Controlling Everything Everywhere All At Once

NDP's Oscar-winning film inspired catch phrase captures the UCP moment in Alberta politics

“Danielle Smith wants to control everything, everywhere, all at once…”

In the middle of the weekly chaos of Alberta politics, a catch phrase inspired by an Academy Award winning film has captured one of the driving themes of Alberta politics today.

“Danielle Smith wants to control everything. Pensions, police, health care, schools, local councils. Any dollar spent anywhere in the province, and any decision made by anyone. Everything,” NDP MLA Kyle Kasawski first said in an April 29 press release.

Kasawski is the rookie MLA from Sherwood Park who became the opposition’s sole Municipal Affairs critic when co-critic Sarah Hoffman joined the NDP leadership race earlier this year.

Sherwood Park MLA Kyle Kasawski (source: Kyle Kasawski / Facebook)

While Municipal Affairs can sometimes be a sleepy file, on both the ministerial and critic side, it has been front and centre over the past month as Premier Danielle Smith and Minister Ric McIver rein in municipal and university funding agreements with the federal government and expand the provincial cabinet’s power to fire locally elected officials and overturn municipal bylaws.

Calgary-Bhullar-McCall NDP MLA and Justice critic Irfan Sabir repeated the line days later in response to Bill 21, Emergency Statutes Amendment Act, which would expand the provincial government’s powers during states of emergency like wildfires or floods, and move Alberta’s next election from May 2027 to October 2027.

“Bill 21 shows Danielle Smith wants to, once again, control everything, everywhere, all at once, with zero consultation with key stakeholders before introducing increased control for the Premier’s office,” Sabir said in another press release.

Whether this particular talking point sticks remains to be seen, but centralizing control without consulting the people who are impacted seems to be the UCP government’s default mode since it was re-elected last May.

As Wildrose Party leader in the 2010s, Smith positioned herself as the champion of regionalization and decentralization, so her government’s enthusiasm in implementing a centralization agenda might have given some Albertans a bit of whiplash (but it hasn’t hurt the UCP in the polls or the coffers).

Sweeping changes giving the provincial government more power over locally-elected municipal leaders is just the UCP’s latest legislative move. Already in motion are plans create the framework for an Alberta police force, leave the Canada Pension Plan, and cut-short any arms-length distance between the government and Alberta Health Services.

The evidence that Smith’s UCP is consolidating power also extends to who it is hiring in important government roles.

Since last year, we’ve seen the unusual appointments of a former Wildrose MLA, a former premier’s principal secretary, and a UCP donor as deputy ministers.

Also hard to ignore is the unprecedented high-profile public role that Smith’s own Chief of Staff, Marshall Smith, is playing in driving the government’s addictions and mental health agenda. (Listen to Mr. Smith’s recent interview on the Hotel Pacifico Podcast).

Mr. Smith’s public role has raised a lot eyebrows and even some senior UCP staffers have started referring to him as their “spiritual guide” on addictions issues.

And, just last week, the appointment of Shawn McLeod as Alberta’s new Ethics Commissioner drew some serious criticism. McLeod is a lawyer and former deputy minister who ran for the UCP nomination in Edmonton-Riverview ahead of the 2019 election and, according to Elections Alberta, donated $1,548.75 to the UCP in 2017 and 2018. He also apparently recently worked on a “special project” in Premier Smith’s office.

On McLeod’s connections to the UCP, Postmedia columnist Don Braid asked “what the hell?" Does Premier Danielle Smith even care about the impression the government makes?”