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Alberta Conservatives pass slew of anti-woke, pro-medical freedom policies at annual meeting

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From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

UCP members voted to ‘protect an individual’s right to informed consent decisions regarding their own body.’

Over 3,800 grassroots members of Alberta’s ruling United Conservative Party (UCP) voted to pass a slew of pro-family, medical freedom, and anti-woke policies at its annual general meeting over the weekend, including one calling for a bill to support “comprehensive parental rights” in education.

In total, UCP members debated some 51 resolutions, with 30 of them pertaining to official party policy, on November 3 and 4 at the AGM, which took place in Calgary. The resolutions are non-binding.

Most important, UCP members voted to “protect an individual’s right to informed consent decisions regarding their own body.”

“No government, business, corporation, entity, non-profit, or any other organization, institution or society has the right to mandate, force, or coerce an individual into a medical intervention or procedure, regardless of the societal benefit or otherwise,” resolution four reads.

This resolution pertains to how COVID jabs were pushed on the population without proper consent taking place in many instances, such as when workplace jab mandates were enacted.

The many pro-medical freedom resolutions came about after former leader of the party and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney backtracked and enacted COVID vaccine passports in the province for a time, as well as allow health officials to enact jabs mandates for staff. This resulted in him eventually being turfed as party leader, with Danielle Smith taking his place.

Other votes in favor of medical freedom included UCP party members voting to “Protect an individual’s right to free expression” and as well as “Protect a medical practitioner’s right to research, speak, and write; and protect Medical Doctors and all healthcare professionals from having their licenses to practice threatened for publicly expressing professional medical opinions in any public setting.”

Resolution 16, which calls for the party to “enshrine the doctor-patient relationship” by “protecting Alberta physicians from undue third-party interference,” was also passed by members.

Smith, who now leads the UCP and is Alberta’s Premier, told reporters that her government is not bound to follow the UCP’s decision should the motion be passed but noted she does support the party’s grassroots process.

In a speech to delegates to start the AGM, Smith made it clear she stands with parental rights, saying to delegates, “I want every parent listening today to hear me loud and clear: parents are the primary caregivers and educators of their children.”

Later in the day, UCP members voted in favor of a resolution mandating parental consent for children to “change” their pronouns at school.

Resolution 8, which passed, read that the UCP should “require teachers, schools, and school boards to obtain the written consent of the parent/guardian of a student under the age of 16 prior to changing the name and/or pronouns used by the student.”

The rationale behind the passing of this resolution reads, “Conservative governments of Saskatchewan and New Brunswick recently implemented the requirements for parental consent for schools to use an alternate name or pronoun for a student.”

“Parents, not schools, are the legal guardians of their children. As was noted by Saskatchewan Education Minister Dustin Duncan, schools require a signed permission slip to take children on a field trip so it’s unclear why schools should not require parental consent for identification changes. Schools should not be in the business of going behind parents’ backs.”

UCP members also passed resolution 17, which calls for the party to support a comprehensive Bill of “Parental Rights which ensures that all legislation will recognize and support parents’ rights to be informed of and in charge of all decisions to do with all services paid for by the province, including education and health care.”

Party members also passed resolution 20, which calls for the party to ban pornographic materials from being allowed to be used by teachers.

“The United Conservative Party believes that the Government of Alberta should … h) Ensure that teachers, schools, school boards, and third parties providing services to kindergarten to Grade 12 schools do not provide access to materials of a sexual, racist, or abusive nature, including, but not limited to: books, handouts, online materials, and live events that are not part of the Alberta Program of Studies,” the resolution reads.

In September, Smith refused to expel a caucus member who attended the Million Person March against LGBT indoctrination, adding that she is “sympathetic to parents” who do not want their kids taught explicit sexual content in school.

UCP members call for party to ‘oppose’ expansion of euthanasia

At its AGM, UCP members also passed a resolution calling for the party to stop the expansion of legal euthanasia.

Members voted for the party to “Oppose the federal expansion of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) qualifying criteria to include those suffering solely from mental illness and oppose the future legalization of MAiD as a care option for minor children.”

The resolution also calls for the party to “establish protocols for provincial implementation of the federally legalized MAiD program,” wherein healthcare workers in “any facility” shall not be allowed to “present or promote MAiD to a patient as a care option.”

“The procedure must be considered a tragic last resort and only be discussed with a patient of legal age upon request by said patient or their proxy,” the resolution reads.

“Individual healthcare workers and private hospice facilities must have their rights to freedom of conscience honored when deciding to participate in administering MAiD.”

