Bill 28, The Electoral Divisions Act
November 24, 2010
Mrs. Forsyth: Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the opportunity to speak to Bill 28, the Electoral Divisions Act. We’re all here in this House because we all want what is best for Alberta. I think we all have more in common than out of sync because politics has a way of exaggerating differences. However, I’d like to talk about some of the differences that I believe set me apart from the government on this bill.
As I travel the province, I hear concerns from Albertans. Being in public office allows me a great opportunity to meet many people from all walks of life. One thing they all mention is how out of touch they feel the government is with regular, everyday Albertans. I’m someone that believes I was given two ears and one mouth for a reason, and that’s to listen. When I meet Albertans, I always ask for their solutions because I don’t believe I personally have all the answers. The one solution that is never brought up is more elected members. Albertans – and I dare anyone to take a poll – think there are enough politicians out there, and, quite frankly, why do we need more?
Bill 28 will add four electoral divisions in Alberta: one in Edmonton, two in Calgary, and the fourth will be in Fort McMurray. While the Election Act mandates reviews on a regular basis, it doesn’t require revision. There is nothing in the Election Act that says that you have to change the boundaries or add members to the Legislature. My concern is that the government is doing something to look busy, especially on a subject of such importance, and that’s democracy.
Why does the government feel that they need to look busy? The people of my riding, Calgary-Fish Creek, like all Albertans, just want good government. They want a government that makes sound decisions on the issues that matter to them, like health care and education. From my experience when someone is trying to look busy, it’s because they’re not getting the job done.
Now, coming back to the four new ridings that will be added by this bill, I ask: does more mean better? I’ve always believed in quality, not quantity. It’s hard to believe that by adding four more MLAs to the House, the frustrations felt by Albertans would be addressed. People across the province feel ignored by their government, and increasing the number of MLAs by 5 per cent won’t fix anything. What is going to happen is that we will have a government pat itself on the back because it thinks it’s doing such a great job, when it hasn’t really addressed any of the underlying issues. I have questions about costs. Democracy has a price, but so does a waste of money. There is a balance between sound investment and, quite frankly, throwing away money. Legislative and constituency offices have significant costs associated with them, especially staff. Now, I want to say this, and I want to get it on the record, Mr. Chair. My staff is excellent, and quite frankly they’re worth every penny. The Wildrose caucus, in fact, is doing without a leader’s allowance and limited dollars. Staff isn’t the only obvious cost. The MLAs themselves with their salaries and their allowances are an issue, too. Albertans are upset enough with the raises this government gave its cabinet and the rest of caucus at a time when Albertans are still recovering from the economic recession, and it’s hard to believe that spending millions on a few more members of this House is a sound investment.
Another question posed to me quite often when I travel the province is: why do we need more MLAs when most of them now don’t stand up and do their jobs? In all honesty, I wonder the same thing. Why won’t this government let its caucus do the job it was sent here to do? Every one of us here is in this House to represent the people of their riding. It seems strange that we’re adding to this House when we’re not using what we have. It seems a lot like the health system in this province right now. Beds aren’t being used in the hospitals that aren’t open yet. A lot of money is being spent on new capacity that isn’t going to be used. This is just another example of how this party governs Alberta. They try to look impressive, like they’re making progress, but really, when you step back, everyone asks: “What’s going on here? What is the government thinking?”
My concern as we debate Bill 28 is about democracy, that we’re losing the bigger picture. As my colleague from Fort McMurray- Wood Buffalo says, the people of this province are our bosses. We need to look at what they want and what they deserve. In my mind, it’s terrible when a government blatantly ignores the will of the people, and the will of the people has never indicated that they want more MLAs.
Mr. Chair, I have to say, though – and I want to say it on the record – that I support the amendments and the name change to Dunvegan-Central Peace-Notley. I never had the opportunity to meet Mr. Notley, but I’ve heard a great deal of nice things about the man. I even like the proposed name of Calgary-Klein. I had the opportunity of serving under that Premier from 1993 until he left in 2006, and I can quite frankly say that I’ve never met anyone that I have more respect for or more deeply admire for what he did for this province.
There have been issues on the table about: how dare we name someone when they haven’t passed away? Well, I can tell you that the last time I checked, Premier Lougheed was still here. My mother-in-law happens to sell his wife shoes, and she said that he was quite healthy, to be honest with you.
