Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says if Danielle Smith wins the race to replace him as head of the United Conservative Party next month, she will vote against her proposed sovereignty act — the cornerstone of her leadership campaign. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Mr. Kenney extended his disdain for Ms. Smith’s plan to pass legislation that he said would “assert” Alberta’s power to refuse to enforce federal laws if MLAs believe Ottawa is violating provincial jurisdiction. The Prime Minister said the proposal was “catastrophically stupid” and a “cockamamie idea first mooted by a far-right special interest group”. Ms. Smith is the front-runner to succeed Mr. Kenney. The outcome of the UCP leadership race will test the party’s ability to remain united after replacing Mr Kenney, who co-founded the party five years ago. The Prime Minister’s criticism of the proposed law suggests that the internal discord that has gnawed at government stability and party unity during his tenure could persist, or even intensify, if Ms Smith takes the helm. Most of Ms Smith’s leadership challengers have questioned the legitimacy and usefulness of the Sovereignty Act, with one, Lila Acher, vowing never to support it. But none attacked the proposal with the same vigor as the outgoing leader, who will remain an MLA after a new prime minister takes over. “I could not, in good conscience, vote for a bill that would destroy the rule of law, ignore the authority of the courts, massively destabilize investor confidence, jeopardize pipeline construction, and take us one giant step toward segregation. from Canada,” Mr. Kenny said. The Premier said the proposal is a “full-frontal assault on the rule of law” that would kill any hope of building new tidal pipelines because if Alberta could pass legislation insisting it can ignore certain federal laws, the British Columbia could do the same by outpacing energy projects within its borders. “You can’t be conservative if you don’t believe in the rule of law.” Matthew Altheim, Ms. Smith’s campaign manager, compared Mr. Kenney to the UCP’s two major rivals – the premier and the NDP provincial leader. “Jason’s attacks on sovereignty sound a lot like talking points from Justin Trudeau and Rachel Notley,” Mr. Altheim said in a statement. “Danielle hopes he will eventually realize this and reconsider his opposition.” Ms. Smith plans to contact Mr. Kenney to discuss how they can work together to unite the party if she wins the Oct. 6 leadership race, Mr. Altheim said. “She is hopeful that he will use his actions to leave a lasting legacy of unity, not division.” Ms Smith previously accused the Prime Minister of improperly entering the UCP leadership race after criticizing the Sovereignty Act in August. Mr. Kenney maintained that he was not commenting on the leadership race, but instead on the Free Alberta Strategy, a document in which three authors outlined the act of sovereignty last September. One of the authors, Rob Anderson, is Ms. Smith’s campaign chairman. the document serves as the basis for her proposal for an act of sovereignty. Constitutional experts, including one of the authors of the Free Alberta Strategy, have said the Sovereignty Act would be unconstitutional. Ms Smith published a document on Tuesday to address those concerns, saying the act would reflect “sound constitutional language and principles”. The new document says if Ottawa passes a law that Alberta MLAs believe “appears” to infringe on the province’s jurisdiction, they may bring a special motion for a free vote to the legislature. The proposal would identify the federal law at issue and the constitutional explanation for the alleged violation. explain the harm that the breach will cause to Albertans; detail the steps the province will take to refuse to enforce the federal law; state that “under the Alberta Sovereignty Act” the federal law will not be enforced by the province · and impose a date for review and discussion of the special proposal. Ms Smith added that disputes over jurisdiction could still end up in court. During the appeal linked to a special proposal, he said, the province will not enforce the federal laws it believes prevail unless a court intervenes. Ottawa should challenge Alberta’s actions in court, not the other way around, he said. Brian Jean, who co-founded the UCP with Mr Kenney and is also vying to replace him, said Ms Smith’s new document remained thin on details. Because the text of her proposed legislation is not available, Ms. Jean declined to say whether she would support her as an MLA. However, the lawyer said that as an “officer of the court” he cannot support legislation that would be unconstitutional. Mr. Jean said it was inappropriate for Mr. Kenney to comment on what has emerged as the key issue in the leadership race. But he also agreed with the Premier’s analysis. “At this particular moment, it’s a blow,” he said. Mr Jean became head of the Wildrose Party after Ms Smith led a massive Wildrose switch to the ruling Progressive Conservative party in 2014. The two parties later merged to become the UCP in 2017. Mr Jean said the UCP race has been concerned about unity among conservatives in Alberta. “If I don’t come back, I think our party will fall apart.” We have a weekly Western Canada newsletter written by our BC and Alberta bureau chiefs, providing a comprehensive package of the news you need to know about the region and its position on the issues facing Canada. Sign up today.
