Liberal-appointed Alberta Sen. Paula Simons has launched a blistering attack on nine questions Albertans will face in the province’s Oct. 19 referendum, calling them “truly vile” and urging voters to reject all of them.Simons, appointed to the Senate in 2018, took aim at the United Conservative government’s referendum in a Sept. 1 column for Alberta Views, describing the questions as “nasty,” “disingenuous,” “malicious,” “spiteful,” “xenophobic,” “divisive” and “performative.”“Albertans of goodwill need to step up and let the United Conservative Party government know what we think of their spiteful, specious referendum questions,” wrote Simons.“It’s simple. Vote no to the nine. Reject this small-minded, cowardly vision of an Alberta that slams its door in the face of the future.”Blacklock's Reporter said Albertans are also scheduled to vote on whether the province should remain in Canada or begin the constitutional process toward a binding referendum on Alberta independence.The nine additional questions deal with immigration, access to provincially funded services, voter identification, judicial appointments, abolishing the Senate and expanding provincial authority against federal intervention.Simons reserved some of her strongest criticism for the first question, which asks whether Alberta should take greater control over immigration to reduce immigration to “more sustainable levels,” prioritize economic migration and give Albertans first priority for new employment opportunities.“The first one boggles me most,” wrote Simons.She argued giving Albertans priority for jobs could amount to government interference in private-sector hiring decisions.“Imagine you’re an employer running your business or staffing your office, farm or jobsite,” she wrote. “How would you feel if the government ordered you to offer jobs to Albertans first? What extraordinary overreach by the government into private-sector decisions.”.The second question asks whether eligibility for provincially funded programs including health care, education and other social services should be restricted to Canadian citizens, permanent residents and people with Alberta-approved immigration status.“It is such cruel and petty rabblerousing,” wrote Simons.“On what planet does it make any sense to prevent refugee and immigrant children from going to school, learning English and integrating?”“Perhaps the goal is to scare away immigrants and refugees altogether so they can never come here in the first place,” she added.Other questions ask whether non-permanent legal immigrants should have to live in Alberta for 12 months before qualifying for provincially funded social supports and whether those with non-permanent immigration status should pay a fee or premium for their families to use Alberta’s health and education systems.Voters will also be asked whether proof of Canadian citizenship, such as a passport, birth certificate or citizenship card, should be required to vote in provincial elections.Three questions deal directly with constitutional powers.One asks whether Alberta should work with other provinces to amend the Constitution so provincial governments rather than Ottawa select judges for provincial King’s Bench and appeal courts.Another asks whether Alberta should work with willing provinces to abolish the unelected Senate — the chamber in which Simons has served for eight years.The final two questions ask whether provinces should be able to opt out of federal programs that intrude into provincial jurisdiction without losing associated federal funding, and whether provincial laws should take precedence over federal legislation when the two conflict in provincial or shared areas of constitutional jurisdiction.Simons urged Albertans to vote against all nine.“We must turn the light on these nine dark questions that seek to divide and corrupt us, to turn Albertans against the world and against ourselves,” she wrote.“Expose these questions to the light of day, to common sense and compassion, and the arguments in favour of them melt away.”
