Grande Prairie MLA Tracy Allard was appointed parliamentary secretary of civil liberties on December 13 without any announcement from the provincial government.
The appointment comes almost two months after the rest of the cabinet – which is stacked with around half of the province’s UCP MPs – was sworn in in October, shortly after the Premier was officially appointed.
Premier Danielle Smith spoke for the first time about Allard’s new position on 630 CHEDs Your Province, Your Premier Saturday morning said Allard’s appointment was to protect civil liberties, including free speech on campus, property rights and the federal laws on gun ownership and online news.
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“There’s a whole range of things that have come up in this autumn session and it seemed to me that having a parliamentary secretary who focuses on property and civil rights would enable her to advise us on how we put it into law can address,” Smith said.
“And as we go forward, if there are bills that we pass, just to say someone with the lens, it’s to make sure that we protect all the rights that are protected in the Bill of Rights and Freedoms. “
Political scientist Duane Bratt said protecting unencumbered rights is also on the list.
“It’s a strange position,” he said. “I’m not sure what the purpose of this is.”
Free speech and protection of the unvaccinated were included in ministerial mandate letters when Smith made her cabinet appointments.
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And then there’s the question of why Tracy Allard was chosen for the job, Bratt said. Two years ago, Allard lost her position as minister of municipal affairs (under the provincial leadership of former premier Jason Kenney) after traveling to Hawaii and circumventing all COVID regulations.
“We’re in a situation where poll after poll shows that the most important things facing Albertans are affordability and health care, but the things Smith is most passionate about are the sovereignty act, fighting Ottawa and re-litigating COVID- limitations. And this appointment fits perfectly into that story.”
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