Recently, Her Honour Salma Lakhani, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, told the media that she would not necessarily give Royal Assent to the Sovereignty Act if passed. Rather, her office would evaluate whether the act was constitutional before signing it into law..She was right. The bill Lakhani refers to is is part of a larger policy proposal titled the Free Alberta Strategy, penned by Rob Anderson, Derek From, and Barry Cooper. It would “Grant the Alberta Legislature absolute discretion to refuse to enforce any piece of federal legislation or judicial decision that intrudes on Alberta’s provincial rights, or that unfairly attack the interests of Alberta’s People.” Though the authors of the Free Alberta Project are lawyers and academics, the act has been picked up by UCP leadership candidate Danielle Smith as part of her platform. As she now appears to be the likely winner of the leadership race, the status of the Sovereignty Act is at the forefront of political discussion..For those of us who want the Sovereignty Act passed, the Lieutenant Governor might seem to be an obstacle we should not have to face. Indeed, another UCP leadership candidate, Brian Jean, writes in a tweet that he is “extremely uncomfortable with the Lieutenant Governor getting political.” But Albertans should not fear, for Lakhani is completely correct when she argues that her office “is where we keep checks and balances” in our constitutional monarchy. Indeed, such a check on the power of the legislature is one which should be viewed positively by those of us who are weary of growing government power..Lakhani says that she considers herself to be “what [she] would call a constitutional fire extinguisher. We don't have to use it a lot, but sometimes we do have to use it.” And scarcely used, that fire extinguisher is. If Lakhani does withhold Royal Assent, it would be the first time in almost a century that a Lieutenant Governor of Alberta will have withheld Royal Assent to a bill. The last was in 1937 when then-Lieutenant Governor, John C. Bowen, withheld Royal Assent from three bills from Bill Aberhart’s Social Credit party..The bills in question would have provincialized banks and forced newspapers to print ‘government rebuttals’ to unflattering news stories about them. These are not bills that most people in the west, much less Canadian conservatives, would consider to be positive leaps forward. For, they grant far too much power to the provincial government over our monetary institutions and the press..For those who agree with the words of Henry David Thoreau, “that government is best which governs least,” we ought to welcome this check on the legislature. For this power of veto given to the Lieutenant Governor is one which curbs government power; it is one more place where government legislation can go to die. Sometimes, legislation we favour, such as the Sovereignty Act, will be what appears on the viceregal desk to potentially be denied Royal Assent. But more often than not, it will be legislation like Aberhart’s that has one last chance to be blocked before Canadians are forced to face the consequences of bad legislation. Indeed, this is one of the benefits bestowed upon us by this ancient system of government which Canada has adopted..Let us not forget that while today it is the UCP that controls the Legislative Assembly, yesterday (and potentially tomorrow) it is Rachel Notley’s NDP who wield the power of legislation. Though we may scorn the Lieutenant Governor’s powers today, we may be grateful for them in the near future. Let us not jump hastily to the conclusion that because today some good legislation might be defeated, that we might be better off with the republican system adopted by our neighbors to the south..The response given today by those who dream of a sovereign Alberta is of great importance for this province’s future. Should that glorious day arise when Alberta dissolves those political bands which connect her to Ottawa, Albertans will face a choice: Monarchy or Republic? Perhaps our existing monarchical institutions will be thought of as useless relics of the past or perhaps they will be viewed as useful checks against government overreach. Either way, the opinion held by Albertans today will shape the Alberta of tomorrow..Andrew Allison is a PhD philosophy student at the University of Calgary
