Danielle Smith willing to make changes to her signature Alberta sovereignty bill following criticism
Just days after introducing her first bill as Alberta’s premier, Danielle Smith says she is prepared to make changes after widespread criticism that the legislation grants unchecked power.
“It‘s surprising for something that was her signature policy that more care wasn’t put into drafting it,” said Duane Bratt, political scientist at Mount Royal University.
If passed into law, the Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act would give Smith’s cabinet sweeping authority to decide what federal laws, programs and policies infringe on Alberta’s jurisdiction and order institutions in the province not to enforce them.
It would also let cabinet rewrite laws without legislature approval.
“That’s not the way things operate and that would be a huge erosion of democracy in this province, something that only occurs in exceptional, almost war-like situations,” Bratt said.
After days of rejecting criticisms like this, Smith now says she is open to making changes to clear up those concerns.
“If there’s some things that we need to change to be able to make it clear that the legislature has the ultimate authority, I’m prepared to do that, but the purpose of the bill is to make sure that Ottawa stays in its own lane, and that’s the reason we put it forward,” Smith said in an interview with CTV Power Play on Friday.
In a statement on Sunday, the premier’s office said Smith will speak to her caucus on Monday about potential amendments to ensure the bill clearly enables the legislative assembly to direct cabinet to take action to defend the interests of Albertans.
However, even with those amendments, Alberta’s NDP says it won’t support it.
“Regardless of the size or number of amendments that the government tries to bring in, this bill cannot fix the damage that’s been done to Alberta’s reputation. The only way to restore our reputation is to kill this bill,” Alberta NDP Economic Development Critic Deron Bilous said at a press conference on Sunday.
The premier’s office said it’s disappointed that the NDP has already voted against the bill before seeing it or proposing any amendments.
The bill is currently in its second reading. There will be more debate this week before third and final reading on this legislation.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.
BREAKING Israeli forces seize Rafah border crossing in Gaza, putting ceasefire talks on knife's edge
Israeli tanks seized control of Gaza’s vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday as Israel brushed off urgent warnings from close allies and moved into the southern city even as ceasefire negotiations with Hamas remained on a knife’s edge.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Noelia Voigt resigns as Miss USA, citing her mental health
Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in November 2023, has announced she is resigning from her role, saying the decision is in the best interest of her mental health.
Putin begins his fifth term as president, more in control of Russia than ever
Vladimir Putin began his fifth term Tuesday as Russian leader at a glittering Kremlin inauguration, setting out on another six years in office after destroying his political opponents, launching a devastating war in Ukraine and concentrating all power in his hands.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.