#provincial politics

[allthecanadianpolitics]

A bill that would empower the Alberta government to remove elected municipal officials or strike down local bylaws is an "attack on local democracy," says the capital city's mayor.

Bill 20, the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, was announced Thursday and makes dozens of amendments to the Local Authorities Election Act and the Municipal Government Act (MGA).

 "I don't know who has asked for this," Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi told CTV News Edmonton Friday. "I don't know what problem the province is trying to solve when there are so many other priorities that they should be focused on." [...]

"When the province writes laws, it puts it through the legislative system where it can be debated," said Eric Adams, a constitutional law expert at the University of Alberta.

"When a law hands that power to the cabinet, then that legislative scrutiny falls completely away and now it's the cabinet themselves," he continued. "Realistically, the premier and the premier's office exercises the most of that power." [...]

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Tagging: @newsfromstolenland, @abpoli, @vague-humanoid

Notes from the poster @el-shab-hussein: Provincial governments are always pissed about federal controlling just about anything within provincial politics, but now they also want to control municipal ones. This is what I mean when I say this is just a repeat of U.S. 'states' rights' nonsense which is exclusively used to screw over municipalities into even sharper neoliberalism.

[autumnoakes]

i know that the US election in november is important and a lot is at stake, but it's also important to keep up with politics at a more local level if you're not USAmerican

[amemoryofwot]

Leftist Twitter is still going around in circles over likeable candidates and policy and the ethics of abstaining and and and

Meanwhile right wing Twitter is commending each others’ efforts to use social media and boots-on-the-ground campaigning whip votes within swing states like Pennsylvania

The left will shred each other apart over ideological differences before they actually get anything done

[froggybangbang]

Fellow Canadians, if you are as worried as I am about what's happening in South Canada, I urge you to try to understand our own government.

We all know the Libs aren't getting in next year. People have forgotten why we protested-vote against the Conservatives all those years ago and the new findings on shifty usage of money (honestly nothing new here, look at the end of the last time the Libs were in power) and idk about your bubble, but mine wants to protest-vote to a party that litterally has no chance of getting elected (The Bloc is only for our Province, it's a stupid choice imo, but people seem to think wishfull thinking will work in this case🙄 go off i guess, but there'sno way to get majority with the bloc and last time we've had a minority government it didn'tlast 4 years before imploding.)

Here's two video to get you started:

This one is Ontario based and goes into the basics of who is in charge of what in our politics. You can apply what is relevant to your own province.

That one is pretty long but goes in deep. Good to know stuff but not vital, just thought I'd put it here because i haven't seen another video doing the same in so much details.

And this one explains what's happening right now, and what it actually mean.

I personally don't always align with JJ (mainly because he hates French speakers and quebecers, which i am) but it feels more like a level headed conversation on these subjects, rather than hitting your head against the wall, and i think that's a good thing to have in your life.

And last of all, please read about the party you're going to vote for. Not just their general lines, but look at what they did during the last 4 years. If they had minority votes, look at what they tried to pass, on top of the on the ground actions their reps have done. If they hadn't enough of a weight, then look at their litteral actions: where they on the ground? Did they help push a petition that is close to your heart? That sort of thing.

[deadlyhimbo]

A thought for folks who live in functionally-two-party democracies*, courtesy of current Canadian politics:

I live in British Columbia, a province that has been a leftist stronghold for so long that it has been a two-party race between the Liberals (generally centre-left at the federal level, but decidedly centre-right or even right wing at the provincial level) and NDP (leftists) for *over 50 years*. There hasn't been a Conservative Party to speak of in my lifetime.

We had an election this year, and the Conservatives did the unthinkable: they became a viable provincial party (thanks to the combined effect of rising right-wing populism and the absolute implosion of the BC Liberal Party) and have come within a hairs-breadth of winning.

How close did they get?

So close that it's been over a week since the election ended, and we still don't know the final result, because the leadership of our province has come down to absentee ballots and recounts.

A party needs 47 seats to form a majority government (i.e. one where they control the majority of votes in the legislature, and thus can set policy even without the cooperation of other parties), and more seats than anyone else to form a minority government (where they lead, but need to cooperate with others to pass any legislation). It's also possible to form a coalition with another party to gain leadership together.

This morning, we were here:

And some of those races have been jaw-droppingly close:

Over the course of today, we've been watching the closest riding, Surrey-Guildford, flip to the NDP.

It's a change that, on its own, determines if the NDP is a majority or minority government.

It's been a fucking nail biter.

11am

12:45pm

1:30pm

2:30pm

The shape of the government for millions of people hangs on a bare handful of votes.

Your vote matters.

Every. Single. Vote. Matters.

I know people who didn't vote because they couldn't imagine the possibility of a Conservative victory in BC. We've been a "safe" leftist stronghold for so long that even experienced politicians have been blindsided by the events of this election. Nobody thought this could happen here.

Please don't assume your vote won't count.

Please remember that voting is a political action that has concrete, practical consequences, and not an act of self-expression.

Do you hate living in a two-party state? Me too. So push for electoral reform. Advocate for proportional representation, or ranked choice voting, or any other model that isn't FPTP. Help third parties grow and extend their influence outside of election season.

