Recall Petition For MLA Justin Wright Mailed in On Friday
So far 18 recall petitions have been issued, this does not include the one approved for Premier Danielle Smith or the recently submitted application to recall Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA Justin Wright. Seventeen of the 18 are to recall UCP MLAs in Alberta. Most of the reasons for recall have been the use of the notwithstanding clause and/or not being accessible/ responsive to constituents.
Operation Total Recall
A movement called Operation Total Recall has been active for a while. Their website compiles information needed to recall each of the 44 UCP MLAs who voted for use of the notwithstanding clause to force teachers back to work and accept a rejected contract. The website states:
“Transparency & Conduct
This site and its social media are run by two private citizens.
This site (Operation Total Recall) does not receive any oversight or funding from any outside organizations or political parties.
Operation Total recall does not represent or organize any campaign.
We are encouraging only peaceful, lawful actions and do not condone hate speech, or unlawful actions. “
The website also says that over 330,000 visitors ahve been to their site since it launched Oct
First NDP MLA Recall Petition Issued
A recall petition has been issued for NDP MLA Amanda Chapman. The Recall Applicant Statement says
“Amanda Chapman chooses harsh partisan attacks likening Alberta’s elected government to extremists and backs public sector unions over Calgary-Beddington families’ real priorities: education access and affordability. Her divisive rhetoric distracts from solutions. Our community deserves respectful, pragmatic leadership that puts constituents first. It’s time to recall this MLA and restore constructive, common-sense representation.”
Chapman’s response
“It is a privilege to represent the people of Calgary-Beddington. During the recent teacher job action, families in Calgary-Beddington made it clear their priority was hearing their representative standing up for teachers. Of the thousands of pieces of correspondence received by my office, 99% asked their MLA to support teachers and speak out about class size/complexity. My response during the strike was aligned with the wishes of the majority of my constituents. I continue to welcome residents of Calgary-Beddington to reach out so I can best represent them in the Legislature.”
UCP Says Recall Act Being Weaponized, Voters Say Notwithstanding Clause Was A Dealbreaker
MLAs are permitted to make a member statement in response to the petition application. Two of the 18 made no statement, 9 of the remaining 17 have said something along the lines of -
Recall legislation “was designed for cases of serious misconduct, not disagreement with government policy.”
Some UCP MLAs have made accusations of the Recall Act being weaponized to bring about a change in government. This was recently echoed by former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney who recently said
"We have it as an ultimate tool of accountability if a politician does something absolutely egregious, illegal, grossly unethical."
Currently, the Recall Act does not include any guidelines for reasons to recall an MLA. Since Jason Kenney was premier when the Recall Act legislation was passed, his government had the opportunity at that time to insert specific reasons for recall.
They did not.
The Owl has heard from a number of voters who said they would expect the party in question would remove their own member if they did “something absolutely egregious, illegal, grossly unethical”. The Recall Process takes months to be effective when the party can just remove their own MLA from caucus.
Now the UCP government has walked back their desire to repeal the Recall Act.
Even though the UCP government set a high bar for the recall petitions, it seemed they were worried the recall petitions and subsequent recall votes would be successful; they seemed to be running scared. It appear the UCP miscalculated the anger of the voters.
A number of voters have told the Owl that if the government had not used the Notwithstanding clause, they would not be interested in a recall. A recall takes time, money and an organized effort to be successful. The voters feel the government is doubling down instead of listening to their constituents, they feel they are not being heard. They are angry and highly motivated.
How Many Recall Petitions Will be Approved Today?
In Medicine Hat, a recall petition was approved on Dec 2 for Premier Danielle Smith (Brooks-Medicine Hat). Premier Smith has until Dec 9 to submit a voluntary Member Statement. Within 7 days of receiving the Member Statement (or the period expires) the petition will be published on the Elections Alberta website, it will then considered “Issued” and signature collection will begin the next day.
Organizers for the MLA Justin Wright (Cypress-Medicine Hat) recall petition say they sent in the application on Dec 5.
Recall Danielle Smith Links
Recall Justin Wright Links
