EDMONTON — Alberta's UCP and NDP caucuses traded verbal attacks on Friday as the province's elected officials debated how to address the growing Alberta independence movement. "If you talk to Albertans, their number one concern is not separatism," said Rakhi Pancholi, Deputy Leader of Alberta’s New Democrats. "It's not going to build their schools, it's not going to build their hospitals, it's not going to create jobs."NDP leader Naheed Nenshi issued a challenge on Monday, calling on all Alberta MLAs to sign a pledge confirming to their constituents that they are against Alberta independence. On Friday, NDP officials said that all 38 NDP MLAs have signed the pledge, while no UCP or independent MLAs have done so. "United Conservatives are calling out Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi for more performative politics — this time by demanding MLAs sign a so-called “anti-separatism” pledge," reads a statement from the UCP caucus released Friday. "The pledge is just another failed attempt from a party struggling to hold itself together and a leader trying to distract from his disastrous record as mayor of Calgary.".In response to the statement, Pancholi said that the UCP used many words to avoid a straightforward question. "Do they support separatism, or do they not? It's a very simple question that all of us had no problem at all answering, but the reason why they seem to struggle with it is because they don't want to be clear with Albertans about their position," Pancholi said. Over recent months, the UCP, led by Premier Danielle Smith, has maintained the party line that they are in favour of a "sovereign Alberta within a united Canada." "This is nothing more than a cheap political stunt designed to scare people and distract from the fact that Nenshi and the NDP have nothing serious to say to Albertans," said Chief Government Whip Justin Wright..Alberta independence was a featured topic at Thursday's press conference during the First Ministers' meeting, as numerous premiers from across the country denounced the movement and its advocates, who have reportedly gone to the United States to seek help. However, Smith, the premier who ultimately has the power on the topic, refused to join in on the critical comments. "When you look at the polls, they suggest as many as 30% of Albertans have lost hope,” said Smith. “That’s about a million people, and I’m not going to demonize or marginalize a million of my fellow citizens when they’ve got legitimate grievances.”Pancholi, however, said that the actions of these independence advocates feel like an "enormous betrayal." .Individuals who oppose Alberta independence have heavily criticized Smith for what they view as her "making the way for Alberta independence" by listening to the voices of the few rather than the many Albertans who oppose it. "There's a lot at stake for everyone in this province by pandering to separatists to protect her own political position, Danielle Smith and her government are risking the rights, the jobs and the economy of our province," Pancholi said. The large majority of independence supporters, however, lie within Smith's political party, which has placed her in a vulnerable position: trying to serve the will of all Albertans while maintaining the support of her party needed to remain in office. Through it all, Smith has maintained her stance that she is in favour of a "sovereign Alberta within a united Canada"; however, she has also acknowledged the need to give Albertans the opportunity to have their voices heard. "I'll make my views very clear, but I'm going to let citizen-initiated processes play out," said Smith on Saturday. "They've got 120 days to see if they can get the number of signatures to put it to a vote, and then we'll decide as a legislature what to do with those once those, once that process is complete.".Pointing to historical examples from Quebec, Pancholi said that the damage from the actual referendum is not necessarily the issue, but rather the uncertainty that comes with it, which did long-term damage. "First of all, that didn't put separatism to rest in Quebec, but it was the conversations for decades that led up to that that actually created the economic disaster for Quebec, and they are still recovering from that," Pancholi said.
