”[These changes] are good for municipalities, good for voters, good for Albertans.” – Ric McIver, minister of Municipal Affairs with respect to Bill 20.
How do they do it?
How can a politician say Bill 20 will strengthen democracy when in fact it does the opposite?
Shall we count the ways?
The purpose of Bill 20
Governments pass legislation to remedy a problem. In this case Ric McIver, minister of Municipal Affairs, says Bill 20 will boost transparency, accountability and trust in local elections.
OK, so the problem the UCP is trying to fix is a lack of transparency, accountability and trust in local elections, right?
While Bill 20 imposes donation limits—individuals, corporations and unions are capped at $5000/year, it also permits the creation of local political parties thereby creating a new way to inject even more big money to local politics.
If Bill 20 was truly focused on transparency, it would have required candidates to disclose their donors and the value of their contributions before election day, not months after the fact.
Better yet, if the UCP was serious about strengthening democracy it would have gone back to the NDP position and banned contributions from corporations and unions and limited altogether.
Local political parties
McIver says Bill 20 is good for Albertans; however one of its key elements, the creation of local political parties, is restricted to Calgary and Edmonton. If local political parties are a good thing how come hundreds of Alberta municipalities are not allowed to have them?
According to McIver that’s because: “We think the most shining and bright examples of where political party activity was already taking place was in the municipal elections of Calgary and Edmonton, so we chose that would be where we start.”
If this nascent political party activity was a concern, Bill 20 could have banned it instead of giving it the government’s blessing.
I suspect the reason why Edmonton and Calgary were singled out is that unlike other municipalities, all of Edmonton and a good chunk of Calgary voted against the UCP in the last election. And the UCP would like a few sympathetic souls looking out for the province’s interests at the municipal level.
About those electronic vote tabulators
Bill 20 requires the municipalities to replace their electronic vote tabulators with pencil-and-paper ballots.
Why?
According to the UCP MLA Mrs Johnson, voters just don’t trust them (notwithstanding the findings of a UCP survey that found 36% of Albertas wanted them removed, but the remaining 64% weren’t fussed). In any event the UCP government wants them gone. As Mrs Johnson put it, we need to be protected against hackers and AI.
When she was asked whether a hacker could hack a voting machine not connected to the internet, she said she didn’t know, but suggested the Def Con convention was somehow relevant. She never did explain how AI could interfere with the ballot counting process.
Nevertheless, something about electronic vote tabulators scares the bejesus out of the UCP, consequently municipalities will have to shoulder the cost of switching to pencil-and-paper ballots. Edmonton estimates this will cost the city an additional $2.5 million. Calgary is guessing something in the range of $1.3 million.
Local autonomy
Bill 20 gives the premier and her cabinet significant additional powers. They can:
- Fire a mayor or a councillor for reasons known only to themselves. In the past the government would engage in an investigative process and issue a public report.
- Revoke any bylaws that don’t confirm to government policy (whatever it may be on any given day). In the past the government would have had to bring the matter before the Legislature and introduce a bill to override the offensive bylaw.
In other words, Bill 20 allows the premier and her cabinet to oust a locally elected politician and to overturn bylaws passed by elected municipal lawmakers simply by calling a cabinet meeting. The decision is made behind closed doors. It’s all hush hush, away from the public eye.
Ironically Bill 20 makes the provincial government less transparent and less accountable while it does absolutely nothing to increase trust in local governments.
Voter suppression
Taking a page from the loons south of the border, the UCP is determined to eradicate a non-existent voter fraud problem by requiring photo ID when voting.
Political scientist Jared Wesley estimates anywhere from 10,000 to 50,000 Albertans could be stripped of their right to vote because Bill 20 makes it impossible for neighbours and coworkers to vouch for people without photo ID.
If voter suppression was not the UCP government’s intention then Bill 20 should have included provisions requiring the government to ensure people without photo ID can obtain such ID quickly and at no cost. It doesn’t.
Protecting democracy
If Bill 20 was indeed intended to strengthen democracy it would have taken big money out of politics by banning corporate and union donations instead of creating yet another entity to funnel even more money into municipal politics.
It would have mandated disclosure of donations of any sort (including any value derived from third-party advertisers) before election day. It would have leveled the playing field by going “full Quebec” and adopted that province’s practice of capping individual donations at $100 with the balance made up of public funding.
