KENNEY DROPS HAMMER ON UCP POLICY BLOW-UP
On Saturday night, the United Conservative Party really looked united, as leader Jason Kenney thundered threats of retaliation against Alberta’s economic enemies.
But by Sunday morning, the UCP was itself again.
That is, not united at all on many hot-button social issues.
This is a large and diverse party that embraces many views and interests. It’s also the only one that covers the right side of Alberta politics.
That makes it home, perhaps temporarily, for single-issue advocates who worked this convention zealously.
And soon enough, Sunday’s policy debate arrived at resolution No. 30, which says the government “should reinstate parental opt-in consent for any subject of a religious or sexual nature, including enrolment in extracurricular activities/clubs or distribution of any instructional materials/resources related to these topics.”
The gong sounds. Suddenly, it’s about notifying parents whose kids join gay-straight alliances in schools.
Kenney did not want that motion to succeed.
He didn’t speak against it, though; in fact, he never went near the policy debates held over two days.
But his MLAs knew what he wanted. Ric McIver got up and said in his typically blunt way.
“This is about outing gay kids ... don’t be called the Lake of Fire party, I’m begging you.”
He referred to a Wildrose candidate in the 2012 election who’d written a blog post saying homosexuals would burn in an eternal Lake of Fire.
After that came out, the voters turned against Wildrose and the Progressive Conservatives won again.
The hilarious irony in McIver’s plea is that he was then a PC, as delighted by everyone in his party at the fatal Wildrose gaffe.
On Sunday, MLA Jason Nixon also urged delegates to “stop taking the NDP bait.”
But they snapped at it anyway. Fifty-seven per cent of delegates backed the motion.
Kenney has always said he does not want a requirement for parents to be routinely notified. He repeated that Sunday, about a dozen times.
“I do say we don’t believe, and we will not ever take the position that there should be mandatory notification ... they don’t have to (when) joining the press club, so why should they do it joining a GSA?”
Kenney argued that his own position (no notification) was entirely consistent with the resolution, which certainly appears to demand notification.
And that’s OK, Kenney argued, because, “guess what — I’m the leader and I get to interpret the resolution and its relevance to party policy.”
And he added: “I hold the pen” when it comes to the party platform.
McIver followed Kenney to the podium, sheepishly trying to explain why he said the resolution was about “outing gay kids,” when his leader argued it was nothing of the sort.
McIver said he was just trying to show how the NDP would “twist and torque” UCP passage of that item.
Later in the day, another controversial resolution passed, demanding that parents be told of “invasive medical procedures performed on a minor child.”
That was widely seen as requiring parents be told if a girl under 18 years old has an abortion. Or if a child of any age is about to get a vaccination parents don’t agree with.
Amid all this, there was a bizarre flap over safe spaces.
NDP Education Minister David Eggen, signed up as a “non-member observer,” was set to arrive and meet reporters.
NDP operatives said the UCP told them Eggen should not meet the media inside the hotel, because delegates might be enraged by the sight of him, and perhaps pummel him with their resolution books.
Eggen scrummed by the roadside with motorcycles screaming by. He said schools are “more dangerous” for kids because of what the UCP did.
He also said he might claim a refund of the $750 his party paid for him to observe the convention.
No way, said UCP executive director Janice Harrington — she simply told the NDP people it was better for Eggen not to scrum in the hotel lobby with so many people milling around.
“He was welcome to come in any time he likes as a paid observer,” she said.
Eggen didn’t come in. He and his aides sped away into the sunshine.
And Jason Kenney flew to Ottawa to tell a Commons committee that Alberta will kill the carbon tax if he’s elected.
Maybe he’ll be glad of a short break from his truculent, opinionated party. It won’t be easy to tame.