The United Conservative Party of Alberta is currently in the throes of its Annual General Meeting, as members deliberate on 51 resolutions members hope will influence the province’s political landscape.
Nineteen resolutions focus on internal UCP governance, though 30 are about the UCP’s official policy.
Policy resolutions are not binding on the province’s UCP government, but are an important barometer about where the party’s grassroots stand on key issues.
The policy resolutions are categorized broken up into several categories: autonomy and economy, healthcare and medical rights, education and youth, civil liberties and rights, infrastructure and development, judicial and legal reforms, and finance and commerce.
All of the resolutions can be found here.
Resolution 1 contends that the government should defend Alberta’s economy and autonomy by opposing all attempts by the federal government to impose net zero by 2035.
“The Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act defends Alberta’s interests by giving our province legislation to push back on federal laws and initiatives that negatively impact the province,” reads the resolution.
In the sphere of healthcare and medical rights, Resolution 10 is set to ignite intense debate.
It proposes opposing the federal expansion of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) qualifying criteria to include those suffering solely from mental illness and the future legalization of MAiD as a care option 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 resolution.
Turning to education and youth, Resolution 9 stands out, advocating the elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices in post-secondary institutions.
“The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) offices at universities, colleges, and post-secondary institutions have become the enforcement arm of woke ideologues on campuses. By removing them, it will become much easier to effect changes from 202.4 a), which intends to guarantee freedom of speech on campuses,” reads the resolution.
Among the civil liberties and rights, Resolution 5 protects Albertans’ right to access goods and services using cash and the option to bank with provincially regulated institutions that supply cash instead of digital currency.
Many reasons are given, one being that “the federal government has shown their willingness to freeze bank accounts and Central Bank Digital Currency makes it easier,” reads the resolution.
As for infrastructure and development, Resolution 23 suggests collaborating with Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories, as well as the American states of Alaska and Montana and all associated First Nations as partners, to secure transportation utility corridors (TUCs) to strategic locations like the Hudson Bay, the Mackenzie Delta region, and/or Alaska.
“The UCP supports pipelines, but railways can be paid for with oil tariffs, and then continue to serve communities more efficiently than remote highways can. The more options we have to send our exports to the world and to make Alberta a hub of transcontinental trade and logistics the better,” reads the resolution.
In the judicial and legal reforms category, Resolution 24 proposes splitting the Minister of Justice role into separate ministries of Attorney General and Solicitor General. This move seeks to delineate responsibilities more clearly and enhance the effectiveness of the justice system in Alberta.
“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. We currently have a problem given the public has no representation since the roles have been combined,” reads the resolution.
In finance and commerce, Resolution 27 advocates for the repeal of no-fault Insurance legislation in Alberta. This resolution could help alleviate Alberta’s auto insurance issue.
“No-fault insurance has only benefited the insurance companies and has increased the costs of good drivers’ insurance in Alberta,” reads the Resolution.
Other proposed policies include keeping biologically male offenders out of female penitentiaries and ending provincial funding for supervised drug consumption sites.