Instead Bill 20 expands the role of big money in municipal elections, strips marginalized Albertans of the right to vote, and gives the provincial government even more power to meddle in local politics free from transparency and accountability.
Bill 20 is the antithesis of legislation aimed at strengthening democracy.
And the UCP government pulled it off without any meaningful consultation with Albertans because that’s how the UCP roll.
Sources: Globe and Mail Oct A6, Oct 19, 2024. Calgary Herald Oct 18, 2024, Hansard Apr 25, May 22, 28, 29, 2024.
Susan on the Soapbox 
Susan, mind if I post this on LinkedIn? As ever, AB citizens need such cogent words to come to them from multiple sources.
Jim McPhail
Jim—sure please do. Just brace for flak!
Thank you, Susan! I am always grateful for your thoughts, values, and truths. Glad to pass them in hopes they resonate for many.
Jim
jlpmcphail@gmail.com
Good Luck Jim, the UCP is now a slogan cult.
Thank you Jim, I hope so too.
Take Back Alberta will be satisfied and she should be able to continue as leader of the UCP!
Elizabeth: some of my friends who have a deeper first hand view of Smith and the UCP say that what we’re seeing from Smith isn’t just pandering to Take Back Alberta, but actually a reflection of who she is. Which means that if she promises TBA something awful, she’ll actually deliver on the promise after she’s confirmed as leader, because that’s who she is. It’s a scary thought.
Very scary! How we we end up in this mess??
Elizabeth I agree with you. She is a lunatic power grabber. Usually they damage but they do not last long. Parker is just allowing her to prepare the road for his entrance as Julius Cesar.
Parker would do well to rember what happened to Julius Caesar. And how quickly it took to occur.
Absolutely 🙂 🙂 🙂
As always with this party and government, some Albertans were consulted: the privileged few who will gain from the legislation.
This government doesn’t even try to conceal their corruption and legislation has only one purpose: to enrich UCP insiders.
Public Servant: I agree. That’s what makes it so shocking. It’s antidemocratic and they don’t care. Frankly it’s time for Albertans to wake up!
Randy: indeed. But many groups they should have consulted–like Alberta Municipalities and Rural Alberta–were not consulted and they’re steaming mad. I just hope they remember how Smith stabbed them in the back (and this isn’t the first time) the next time they go to the polls.
Hardly surprising – that’s what fascists do!
vectoring: This is very true. Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary (and good friend of Stephen Harper) was democratically elected. He’s one of the loudest voices in support of an “illiberal democracy.” When we were redoing our upstairs bathroom I got to know one of the Hungarian tilers. He;s been in Canada for 10 years and is thinking of going back home with his family. The fact that Orbán,is an authoritarian didn’t seem to enter his mind. I found that very strange.
The flaws in the democratic model are on broad display. An already flawed model is being systematically weakened. Tragic! We meed to focus on and advertise the strengths. The alternatives waiting in the wings are frightening.
Susan, I have discovered a word limit on LinkedIn posts. Your brilliance is over 3,000 words over their limit. I’m concerned that I would lose your pointed arguments.
No problem Jim. Thanks for trying.
Ah yes. “Dr No” as he was known as at The City of Calgary. Voters need to wisen up about the people they elect. And, of course, our Premier Smith… 😦
Exactly.
Beverly Mah: I’d forgotten that McIver was ‘Dr No.’ Apparently he was on the radio this morning talking about the need to respect voters. Talk about hypocritical. Bill 20 will strip some voters of their right to vote and will allow the provincial government to overturn the results of our votes behind closed doors. This is not only disrespectful, it’s autocratic.
I still can’t post comments.
Dwayne I’m so sorry. I don’t know why some people can post and others can’t. I haven’t changed any settings. I don’t k know if the WP program is rejecting comments with links or what. It’s a very troubling program but I don’t want to move on to substack because it makes people subscribe (ie pay) to post comments.
There has been an unsettling trend of late where conservative governments are taking authoritarian decisions that override the autonomy of local governments. Conservatives used to believe in keeping decisions as close to the citizen as possible, which means respecting municipal governments. But more recently they’ve been issuing diktats that tie the hands of elected municipal councils.
