UCP General Meeting to Consider Policy Resolutions on Parental Rights, Free Speech

Delegates linger at the end of the first evening of the Alberta United Conservative Party Annual General Meeting in Calgary on Nov. 29, 2019. The Canadian Press/Dave Chidley

EDMONTON—Alberta’s United Conservative Party (UCP) grassroots members will be voting on policy resolutions covering gender ideology, protection of free speech, increased parental rights, and the right to bear arms at the party’s upcoming annual general meeting (AGM) on Nov. 3–4.

The UCP members help craft and vote on party policy, vote on who represents them on the party board of directors and at the constituency level, and vote in party nominations to select a candidate in provincial elections. The party leader isn’t obligated to accept or adopt the policy proposals put forward at the AGM, but they provide a blueprint of what the party grassroots considers important and the direction in which they want to see the party head.

The first of 30 policy resolutions put before the AGM, from the constituency association (CA) of Calgary-Edgemont, is a directive for the UCP to defend Alberta’s economy and autonomy “by opposing all attempts by the Federal government to impose net zero by 2035.”

Protect Charter Rights

Another resolution, this one from Bonnyville–Cold Lake-St. Paul, requests the UCP protect free expression, stating that “recent events saw Albertans being censored for their scientific, personal, and or religious beliefs regarding government policies because there was a perceived societal benefit to do so.”

This CA also put forward a resolution to protect an individual’s right to informed consent when it comes to medical decisions. “Under no circumstances ... should any Albertan not have the right to say no to any medical treatment, therapy, vaccine or otherwise against their own wishes,” says the policy proposal. Individuals should not be coerced, forced, or mandated into a medical intervention or procedure, “regardless of the societal benefit or otherwise.”

A related proposal calls for doctors to have the freedom to prescribe treatments and off-label medications and to have the doctor-patient relationship protected from undue interference from the College of Physicians. The rationale states that during COVID, doctors were prohibited from providing “vaccine exemptions” for their own patients who they considered to be at risk, and the regulatory body took “unprecedented action” to prohibit doctors from using off-label medications, particularly when it came to COVID-19.

The Calgary–Lougheed CA proposes protecting freedom of opinion and expression for medical professionals and researchers.

“During the Covid-19 crisis doctors had their physician licenses suspended and others lost their positions as university professors for speaking out about things like the importance of getting informed consent,” it said.

“Others were threatened for expressing their concerns about how quickly vaccines were being pushed upon the public without facing the test of time, or for expressing their concerns about serious negative side effects that they had witnessed after their patients had received a Covid-19 vaccine.”

The same CA also states that Albertans are concerned about digital currency and proposes the enshrined right to use cash for goods and services and bank with provincially regulated institutions that use cash instead of digital currency.

“Many older and low-income people rely on cash transactions and do not have access to credit/debit cards. The federal government has shown their willingness to freeze bank accounts and Central Bank Digital Currency makes it easier,” states the CA.

Other policies call for a Digital Bill of Rights to protect Albertans from infringement due to technology, and a school voucher system to ensure education funding follows the student and allows school choice.

Education

The Innisfail–Sylvan Lake CA has proposed policy 6, which would ban post-secondary institutions from using race as a factor in admissions. The resolution cites a U.S. Supreme Court ruling which found that identifying members of certain races as a factor in university admissions was unconstitutional.

Banff–Kananaskis proposes that universities and colleges receiving government financial support should be “places of free thought and learning of employable skills” and that all diversity, equity, and inclusion offices should be closed—as they “are not places for indoctrination of identity politics, reverse racism, or radicalization.”

Edmonton–West Henday has put forward policy proposal 8, which would require schools, teachers, and school boards to obtain the written consent of the parent of a student under the age of 16 before changing the name or pronouns used by the student at school, noting that the governments of Saskatchewan and New Brunswick recently implemented similar requirements.

“Schools require a signed permission slip to take children on a field trip so it’s unclear why schools should not require parental consent for identification changes. Schools should not be in the business of going behind parents’ backs,” says the policy.

