LAKELAND - Bonnyvile-Cold Lake-St. Paul MLA David Hanson, along with two other UCP MLAs, voted against a bill presented by their own government, last week as the fall sitting in the Legislature came to a close.
Bill 81, The Election Statutes Amendment Act, has been in the works for a while, and despite voting against the bill, Chestermere-Strathmore MLA Leela Aheer acknowledged the work put into the bill by Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Kaycee Madu. But, she, along with Hanson and UCP MLA Richard Gotfried from Calgary-Fish Creek, did not vote in favour of the bill.
In the end, it came down to seven words. Hanson said he requested an addition be added in the portion that speaks to the ability for individuals to purchase party memberships for other individuals. Hanson asked for the words "with the written consent of that person" be added to the portion of the bill.
"I don't think it was unreasonable," said Hanson, speaking to fellow MLAs, late in the evening on Dec. 7.
The issue boils down to the nomination process that takes place prior to an actual election taking place, as candidates are elected from within political parties. When Hanson last took part in the nomination process, he noted there were some very "prominent individuals" in the Lakeland region also hoping to become the UCP candidate for the riding.
Hanson said he has no problem "competing in a fair nomination," and when it came down to it, "I just worked hard than they did."
He noted that personally, he wouldn't buy anyone a membership without their knowledge.
"I wouldn't buy my wife a membership in a political party without getting her consent," said Hanson.
He pointed out that he requested a delay to the bill the day prior, and his concerns were not new. He also spoke to how he wasn't able to get an amendment through due to what was described as time allocation and what he referred to as "filibustering of my own party."
Without the amendment, Hanson believes it acts in the opposite way that the bill is intended.
"This doesn't protect us," he said, adding, the bill creates issues, such as a union being able to spend a bunch of money during a nomination race on memberships, and interfering with the process.
"I was happy with the process that we had. I went out and knocked on doors and talked to people and got their support," said Hanson.
He noted that he had many people tell him he wasn't their first choice in the last nomination race, so, he asked to be their second choice. In a tight race, this is what gave Hanson the edge.
He also noted he felt there was a lot of good in the bill, but the one piece pushed him to "stand up in the house and vote against my own colleagues and my own party."
"I ask all of my colleagues to look within yourself and see if you’re happy that someone can buy a membership on your behalf without your consent," he added.
Hanson said he was embarrassed by how his own party handled the situation, speaking to how members of cabinet stood up and filibustered the process.
Members of the official opposition also spoke to the issue on Dec. 7, releasing a statement the following day on the topic.
“Kenney and the UCP silenced debate and prevented their own members from representing their constituents in the legislature in order to ram through a bill to undermine democracy in Alberta,” said Thomas Dang, NDP Critic for Ethics and Democracy.
Aheer, who also spoke on Tuesday night, was the one to officially put the amendment forward. The amendment, which would have delayed third reading of the bill was defeated. The bill was passed in the early morning hours on Wednesday by a vote of 35-14.
When Aheer spoke, she noted that she felt without the amendment, it would allow "big money" to be involved through the purchase of multiple memberships without consent. Aheer also noted the importance of door knocking and grassroots politics.
She noted that when people purchase a membership with the UCP, she wants to be able to tell them the membership counts for something.
“I don’t understand this huge gaping hole that you can drive a truck through at this time," said Aheer, as she presented the amendment.
Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA Drew Barnes and Central Peace-Notley MLA Todd Loewen, who are both former UCP MLAs now sitting as independents, were also opposed to Bill 81.
The fall sitting was the longest legislative session in legislative assembly history at about 139 days. The house stands adjourned until February, 2022.