Case in point from Ontario: Doug Ford’s wars on bike lanes and four-plexes. Shouldn’t it be up to local electors to hold their municipal councils to account over their decisions? But no, today’s authoritarian version of conservatism grasps all power to itself.
Oh, and did you see Poilièvre’s latest comments on using the federal spending power to govern how provinces run their disability social assistance programmes? OK, sure, I agree, provinces shouldn’t be clawing back the meagre income earned by disability assistance recipients from whatever marginal employment they are able to pursue — but that’s for provincial voters to decide, not Big Daddy Ottawa. If PP becomes PM, will Daniellezebub be pulling out the Sovereignty Act against him?
Not bloody likely
I’m with noklebym on this one. Although it will be interesting to see how Danielle talks her way around why she’s not fighting for Alberta’s rights when they’re being trampled by the PP feds, not the JT feds.
The way these Neo-Conservatives think, they will find ways around their slogans.
Actually Pierre Poilievre said that he wanted the provinces to clean up their welfare programs and if they did not want to he would use the power of Federal money to force them to. In fascist language, you are going to cut the numbers or we will clean it up for you. It means cuts. After all these people do not work hard enough like he does, insulting everyone without any consequences.
Pierre Poilievre is full of himself and he thinks he is going to change Canada to his idea of survival of the fittest, market fundamentalist society which we have the example of what we became in the last 30 years of Neo-Liberal bull. Apparently the free market concept failed in many ways and especially in the housing market. Of course for him it does not matter because he makes way more than he deserves. Any of them for that matter.
He will soon have what he really deserves.
Carlos: what’s interesting about this is the feds have the right to offer the provinces federal money with strings attached. If the provinces don’t like the conditions, they can refuse the money. In the past Trudeau offered funds for daycare and pharmacare on certain conditions. This made Smith crazy and she refused to take the money. She argued imposing conditions was federal overreach.
Now her favourite federal politician PP is going to do the same thing–offer a pile of money on the condition that the provinces “clean up” their welfare programs. So what’s Smith going to do? Reject the money on principle because it’s federal overreach.
I predict she’ll accept PP’s federal funding package even with strings attached despite the fact she rejected Trudeaus’s federal funding package precisely because it had strings attached.
Why? because she’s a hypocrite, none of this was about federal/provincial jurisdiction. the Constitution, and federal overreach. All of it was about blind ideology.
AGREE
Jerrymacgp: thanks for sharing these examples. As you said, this is not how the conservatives used to behave and I wonder if the reason why they’re taking such overt action is their financial backers (let’s just call them Big Business) are becoming more greedy. It doesn’t matter how far governments bend over to make business happy, it’s never enough. These kinds of governments always danced to Big Buisness’s tune, but they used to dance in the dark, now they’re right out in the open and we’re so shocked we don’t know how to react.
EXACTLY RIGHT
Dear Ms. S:
All true, you hit the nail on the head in this column. However, McIver will continue to gaslight and tell us repeatedly that Bill 20 is democracy at its finest and it will be very effective for him for a couple of reasons.
The first reason is Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels famously stated that if you repeat a lie often enough it becomes the truth.
The second reason is Albertans exhibit an almost childlike obedience to male authority figures.
The UCP are gaming the system so that they never lose another election and Smith is leading in all of the polls. One would think that the majority of voting Albertans crave an authoritarian government. How else can you explain this?
Where is the NDP in all of this? Thirty seven NDP MLA’s plus Nenshi and not a peep out of any of them. Someone from head office is telling everyone to hush and play nice.
Jaundiced Eye: you hit the nail right on the head. Why do Albertans (like so many Americans it seems) crave an authoritarian government. They pride themselves on their independence, they’re always fighting for their rights, and yet they stand by meek and mild while the UCP government runs roughshod over their democratic freedoms.
I would love to see someone analyse who we are and why we’re like this.
Also I agree with you, we need to see the NDP front and centre on this file. I have been pushing for a newsletter as a medium through which the NDP could tell us what’s going on and what they’re doing about it, but so far, nothing. It’s very discouraging.
Discouraged is not how I feel. The NDP is out for lunch and I maybe wrong but Nenshi is a big fluke.
Social Democrats cannot find their place, not just in Canada but around the world. They are failing in Germany in Austria and even in the escandinavian countries. They are incapable of reacting to the complete distrust most progressives have for current psychotic politics.
