Publication date: September 1, 2022 • 1 hour ago • 3 minutes read • 13 comments Alberta Lt.-Gov. Salma Lakhani, left, and Premier Jason Kenney gather with Indigenous leaders in the Reconciliation Garden at the Alberta Legislature on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022, to mark the first official Alberta Day. Photo by Larry Wong /Postmedia

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Alberta’s lieutenant governor says she’s willing to refuse to sign UCP leadership candidate Danielle Smith’s sovereignty bill if it’s ruled unconstitutional.

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At a kickoff event for Alberta Day at the provincial legislature on Thursday, Minister Salma Lakhani told reporters she would wait to weigh in until independent legal experts reviewed the bill, but as the Queen’s regent in Alberta she considers her constitutional role the most important part of her job. Sign up to receive daily news headlines from the Edmonton Journal, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. By clicking the subscribe button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

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“We are a constitutional monarchy and here we do checks and balances. I am what I would call a “constitutional fire extinguisher”. We don’t have to use it a lot, but sometimes we have to,” Lakhani said. Smith has promised, if elected premier, to pass an Alberta Sovereignty Act that would allow Alberta to opt out of federal legislation, regulatory decisions and court decisions that lawmakers believe are against Alberta’s interests. Critics have warned it would create a potential constitutional crisis, undermine the rule of law and scare off investors.

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Lakhani said she would depend on the bill and the advice she received on its legality. “I think we’ll try to cross the bridge when we get to it, if we get to it,” he said. Reported to Lt. John Bowen, who in 1937 refused to give royal assent to three bills passed by the legislature. In retaliation, Social Credit Prime Minister William Aberhart closed the viceroyalty. Ultimately, the Supreme Court of Canada declared that the laws were beyond Alberta’s power to enact. Lakhani said she hoped she would be prepared for possible backlash from those who see her role as ritualistic. “That’s why I live in my own house,” Lakhani said. Born and raised in Uganda, where the country’s entire Asian minority population was expelled in 1972, Lakhani said her experience made her feel very strongly that the rule of law and democracy must be preserved and respected. “These are very, very important things for a prosperous nation,” he said. Smith, in a debate in July, defended her plan, saying it was “to put Ottawa on notice.” On Thursday, Smith campaign spokesman Matthew Altheim said Smith has repeatedly said she will work together to ensure the sovereignty act is “drafted according to sound constitutional language and principles.” Fellow UCP leadership candidate Brian Jean hit back at Lakhani’s comments on Twitter, saying he was “extremely uncomfortable with the lieutenant governor becoming a politician” and called on Smith to produce the text of the proposed legislation before UCP members vote for a new leader.

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I am extremely uncomfortable with the Lt. Governor becoming a politician. That said, Danielle Smith’s lack of clarity on this issue is already causing a constitutional crisis. To end this dispute, Smith must produce the text of the Sovereignty Act before UCP members can vote. — Brian Jean (@BrianJeanAB) September 1, 2022
The UCP is set to elect its new leader on October 6, but the legislature is not scheduled to meet until October 31. Normally, the government does not make public the wording of a bill until it is tabled in Parliament.

‘Happy Birthday Alberta’

Lakhani, Premier Jason Kenney, Culture Minister Ron Orr and Cree elder Bert Auger marked Sept. 1 as the day Alberta officially became a province in 1905 with a ceremony Thursday. Kenney said it’s worth celebrating the province as “a unique place with a unique culture, history and geography, (that) is also proudly part of the great Canadian federation.” Orr also took the opportunity to air his grievances with Ottawa, noting the government wanted to mark the day in part because the Fair Deal panel suggested it “affirms Alberta’s cultural, economic and political uniqueness.” “A family cluster of Laurentian elites has always skewed the deal to their advantage,” Orr said, before adding “happy birthday Alberta — that’s what today is about.” On Saturday, the government is hosting events and concerts in Calgary and at the legislature in Edmonton. [email protected] twitter.com/reportrix

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