Former Manitoba Liberal leader Dougald Lamont said the changes the amended Alberta Bill of Rights will make “is not how Canada is legally set up to function.”At the moment, Lamont said Canadian conservatives keep acting as if Canada has American laws and provinces have the rights of states to ignore the federal government. “They don’t,” tweeted Lamont. “These are not just US-inspired policies — they are neo-Confederate — they are policies with their roots in protecting and compensating slaveowners for the institution of slavery in the US.”.Unlike the US, the Canadian Constitution gives exclusive jurisdiction over criminal law to the federal government. When the Criminal Code of Canada was first enacted in 1892, it required people to have a permit to carry a pistol. He pointed out the Canadian Constitution and common law are different than the ones in the US. Canada does not have the Second Amendment. Additionally, he said what “is really unsettling about these policies is that they are directly drawn from US policies that favoured slave owners.” While Smith wants to add firearm rights to the Alberta Bill of Rights, he pointed out the Second Amendment for well-regulated militias to bear arms was so states could draft people into state militias for slave patrols and suppress slave revolts. Lamont concluded by saying the other great grievance of the US Civil War was slave owners deserved to be compensated for the loss of their property. US Founding Father James Madison’s first draft was a national militia rather than a state one. “Today, these measures essentially tip the balance in favour of people who want to take the law into their own hands, as well as criminals who may have weapons and property that is not theirs or that was illegally obtained,” he said. Smith said on Tuesday the Alberta government will be introducing legislation to amend and strengthen the Alberta Bill of Rights in a few weeks..WATCH: Smith confirms amended Alberta Bill of Rights to protect medical freedoms, gun and property rights .With the current Alberta Bill of Rights, she pointed out it serves like a constitutional document, ensuring all government laws and policies align with the listed rights and freedoms. “Now the Bill of Rights has served its purpose well over the years, but as our society evolves, so too must our laws to ensure our rights and freedoms remain properly protected in an everchanging world,” she said.