On March 9, 2024, euthanasia in Canada, or MAiD as it is known, will expand to include those suffering solely from mental illness. Pro-life advocates and Conservative MPs have called for this expansion to be stopped.

When it came to issues of free speech, UCP members voted to “ban post-secondary institutions from using race as a factor in any admissions program or procedure,” along with voting to “protect an individual’s right to free expression.”

Also passed was a resolution calling to ensure the post-secondary institutions be “places of free thought and learning of employable skills by eliminating all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) offices at all public universities, colleges, technical institutes, and trades schools and all adult education institutions.”

“They are not places for indoctrination of identity politics, reverse racism, or radicalization. Any postsecondary institution that maintains a DEI office, policy, or equivalent shall lose government financial support,” the resolution reads.

Additionally, the party also passed resolutions calling for it to support the use of “cash” as a payment method to be protected and to “oppose” the promotion of “digital currency.”

UCP members also voted to protect Alberta’s autonomy from federal government overreach by passing resolution 1, which calls for the party to “defend Alberta’s economy and autonomy by opposing all attempts by the Federal government to impose net zero by 2035.”

Alberta has repeatedly promised to place the interests of their people above Prime Minister Justin Trudeau government’s “unconstitutional” demands while consistently reminding the federal government that their infrastructures and economies depend upon oil, gas, and coal.

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Alberta

Preston Manning: Canada is in a unity crisis

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Preston Manning's avatar Preston Manning

A Canada West Assembly would investigate why

The election of a minority Liberal government on Monday, and the strong showing of the Conservative party under Pierre Poilievre, cannot mask the fact that Canada remains seriously fractured on many fronts. Thus, one of the primary tasks of the Carney government will be to unite us for the sake of our own national well-being — not simply for the sake of presenting a strong front in future dealings with the United States.

But how is that to be done? When parliament meets as scheduled on May 26, will the government’s throne speech acknowledge the main sources of national disunity and propose the immediate adoption of remedial measures? Or will it ignore the problem entirely, which will serve to further alienate Quebec and the West from Ottawa and the rest of Canada, and weaken Canada’s bargaining position vis a vis the United States?

The principal tactic employed by the Liberal party to unite Canadians behind it in the recent election was to employ the politics of fear — fear of U.S. President Donald Trump trying to “break us so that America can own us,” as Liberal Leader Mark Carney has repeatedly said.

But if the only way to unite Canadians is through the promotion of anti-Americanism fostered by fear of some alleged American takeover — if reaction to the erratic musings of an American president is the only way to motivate more Canadians to vote in a federal election — then not only national unity, but Canadian democracy itself, is in critical condition.

We need to pinpoint what actually is fracturing the country, because if we can clearly define that, we can begin the process of removing those divisive elements to the largest extent possible. Carney and the Liberals will of course declare that it is separatist agitations in Quebec and now the West that is dividing us, but these are simply symptoms of the problem, not the cause.

Here, then, is a partial list of what underpins the division and disunity in this country and, more importantly, of some positive, achievable actions we can take to reduce or eliminate them.

First and foremost is the failure to recognize and accommodate the regional character of this country. Canada is the second-largest country by area on the planet and is characterized by huge geographic regions — the Atlantic, Central Canada, the Prairies, the Pacific Coast and the Northern territories.

Each of these regions — not just Quebec — has its own “distinctive” concerns and aspirations, which must be officially recognized and addressed by the federal government if the country is to be truly united. The previous Liberal government consistently failed to do this, particularly with respect to the Prairies, Pacific and Northern regions, which is the root of much of the alienation that even stimulates talk of western separation.

Second is Ottawa’s failure to recognize and treat the natural resources sector as a fundamental building block of our national economy — not as a relic from the past or an environmental liability, as it was regarded by the government of former prime minister Justin Trudeau.

Will the throne speech announce another 180-degree turn for the Liberal government: the explicit recognition that the great engine of the Canadian economy and our economic recovery is not the federal government, as Carney has implied, but Canada’s agricultural, energy, mining, forestry and fishery sectors, with all the processing, servicing, manufacturing and knowledge sectors that are built upon them?

A third issue we’ve been plagued with is the division of Canadian society based on race, gender, sexual preferences and other identity traits, rather than focusing on the things that unite us as a nation, such as the equality of all under the law. Many private-sector entities are beginning to see the folly of pursuing identity initiatives such as diversity, equity and inclusion that divide rather than unite, but will the Liberal government follow suit and will that intention be made crystal clear in the upcoming throne speech?

