There will be three referendum questions facing voters across the Foothills in the upcoming municipal elections.
The Province is posing questions on Daylights Savings Time, senate election and equalization payment reform on municipal election ballots.
“I think having these as questions in a referendum will then give a lot better guidance, more clear guidance, to the Province to how Albertans want to proceed,” said Highwood MLA RJ Sigurdson. “I think the utilization of a referendum question like this is effective and important, and I think it gives clear direction for government on which direction to go.”
He said of the three issues, Daylights Savings has been the issue he’s heard about most in his constituency office.
People have approached on either side of the question – for doing away with or maintaining Daylights Savings in Alberta going forward.
Some have expressed moving away from Mountain Standard Time could impact business. Owners of ski hills worry about less daylight for visitors, and the construction industry has also reached out, said Sigurdson.
“They asked, ‘Do you understand how much additional cost it is for us to not have Daylight Savings, because we have to have additional lighting for longer durations in the morning, which means we’re running diesel generators,’” he said.
People raising young children, and vulnerable children or adults with disabilities have also spoken out about the difficulties in falling back and springing ahead, saying Daylight Savings can cause disruptions to sleep patterns and habits that can be difficult to overcome, he said.
“There’s a big consideration on that side, too,” said Sigurdson. “I’m very interested to see where this one goes.”
The equalization payment review was a platform issue for the United Conservative Party, he said. When the Fair Deal Panels occurred throughout the province, it was one of the hot topics brought up in nearly every meeting.
“I think this is great to put the question to Albertans, so they have a chance to be able to have their say,” said Sigurdson. “This is going to send a message to Ottawa about how Albertans feel about the current state of the equalization.”
The greatest concern with equalization payments as they currently exist is Alberta does not fall onto the receiving end despite being in economic turmoil for the last several years, he said.
He said as a whole, Albertans have said they’re not against sharing the wealth, but are frustrated that when the province is under economic stress it doesn’t receive payments while Quebec records budget surpluses and still takes in more than $70 billion from equalization.
“That just shows a gross inequity in the equalization formula and it’s been exposed even more through these tough economic times,” said Sigurdson. “It’s time Ottawa understands that Alberta just needs to be treated fairly in this confederation.”
The senate election allows for senators from Alberta to be voted by residents of the province rather than appointed, a process he said could also use future reform. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed two non-elected senators from Alberta earlier in 2021, and Sigurdson said that’s not right.
“I think it’s just important Albertans have the right to choose the senators that go to represent their interests in Ottawa,” he said. “The senate is the one place, the final place, in which we have a final say in where federal legislation is going through and I think it’s important we have senators who represent the general will of Albertans as a whole.
“I don’t think non-elected senators, being appointed by any prime minister to the senate, is fair to Albertans.”
