Smith says updated Alberta Bill of Rights coming in the fall

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said an amended Alberta Bill of Rights that will include protections for medical decisions will be tabled in the fall. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith pointed out people were discriminated against for their medical decisions. “And it shouldn’t have happened,” said Smith in a Friday speech at the Alberta United Conservative Party Bonnyville Town Hall. “I believe that every person has to be able to do their own assessment, their own health assessment, to be able to make those decisions.”.While Smith wanted to add vaccine status to the Alberta Human Rights Act (AHRA), she said she did not do that because it was the improper legislation as pointed out to her by Public Health Emergencies Governance Review Panel Chair Preston Manning. The Public Health Act takes precedence over all laws except for the Alberta Bill of Rights. However, the Alberta Bill of Rights did not have those protections. That is why Smith decided to take some extra time, have Manning look at it, get his advice, and hear from constituents. She predicted the Alberta government will come up with a better law. The Alberta Bill of Rights was the first piece of legislation former premier Peter Lougheed brought forward in 1972 after he was first elected. At that time, Smith pointed out there might have been other issues making Lougheed believe it was the first bill he should pass. She said it has to be modified to ensure it fits with modern times. Smith followed up by saying the Alberta government has looked at what its contract with the RCMP says. “We are supposed to be getting 1,911 officers,” she said. “We are about 400 short, and we’re short because I think they’re having a hard time recruiting for any number of reasons that you would probably be able to express very well.” In response, she said it has started to build out speciality units among the Alberta Sheriffs. Now the Alberta Sheriffs has teams for fentanyl, drug houses, surveillance, and fugitive arrests. .Alberta UCP MLA Scott Cyr (Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul) started off the event by saying Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh are wrecking Canada. “And we have a shining light — Premier Smith,” said Cyr. “Premier Smith is bringing back conservative policy.” When conservative policies are implemented, Cyr said they bring about success. He accused Trudeau, the NDP, and legacy media of trying to prevent her from being successful.Alberta Government House Leader Joseph Schow provided details of the agenda for the fourth session of the 30th legislative sitting in 2022, revealing no bill would be tabled to amend the AHRA to protect vaccine choice.READ MORE: UCP not tabling bill to amend human rights act to protect vaccination choice“It's a huge priority for me to make sure that we have a proper pandemic planning response for next time,” said Smith. The Alberta government announced legislation would be introduced to protect the province's constitutional jurisdiction; enable financial support to be provided to families, seniors, and people with disabilities; improve the governance of policing in the province; and address long-standing issues in the justice system.

Smith says updated Alberta Bill of Rights coming in the fall

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