Lorne Gunter: Alberta referendum questions 1-9 an unnecessary smokescreen

The results of what have become known as the “other nine” questions on Monday’s referendum are now more interesting than they were on voting day.

Elections Alberta understandably began counting Question 10 ballots first — the ones on separation — because that was the question that interested Albertans most and the one that would have the most immediate impact on the province and the nation.

That night, the results of the other nine — five on immigration and four on the constitution — were as much as 40 per cent behind the No. 10 count. At that point it looked as though eight of the other nine would pass, the only exception being the constitutional question that would have let Alberta opt out of federal programs while still receiving full funding from Ottawa.

But as the counting of the other nine ballots has caught up with those on the separatist referendum, some of the results have changed.

All five of the immigration propositions passed, including Alberta making a deal with Ottawa to take more control over immigration into the province.

Among those five, the one that passed with the widest margin was the one that would require voters to present proof of Canadian citizenship at a polling station before being allowed to cast a ballot in an election.

The other three, which mostly revolved around withholding health care, education and social services from non-permanent residents until they have lived in the province at least 12 months, also passed.

But the four constitutional proposals that appeared destine to pass on referendum night have since all been defeated.

There will be no push to have the province select federal court judges within Alberta, no working with other provinces to abolish the Senate nor any demand that provincial laws and policies trump similar federal ones where the two conflict.

Also, as I said above, the idea of Alberta opting out of federal programs, but with full financial compensation, proved a non-starter.

So what comes next?

Premier Danielle Smith pledged this week to introduce a law or laws in the legislature, as early as the upcoming fell session, that would turn the immigration results into reality, and on Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government might consider a deal that would give Alberta more control over who and how many enter the province. Quebec already has just such a bilateral deal with the feds.

A referendum on these five was unnecessary. All five are policy issues and any government, such as the UCP, which has a majority in the legislature could have made them law at any time. It didn’t need a $130-million referendum to accomplish that.

But what’s done is done.

Same with the other four of nine. The constitutional questions were unnecessary since they required consent from other provinces which was never going to be given. Those questions were moot even before the referendum process began.

Altogether, these nine were an attempt by the UCP government to appeal to their hardcore base at a time when giving in to the base’s demand for a full-throated referendum on separation wasn’t going to fly.

Does that make the nine a smokescreen? Something like that.

The tech sector in Alberta is not happy about tougher standards for immigration. The rapidly growing sector requires highly trained programmers, engineers and designers, many of whom come initially as non-resident foreign workers.

The ag and services sectors, too, will have difficulty finding enough workers.

But when most Albertans look around at crowded emergency room waits, and surgical delays and overcrowded classrooms, they just want some relief from the wave of immigration that has added to those problems. They might accept carveouts for high-tech and agriculture workers, though.

If nothing else, the results of the five immigration questions on Monday’s referendum will give the province greater licence to find solutions.

That can’t be a bad thing.

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