News

Congratulations are in order!

From one province to another, we tip our caps to our neighbours to the east.

Last week, the Saskatchewan Firearms Act - legislation designed to enhance public safety and protect the rights of law-abiding firearms owners - was passed in Regina.

“This legislation will create a strong, consistent framework to enhance public safety and support the proud tradition of responsible firearms use and ownership in this province,” said Saskatchewan Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister Christine Tell.

The Free Alberta Strategy is back in the news again!

This time though, it’s thanks to an attack piece, which we thought we'd take some time to respond to.

In a new article published in the federal-government-funded “The Conversation” publication, Robert L. Ascah, a researcher at the also-federal-government-funded Parkland Institute, attempts to lay the hatchet to the Free Alberta Strategy.

The Alberta Sovereignty Within A United Canada Act - the new full name for the Sovereignty Act - was introduced to the Alberta Legislature on Tuesday.

Now that we've had a short while to digest it, we're confident in saying that when it comes to protecting the interests of Alberta on the national stage, the Act is right on the money.

The Free Alberta Strategy is working!

Of course, the introduction of the Sovereignty Act to the legislature next week is an obvious example, but there are many others.

If you're reading this, Jason Kenney thinks you're a "far-right extremist".

Yes, seriously.

As ridiculous as it sounds, Jason Kenney says that our Free Alberta Strategy group and our supporters (i.e. you!) are "far-right extremists", simply for wanting Alberta to have the same sovereignty rights that Quebec already has!

Presumably, that means he also thinks the 10 MLAs who endorsed our plan are far-right extremists.

And let's not forget that all seven candidates running for UCP leader participated in our Free Alberta Strategy Town Hall event, and all seven said that they agree with at least parts of our strategy - are they all far-right extremists to him too?

(More on that later.)

Calling us all "far right" is just co-opting the talking points of angry blue check marks on Twitter who seem to believe that painting anything you don’t like as "far right" is a good way to discredit an idea without having to thoughtfully engage with it.

It’s nothing more than a scare tactic.

The real question is, how on earth did we get to this point?

Is this even the same Jason Kenney that was elected in 2019 on a promise to fight for Alberta?

Has the Premier been abducted by aliens?

Jokes aside, many of our supporters have told us about how they used to be big Kenney supporters - donating money, volunteering time, and voting for him for years - but that they barely recognize him anymore.

Last September, we launched the Free Alberta Strategy in a virtual press conference attended by journalists from across Alberta and Canada.

Despite being written by several lawyers and public policy experts, receiving endorsements from a number of MLAs and high-profile Albertans, and being a solution to perhaps the largest challenge Alberta faces, most of the journalists, honestly, kind of dismissed us.

Well - as the saying goes - they aren't laughing now.

As you know, we launched the Free Alberta Strategy six months ago to advocate for Alberta to take control of its future from Ottawa through the passage of the Alberta Sovereignty Act in the provincial legislature, the replacement of the RCMP and CPP with our own police force and pension plan, the collection of our own taxes, and more. 

Since then, we have hosted 14 town halls with 10 elected MLAs, covering every electoral constituency in Alberta, with almost 3000 Albertans attending.

But we know that not everyone was able to attend one of those 14 meetings, which is why I was very pleased to join Danielle Smith on her show last weekend for a long-form 90-minute interview to explain the strategy in detail

The video of that interview is now available for you to watch whenever is most convenient for you:

Hero is an overused word.

It’s often inappropriately applied to movie stars, politicians, athletes, and media personalities with little thought.

But a true hero – at least as the dictionary defines one – is an individual who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength.

Sometimes life takes us down unexpected paths, and these last couple of months have exemplified that for me.

For those who aren't aware, when I am not busy promoting the Free Alberta Strategy, I am a practicing lawyer. In recent months, however, these two worlds have somewhat merged.

During the pandemic, government and government officials have utterly failed to perform their most sacred duty - that of protecting the rights and personal liberties of their citizenry. COVID restrictions and mandates seemed to keep multiplying week by week, while freedoms diminished.

Six weeks ago, we kicked off our Free Alberta Strategy Town Hall tour of Alberta, and we wanted to give you an update on the events we've held in that time.

Hundreds of Albertans have attended these virtual events which we've held for ridings all across Alberta, including: