Smith vows cautious approach after narrow win on immigration, muses about referendum on photo radar

Premier Danielle Smith says she will “proceed with caution” on tougher policies for immigrants after her government secured slim victories on a handful of questions in the Alberta referendum.

During her Saturday radio call-in show, Smith was asked why legislation on those issues — such as restricting immigrant access to government services or charging them extra fees — isn’t part of the UCP government’s fall agenda.

“I had an idea that Albertans would give us a mandate,” she said. “When we did the Alberta Next panel it was very, very clear this was the one (immigration) that had the most concern, but you don’t draft legislation until you hear what people have to say about it.

“What I heard from the results is people want us to proceed, but they want us to proceed with caution. … I think what I’m interpreting from the results is let’s make sure it doesn’t apply to the people who came here and arrived here under the old rules.”

Host Wayne Nelson suggested the premier was indicating a “grandfather approach,” and Smith agreed with that characterization. She did not indicate a timeframe for any bill or policy to come forward.

On the first four immigration questions of the Oct. 19 referendum, the “yes” side narrowly prevailed with the support of 55 to 52 per cent of voters.

The fifth question, on requiring Albertans to show proof of citizenship before being allowed to vote, received 58 per cent support. Smith said the mandate on that issue was more definitive, and so she would be proceeding with legislation in time for next year’s provincial election.

Under current Canadian law, residents are already required to certify they are Canadian citizens before they can cast a ballot. But Smith said for the next election voters will need to have the new Alberta driver’s license that includes a citizenship symbol, a passport, or other proof of citizenship to verify their status.

Earlier in the show, Smith was asked why her government is continuing to appeal a judge’s ruling that the province failed to consult with Indigenous communities prior to launching a separation referendum.

“We believe there was an error in law,” she said. “If you initiate a citizen’s petition campaign, at what point do you need to consult with First Nations? A citizen initiative petition — they have no duty to consult, they’re just asking us to consider a policy question.

“If we don’t get that part resolved, I may as well just repeal the legislation. Who is going to go out and do the effort of getting 177,000 signatures if a court action declaring declaring a duty to consult can derail it for months or years?”

One caller asked if the many delays in referendum results was because of the province’s ban on using vote tabulators.

The premier said it was too early to be sure and she would be launching a review.

“We didn’t know why the counts didn’t start at 8 ‘o clock, they should have,” she said.

“So we have to understand why there didn’t seem to be a handle on when the polling stations were closed and who made the decision that nothing could be released. Let’s not presume that the issue was tabulators.”

In response to callers, Smith also mused about the possibility of having more referendum questions put to Albertans on other controversial issues.

One woman asked whether the premier would follow federal plans to authorize “advance directives,” in which people with a degenerative mental illness such as Alzheimer’s disease could pre-declare their desire for a medically assisted death to be carried out after they are no longer capable of consenting.

Smith outlined her own concerns with advance directives as a “murky area from a moral point of view” that puts caregivers in a tough place of having to decide at what point a patient’s life is no longer worth living. But she said she wanted to hear more from Albertans.

“We’ll probably have to have a consultation on this. … I might be wrong, so maybe this is something we have to put to a referendum as well.”

Smith also responded to a male caller suggesting that her government should work with Edmonton to restore some level of photo radar enforcement.

“It just seems like everybody is flying,” the caller said, describing local driving conditions as a “free-for-all” and a “little more dangerous.”

Municipal data shows speeding has gone up in Edmonton since the city removed photo radar as a result of provincial restrictions on the enforcement tool.

The premier said she would put the issue on her priority list to bring up with Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas and Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack, the latter of whom she is meeting this coming week.

However, she said it’s challenging to know the right approach because she hears differing views on photo radar.

“Sometimes you have to decide things by referendum. I’ve got two things now on my list that might be on next year’s referendum ballot,” Smith said.

A text from a listener wondered about getting more citizen-led referendums at the national level. Smith expressed doubt the rest of the country is interested and reiterated she was waiting to see the result of her government’s appeal of the duty-to-consult case.

“I don’t know that anyone is going to want to do a citizen’s initiative after this,” she said. “I put two questions forward that were part of a citizen’s initiative campaign, and everybody blamed me for it.”

– With files from Keith Gerein

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