Alberta UCP members approve resolutions for broader bill of rights, tougher transgender policy

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Members of Alberta’s governing United Conservative Party have voted to endorse all 35 of the policy resolutions up for vote on Saturday, including calling on the government to continue to take on Ottawa, further change transgender policies and overturn diversity policies.

The resolutions were up for debate at the UCP’s annual general meeting in Red Deer on Saturday.

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Around 10 of those resolutions are already, or in the process of becoming, government policy. These include limiting the use of cellphones in schools, championing skilled trades and updating rules around the recall process.

“We are a raucous family that has a lot of robust discussions,” UCP Leader and Premier Danielle Smith told reporters ahead of the resolution votes.

“What I committed to is that we have these robust debates. Our caucus listens to what our members have to say.”

Smith noted that the policy resolutions approved by members aren’t guaranteed to become public policy and will be vetted by government staff.

“Policy here is only debated for a short time,” she said of the party’s meeting.

“We have to also talk to stakeholders, we have to see whether things are legally possible, constitutionally possible.”

Before voting on the policy resolutions, members heavily voted in favour of a new version of the Alberta Bill of Rights proposed by a group of members from Medicine Hat.

That version goes further than the one introduced by the government on Oct. 28. It lists 21 rights, including: freedom to use sufficient force in self-defence, freedom from excessive taxation, and freedom to demand independent public inquiry into the conduct of legislators, judges, and other government officials.

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It also includes references to the concealed carry of firearms and the right to life from conception.

Education, transgender resolutions among most common

Voting was conducted by a count of raised green “yes” cards or red “no” cards, with voting results often followed by cheers of approval.

All received overwhelming support but two: a resolution calling on the government to implement Smith’s promised income tax cut, and another calling for an opt-in system for sex education, something the province is already pursuing.

Policies around education were among the most common to be approved by members, including making membership in the Alberta Teachers’ Association optional and guaranteeing freedom of speech for post-secondary students.

Resolutions around transgender policies were also among those passed, including: restricting female spaces/categories (sports, awards, bathrooms) to only biologically-born women, categorizing sex alteration practices as elective cosmetic procedures that are not to be publicly funded, and allowing only male or female markers on government-issued identification.

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Several of the resolutions nodded to theories popular in far-right circles — calling on the Alberta government to “recognize the importance of carbon dioxide to life” and another seeking the protection of Alberta Crown lands from unlawful seizure via the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.

Other resolutions passed include:

• Eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion training from within the Alberta public service;
• Creating a bill of parental rights;
• Requiring municipalities to hold a plebiscite vote for proposed land use changes that impact the entire municipality;
• Eliminating retention bonuses for bureaucrats; and
• Holding the Alberta Human Rights Commission accountable for its decisions.

Most objections to the various resolutions were based on the resolution’s wording, possible redundancy, not going far enough, or the proposed outcome being better achieved through other means.

mblack@postmedia.com

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