EDMONTON: At the United Conservative Party annual general meeting in Edmonton, Premier Danielle Smith signaled that her government may amend Alberta’s recall legislation, saying the current framework is being used in ways the province did not intend when it was introduced.Smith’s comments came in response to a question about multiple recall petitions targeting UCP MLAs. The campaigns are being supported by the Alberta Federation of Labour and its president, Gil McGowan. .Smith said the government is taking the situation seriously and is now considering formal changes to the law.Smith told members she supports citizen-led democratic tools such as recall and initiative but argued that the current petitions are being driven by political disagreement rather than misconduct.“We looked at British Columbia when we drafted the legislation. They’ve had about 30 recall petitions in 30 years, which is a normal level of use,” she said. “What we’re seeing here is something very different.”Smith compared the current recall efforts to what she described as previous attempts to disrupt the electoral system through long protest ballots..She said that the 'left' has been abusing Democratic processes and this is just a contuiniation including dozens of ballot-only protest candidates registering with no intention of campaigning in the Pierre Poilievre election/by-election.According to Smith, recall legislation was meant to be reserved for cases involving serious ethical breaches or misuse of office, not policy disputes.She referenced examples raised when the bill was drafted, including unauthorized access to health records and questionable expense claims, as situations where recall could be justified.The Premier said the government is now consulting party members on whether to amend the recall framework by adding clearer criteria and limits, or whether to leave the law unchanged and allow petitions to proceed under current rules.Smith characterized the recall campaigns as a distraction from the government’s priorities, including health-care reform and affordability measures, and suggested that unions backing the petitions are attempting to halt the government’s agenda.She said the caucus will continue speaking with party members throughout the weekend before deciding on next steps.More to come...
