UCP says it held government to account, despite refusal to vote on abortion clinic bill
Michelle Bellefontaine | CBC News | Posted: June 7, 2018 7:00 PM | Last Updated: June 7, 2018
Notley begs to differ, describing the refusal to vote as cowardly and Kenney as obsessed with federal issues
United Conservative Party House leader Jason Nixon said his caucus held the government to account last session even when repeatedly refusing to vote on the abortion clinic bubble zone bill.
"Yes, I believe that the UCP opposition did an excellent job holding the government to account, including Bill 9," Nixon said at a news conference to mark the end of the spring session.
"We made a statement and stuck to it."
The bill, which passed last week, sets up 50-metre protester-free zones around the standalone abortion clinics in Calgary and Edmonton.
- Alberta passes bill legislating 'safe zones' around abortion clinics
- UCP MLAs sidestep debate on abortion clinic 'bubble zones'
UCP MLAs refused to vote on the bill during every stage of its passage through the legislative assembly.
On each occasion, they walked out of the chamber and then returned to their seats after the result was recorded.
UCP Leader Jason Kenney claimed the bill was an attempt by the governing NDP to distract from its economic record.
Angela Pitt, the UCP MLA for Airdrie, was the only caucus member to speak about the bill. She used her speech to indicate the caucus would not be voting and walked out moments later, claiming she was being heckled by the NDP.
Health Minister Sarah Hoffman said the bill was in response to a request from the staff at Calgary's Kensington Clinic, who said court-ordered injunctions had been ineffective at preventing anti-abortion protesters from harassing patients and staff.
Nixon said the NDP was playing a political game by introducing the bill after Kenney became leader. He said the government never spoke about the need for the bill prior to that.
Kenney is a devout Roman Catholic who opposes abortion.
'Don't care about women's issues'
Premier Rachel Notley says she was surprised the UCP refused to vote on Bill 9.
"Some people said that it means that they don't care about women's issues," Notley said. "I think it was a cowardly version of standing up and voting against women."
Notley laughed at Nixon's contention the UCP was holding the government to account on Bill 9.
"That is the most ridiculous, twisted version of reality — it's the opposite of holding to account."
Government House leader Brian Mason said the walkout was a low point of his 18 years as an MLA. He suspects the UCP used this tactic to hide their true feelings on the issue.
"We can only conclude, I think, a significant portion of that caucus doesn't agree with that bill," he said.
Alberta Party House leader Greg Clark called the UCP walkout "unsettling," noting that the MLAs waited inside the door for the vote to conclude.
"They didn't have other things to do. They weren't at constituency meetings. They were consciously choosing not to be part of that vote," Clark said. "It's shameful."
Pipeline politics
The spring session, which started March 8, was the first with Kenney as leader of the Official Opposition. Kenney set a different tone in the legislature, ordering his MLAs not to thump their desks and to stay quiet during question period.
While Mason called Kenney's performance "mediocre," Notley said Kenney was an intelligent person who asked interesting questions.
But she noted the former MP and cabinet minister appeared to be obsessed with federal issues.
"There became a time when it seemed that he was more interested in re-litigating the federal election that his party had just lost than he was on standing up and taking a position on matters that really mattered to Albertans," she said.
During the session, the government passed a budget with a plan to bring government finances into balance by 2023 —and also leave the province $96 billion in debt.
Notley also publicly apologized to the Indigenous survivors of the Sixties Scoop who were taken from their families when they were children and placed in other homes by provincial child welfare workers.
But the session was overshadowed by the fight with British Columbia over the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, and Kinder Morgan's May 31 deadline for a decision on the future of the project.
- 'Pick up those tools, folks, we have a pipeline to build,' Alberta premier says
- Alberta betting on pipelines to balance budget
- Alberta premier apologizes to Sixties Scoop survivors
The federal government's decision to purchase the Trans Mountain pipeline days before the deadline relieved some of the political pressure on Premier Rachel Notley.
While Notley was confident construction will resume this summer, a case before the Federal Court of Appeal could turn that timetable upside down.
B.C. First Nations and environmental groups have challenged the National Energy Board and federal cabinet's approvals of the project. The ruling is expected any day.
The legislature passed Bill 12 which enables Alberta's energy minister to limit or halt the flow of gasoline to British Columbia, but it hasn't yet been proclaimed.
Notley said the government plans to "turn up the volume" on Alberta's environmental record to counter protests against the Trans Mountain expansion in British Columbia this summer.