would remain prime minister until a new leader was chosen. On Saturday, the premier told listeners he was open to staying on as MLA for Calgary-Elbow after the leadership’s decision in October. “It is my intention to remain in the (legislature) for at least a period of time,” he said. “I don’t want to force a re-election for sure, but part of that will depend on the next leader.”
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