This is why I think without a big reform and an end to this voting system and lobbyists, democracy is changed forever and will not represent us.
Facts are facts and if conservatives want to dominate us with confusion and lies, we should immediatelly implement direct fact checking everywhere until they realize the lumacy is over. Social media needs regulation and very stiff consequences. We do not live in the Wild West anymore although it does feel like it and people like Parker and Danielle Smith and Pierre Poilievre and Vicktor Orban and many others are getting away with murder under the name of freedom.
Freedom of what? Freedom of controling others?
Hello Mrs. Soapbox and fellow commenters,
This is all quite appalling, especially the supposed ability of the provincial government to remove any mayor or councillor, apparently at will, and and its supposed ability to nullify bylaws, also without explanation. I wonder how the courts will view this. My best guess is that the courts will strike down these provisions, even though municipalities are created by the province.
Does the legislation also allow removal of members of other kinds of municipal-type government such as municipal districts, counties etc. ? I have nor read the legislation.
I have commented many times, but suddenly am being asked for a password I never created. Whatâs up with these sites?
I might have to unsubscribe if I canât comment because your provider is suddenly harassing me. Too old to play the â;whatâs yer password gameâ.
Mary Nokleby
Something is definitely wrong with this. I can’t comment either. It says Comment sent successfully, then my comment doesn’t appear.
I can see your comments.
I’ll try again. My comment that couldn’t get past the password nonsense was suggesting that Danielle Smith and the UCP want absolute control……no interference from the Federal government, and no autonomy for the municipalities. Everything must go according to the TBA IQ currently working to get a resolution passed at their convention………..to the effect that CO2 is a gas essential to plant life, that at 420 ppm its the lowest its been in 1000 years, and for these reasons we must end any wasteful nonsense about a clean grid, remove the carbon tax and the proposed emissions cap.;
Like most fascistic movements, the UCP is fast becoming a death cult…….and if Albertans don’t smarten up, get off the Lazyboy couches and become politically active, we’re toast.
I also suggested they must think that God is an Albertan. I suspect she rules a larger territory than that, and that furthermore, we may be p**sing her off big time, with our arrogant ignoramus none sense.
Where was it promised, “Fire Next Time”??
I can’t post comments anymore. It says Comment sent successfully, then my comment isn’t showing up. Something is wrong with this. After I post, I get Duplicate comment. Looks like you’ve already said that!
I can’t post comments. When I do, it says Comment sent successfully, then nothing is posted. Then it also asks for my password to login, and when I try to post a comment, it says Duplicate comment. Looks like you’ve already said that! Something is wrong with WordPress, and big time.
WordPress administrators/creators need to be slapped with a big fat fine, because they aren’t fixing their defective app.
WordPress administration/staff needs to be slapped with a big fat fine, because their app is defective and they aren’t fixing it.
Hi Dwayne – your comments are printing twice. Try to logon to Word press before you post a message.
Click on the icon on the bottom left of a reply that looks like a G but looking up and highlighted in Blue
Carlos: That’s useless. It doesn’t work. Something is horribly wrong with WordPress. Last week, I lost my ability to properly comment, and I still can’t do it. Comment sent successfully, then nothing shows up most of the time. Loading your comment, then nothing is posted. Or, Duplicate Comment. Looks like you’ve already said that! It won’t even recognize my password. Very strange.
The same has happened to me and in my case I just logged in to Word Press before I post here and it seems to work.
I didn’t think the people of Alberta, knew they were electing a Queen, the last time we had an election. Hail Queen Danielle and her band of Merry Fools. It just never stops does it who really is driving the Clown Car?
Yes the people of Alberta knew exactly what they were voting for. The problem is that the people voting are our problem. They got on the Trump bandwagon and think they are cute. They just want easy money from oil.
Susan: Thanks for sharing another great blog. I’ll see how this goes. If WordPress keeps on having issues, I’m off of it indefinitely. There is no proper support for people who experience problems with it.
The UCP are supporting a dictatorship, and they do not care about democracy at all. Bill 20 is one of many examples of that. This is also something that Danielle Smith never campaigned on. In fact, when Danielle Smith was the Wildrose party leader, she said that municipalities should have autonomy, and that they should be able to make their own decisions. How things have changed! We must stand up to the UCP and their authoritarian rule, and we must do it on a regular basis.