The previous member talked about . . . [ interjections]
The Deputy Chair: Hon. members, the Member for Calgary-Fish Creek has the floor. Go ahead. You have the floor. I’m just quieting everybody down.
Mrs. Forsyth: You know what, Mr. Chair? I don’t listen to them anyhow when I’m speaking, so it’s okay. Thank you. They’re just rude.
The previous member talked about the differences between rural and urban, and I found that quite interesting when you listened to him because it’s something that we’ve discussed in the Legislature on numerous occasions. I’m an urban MLA, and I know that some of the members around this House are rural MLAs. I challenged one of my colleagues several years ago in regard to the population and the differences between a rural and an urban MLA. The challenge at that time from the hon. member was: “All right, Member for Calgary-Fish Creek, I’ll make you this little bet. You spend a week with me in my rural riding, and then I’ll spend a week with you in your urban riding.”
I’m not a farm girl by any means, but I certainly got an education in regard to the workings of a rural riding. The member talked about the driving, and I found that interesting. Then I reciprocated, and I had my rural friend come and spend a week with me in an urban setting, where we’re dealing with twice as many people in some of the populations. They were quite taken aback at the work that an urban MLA has to do, especially when you have an urban MLA from Calgary or, for that matter, Edmonton – it could be Red Deer or Lethbridge – and the amount of events that that particular individual has to attend. It could be one in a thousand. I mean, Mr. Chair, I know that you probably get as many invitations as I do on a normal day, trying to accommodate some of the things that people want you to attend, if it’s this function or that function. I think it was probably a rude awakening for both of us because of that dispute between rural and urban.
What I particularly found fascinating from the member is in regard to his comments about electronics and technology. I’m finding that at my age – and I’ve struggled with it – we’re going into an electronic and technological world. I’m one of these people that has struggled and, with the incredible help from my colleague from Airdrie-Chestermere, launched my web page and really started getting into Twitter, trying to communicate with people on that aspect. It’s been fascinating, absolutely fascinating, the people you can connect with. Even if you’re not face to face, hon. member, you’re still connecting with them.
You have an opportunity to connect with people. I have been incredibly blessed and surprised at the number of hits that I’m getting on my web page and the number of people that are visiting my web page and the number of people that are commenting on my website, which takes a process to go onto my web page. There’s a contact for me, and they have to fill out their names and addresses and things like that. But they’re doing that because they truly, truly care about what’s happening. Electronics and the phone and e-mails and Twitter are fascinating processes. I think that in the last two days – you know yourself, Chair, the hours that we’ve been putting in at the Legislature late into the night. I think on Thursday and Friday of last week we had received something like 326 or 356 e-mails on the Alberta Parks Act. On Monday and Tuesday I think we received another 400. That’s just on one act.
You take the Alberta Health Act. Hundreds and hundreds of phone calls and e-mails have come in, to the point where – we’ve always responded personally to our e-mails – our staff at this particular time in Calgary are a little overwhelmed with trying to answer all of the people that are so upset in regard to what’s happening on our health care and with the booting out of the Member for Edmonton-Meadowlark. We’re trying diligently to respond to them all personally. You know, you do have that touch. They do appreciate the response back because we get them responding back saying: thank you very much.
Mr. Chair, I’ve been honoured to be in this Legislature since 1993. I can tell you in all honesty that not one single person that I’ve ever talked to, whether they’re happy with me or angry with me, in all the years that I’ve campaigned and all the years I door-knocked – and I door-knock every spring, from May till October – has said that we need more MLAs. Never has anyone ever said to me: we need more MLAs. In fact, if anything they’ve said: there are too many of you. Then they point to other provinces which have a higher population and fewer MLAs.
When the boundaries commission came out, they were somewhat taken aback. The constituents of Calgary-Fish Creek are a very vocal group. They’re not a one-issue constituency. They’re highly educated. They’re well versed on the issues. We try and keep in touch with them in the monthly community newsletter that we write in. I always write an article on my web page called What’s on Your Mind? We tally all of the votes or the phone calls, the e-mails, the tweets we get, the one-on-one contact of people coming into the office, the people that stop me in the grocery store. You know yourself, Mr. Chair, that there is not a lot of privacy for an MLA. Then we collate them all. Up pop the issues on the graph in regard to what the issues are.
