EDMONTON — Premier Danielle Smith and Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi bickered over the level of federalist support within the UCP caucus on Tuesday, as the leaders went head-to-head during the first Question Period of the Alberta Legislative Assembly’s fall session."When 700,000 people signed a petition saying they want to have this debate, we feel under our citizen initiative legislation that we're obliged to put that question to our fellow Albertans," said Smith.The premier's comments came after Nenshi asked whether she regretted calling the referendum and "wasting" more than $130 million in taxpayer funds in a "failed ploy to save her political skin.""Textbooks are going to be written about this government's political malpractice and incompetence around this referendum," said Nenshi. "But right now, let's hone in on the role of separatists in the UCP government.""The premier's chief of staff says they're very welcome on her team. The premier says she'll take their money, but they can't have any leadership or decision-making role. So, which is it? Is she still rolling out the premier's red carpet for the separatists, or will she remove them from her caucus?".Smith addressed UCP members in a video posted on Oct. 21, outlining the importance of respecting the mandate expressed by the 75% of Albertans who voted for Alberta to remain in Canada.She also said individual members can hold their own views, but those speaking for the party must commit to upholding the mandate of a "strong Alberta within a united Canada."Nenshi pressed Smith on her willingness to enforce those claims, saying 33 members of her caucus had not publicly stated where they stood.The premier said her address on Oct. 21 introduced a period of "reflection" for UCP members to decide whether they would accept the mandate..A photo circulated on social media on Tuesday of what appeared to be a form that UCP party board candidates are being instructed to sign. It states that the individual commits to recognizing and respecting the "majority decision made by Albertans on Question 10 of the 26/10/19 referendum.""I know the member opposite wants to continue to sow division, but what I have said is let's not judge people by how they voted last Monday," Smith said. "Let's judge people based on their actions going forward. And going forward, what I would expect is that people would honour the results of democracy.""That's why you have direct democracy. Seventy-five percent of Albertans said that they wanted to remain in Canada, continue to be Canadians, and to make sure that we are pursuing a strong Alberta within a united Canada. That's the position of myself, and that's the position of our caucus."
