Premier Danielle Smith, Alberta Next panel to get feedback at third town hall
Loading the player instance is taking more time than usual
Loading the player instance is taking more time than usual
EDMONTON — A travelling panel collecting public feedback on Alberta's grievances with Ottawa is set to make its third summer town hall stop tonight.
Premier Danielle Smith and 15 other members of her Alberta Next panel are scheduled to be in Edmonton to brainstorm with people about possible future referendum questions.
The premier has said one of the reasons for the panel is to address concerns that are inspiring separatist sentiment in the province.
Its agenda focuses on six policy ideas, including pulling out of the Canada Pension Plan and creating a provincial police force to replace the RCMP.
Earlier events were held last month in Red Deer and Edmonton.
At those town halls, some Albertans offered support for the proposals, some protested at the gates and others dismissed the panel as a self-serving political exercise meant to stir up discontent and division.
It is set to host events in Fort McMurray and Lloydminster in two weeks.
The panel has also faced criticism for presenting online survey questions that left no option to disagree.
The government later added options to some survey questions. The changes were made after 32,000 people had already filled out the surveys.
The premier's office has said the survey results for the different versions will be separated.
Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi has dismissed the panel as a way for Smith to curry favour with extreme elements of her United Conservative Party to keep them from splintering off.
He's also said the government is using it to conjure up unreliable data to support things it already wants to do.
Alberta public opinion pollster Janet Brown has said the government's effort is not a polling exercise but a public engagement exercise and that changing the survey questions midstream underscores that.
She has said the survey will offer a good idea of who participated in the process but it's not a random representative sample that reflects public opinion.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2025.
Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Global News
26 minutes ago
- Global News
Judge to go ahead with review of Alberta separation question
A judge in Edmonton has denied an application to quash a review of a proposed Alberta referendum question on separation. Court of King's Bench Justice Colin Feasby says it will benefit democracy to have a full hearing on the constitutionality of the question. Alberta's chief electoral officer, Gordon McClure, referred the question to court last month so a judge could determine whether it violates the Constitution, including treaty rights. The group that submitted the question applied to have the referral quashed. The Alberta Prosperity Project wants to ask: 'Do you agree that the Province of Alberta shall become a sovereign country and cease to be a province in Canada?' A lawyer for the group argued judicial scrutiny is premature, since there's no guarantee enough signatures would be gathered to put the question on a ballot. Story continues below advertisement He also said the act of asking a question doesn't violate the Constitution. 1:50 Petition led by former deputy premier to keep Alberta within Canada begins Lawyers for Justice Minister Mickey Amery and the chief electoral officer did not take a position on quashing the referral. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Amery and Premier Danielle Smith have criticized the electoral officer's decision to refer the question to the court, saying it should be approved and only face judicial scrutiny if it garners a majority vote in a referendum. 'Alberta's government believes that the proposal is not unconstitutional and therefore should be approved and permitted to proceed,' Amery's press secretary, Heather Jenkins, in a statement last week. 'It is settled law that any province is entitled to consult its population by referendum on any issue.' Feasby said McClure was just doing his job and following international best practices for administering referendums. Story continues below advertisement A letter from Amery's lawyer to the judge last week said the minister plans to make submissions if there is a review. Other groups, including the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in northern Alberta, have said they also hope to make submissions. 2:01 Indigenous chiefs accuse Premier Danielle Smith of stoking Alberta separatism talk If the proposed question is approved, the Alberta Prosperity Project and its chief executive officer, Mitch Sylvestre, would need to collect 177,000 signatures in four months to get it on a ballot. A competing referendum question was approved by McClure in June and asks if Alberta should declare an official policy that it will never separate from Canada. Efforts to gather signatures for that proposal, put forward by former Progressive Conservative deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk, got underway earlier this month. Story continues below advertisement Lukaszuk needs to collect nearly 300,000 signatures in 90 days in order to get his question on a ballot, as his application was approved before new provincial rules with lower signature thresholds took effect.
CBC
27 minutes ago
- CBC
Carney's staff say search is on for a local office that meets his security needs
Prime Minister Mark Carney's office says work is "well underway" to find a local constituency office in his suburban Ottawa riding that meets his security requirements. As first reported this week by the Ottawa Citizen, Carney still doesn't have an office in his Nepean riding more than 100 days after the spring election. "The process to confirm an office that meets all security requirements and is conveniently located and accessible for constituents is well underway," said Emily Williams, the Prime Minister's Office director of media relations, in an emailed response. She said that until the local office is set up, residents of Nepean can access federal services through Defence Minister David McGuinty's office, which is in the neighbouring riding of Ottawa South. Carney, whose campaign's riding headquarters was set up in a Nepean office park, will be the last member of his own cabinet to list a local riding office in the House of Commons directory. Constituency offices act as a sort of doormat to democracy, allowing residents to connect with their local elected representatives. Members of Parliament employ local staff at these offices who can help citizens navigate government bureaucracy to access federal services. Liberal MP Bruce Fanjoy, who represents the Ottawa riding of Carleton, is in the process of moving out of the constituency office he took over from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who lost the riding in an upset in the April election.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Budget cuts and back to school: CEGEPs left behind, argues CSQ
Éric Gingras, president of the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ), photographed during a press conference on January 8, 2024, in Montreal. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press) Why is François Legault's government saying it will reinvest money in primary and secondary education – after initially announcing budget cuts – but isn't doing the same for CEGEPs? That's a question the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) had for the government at its annual press conference ahead of the start of the school year. Thursday, CSQ President Éric Gingras said he wondered if the age of the students affected means that the $151 million in budget cuts to colleges, announced last June, just aren't making as many waves. 'CEGEPs are often left behind,' he said, noting that if the government does impose budget cuts, 'in two or three days, no one will be talking about it anymore.' Alongside him at the press conference, the presidents of the professional, teaching, and support staff federations argued that the cuts are in addition to the hiring freeze for staff who do not provide direct services to students, something that was announced last November. The measures come at a time when CEGEP enrolment is growing. Additionally, the union representatives point out that a report by the auditor general shows that two-thirds of college facilities are in poor condition. – This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 14, 2024.
