Alberta’s Bill 24 is the first significant change to the Bill of Rights since 2015

This week, the Smith government introduced Bill 24, the Alberta Bill of Rights Amendment Act.

Public reaction to the bill and its proposals has not been particularly controversial, but it has left many voters scratching their heads about its intentions.

A Bill of Rights was introduced in Alberta during the first term of the Progressive Conservatives, described by Premier Peter Lougheed at the time as “a shield for citizens against government abuse of power”.

This came before the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was enshrined in the Constitution in 1982.

The original constitution of Alberta established the rights and freedoms existing in the province without discrimination based on race, national origin, colour, religion or sex, including:

• The right to liberty, security of person, and enjoyment of property, and the right not to be deprived thereof except by due process; and
• The right to religion, speech, assembly and association and freedom of the press.

The Bill of Rights has not been subject to significant changes since 2015, when references to sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression were included, along with the right of parents to make informed decisions about their children’s education.

Bill 24 would essentially make three substantive changes to the current Bill of Rights:

• The right to make your own choices about vaccinations and all medical decisions;
• The right not to be deprived of one’s property without due process of law and just compensation; and
• The right to legally acquire, keep and use firearms.

The UCP government provides no concrete examples of when anyone has been forced into medical treatment in recent memory or when property rights have been violated.

And firearms, of course, are covered by federal jurisdiction.

Testing any of these would be a matter for the courts to decide.

Regardless of.

Public reaction to the strengthening of “property rights” is overwhelmingly positive.

Almost three-quarters (73 per cent) of those surveyed in our October province-wide poll agreed with this provision of the bill (a strong 46 per cent).

Opinions on the other two are a bit more mixed, but nothing that would be of great concern to a government.

A majority of Albertans (56%) approve of measures to protect their ability to make their own medical decisions (including vaccination).

A narrower majority (52 percent) also approves of enshrining the rights to own and use firearms (legally, of course), although this proposal draws the most opposition (44 percent disapprove).

The proposals are very well received outside the two largest cities, while the feeling is warmest in Edmonton.

They are also wholeheartedly supported by UCP voters.

Most NDP voters support property rights provisions, but vaccine/medical rights and gun rights are decidedly unpopular with these voters.

While all of the individual proposed amendments are reasonably well received (with some variation) by most Albertans, the overall reaction to the substance of Bill 24 is more modest.

In fact, when asked to rate their views on the proposed changes as a package, Albertans are evenly split – 45 per cent approve and disapprove.

There is a partisan lens applied here.

Only eight percent of NDP voters support the proposed changes overall, compared to nearly four-fifths (79 percent) of UCP voters.

But strangely, even among UCP voters, the suite of amendments receives a slightly more muted response than even the least popular individual component.

The most likely explanation is that respondents judge the motives behind the amendments with greater cynicism than the substance of the amendments themselves.

Almost six-in-ten (57%) Albertans believe the UCP’s Bill of Rights proposals are more about “political theater and pandering to the premier’s base ahead of a leadership review” than any genuine political demand.

Meanwhile, just over a third (35 percent) hold the opposite view that these amendments are “meaningful, important and necessary to protect citizens’ rights in an ever-changing world”.

Again, the perceived reasons are highly polarized among the public.

NDP voters almost universally (97 percent) believe these proposed amendments are driven by the Prime Minister’s “competence.”

In comparison, two-thirds (67 percent) of UCP voters feel a real societal need for these amendments to find their way to the legislature.

Having said that, almost a quarter (24%) of UCP voters consider them “political theater”.

This weekend, nearly 6,000 UCP members are gathering in Red Deer to judge the premier’s leadership.

Whether or not Bill 24 will influence the outcome of that vote is highly debatable.

But after the leadership vote and after this legislative session ends in December, the rights contained in the bill will be enshrined in Alberta’s most important law — and most Albertans seem to agree with that, even if the increased rights change nothing and it doesn’t solve anything either. any specific problems.

Sometimes symbolism is enough.