United Conservatives introducing plan allowing public to recall politicians

The United Conservative Party of Alberta is introducing a law which will allow the public to fire politicians, Sun News reports.

The legislation, which is expected to pass, would introduce a system of recall elections across Albertan public offices. Unlike British Columbia, where only MLAs can be recalled, the Albertan law will allow the public to recall school trustees and city councilors as well.

To recall a politician, a certain threshold of voters within the relevant electoral district must sign a petition calling for a recall of their representative. Once that threshold is reached, a recall election may take place. Thresholds may vary depending on the size of the district so that it would not be too easy to recall politicians in smaller towns.

Some municipal politicians have expressed opposition to the recall legislation, arguing that it would prevent municipal representatives from making unpopular decisions at any point during their tenure in order to avoid being recalled.

Kaycee Madu, Alberta's Justice Minister and former Minister of Municipal Affairs, says that this is what the people of Alberta want even if it makes municipal politicians unhappy, and that it improves accountability.

"They did not just say MLAs. They said their elected leaders. It's only fair and appropriate we extend this tool to those at the municipal level and at the school board trustee level."

"I believe citizens must have the democratic ability to hold their elected leaders to account," he said.

While BC is currently the only province which has a system of recall elections, albeit for provincial legislators only, recall elections are significantly more popular in the United States, with dozens of such elections going back to 1911.

If passed, the legislation will fulfill a campaign promise of the UCP's, which promised to introduce recall legislation in the most recent provincial election in 2019.