A related proposal calls for a bill of parental rights, which recognizes parental involvement as primary before the state.

Oppose MAID for Mentally Ill

Innisfail–Sylvan Lake has proposed a policy that would see the province oppose Ottawa’s expansion of medical assistance in dying (MAID) laws to the mentally ill and oppose any future legalization of MAID for minor children.

“Healthcare workers in any facility shall not be allowed to present or promote MAiD to a patient as a care option. The procedure must be considered a tragic last resort and only be discussed with a patient of legal age upon request by said patient or their proxy,” reads the proposal. It would also protect individual health care workers and private hospice facilities who object to participating in assisted suicide for reasons of religion or conscience.

The same riding has put forward a proposal for the government to prohibit any land use or development planning initiatives that would restrict movement of residents in violation of their Charter rights. The rationale cites “15 Minute Cities,” a concept brought forward by urban planners to “make cities more livable,” and cites the United Kingdom—stating the concept has been used to pass bylaws that restrict people from moving between government-declared “zones.”

A relatively straightforward policy proposes that the government support programs, eliminate red tape, and reduce taxes when it comes to family farms and generational farming. Another policy related to farming wants nitrogen production increased, due to the province’s agriculture being dependent on nitrogen-based fertilizers.

There is a proposal for the government to ban electronic tabulating or vote-counting machines for provincial elections to alleviate concerns of electoral fraud.

Expand Rights, Freedoms

Brooks–Medicine Hat proposes expanding rights that may not be fully protected by the Constitution, charter, or existing federal and provincial bill of rights—including expansion of all the fundamental freedoms and rights in the charter, plus the additional right to keep arms (firearms), parental rights, the right to self-defence, the right to privacy of personal information, and the right to marry and join in civil union.

The same policy proposes freedom from over-taxation, from unreasonable search and seizure, and to make personal health care choices, with a caveat that the government must secure these rights and freedoms so they can not be suspended or revoked except by referendum of the people.

Calgary–Lougheed put forward a proposal that teachers and school boards would be prevented from providing sexual, racist, or abusive materials in kindergarten to grade 12 schools, citing increased parental concerns about inappropriate material in school libraries.

Edmonton–West Henday wants supervised drug consumption sites eliminated. Calling the sites a “failed experiment” and “blights upon the neighbourhood,” the policy suggests the sites do nothing to combat drug addiction or promote addiction recovery.

Banff–Kananaskis has proposed transportation utility corridors to be negotiated with neighbouring provinces, Yukon and Northwest Territories, Alaska, Montana, and associated First Nations as partners.

Public Interest

Calgary–Buffalo has set forth a policy that the minister of justice’s role should be separated into attorney general and solicitor general. “The Justice Minister’s role is to protect the government’s legal interest and the Solicitor General’s role is to protect the public’s legal interest,” says the proposal. “The public has no representation” as the roles are combined, states the rationale.

The riding also calls for a repeal of no-fault insurance and a return to fault-based insurance, citing the increased costs for drivers to be insured and benefit only to the insurance companies under the current system.

Calgary–Edgemont has called for the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal and other regulatory body hearings to follow the same rules of evidence and burden of proof as required by courts. The riding has also proposed that regulatory bodies should be limited to investigating their members for complaints about professional conduct only when the member is “on the job.”

Proposal 29 calls for protection of biologically female inmates in prisons and correctional centres. “It has become clear that some male predators are falsely changing their gender identity so they can be placed in a female penitentiary, where they engage in sexual predatory behaviours such as rape. Under this proposed policy, these genetically male prisoners will remain in male penitentiaries or be transferred to a facility for transsexual female inmates,” it states.

The last policy proposal, 30, asks the government to index all social assistance programs and benefits to inflation.

The upcoming AGM will be held at the BMO Centre at Calgary’s Stampede Park.

In order to vote at this year’s AGM, an individual must have held a current UCP membership by Oct. 12 at 11:59 p.m. and have paid the registration fee to attend.