County council seeks feedback before Alberta First Resolution vote

By Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean Times Contributor

Wheatland County residents will have an opportunity to provide feedback to county council about the county’s “Alberta First” resolution.
At the county’s last regular council meeting, county Councillor Jason Wilson proposed an amendment to the timeline of the resolution, adopted in principle on Nov. 6.
Wilson is hoping to be able to table the resolution for a vote at the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) zone meeting in January.
The resolution asks that the government of Alberta act on the following recommendations: withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan and create an Alberta Pension Plan offering the same benefits at lower cost while giving Alberta control over the investment fund; collect its own revenue from personal income tax, as the province already does for corporate income tax; use Section 88 of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Quebec Secession Reference to remove equalization from the Canadian Constitution; use Section 88 of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Quebec Secession Reference to demand Senate reform; start preparing to replace the RCMP as the provincial police force; and, the Province of Alberta enter into an agreement with the federal government, similar to the Canada-Quebec Accord, allowing Alberta to oversee its own immigration that depicts the regional, cultural and economic needs of the province.
The resolution goes on to state that “if the federal government does not deal with these demands in good faith; if they block, hinder, or otherwise prevent Alberta from exercising its rights as outlined above, that the government of Alberta will hold a referendum with a ‘clear question,’ as defined by the Clarity Act, on the secession of Alberta from the Canadian Confederation during the 31st Alberta General Election in 2023.”
Wheatland County Councillor Ben Armstrong was not ready to accept the resolution while it suggested a potential separation from Canada.
And Councillor Glenn Koester said he was also against a motion to adopt the resolution at this time as the feedback he’s heard has been to “stay in (their) lane”.
County Reeve Amber Link spoke in favour of supporting the resolution as a method of advocacy from the municipality to other levels of government.
“Grassroots movements can be powerful and the concerns of the west need to be addressed,” Link said.
“From the RMA website: resolutions are crucial to RMA’s advocacy efforts,” Link read, “they allow members to have a direct role in the democracy process by identifying priority issues that require action by other levels of government.”
But she was also interested in doing more consultation with residents and council still has an opportunity to hear from residents and respond to their questions. Council has received 21 emails from constituents so far, four of which were not supportive.
Councillor Tom Ikert was in favour.
“The closer we are to the people, the more we need to listen,” Ikert said. “Is it easier to get a hold of (Chestermere-Strathmore MLA) Leela Aheer or is it easier to call Tom Ikert? I answer my phone, I call people back. We have to make sure that we’re telling the powers that be what people here are asking for.”
Wilson was also hopeful Wheatland County residents continued to provide feedback.
“Municipalities don’t play politics,” Wilson said. “Perhaps (this resolution) is out of our lane, but when you have other municipalities pushing agendas that are against the best interests of our own municipality, then I think we have a responsibility to act.”
If county council does not agree to accept the resolution, it will not be presented to the RMA zone meeting.
Wheatland County residents have the opportunity to provide feedback to council in person on Dec. 17 at 9 a.m. at the county’s regular council meeting in council chambers, or online at wheatlandcounty.ca. The resolution will then be tabled for a vote.