Achi news desk-
It was a long time ago, but Jan Novotny still remembers the tanks rolling through his home town, Prague in 1968 when the Soviet Union imposed its will on the people of what was then Czechoslovakia.
On Monday, he stood outside the Alberta legislature in a light rain, holding a sign aimed at the province’s United Conservative Party government that said, “Stalin Would Be Proud.”
“I am very concerned,” Novotny said on the first day of his protest.
“Democracy is a slippery slope. It can slide into autocracy quite easily. I see the current government as very dictatorial in nature.”
Novotny is particularly concerned about a proposed law that would give Premier Danielle Smith’s cabinet sweeping power to fire local councillors, scrap bylaws, and allow political parties to run in Edmonton and Calgary.
Civic Affairs Minister Ric McIver’s office did not respond to a question about how much feedback it has received on its proposed legislation, which was introduced on April 25.
McIver has promised to amend the bill and discuss the proposed changes with civic leaders, who say they should have been consulted before the bill was even introduced.
Like other bills and policy balloons Albertans have seen since the 2023 provincial election, it was not part of the UCP’s campaign platform and has not gone before a public comment process.
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Novotny is one of an unsettled but increasingly vocal number of Albertans concerned about what they call government posturing.
“I woke up and said enough is enough,” said Glenda Tailfeathers of Lethbridge, who is helping organize “Enough Is Enough” protests in several Alberta communities for May 25.
“There’s a lot of interest in people taking a stand,” said Peter Oliver of Project Alberta, a group called Project Calgary.
In one day, the group collected 800 signatures against the proposed legislation.
“The more power they take away from our councils, the more power they put in the hands of corporations and unions,” said Oliver. “It could get to a point where it’s hard to get control back.”
Last week, University of Alberta political science professor Jared Wesley posted an essay warning of a growing authoritarian streak in the UCP government.
“In my two decades of research, I have not seen this kind of response to anything I have written,” Wesley said in an email.
“It’s not just the volume here, but the variety of people who reach out. From left and right. CEOs for retirees, country people and city people. All of them are upset with what a growing number of Albertans see: a government bent on consolidating power.
“You can feel the ground well, and MLAs hear it too.”
Alberta Municipalities – the organization that speaks for towns, cities and villages – has also objected.
“Albertans have been clear: they do not want political parties in their local elections,” the organization said in a statement last week. “The provincial government has ignored them too, deaf to the voices of Albertans.”
Critics say the Smith government has a way of launching controversial legislation on Albertans.
During the last year, the government has: re-introduced the idea of a provincial pension; placing a moratorium on the approval of renewable power; pledged to limit gender-affirming care for young people; and introduced legislation that would require provincially regulated institutions, including universities, to obtain provincial approval of federal funding.
Smith has pushed back at criticism, saying her government is simply responding to concerns from stakeholders and is committed to ensuring other levels of government do not overstep their authority.
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