I can tell you that when this discussion started on the electoral boundaries, that was a hot issue. The people that converse with us at no time said that they wanted Bill 28 to have an increase in MLAs. So it was important for me on behalf of the constituents of Calgary-Fish Creek to get on the record that I do not support increasing the number of MLAs. I was fortunate in my riding to not see a lot of changes in my boundaries other than to pick up some more people in my riding, which, of course, like everybody else, is new introductions of yourself, new door-knocking, and introducing people. We’ll do that, and we’ll continue to connect with the people that we consider are in our new boundaries.
Not only that, Mr. Chair. Of course, for me there’s the new challenge of campaigning in the last several elections as a PC candidate and now campaigning as the Wildrose Alliance candidate, which I’m truly looking forward to at the doors. We spent a lot of time this year door-knocking and had a very, very warm reception. The people of Calgary-Fish Creek, quite frankly, when I did cross the floor, somewhat took me aback and surprised me by the overwhelming response that I got on making that decision. But elections can change very, very dramatically. As I said at the press conference on the 4th of January, when the Member for Airdrie- Chestermere and I were in front of national media, we would live with the consequences of our decision. We would also hope that if this was what it would take to get democracy back into the system, we were okay with that.
Incredibly privileged to be able to have the honour to have my buddy from Airdrie-Chestermere beside me in this process. We found it interesting, to say the least, probably a lot more interesting than what our fellow Member for Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo or what the poor guy from Edmonton-Meadowlark is going through right now, to be, both of them, kicked out of a caucus that – you know what, Mr. Chair? – quite frankly has lost its way. I can’t say it any more.
In my mind there is absolutely no need – absolutely no need – for more MLAs in this province. It’s unfortunate that the decision was made to do that. I think that the commission, with what they were tasked to do, did a good job on the boundaries. As I indicated earlier, my boundaries weren’t affected.
I think we’re going to have to start getting into this century in regard to what’s happening electronically, what’s happening, again, with e-mails, Twitter. I can tell you that I spent a great deal of my time on committee work on the phone when we went through the FOIP legislation. In fact, I’d probably say that 90 per cent of the committee work that I have done has been on the phone, and I’ve found it very useful. I found it less expensive, quite frankly, than for me to drive down here, claim the mileage for the gas, claim the night for us to do it. I felt that I was being included by everyone who was attending the meeting or that was physically here. I think it’s something that we’re going to look at and have to do more of when we have all of the responsibilities that we do as MLAs.
What’s interesting to me, Mr. Chair, is that when I went home last weekend, a couple of my constituents commented to me that they hadn’t seen me around over the last several days. They also indicated that I was looking a little tired. So I can hardly wait to go home this weekend to see what they have to say about me. Their comments were to me that they didn’t even know that we were in session. I can guarantee you that probably – I don’t know. It would be interesting to take a poll of what percentage of Albertans even know that we’re sitting in the Legislature till all hours of the evening.
While I think that’s an incredible part of democracy, to be able to have the opportunity to debate legislation and, quite frankly, Mr. Chair, to debate legislation as long as it takes, getting everything on the record, whether we go for days on end or anything – it’s an important part of the democratic process for us to have the opportunity to speak.
It’s also an opportunity for Albertans to get their feedback through their individual MLAs. I can tell you that last time I counted, I think I’ve got – and this is just from today – 60 e-mails that people wanted us to read into the record when we’re debating the Parks Act. I can’t even remember; I think it’s Bill 29. Yes. Each of us has been given probably anywhere from 60 to 80 e-mails. People have requested to get their voice heard.
It goes back to what’s happening currently in the Health Act and what has happened, actually, to the Member for Edmonton- Meadowlark. People want to voice their opinions in regard to what they consider the democratic process.
I am going to end, Mr. Chair, on the fact that, again, I think it’s important to reiterate that the constituents of Calgary-Fish Creek and the MLA representing the constituents of Calgary-Fish Creek and as one of the four members of the Wildrose we want it on the record that we do not support the increase of MLAs in this province and never have, that our voices as MLAs are to listen to the people that have elected us, and they’ve clearly, clearly articulated that they do not want more MLAs.
I also want it on the record that I appreciate very much the Member for Calgary-Currie bringing forward the amendment in regard to honouring Mr. Notley. I think that’s a wonderful thing for the Legislature to do. As I indicated earlier I have . . . [Mrs. Forsyth’s speaking time expired]