Dwayne, I’m glad you posted this comment. Thanks for pointing out the hypocrisy of Smith’s position. To my mind, the most egregious example of this is her flip flop on trans kids. Remember how when she was the leader of the Wilrose she stood up in the Leg to oppose the PC government’s decision to ban gay-straight alliances in schools. She stood up and in a wavering voice, with tears in her eyes, begged the PCs to change their minds. Then she returned as premier and the leader of the UCP, all that empathy went right out the window and she passed legislation to “protect” trans kids from themselves, their parents, and their doctors, because TBA dictated it should be so.
She flip flops so often, I have no idea what her values are.
PS I understand your frustration with WP, but I do hope you’ll continue to contribute to the Soapbox!
Smith’s values are basically whatever allows her to get power and keep power. I seem to recall one reason she got disillusioned with running the Wildrose a decade ago was their strong social conservatism. Smith’s fine with economic and political conservatism but at the time seemed uncomfortable with going after the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community. She even attended a gay pride parade one year and had a good time.
But forget all that now. She seems to have decided principles aren’t worth following if they don’t bring a substantial reward. Abandoning 2SLGBTQQIA+ for TBA has got her the premiership she craved, or so Smith likely thinks. So now regardless of what Smith may personally think, she’ll do what it takes to keep power well in hand, a UCP (and far right-wing) hallmark.
I agree Jason – these people will do anything that benefits them and the heck with principles, lies, whatever.
It works for them they do it and forget consequences because after all society does not exist, only individuals fighting for their own good.
You said it very well and I could not agree more
This Bill 20 is just another Parker garbage. Creating Transparency based on false ideas.
We all know very well how to get elections to be fair except that is not what the UCP is looking for. On the contrary, this is nothing but trying to manipulate everything possible for their benefit.
I thought we were better than the US in terms of common sense but I was wrong. BC seems to want to dethrone us from the jackasses of our country. Interesting times.
Once again this government (UCP) demonstrate their fear of loosing the rains through ramming draconian Bill’s through the legislature and then spinning lies supporting their reasoning. Thank goodness there is people like yourself who put out solid break downs of such proposed legislation. Please keep up the solid work.
Robert: thanks. One would hope that Albertans (to quote my Mom) would eventually wake up and smell the coffee.
Bill 20 is, of course, not about enhancing democracy, municipal or provincial, in any way at all. It’s about allowing the UCP to meddle in and *vandalize* Edmonton and Calgary municipal governance, to autocratically impose their will over the big cities whose voters haven’t been sufficiently gullible, and leaders not obeisant enough to their masters, the UCP. It is, above all else, about punishing Calgary and Edmonton for not being like, and not voting like rural ridings – and about being seen to be doing so by the UCP’s perpetually angry, resentful rural base.
There trying to make themselves God, if they can remove the city government, for no reason but whatever they make up in there head. Does it stand to reason that the Federal government remove the remove the province government for the same reason?
There saying the Towns are under the province so because there more high up they can remove the people.
so in my mind the province is lower then the Federal so the Federal government so they can remove them.
just saying.
next
They want paper and pencil for voting because they don’t trust computers. But yet, they get there all there weird and strange ideas from the internet
Do people not see that as funny
Great comments
I wished the Federal goverment would remove this absurd pack of idiots
You could also see their actions as a perfect example of the Double Standard. We have freedom of speech, you need to shut your mouth; we have absolute power in the province, the municipalities have none.
We see it as well in the free speech advocates/some of whom regularly post threatening tweets to women politicians. For the right to have the powers it deserves, some of us ‘undeserving’ must have none.
Also a good example of their logic at work….we’d all best remember: bullies set the rules so that bullies prosper.
noklebym: I thought your last sentence summed it all up very well. You’d think we learned something from history, but apparently this is not the case and we have to relearn these hard lessons again and again.
Meet your next prime minister if Justin Trudeau does not quit.
Just a little touch of this Conservative Genius
https://www.thespec.com/opinion/contributors/big-oil-pays-big-bucks-for-private-meeting-with-poilievre/article_c075f3bf-625e-5004-b216-1ccec025f6ec.html
I’m curious to see if this comment can be posted, because even logging in doesn’t work for me.
Danielle Smith and the UCP will ensure that Pierre Poilievre won’t become Prime Minister.