A final issue is the federal government’s intrusion into areas of provincial jurisdiction — such as natural resources, health, municipal governance, along with property and civil rights — which is the principal cause of tension and conflict between the federal and provincial governments.

The solution is to pass a federal “act respecting provincial jurisdiction” to repeal or amend the statutes that authorize federal intrusions, so as to eliminate, or at least reduce, their intrusiveness. Coincidentally, this would be a legislative measure that both the Conservatives and the Bloc could unite behind if such a statute were to be one of the first pieces of legislation introduced by the Carney government.

Polling is currently being done to ascertain whether the election of yet another Liberal government has increased the growing estrangement of western Canada from Ottawa and the rest of Canada, notwithstanding Carney’s assurances that his minority government will change its policies on climate change, pipelines, immigration, deficit spending and other distinguishing characteristics of the discredited Trudeau government.

The first test of the truthfulness of those assurances will come via the speech from the throne and the follow-up actions of the federal government.

Meanwhile, consultations are being held on the merits and means of organizing a “Canada West Assembly” to provide a democratic forum for the presentation, analysis and debate of the options facing western Canada (not just Alberta) — from acceptance of a fairer and stronger position within the federation based on guarantees from the federal government, to various independence-oriented proposals, with votes to be taken on the various options and recommendations to be made to the affected provincial governments.

Only time will tell whether the newly elected Carney government chooses to address the root causes of national disunity. But whether it does so or not will influence the direction in which the western provinces and the proposed Canada West Assembly will point.

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Alberta

Premier Danielle Smith hints Alberta may begin ‘path’ toward greater autonomy after Mark Carney’s win

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From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

Alberta’s premier said her government will be holding a special caucus meeting on Friday to discuss Alberta’s independence.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith hinted her province could soon consider taking serious steps toward greater autonomy from Canada in light of Mark Carney and the Liberal Party winning yesterday’s federal election.

In a statement posted to her social media channels today, Smith, who is head of Alberta’s governing United Conservative Party, warned that “In the weeks and months ahead, Albertans will have an opportunity to discuss our province’s future, assess various options for strengthening and protecting our province against future hostile acts from Ottawa, and to ultimately choose a path forward.”

“As Premier, I will facilitate and lead this discussion and process with the sincere hope of securing a prosperous future for our province within a united Canada that respects our province’s constitutional rights, facilitates rather than blocks the development and export of our abundant resources, and treats us as a valued and respected partner within confederation,” she noted.

While Smith stopped short of saying that Alberta would consider triggering a referendum on independence from Canada, she did say her government will be holding a “special caucus meeting this Friday to discuss this matter further.”

“I will have more to say after that meeting is concluded,” she noted.

Smith’s warning comes at the same time some pre-election polls have shown Alberta’s independence from Canada sentiment at just over 30 percent.

Monday’s election saw Liberal leader Mark Carney beat out Conservative rival Pierre Poilievre, who also lost his seat. The Conservatives managed to pick up over 20 new seats, however, and Poilievre has vowed to stay on as party leader, for now.

In Alberta, almost all of the seats save two at press time went to conservatives.

Carney, like former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau before him, said he is opposed to new pipeline projects that would allow Alberta oil and gas to be unleashed. Also, his green agenda, like Trudeau’s, is at odds with Alberta’s main economic driver, its oil and gas industry.

The Carney government has also pledged to mandate that all new cars and trucks by 2035 be electric, effectively banning the sale of new gasoline- or diesel-only powered vehicles after that year.

The reduction and eventual elimination of the use of so-called “fossil fuels” and a transition to unreliable “green” energy has also been pushed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) – the globalist group behind the socialist “Great Reset” agenda – an organization in which Trudeau and some of his cabinet are involved.

Smith: ‘I will not permit the status quo to continue’

In her statement, Smith noted that she invited Carney to “immediately commence working with our government to reset the relationship between Ottawa and Alberta with meaningful action rather than hollow rhetoric.”

She noted that a large majority of Albertans are “deeply frustrated that the same government that overtly attacked our provincial economy almost unabated for the past 10 years has been returned to government.”

Smith then promised that she would “not permit the status quo to continue.”

“Albertans are proud Canadians that want this nation to be strong, prosperous, and united, but we will no longer tolerate having our industries threatened and our resources landlocked by Ottawa,” she said.

Smith praised Poilievre for empowering “Albertans and our energy sector as a cornerstone of his campaign.”

Smith was against forced COVID jabs, and her United Conservative government has in recent months banned men from competing in women’s sports and passed a bill banning so-called “top and bottom” surgeries for minors as well as other extreme forms of transgender ideology.

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