Alberta should set low threshold to get citizen issues on the ballot, presenters tell MLAs

Citizen-led votes in Alberta should be shielded from sway by special interest groups, presenters told a legislative committee Monday.

The democratic accountability committee is examining voter recall legislation and referenda initiated by the public. At a virtual public hearing Monday evening, some speakers said they think Alberta should have low thresholds for the number of signatures required to get an issue on the ballot.

"It's important to remember that the threshold simply allows the voters to have their say," said Josh Andrus, with a group called Project Confederation. "We should err on the side of giving Albertans more say, and better democracy in general."

Andrus, whose group is pushing for constitutional reform, said citizens should have six months to collect enough signatures to require the government to put an issue to a ballot. Signatures from five per cent of the people who voted in the previous election should be the minimum threshold, he said.

Other speakers in favour of the option suggested between five and 25 per cent of voters' signatures should be required to spark a ballot question. 

Following platform commitments by the United Conservative Party to introduce democratic reforms, the special committee has been tasked with considering what sorts of issues citizens should be able to put to a referendum.

The 12-member all-party committee is studying who should be able to start a petition, how campaign donations should be tracked, how many signatures should be required and how long voters should have to gather them to initiate a vote.

Experts from other jurisdictions that have citizen-prompted votes previously cautioned committee members that the most vocal groups can hijack an issue and minority rights can be trampled.

The committee is also studying legislation that would allow voters to recall underperforming MLAs, and possibly municipal councillors or school board trustees. Members are questioning whether Alberta legislation should look like B.C.'s, which is the only province with such a provincial law.

There, 40 per cent of eligible voters in a riding must sign a petition within a 60-day window. In the 25 years since B.C. proclaimed its law, no application has succeeded.

Former Alberta MLA and MP Brent Rathgeber made a case to the committee in favour of recall legislation with a lower threshold, saying a quarter of eligible voters' signatures in a riding should trigger the process.

Rathgeber sat as an independent MP for St. Albert after resigning in 2013 from the federal Conservative caucus. In 2015, he attempted to get Parliament to adopt federal recall legislation.

Former Wildrose staffer wants high application fees for citizen-led ballots

Citizens' initiatives are more fraught, he said.

"I encourage the members to tread carefully. These questions tend to be hijacked by special interest groups and lead to sometimes confusing, if not polar opposite accounts."

Other speakers were cautious about meddling in citizen votes by campaigns based outside of Alberta.

"I don't think we should allow any corporate money into that," said David Blain of Calgary. "Only citizens, residents of Alberta and citizens are allowed to vote, and they should be the only ones that would fund it."

Former Wildrose Party staffer Vitor Marciano told the committee that setting pricey application fees and high signature thresholds would prevent the need for complex campaign financing rules.

He said groups will only then enter into campaigns with broader popularity from which to draw donations.

In addition to hearing from nine speakers, MLAs on the committee also received 16 letters with written suggestions.

The committee has until Nov. 13 to report its recommendations on recall and citizen-led votes to the legislature.

Members have until Jan. 13, 2021, to make suggestions for possible changes to provincial election and elections financing law. Those laws will be the subject of another public meeting.

The UCP government has already raised election contribution limits for municipal candidates.