Opinion: Back in the day, when Quebec separatism was still a thing, the legendary comedian Yvon Deschamps used to get a big laugh by joking that what Quebecers really wanted was “an independent Quebec in a strong and united Canada.”
Back in the day, when Quebec separatism was still a thing, the legendary comedian Yvon Deschamps used to get a big laugh by joking that what Quebecers really wanted was “an independent Quebec in a strong and united Canada.”with her “Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act.”But while Deschamps appreciated the absurdity of combining two fundamentally contradictory things — Quebec independence and Canadian unity — Smith seems to be quite serious.
That’s bad enough. If it was actually enforced, the law would nullify the authority of Ottawa in areas of its own jurisdiction — not just classic Alberta issues like energy, but even some parts of the Criminal Code, such as legislation on gun control. Quebec sovereigntists must be kicking themselves that they didn’t think of this when they held power.
But it gets worse, at least for Albertans themselves. The version of the bill introduced this week goes further than Smith had signalled when she was running for the leadership of Alberta’s United Conservative Party. It includes a power grab that would make even Doug Ford jealous. The sovereignty act doesn’t just challenge Ottawa. Section 4 would also give Alberta’s cabinet unilateral power to amend laws in areas where it decides the province’s interests are threatened by federal measures. The cabinet could do that on its own, without all the messy business involved in going back to the legislature to approve its decisions. The act also puts stricter limits on Albertans’ rights to challenge such cabinet rulings in court.
The irony here is that in the name of protecting Albertans from overreach by Ottawa, Smith proposes to strip them of protection from overreach by their own provincial government. Her bill would delegate powers to Alberta’s cabinet of a sort that are usually used only in emergencies, giving it a more or less permanent emergencies law with the supposed menace of federal intrusion as the excuse.
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