What We Can Learn from Danielle Smith’s First Days as Premier

While it may have occurred ten years later than many politicos had projected, Danielle Smith was sworn in as Alberta’s newest premier early last week. Premier Smith was able to complete a political comeback for the ages by reviving her career and immediately rising to the very top of the elected hierarchy.

Now it is time for the work to begin.

A few short hours following her swearing-in ceremony, Premier Smith held her first official media availability in her new capacity. While there is only so much that can be done between now and when the writ is dropped in 2023, the premier gave us insight into what the next number of months will hold for a few key initiatives.

The Return of Session

When the sessional calendar was released this year, it was indicated that the fall sittings would commence on Halloween and wrap up in early December before the holiday break kicks off. However, when the membership of the UCP promoted one of their own that does not currently hold a seat in the Legislature, many expected that timeline to change. We now have a better idea of when MLAs will make their return to the Assembly.

“The earliest I’m told I would be able to be in the Legislature is November the 29th. At which point we would have four weeks to be able to pass the agenda items that we determine are the priority in our caucus retreat.”

“I think the final Thursday of that week is December 22nd, so I think that would be our intention for the fall session.”

It is important to note that the sessional calendar has not been officially updated on the Assembly website, so keep an eye out for the official dates when they are announced at a later time.

Alberta’s Relationship with Ottawa

Following her first caucus meeting in Calgary, Premier Smith told the media “I think we can have a constructive relationship with Ottawa if they recognize we expect the same level of respect that they give to Quebec and the same level of deference that they give to Quebec.”

She held a firm line during her first press conference saying Alberta has had enough.

“I know it is a little bit alarming for Alberta to finally say we’ve had enough of how the county is run, we’ve had enough of how Justin Trudeau is treating us, but we have had enough.”

For more information on the relationship with the federal government, read on for details about the Alberta Sovereignty Act.

Impending Changes for Healthcare

Here, Premier Smith has put forward perhaps her most ambitious plan forward (at least what came out of this particular press conference). Although the move has not been made official at the time of writing, we learned that the premier will indeed move forward with the termination of Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw.

“I will get new advice on public health. I appreciate the work that Dr. Deena Hinshaw has done but I think we’re in a new phase where we are now talking about treating coronavirus as endemic, as we do influenza. And so, I will be developing a new team of public health advisers.”

But it wasn’t just Alberta’s top doctor that was in Premier Smith’s crosshairs. During the leadership race, Smith had pondered the possibility of eradicating the governance board of Alberta Health Services which garnered plenty of headlines. During her first presser, she doubled down.

“When they fail to meet targets and fail to meet direction, you change the management. And so that’s what we’re going to do.”

She also pointed to what she expects to be a very short turnaround, raising questions of institutional stability given significant changes to continuity.

“My intention would be to have a new governance structure in place within 90 days.”

During the press conference, it was not made abundantly clear what the new structure would look like. There are also no details available yet on the subject of the team of public health advisers intended to replace Dr. Hinshaw.  

The Alberta Sovereignty Act

Premier Smith’s cornerstone leadership race proposal once again generated headlines from her inaugural press conference from the Legislature’s media room.

Back in September, Smith spoke to how the legislation would work with respect to decisions coming from the courts, saying, "if a court stays or ultimately deems that the actions undertaken by the province under a specific Alberta sovereignty act special motion is unconstitutional, then the government and Legislature will have to review the special motion actions in question and make a decision as to whether or not to amend, end or continue with them, understanding the legal implications such a decision could cause.”

At the press conference, the premier seemed to take a slightly softer tone on the subject.

“We will abide by the decisions of the Supreme Court, but you bet, up until that point, we are vigorously going to defend every area of our constitutional jurisdiction.”

It is worth noting that the Alberta Sovereignty Act has yet to be drafted or tabled in the Legislature. However, that has not stopped politicians, legal experts, and pundits from providing their perspective and input based on what was said on the campaign trail and on her campaign website.

Jonah Mozeson, Premier Smith’s spokesperson, indicated, prior to her being sworn-in, that “the premier-designate looks forward to working with caucus to draft legislation that protects and asserts Alberta's constitutional rights in accordance with the rule of law.”

We will have to wait until the end of November for the premier to have the opportunity to table her flagship bill in the Legislature, but all eyes across the country will be keenly watching to learn what exactly will be included in the legislation.

A Provincial Police Service

Finally, the issue of a provincial police force has become a highly debated discussion since the UCP first raised the issue under Jason Kenney. Premier Smith provided Albertans with some insight into what her hopes are for the proposed provincial police.

“Our members had passed a motion to have an Alberta provincial police that would either replace or augment the RCMP. So, I am very much in the mode of wanting to have an augmentation to the RCMP by creating an Alberta provincial police very quickly so that we can address issues of rural property crime.”

She would also go onto say that it would be important to be trained in the new policing priorities of Alberta, especially mental health and addictions.

An important note here is how different of a stance Premier Smith is taking from the previous leader. For some time, the discussion was about completely severing the contract with the RCMP and federal government and using a provincial police to replace them entirely. In August, Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Tyler Shandro released a proposed policing model based on that premise.

President of the Rural Municipalities of Alberta has called on Premier Smith to hold a provincial referendum on the question.  

“If you’re confident that this is a great idea, Albertans are smart people, respect them and let them make the decision and move forward on that.”