UCP urging Notley to call byelection
Oh, what’s an official Opposition party to do?
It has a new leader, but the leader doesn’t have a seat in the legislature.
All Jason Kenney can do whenever he comes to the assembly is sit impotently in the public galleries like any mere mortal or, horrors, like the schmucks across the way in the press gallery.
Kenney desperately wants a seat in the legislative arena where the action is.
And he could get one relatively easily. But he is dependant on the help of his sworn political enemy, Premier Rachel Notley.
Kenney needs Notley to call a byelection in Calgary-Lougheed. That’s the riding held until last Wednesday by United Conservative Party MLA Dave Rodney, who dutifully resigned for the express purpose of triggering a byelection to get his leader, Kenney, a seat in the assembly.
Notley, by law, has six months to call the byelection, but Kenney is hoping she’ll bow to parliamentary tradition and fast-track things as a courtesy to the leader of the Opposition.
Of course, the UCP and Kenney are presupposing he will easily win the byelection. I would say that’s not a bad assumption given the state of Alberta politics, particularly in Calgary.
It’s just that the UCP is not being particularly humble about the whole affair.
And it’s not being particularly courteous when asking for a courtesy.
During question period Monday, UCP house leader Jason Nixon harangued Notley over when she would call the byelection to get Kenney a seat.
“They clearly are nervous about him,” Nixon said.
“It’s clear that they’re eager to debate him. Why won’t the premier do the right thing, call a byelection immediately, and get Jason Kenney here in the house? Is she nervous?”
Notley probably is a bit nervous about Kenney, given his impressive track record the past year where he scuttled the Progressive Conservative and Wildrose parties to form the UCP — and then went on to become leader of the party he created.
But Notley certainly didn’t appear nervous in the assembly Monday.
Quite the opposite.
She seemed to be relishing the fact she can let Kenney twist in the wind.
“Let me be absolutely, absolutely, completely clear on this matter,” said Notley with a broad smile.
“Not only am I not nervous, I can’t wait. That being said, as I’ve said already twice, it will be called in due course.”
Notley can’t keep this up for six months.
She’d just end up looking arrogant, cruel or, worse, nervous.
She should call the byelection so Kenney can be in the assembly for the spring sitting that usually starts in February or March.
It might help, though, if the UCP would ask a little more nicely.
Perhaps take a page from the playbook of Alberta Party leader Greg Clark.
This past week, he’s been asking for more questions in question period and more money for his caucus budget.
He made the argument he deserves more of each because his caucus now has two members — himself and former NDP MLA Karen McPherson, who joined the Alberta Party last week.
Neither the NDP nor the UCP seemed especially eager to support Clark’s plea, perhaps because the NDP doesn’t want to reward a political traitor and the UCP maybe was afraid it would have to give up questions during question period.
However, Speaker Robert Wanner came to Clark’s rescue.
He ruled Monday the Alberta Party caucus, which used to get eight questions every two weeks, will get 10 questions (there will be one less question each for the Liberals and backbench NDP MLAs).
Clark’s “leader’s allowance” that helps pay for caucus research will be doubled to $272,000 from $136,000 a year.
It’s not a big boost in the number of questions or the amount of money. But Clark is pleased.
He is now leader of the “third party” opposition and, even though it has just six per cent of the private member seats in the assembly, it will have 10 per cent of the opposition questions.
Clark won this little coup by making his case persuasively and by asking nicely.
The UCP might want to take notes.