Stelmach Government Seeks to Extinguish Property Rights
Alberta is the one place in Canada, where at one time, many had a sense that the adults were in charge. There was something attractive and comforting about it, even for those of us who lived outside Alberta. Ottawa and the other provinces could be as irresponsible as they may, yet the reassuring presence of Alberta’s professional, adult-like political administrations, gave every Canadian a sense of stability.
Unfortunately, that’s all changed. The adults have moved on.
Now, in the same way that we used to instinctively sense Alberta as a place with a mature, business-like political administration, we now understand that the men and women who have taken over are the political equivalent of teenage boys who have been given car keys and whiskey.
In terms of respect for the principles of due process, individuals rights, and traditional Alberta values—what many would call conservative values—the Progressive Conservative Party of Edward Michael Stelmach is a shadow of the provincial party’s former prominence.
What the Stelmach government has done to its own traditional support base is hard to be believed.
Why the Stelmach crowd would be so stupid as to systematically and deliberately embark upon a legislative agenda that undermines the very people that put them in office, is irrational. Yet they are doing it, and not reluctantly. Their passion for centralizing power in the hands of cabinet, as they trample property rights and collude with federal regulators to strip Alberta landowners of longstanding provincially-regulated property rights, is giving new meaning to the word enthusiasm.
The Stelmach government spied on people solely because those people questioned some of its energy policies related to the development of hydro corridors, and the enormous costs that would subsequently be imposed upon all Albertans. Then, after getting caught spying on its own citizens, rather than admit the process it was trying to follow was wrong-headed, having the effect of isolating people, Stelmach and the knuckleheads surrounding him decided to pass a series of laws that would put the power of a court in the hands of cabinet. And what’s more, is that the power these guys want goes beyond the power of a court, because under the Stelmach government’s legislative agenda its decisions could not be appealed (even to a real court), after the politicians make a backroom decision about what you can or cannot do on your own property.
Alberta’s Bill 36 establishes an unimpeded easy access highway for politicians in cabinet to impose regional plans upon anyone in the province. Through these “plans,” the politicians could specify what your land could be used for, or not used for, depending on what they think. The Act is written in such a way that the decisions of cabinet about your property will trump every other piece of existing provincial legislation, and the courts. These are cabinet decisions that would apply to crown corporations, municipalities, boards, commissions, and private Alberta citizens.
The Bill gives a handful of politicians in a backroom the ability to amend or extinguish existing rights someone might hold as a result of any existing agreement, license, or contract, including land titles, mortgages, water licences, leases, well licenses, permits, etc. At the same time, it also restricts a landowner’s right to appropriate compensation for any damages that result.
Most importantly, under Bill 36, there is no way for anyone to appeal a decision made by cabinet. The Bill blocks a citizen’s right to seek judicial review or undertake legal action. Essentially, the Bill stops the courts from having anything to do with what the politicians might want to do to Alberta citizens, and to their property.
The Bill also enables a cabinet minister, at his or her sole discretion, to file a judgment against a landowner without there ever having been a trial or court hearing—and the cabinet minister’s judgment would be as binding on the citizen as if it were issued by a real judge in a real court.
What citizen in his or her right mind, living in a democracy, would want to identify with people who think this kind of policy reflects good government, let alone vote for them? These people are arrogant scoundrels and pompous asses who think they know better than ordinary people, exactly how those people should live, and what should or shouldn’t be done on their own private property.
- by Dave Core and CAEPLA Staff
Alberta is the one place in Canada, where at one time, many had a sense that the adults were in charge. There was something attractive and comforting about it, even for those of us who lived outside Alberta. Ottawa and the other provinces could be as irresponsible as they may, yet the reassuring presence of Alberta’s professional, adult-like political administrations, gave every Canadian a sense of stability.
Unfortunately, that’s all changed. The adults have moved on.
Now, in the same way that we used to instinctively sense Alberta as a place with a mature, business-like political administration, we now understand that the men and women who have taken over are the political equivalent of teenage boys who have been given car keys and whiskey.
In terms of respect for the principles of due process, individuals rights, and traditional Alberta values—what many would call conservative values—the Progressive Conservative Party of Edward Michael Stelmach is a shadow of the provincial party’s former prominence.
What the Stelmach government has done to its own traditional support base is hard to be believed.
Why the Stelmach crowd would be so stupid as to systematically and deliberately embark upon a legislative agenda that undermines the very people that put them in office, is irrational. Yet they are doing it, and not reluctantly. Their passion for centralizing power in the hands of cabinet, as they trample property rights and collude with federal regulators to strip Alberta landowners of longstanding provincially-regulated property rights, is giving new meaning to the word enthusiasm.
The Stelmach government spied on people solely because those people questioned some of its energy policies related to the development of hydro corridors, and the enormous costs that would subsequently be imposed upon all Albertans. Then, after getting caught spying on its own citizens, rather than admit the process it was trying to follow was wrong-headed, having the effect of isolating people, Stelmach and the knuckleheads surrounding him decided to pass a series of laws that would put the power of a court in the hands of cabinet. And what’s more, is that the power these guys want goes beyond the power of a court, because under the Stelmach government’s legislative agenda its decisions could not be appealed (even to a real court), after the politicians make a backroom decision about what you can or cannot do on your own property.
Alberta’s Bill 36 establishes an unimpeded easy access highway for politicians in cabinet to impose regional plans upon anyone in the province. Through these “plans,” the politicians could specify what your land could be used for, or not used for, depending on what they think. The Act is written in such a way that the decisions of cabinet about your property will trump every other piece of existing provincial legislation, and the courts. These are cabinet decisions that would apply to crown corporations, municipalities, boards, commissions, and private Alberta citizens.
The Bill gives a handful of politicians in a backroom the ability to amend or extinguish existing rights someone might hold as a result of any existing agreement, license, or contract, including land titles, mortgages, water licences, leases, well licenses, permits, etc. At the same time, it also restricts a landowner’s right to appropriate compensation for any damages that result.
Most importantly, under Bill 36, there is no way for anyone to appeal a decision made by cabinet. The Bill blocks a citizen’s right to seek judicial review or undertake legal action. Essentially, the Bill stops the courts from having anything to do with what the politicians might want to do to Alberta citizens, and to their property.
The Bill also enables a cabinet minister, at his or her sole discretion, to file a judgment against a landowner without there ever having been a trial or court hearing—and the cabinet minister’s judgment would be as binding on the citizen as if it were issued by a real judge in a real court.
What citizen in his or her right mind, living in a democracy, would want to identify with people who think this kind of policy reflects good government, let alone vote for them? These people are arrogant scoundrels and pompous asses who think they know better than ordinary people, exactly how those people should live, and what should or shouldn’t be done on their own private property.
- by Dave Core and CAEPLA Staff
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