Meanwhile, Here In Alberta - Post No. 14

Four very different events have caught my attention in the last few days:

1. AXE THE AUDITOR. Alberta's Auditor General has been told that his contract, which expires next April will not be renewed. Coincidentally (maybe), he has just released his report into the losses taxpayers suffered as a result of the government's decision to first privatize public lab services, and then terminate the private contractor and take the labs back over. He pegs the waste at $125 million. He is working on other reports into health care procurement decisions (PPE and Turkish pain medication) and his report follows a judicial inquiry into another health care procurement issue (construction of private surgical facilities). In this case, shooting the messenger seems like a good idea when facing a disturbing array of critical reports.
2. AXE THE PROSECUTOR. On November 13 the government fired the top 2 lawyers in the Edmonton office of the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service. And by fire, I mean walked them out the office that day, refusing to comment on the firings because of "human resources" privacy. The Edmonton prosecution service had recently been heavily criticized by the Edmonton police about sentencing decisions the police disliked. These were not NDP prosecutors refusing to prosecute NDP leaders - they were just civil servants trying to exercise independent legal judgment. "Not on my watch!" says Premier Smith.
3. AXE THE CHARTER. In the past month the government has invoked the "Notwithstanding" clause in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in respect of 4 separate pieces of legislation. You have to be a bit of constitutional nerd to understand what this means, or why you should care. Bear with me.
4. AXE THE REGULATORS. And just yesterday the province introduced the "Regulated Professions Neutrality Act", which prohibits professional regulating bodies like the Law Society or the College of Physicians and Surgeons from disciplining members for "off-duty" conduct. The Act is framed as a protection of free speech, preventing regulators from imposing sanctions on unpopular speech. This is a solution in search of a problem, since the instances of actual sanctions being imposed by regulators on the speech of regulated members are virtually non-existent in Alberta. But we live in a post-fact world, and this how we express our support for poor Jordan Peterson, the psychologist sanctioned by his professional body for offensive speech - in Ontario. The idea that you are a professional by day and a free speech warrior by night would be hilarious, if not for the fact your professional identify is the very foundation of the power of your words. There is no "off-duty" for professionals, nor should there be.

Haven't We Seen This Somewhere Else? It is impossible not to notice that the firings and dismissal closely mirror events that have taken place in the US since Trump's election last November. He has frequently dismissed prosecutors who refuse his directions to prosecute certain political enemies, and he has dismissed Inspectors General in many, many government agencies and departments, effectively preventing independent review of government decisions. The reasons for dismissing these prosecutors in Alberta may be different - we don't know what the reasons are because they've not been disclosed - but the impulse is the same: to exert political control over supposedly independent legal decisions.

Charter-Free And Proud Of It. The use of the Notwithstanding provision in the Charter is different. It has no American equivalent. To put this strategy into context, you have to imagine a scene where the government of Premier Smith drafts 4 separate pieces of legislation and in each case their own internal lawyers, legislative counsel, tell them that the legislation quite likely violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The solution is to reach for the "Get Out of Jail Free" card and simply say that the Charter doesn't apply to these 4 laws. Viola! Problem solved. Alberta becomes a Charter-Free Zone. If you are a member of a class or minority that depends on the Charter for protection, pay attention! We really don't know who is next.

Just Like Our Cousins. While the "Notwithstanding" clause has no American equivalent, in an article published November 19 the New York Times pointed out that the measures in three of the bills "mirror policies introduced at the state level in some parts of the United States, but those bills are facing multiple challenges in American courts. Alberta's use of the constitutional clause would bar that avenue." The three bills deal with gender affirming care for minors, the horror of trans youth participating in youth sports, and prohibit the informal change of pronouns at school without parental approval.

But Why? It is possible to argue that all four Charter-exempt bills (the 4th was the bill legislating teachers back to work at the end of October) are necessary, or important, or critical. Premier Smith said that she can't stand by while children are put "at risk" because of the decisions of their doctors and parents with which she and her government disagree. Heaven forbid a child should be addressed by a non-approved pronoun. Parental rights are inviolate when it comes to what children are called at school. They are irrelevant when it comes to the medical treatment recommended to the parent by the child's doctor. She refers to "parliamentary supremacy" to justify the use of the clause. No court should tell us what our laws can or cannot be, which of course is exactly why we have a Charter in the first place. Yes they can, that's what the Charter does! It requires courts to test laws against an overriding standard.

Now What? What can we do about this, besides vote? Maybe you have some ideas that are better than my inclination to place my head in my hands and moan, which is only slightly better than my preferred strategy of curling up in ball on the floor. It's hard to get up off the floor these days.