Smith takes aim at Kenney's sovereignty act comments, asks premier to 'respect' leadership contest
Jason Kenney and United Conservative Party leadership hopeful Danielle Smith traded words about her proposed sovereignty act this weekend, with Smith saying the premier should not interfere in the contest.
On Saturday, Kenney called the proposed act "nuts" on his weekly radio show, adding that the legislature passing the act would make the province a "laughingstock."
"The proposal is for Alberta, basically, to ignore and violate the constitution in a way that is unprecedented in Canadian history," Kenney said. "To not enforce the laws of the land, including federal laws, which include the Criminal Code, which is nuts."
Smith, the former Wildrose leader, issued a statement Sunday taking aim at the premier's comments about the act, saying they were "ill-informed" and "disrespectful" toward a "growing majority" of party members that support it.
"If elected to replace him as Leader and Premier, I will work closely and collaboratively with our entire UCP caucus to ensure the Sovereignty Act is drafted, passed, and implemented in accordance with sound constitutional language and principles," Smith added.
In the last few days, a growing number of UCP caucus and cabinet members changed their pledges of support toward Smith, including Labour Minister Kaycee Madu and Travis Toews supporter Pat Rehn. Friday marked the last day party memberships could be bought ahead of the leadership race voting period.
During the radio show, the premier said he wouldn't comment when asked about the shifting allegiances toward Smith.
Later, a caller on the show hoped to get the premier's thoughts on the rhetoric and proposed policy ideas of the campaign.
"I'm just not going to delve into that," Kenney said. "It's not my job."
"I'm not going to get into being the colour commentator on the leadership election."
Once a question on Smith's proposed sovereignty act was posed, Kenney said he would answer it because it was a proposal made "long before there was a leadership election."
He referred to his former principal secretary Howard Anglin's "thoughtful analysis" of the policy, which says the act would be an "economic disaster" as anticipated regulatory uncertainty would push business outside the province.
"(Anglin) refers to it, not as the Alberta Sovereignty Act, but as the Alberta Suicide Act," Kenney said. "There is no doubt in my mind that if the legislature were to pass such a flagrantly unlawful bill, that the lieutenant-governor would not grant it Royal Assent, so it would never become law."
"If a lieutenant-governor were, in the unthinkable circumstance, to grant it Royal Assent, it would immediately be struck down by the courts," the premier added.
"We should be talking about real practical ways to fight unfair Ottawa policies, fight for a stronger Alberta."
A number of political scientists and legal scholars have also questioned the sovereignty act, labelling it as "fundamentally unlawful" and would set Canada's constitutional order on a "dangerous course."
Smith said that the premier and "other 'experts'" should wait to judge the act until they could read it first. In a recent campaign video, Smith says that if Ottawa doesn't "invade our territory," the province would never need to invoke the sovereignty act.
"Albertans are tired of watching Justin Trudeau and Ottawa continuously run over the rights and freedoms of Albertans and they want a leader who will stand and defend our Province without apology," she said. "That is exactly the leader I intend to be.
"I would also urge the Premier to focus on being a voice for Party unity and to respect our Party's democratic leadership process that allows members to select our Leader in an open and transparent selection process without interference from the acting Premier and Leader of the Party," Smith added.
When Kenney first announced his resignation as UCP leader in May, he said he would remain as premier until the party chose a new leader.
On Saturday, Kenney told listeners of the radio show that he was "open" to staying on as Calgary-Lougheed MLA "for at least a period of time" after the leadership result is announced in October.
"I don't want to force a byelection for sure," he said. "But part of that will be up to the next leader."
With a file from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
What Canadians think of the latest Liberal budget
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Her fiance has been in prison for 49 years. She's trying to free him before it's too late
Christine Roess is a retired consultant. Ezra Bozeman has spent the last 49 years in prison, serving a life sentence for a murder he says he didn’t commit. Against the odds, the two fell in love.