Carlos: I’ll try posting this response and see what happens.
I think Danielle Smith and the UCP will ensure that Pierre Poilievre will not be Prime Minister.
I disagree with you. They hate him less than they do Justin Trudeau. Pierre Poilievre is their convoy buddy.
Carlos: I’ll try posting this comment and see what happens.
I think Danielle Smith and the UCP will ensure that Pierre Poilievre will not be Prime Minister.
It is working. I think the problem is a refresh and you have to give it sometime.
I’ll test this one final time. If I can’t comment, I’m off of this indefinitely, and I don’t care. It’s not being fixed by the creators of this blog (WordPress), which isn’t helping.
Danielle Smith has to have a toxic lust for power and control, and it does not phase her one bit how many boundaries she is willing to cross, or who gets harmed in the process. This sets a very dangerous precedent.
It is working and when you post, give it a couple of minutes. I think the issue is a refresh issue and that has happened to me as well.
Danielle Smith is a bully and she governs for her prophet Parker and they are accomplishing what they set out to do and so they do not care about any of us or the future of the province. Here is another destruction of a great accomplishment, that the socialists created for us.
They do not see any benefits on renewable energy because they are a bunch of psychos. I am sure the 46% of Albertans that support them will rejoice on these news while the rest of us will be looking for better pastures.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/solar-wind-investment-alberta-1.7360677
Dwayne: I can see your comments. I’m not sure why they’re not visible at your end. Anyway, I absolutely agree with your comment that Smith and her crew are all about power, very much like the spineless Republicans who are sticking with Trump regardless of all the horrible things he’s said he is going to do if (God help us) he wins on Nov 4. If you sell your soul to the devil you shouldn’t be surprised when he comes to collect what he’s due.
Just a quick question
Was it not this person that just a few months ago wanted more people in Alberta and even try to reach 10 Million?
So now, that it smells like a good attack on the Federal Government she just changed her story and just SIMPLY ignores what she said previously ? What planet are we living in.
Does this vampire really believes we are all that stupid like her colleagues in the TBA?
This is beyond believable really – no wonder people in the US are already attempting to get Trump dead. These politicians are going top pay big price for this horrendous lack of respect for a citizenry that is already under pressure with so many stresses.
Are these animals trying to brake us? I would suggest them to be careful because this is reaching a limit that could easily turn dangerous.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/immigration-new-federal-plan-alberta-government-1.7362204
As expected this illiterate government does not even realize what is important to Albertans.
As we struggle through our day to day, the government is serious about our rights of not being vaccinated and of course the very old concern of owning guns – we have to be careful with the Indians. They may escape from residential schools and then what?
With the possibility of the election of a complete nut case in the US, it is scary to think of all the consequences coming our way with Danielle Smith as premier, Pierre Poilievre as prime minister and Trump as the Great Kahuna down South. I think for the very first time since the 1960s in North America we are going to have tremendous civil disobedience, but not to worry because Trump already promised troops on the ground for internal enemies. I am sure Pierre Poilievre will have no problem to join the Convoy as he has done here in Canada.
But hey according to Queen Danielle we are the freest part of the world with our revamped useless Bill of Rights. Her concept of freedom sounds a lot like Putin’s democratic values.
https://albertapolitics.ca/2024/10/the-alberta-bill-of-rights-amendment-act-2024otherwise-known-as-bill-1-is-a-fundamentally-unserious-document/
Carlos, I agree. I must say, the idiocy of Smith pales in comparison to the chaos in the US. I find it terribly disturbing, I can’t imagine what it must be like to live in the US and know that the polls show such a tight race. Surely the display at Madison Square Gardens was the last straw for any sane Republican.
So true but does it matter?
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/heres-why-pierre-poilievre-is-so-afraid-of-the-cbc/article_ff8e6466-96dd-11ef-a20d-3f6ddce12403.html
Good reading as usual
https://albertapolitics.ca/2024/10/happy-halloween-danielle-smith-offers-mostly-rosy-state-of-the-province-summary-predictable-complaints-about-ottawa/
‘[These changes] are good for municipalities, good for voters, good for Albertans.” – Ric McIver, minister of Municipal Affairs with respect to Bill 20.‘
Another one UCP that needs some mushrooms.
Seriously? Obviously McIver has seen the Parker light.