But please vote with an understanding of the system as it currently functions. Taking your vote out of the equation by abstaining or voting for an unviable third party just makes everyone else's votes have more weight. It's an abdication of the small but very, very, real power you have.

Vote.

---

* i.e. places where there are 3+ parties, but only two of them are remotely close to winning, and where First Past The Post (FPTP) vote counting means that a vote for a third party/independent has the same practical effect as a throwaway/protest vote

[st-just]

Shoutout to my provincial government for being bullied into actually doing something, I guess. Unit number is comically small but 'build public housing' was entirely out of the overton window like three months ago so y'know. Progress.

[fireladybuckley]

I don’t usually get too political on this blog, but…

If you’re from Alberta, for the love of all that is good in humanity, please go and VOTE.

Danielle Smith wants to privatize healthcare, remove funding from programs that actively help people, blames late stage cancer diagnosis patients for not noticing their condition sooner, among numerous other terrible things. And true to the usual UCP bull, she cares more about money and oil and trades more than the actual people of the province.

She is a huge admirer of Ron DeSantis and thinks he’s doing a great job, which I’m sure anyone from the US and especially Florida can tell you is NOT a good thing!!

Please… if you want a premier that at least cares about people and not just money, vote NDP.

Rachel Notley is far from perfect, but she is a hell of a lot better than the alternative. She at least actually cares about people, and cares about the marginalized in our society. She may not balance the budget, but she will fund education, healthcare and other important things, rather than funnelling everything into a dying economy and ignoring the citizens struggling.

If you don’t want hate and cold disregard to rule our province for the next 4 years, vote NDP. Liberal, Green and any other party don’t stand a chance. This is UCP vs NDP, period.

Vote orange if you care about the people around you.

Thanks for listening. Let’s all cross our fingers that tonight’s vote isn’t the start of rights being taken away. 🤞🏻🤞🏻

[originalleftist]

A Reminder From Canada of the Importance of Voting:

So if you happen to be following the Provincial Election in British Columbia Canada, the current tally is:

40 seats called for the NDP.

40 for the Conservatives.

2 for the Greens.

NDP leading in 6.

Cons leading in 5.

47 needed for a majority.

NDP is leading the popular vote by 1%.

Nearly all votes have been counted.

The election may well come down to one seat where the NDP is up by 23 votes, or 0.1%.

YOU DO NOT WANT IT TO BE THIS CLOSE WHEN THE STAKES ARE THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES. Especially since if it's like that in the US, the SCOTUS that gave Trump Presidential immunity will probably decide it.

[woodfrogs]

i need to stop reading about canadian political news on here because people are soooo uninformed/misinformed and nobody ever corrects them and im too scared to do it myself and it drives me a little crazy 😭

[electric-butter-slug]

Happy Depressing Election Results Day to all who celebrate. I've changed my mind on my stance about politics because after a bunch of reflection, there actually IS a wrong answer when you vote for a party that promises to erase trans rights on day one. I'll be smoking a fat one and hoping it was all a nightmare 👍

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Following the sudden departure this week of Québec Solidaire's co-spokesperson, Émilise Lessard-Therrien(opens in a new tab), two of the party's staffers have resigned.

Communications director Gabrielle Brais-Harvey and assistant general manager, Keena Grégoire, have left their positions, Noovo Info(opens in a new tab) reported on Friday.

"Ms. Brais-Harvey and Mr. Grégoire have contributed their heart and energy to our party for many years, whether as activists or employees. They have been dedicated to helping the Solidaire project and ideas take root across Quebec, and have helped bring our organization to where it is today," said QS general manager Myriam Fortin, in an email.

In a Facebook post, Brais-Harvey said that after 12 years serving the party, it was time to find another person "who has the energy to lead the party through these turbulent times. This is no longer my case." [...]

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Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

[farsight-the-char]

Thank Merciful Fuck.

[painted-doe]

My province has an election this weekend, and. Uh.

It’s spread up here too.

[jayswing101]

Heads up for anyone living in Ontario, Canada. So it turns out we are living in the bad place 🙃 We have to turn up for this y'all. We turn up for this, and then we all go hunt the Ontario PC party for sport to show them how wrong they were for thinking that literally anyone would want private healthcare. Like wtf. How is this even a question???? Obviously the answer is "get fucked Douglas, no one wants your stupid ass private healthcare"

Anyway here's the link: https://www.publichospitalvote.ca/

Idk how many people from Ontario are even on tumblr but. Please reblog in case this is the thing that makes someone aware that the referendum to save our healthcare is happening!!!

[abirddogmoment]

hold on, we're having a bird dog moment

[the-quotable-alberta-hansard]

May 29, 2024

Ms de Jonge: I have the opportunity to rise today on the one-year anniversary of the UCP election victory, but this was not merely a victory of a political party but a declaration by regular, common-sense Albertans that they do not want to see our province descend into the dual swamps of wokeness and socialism. It was a firm sign that the message of fear and division trumpeted by the NDP is not what the people of our province desire, and it was a great reminder that hope and confidence in the people of Alberta is always the right policy.