gslade@medicinehatnews.com@MHNGillianSlade
A local political science instructor says no matter how angry Albertans may be about the MLAs who travelled internationally, the Premier can’t remove them from office.
Medicine Hat College’s Jim Groom says the MLAs were elected by their constituents and it is only those constituents who can remove them in the next election.
About five MLAs in Alberta who travelled internationally over Christmas and New Year were sanctioned on Monday for that action. Tracy Allard is no longer the minister of municipal affairs representing a loss of income equal to about $60,000 annually. Other MLAs are no longer serving on various committees, which comes with a smaller stipend for that participation, said Groom. A member of Kenney’s office staff was asked to resign and has totally lost his job.
Some Albertans feels they should not be allowed to continue receiving their MLA remuneration.
“Kenney could fire them from the caucus and even fire them from the party…. but you can’t fire them as an MLA,” said Groom. “The electorate has put them in those positions (as MLAs) and only the electorate can take them out of them.”
Groom says that the only way constituents would be able to remove them before the next election would be if there was legislation introduced to allow the right-of-recall.
“There is no mechanism currently for recall,” said Groom.
In October, at the UCP convention, a proposal was made for right-of-recall.
“The party voted 71 per cent in favour of that,” said Groom.
It was only a recommendation though and it would have to be made into legislation before it could be used.
“I imagine it is not going to be at this stage,” he said, noting it could be made retroactive if there was a political will to do so.
That recommendation, made in October, suggested the right-of-recall legislation require a 50 per cent plus support to recall an MLA. Groom says that would be 50 per cent of those who voted in the last election, plus one, who would have to sign a petition in a certain time frame calling for the removal of an elected MLA. At that point the MLA would be recalled.
Groom says he believes B.C. is the only province that currently has recall legislation.
Drew Barnes, MLA for Cypress Medicine Hat, has long been in support of right-of-recall and on Monday issued a press release calling on the UCP to enact such legislation.
“I have long been a supporter of recall and this would be exactly what citizens need,” said Barnes.
He says there are three things that are still firmly with him from his early days as an MLA – at that stage elected under the Wildrose Party: Recalls, limits on how many terms an MLA can serve, and citizen-initiated referendums.
“This (current situation) highlights more than ever the kind of democratic reform that our entire government system needs,” said Barnes, noting that without this, Albertans can only hold their elected officials accountable once every four years.
Barnes says the recall legislation in B.C. forced a referendum regarding the introduction of the Harmonized Sales Tax.
