UCP base’s next demands for Danielle Smith: changes to the Pride flag, fluoride, abortion, insurance and more

Members of the United Conservative Party can pat themselves on the back for repeatedly getting their wishes met by Premier Daniel Smith’s government.

he has banned vote counting machinesCracked down on professional regulatorforbidden solar panels on farmAdded “medical options” language to Alberta Bill of RightsAnd parental consent is required for students change their pronouns – All this happened while the UCP passed policy resolutions at grassroots party conferences.

Later this month, UCP activists will try to push the Smith government harder than ever before at the annual meeting in Edmonton.

They want Alberta to impose new restrictions in policy areas where Smith has been reluctant to tread so far.

Rainbow or transgender pride flags: Ban the flying of them or any other non-official Canadian, Albertan or municipal symbol in government buildings, schools or universities.

Fluoride: Municipalities Stop Adding it to your water systems,

Abortion (that perennial third rail of Canadian politics): Do not publicly fund late-gestation abortions, except when there is a “serious risk” to the mother’s health.

Covid vaccines: implement recommendations provincial review The province has largely ignored mRNA vaccines this year, pausing them and educating the public about alleged problems with them.

One proposal is to put grassroots people on a direct collision course with one of Smith’s own policies.

It’s on auto insurance, where the UCP government has announced lawsuit-limiting “No-fault” system for accident claims starting in 2027, but a policy motion up for debate at the party assembly proposes repealing that law.

Edmonton injury lawyer Karamveer Lal, who proposed the motion, said he intended to present it as a “right of access to court” issue among the party base that often takes rights issues seriously.

“I think the concept of no-fault, meaning you don’t have to take responsibility for your actions, is something that is generally offensive to probably most party activists,” Lall told CBC News in an interview.

If the proposal receives overwhelming support on the convention floor, he said, “I hope it will prompt the government to rethink this policy.”

An early indicator of how popular Lalah’s idea is among party members: They voted to make it the No. 1 proposal at the convention, meaning it will be debated first.

(Lall was also one of the many injured lawyers corporate donations The United Conservatives received a total of $78,750 last quarter.)

Smith and his Cabinet ministers have spent the past year supporting the move to no-fault insurance as a way to help curb rising premiums – and heeding criticisms of the system, particularly from civil trial lawyers, whose businesses are likely to suffer a severe blow.

But the prime minister has spent far more time proving that she pays attention to the wishes of her UCP base.

Since becoming leader in 2022, he aims to be the antidote to his party’s frustrations about his predecessor, Jason Kenney, who promised a “grassroots guarantee” as UCP leader but also announced “I hold the pen” The party’s proposals on policy became very controversial.

The UCP grassroots ousted him and included Smith before his first term as Premier ended.

At last year’s convention, Smith won strong support from convention attendees, with 91.5 percent support in his leadership review.

On the day members voted, they held an “accountability session” to consider all policy proposals passed by the party in 2022 and 2023, and to prove how seriously they took their input. (In the Smith era, members almost never rejected a motion that came to the House; most passed with overwhelming majorities.)

To the repeated cheers of her partisan faithful, Smith kept saying “Done!” As colleagues read old resolutions that had become government law or policy.

“So thank you for your guidance on that,” he said of the pronoun rule his government introduced in the legislature that same week.

There were no proposals she reported rejecting outright, but Smith marked several “in progress” or said she would continue consulting on them.

A spokesperson for the party confirmed on Monday that it was holding another accountability session this year to review all resolutions passed by the UCP in 2024. This may suggest that some discretion remains in the resolution-to-law pipeline.

A party motion called on the government to stop designating carbon dioxide as a pollutant. Didn’t do it.

Another called on the government to stop unions from donating to political parties. Didn’t do it. In fact, the Spring Bill which became Corporate contributions legal again Did the same for labor groups.

One called for reserving women’s bathrooms or changing rooms for biologically born women – in other words, excluding trans women and other gender diverse individuals. Didn’t do it, even though a senior associate Smith praised the determination at the time.

In fact, when the party called for a ban on trans women in women’s prisons in 2023, Smith also did nothing, saying at last year’s accountability session that it was a federal issue.

However, it seemed First in Smith’s premiership The self-proclaimed social libertarian wanted nothing to do with transgender policy issues. Then members of her party began to become vocal and began passing laws on trans health care, school life, and sports.

Previous UCP member motions have pushed the party in new directions – vote-counting machines were not on the Alberta public radar until the Banff-Kananaskis UCP C.Situation The association had brought it to the party convention floor two years ago.

But it would be new territory for the party membership to directly demand a withdrawal from government policy by the Smith government.

Or Alberta banning flag flying, which is routinely done for Pride Month in June, or for less culturally hot-button occasions like honours. foster carer,

or a change in funding policy for rare third-trimester abortions, a politically sensitive issue that Smith, like many other politicians, has said he would but will not make laws,

Another 2025 resolution would require full disclosure to parents of all additional groups of students. This is a direct response to existing policies that protect student participation in gay-straight alliances – and this is almost exactly what UCP members are proposing. Adopted in 2018 And the then leader Kenny immediately shot.

The prime minister will not face another leadership review at the Edmonton conference.

Nor is the UCP scheduled to debate Alberta separatism, which has emerged as a major issue among the party loyalist.

But it appears that grassroots people, to whom he has given many policy inches, have additional ambitions, which may translate into hope.

And in the past, she enjoyed being able to keep her base as happy as possible.