The Alberta NDP is holding firm in its stance that the UCP government's decision to overhaul the province's electoral map is illegitimate and put forward a number of motions to increase transparency, but were blocked.
Committee Meeting Highlights
A committee of MLAs tasked with overseeing the electoral boundaries held its first meeting on Monday to outline its mandate and steps for appointing a chair of the independent advisory panel. In April, the province passed a motion rejecting the proposed boundaries recommended by an independent commission and instead increased the number of electoral divisions to 91 from 89.
Opposition MLAs Kathleen Ganley and Christina Gray repeatedly questioned the legitimacy and transparency of the process.
NDP Motions Rejected
Ganley and Gray put forward a number of motions including requiring that all committee and panel meetings be fully public, require public reporting of any attempted political preference and requiring unanimous consent to select a chair to the independent advisory panel.
The UCP members, who hold the committee majority, voted against all the motions in a 4-2 vote. The committee is chaired by UCP MLA Brandon Lunty along with three other UCP MLAs: Chantelle de Jonge, Tara Sawyer and Ron Wiebe. Ganley and Gray are the two Alberta NDP MLAs on the committee.
Transparency Debate
In response to Gray's motion to publicly broadcast all meetings to increase transparency, de Jonge said the motion was premature. She described the appointments as "really HR decisions" that are often held in camera to allow for "frank and open discussion."
"If we're demanding that those discussions are then to be publicly broadcasted, it's a bit disrespectful to potential applicants that we're discussing their suitability and I think that could lead to potential applicants not expressing interest in the position," de Jonge said.
Ganley pushed back, saying the committee should be more concerned about being disrespectful to the public than to applicants looking to hold a public position.
"It is incredibly important to have a record. This is unprecedented and I think that the people who are applying for this position ought to be subjected to public scrutiny. We apply to hold public positions, I would say we are subjected to significant scrutiny," Ganley said.
Next Steps
The independent advisory panel must report to the committee by Oct. 22 and submit a report based on its review. The committee must report to the legislative assembly no later than Nov. 22.
