Hunter happy with Sovereignty Act after amendments

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By Cole Parkinson
Taber Times
cparkinson@tabertimes.com

While the rollout of Bill 1 — Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act was rocky, Taber-Warner MLA Grant Hunter says it took some time, but the provincial government is happy with it after amendments were made. While clarity was an initial concern, Hunter says he understands why some Albertans were against the original version.

“I think one of the problems we faced was there was a section in the Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act that wasn’t as clear as it could have been in terms of who would be making changes to statutory pieces of legislation. That needed to be clarified and that was done (Dec. 8) in amendments that were presented to Committee of the Whole, which is between the second and third reading,” he explained.

According to the provincial government’s website, “the act will be used to push back on federal legislation and policy that is unconstitutional or harmful to our province, our people and our economic prosperity. This may include overreach and interference in areas our government considers provincial jurisdiction such as firearms, energy, natural resources and COVID healthcare decisions.” It also states “The act would give Alberta a legislative framework and democratic approach for defending the federal-provincial division of powers while respecting Canada’s constitution and the courts.”

Hunter says the original version of the document had some unintended powers given and once those were identified, changes were made.

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