Breakenridge: Smith's government makes 'mockery' of direct democracy

With the conclusion of a busy and tumultuous fall sitting of the Alberta Legislature, one would have expected some respite from any further policy drama.

Turns out the Alberta government had other ideas.

Even though the Legislature just debated and passed Bill 14, and even though MLAs have gone home for the holidays, the premier and her cabinet have slipped in one more significant change to Alberta’s referendum rules.

It was an order-in-council last week — that is, a closed-door cabinet edict — that threw up a significant new roadblock to a citizen initiative referendum petition, just as the government has spent weeks arguing that the process should be more permissive.

It’s chaotic and hypocritical while also being duplicitous. But it all makes sense if viewed through the lens of a premier who’s fearful of an organized and motivated separatist movement within her own party. These changes might accomplish the short-term goal of keeping that threat to her leadership at bay, but it’s hard to see how Albertans are being well served by any of this.

The latest change involves the cost to apply for a referendum petition. Before last week, that fee was $500. Suddenly now, though, that cost is a whopping $25,000 — plus, there are new restrictions around fundraising for that amount.

The government has defended this change as necessary to “discourage frivolous applications and protect Alberta taxpayers.” Yet, they somehow neglected to include that in Bill 14.

It’s surely no coincidence that this change only occurred after the separatists resubmitted their proposal to Elections Alberta. And Bill 14, of course, is what revived the separatists’ petition.

It was earlier this year that the province passed Bill 54, which lowered the petition threshold for triggering a referendum. That was in the immediate aftermath of the federal election and the subsequent referendum push by separatists.

Last-minute changes to Bill 54, meant to ease the concerns of First Nations, complicated the separatists’ efforts. So, too, did the previous provision that only one petition on a specific issue could proceed.

So, it was Bill 14 to the rescue. No longer can a potential question be referred to the courts, and no longer is there a concern about an unconstitutional referendum question. Furthermore, there is no longer a concern about duelling, similar petitions. All very convenient indeed for one specific group.

The premier said repeatedly through the debate over Bill 14 that she believed the process should be “permissive” and not stymied by “gatekeepers.”

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Now that a path has been cleared for the separatists, gatekeepers are back, and permissiveness is out. We’re told we must guard against “frivolous applications” and ensure that only those with “serious intent” are applying. But if that was a genuine principle, the petition threshold would never have been lowered in the first place.

The Alberta government went out of its way on two separate occasions to make it easier to force a referendum. With separatists having been pandered to, we’re being told that it’s too easy to force a referendum.

Let’s also not forget the numerous referendums the premier herself has promised for next year. In an interview last week, she strongly suggested that a referendum on immigration policy was in the works. That’s on top of previously discussed votes on leaving the Canada Pension Plan and establishing a provincial police force.

And we’re to believe that the cost of referendums is suddenly a major concern for this government?

All of this is making a mockery of direct democracy. The cause is championed when it comes to allies of the government, but it’s an “abuse” or “frivolous” when it comes to anything that might embarrass the government.

It’s unclear whether this was ever about principle, but it’s clearly not the case now.

Rob Breakenridge is a Calgary-based podcaster and writer. He can be found at robbreakenridge.ca and reached at rob.breakenridge@gmail.com