It would appear that the United Conservative Party Caucus is OK with having 18 of its members, including eight cabinet ministers, publicly identified as supporters of Alberta independence from Canada, as long as they preserve a few tatters of deniability.
The 18 MLAs appear on a list of separation sympathizers named publicly by the so-called Republican Party of Alberta. As of last night, well after the RPA’s “MLA Independence Scorecard” was widely discussed by media last weekend, all 18 remain identified on it as independence supporters.
In addition to the eight cabinet ministers, one of the MLAs is a Parliamentary secretary, one is the party whip, and one is the Speaker of the House.
Three MLAs responded to media when the story of the RPA list, which was first reported last spring, resurfaced on Sunday.
Cardston-Siksika MLA Joseph Schow told CTV that while he hasn’t signed the separation referendum petition brought forward under Alberta’s citizen-initiative legislation by the Alberta Prosperity Project, with which the UCP Government has been working hand in glove, he thought that Canada could work. So that sounds to me like a qualified rejection of Alberta independence from Canada. Mr. Schow is minister of jobs, economy, trade and immigration.
Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA and chief UCP Whip Justin Wright stuck to the party line, telling City News that he supports a “sovereign Alberta within a united Canada.” This is not a meaningful statement since sovereignty as defined Ms. Smith would mean Canada could no longer operate as a nation-state. Still, let’s call it a qualified rejection of independence too.
Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland MLA Shane Getson, the Parliamentary Secretary for economic corridors, crankily told City News that the RPA was acting like “adolescents scribbling down phone numbers on gas station bathroom cubicles.” However, he didn’t tell them whether or not he supported separation.
According to City News. Agriculture Minister RJ Sigurdson’s name had been removed from the list, as was Indigenous Relations Minister Rajan Sawhney’s name some time ago. However, Mr. Sigurdson in fact remained listed on the site as an independence supporter as of last night.
Yesterday, I wrote the MLAs and asked them three questions:
- Are you in fact a supporter of Alberta independence from Canada?
- Have you signed the Alberta Prosperity Project separation referendum petition?
- If you are NOT a supporter of Alberta independence from Canada have you taken any measures to have the claim that you are removed from the RPA website?
I received the same response from Shanna Schulhauser, communications director for the UCP Caucus, as did CTV.
Speaking on behalf of all the MLAs, she wrote in full: “Alberta’s United Conservative Caucus believes that citizen-initiated referendum petitions should be a grassroots process left to private citizens to sign, not elected officials. Our caucus has also been clear that we support a strong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada.”
She did not speak, of course, for Nathan Cooper, Alberta’s trade representative in Washington and as such an accredited Canadian diplomat. I have sent the former MLA for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills a separate email and I will give him a little more time to respond before I comment on his unique situation.
Ms. Schulhauser’s response, though, leaves the views of all MLAs identified by the RPA as independence supporters unclear. What did they say that got their names on that list? If they support even a somewhat united Canada, why haven’t they tried to get their names off it?
Her response also doesn’t answer whether any of them have signed the APP petition. It tries to leave the impression party policy is for elected officials not to sign citizen initiative petitions without answering whether any of them actually have.
The response also implies the UCP Caucus is of one mind on “a strong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada” when this is widely understood not to be the case.
By doing so in these circumstances, it leaves the impression pro-Canadian MLAs in the UCP Caucus have been ordered not to speak out in defence of their country.
In other words, the UCP continues to suck and blow at the same time, hoping to leave its separatist base with the impression all its MLAs support independence and the rest of the Alberta with the false confidence they can safely sign the referendum petition to help the UCP negotiate for a “better deal” from the rest of Canada.
Premier Danielle Smith obviously has no problem that 30 per cent of her 27-member cabinet have been publicly identified as separatists and most have made no effort to challenge that claim.
Clearly, as far as all the MLAs on the RPA list are concerned, the survival of their party caucus, which is required for them to hold power in Alberta, is more important than the survival of their country.
11 UCP Cabinet Ministers and other office holders said by the RPA to support separation
- Devin Dreeshen, Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, minister of transportation
- Shane Getson, Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland, Parliamentary Secretary for economic corridors
- Nate Horner, Drumheller-Stettler, minister of finance
- Grant Hunter, Taber-Warner, minister of environment
- Todd Loewen, Central Peace-Notley, minister of forestry
- Martin Long, West Yellowhead, minister of infrastructure
- Ric McIver, Calgary-Hays, Speaker
- Dale Nally, Morinville-St. Albert, minister of Service Alberta
- Joseph Schow, Cardston-Siksika, minister of jobs, economy trade and immigration*
- RJ Sigurdson, Highwood, minister of agriculture
- Justin Wright, Cypress-Medicine Hat, chief government whip*
7 MLAS said by the RPA to support separation
- Eric Bouchard, Calgary Lougheed
- Scott Cyr, Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul
- Jennifer Johnson, Lacombe-Ponoka
- Chelsae Petrovic, Livingstone-Macleod
- Angela Pitt, Airdrie-East
- Jason Stephan, Red Deer-South
- Tany Yao, Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo
*Although they are still identified as independence supporters by the RPA, Mr. Schow and Mr. Wright, as noted in the text, say they support Alberta remaining in Canada in some fashion.
If any MLA on these lists feels they have been unfairly portrayed as supporting independence when they do not, all they have to do is drop me a line. I’ll ensure Albertans are immediately informed they support Canadian unity. DJC
