Bill 29, Alberta Parks Act

November 22, 2010

Mrs. Forsyth: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do say that’s a tough act to follow after listening intently.

Mr. Speaker, I’m going to be really brief here. I want to stand up in regard to the amendment that has been brought before us in regard to hoisting the bill. I have to say that I support that. I have been honoured to be a member of this House for a great period of time.

Mr. Boutilier: Since 1993.

Mrs. Forsyth: Since 1993. Nothing like aging you. I happen to be the member that carries the name of Calgary-Fish Creek, which I’m incredibly proud of, a provincial park in an urban setting. I can tell you that nothing – nothing – sets the constituents off more than a subject about: don’t touch our park in Calgary-Fish Creek. Then it carries on to other parks in this wonderful, wonderful province.

People have, as my colleague from Calgary-Glenmore said, inundated us with e-mails. I, like him, have probably received well over 300 e-mails. I also have had the opportunity to get people to respond on Twitter and Facebook. And they have responded on Facebook. They’re also responding on my web page, which means they have a bit of work to do because to respond to my web page, they have to fill out a contact sheet so that we know exactly where they’re coming from, and we have received tons of e-mails on my web page also.

I think what bothers me most about Bill 29 and what people are telling us is the lack of consultation. In fact, it’s been quite shocking to people that prior they felt that there was consultation done. It’s the ministerial power that has all of a sudden been granted to a minister to be able to make all of these changes and then just come up with this: well, trust me. Well, I can tell you as a former member of that government for many years and crossing over to the Wildrose in January that “trust me” doesn’t work. It just doesn’t work.

We can see, again, what’s happened today in regard to when the Member for Edmonton-Meadowlark took on the “trust me” and spoke out on behalf of emergency and was reassured by the Premier and the minister last week that as an emergency physician they were willing to listen to him. Now we see where we are today, where he has been booted out of cabinet. You know, if the minister could show to us the evidence of what consultation was done, I would probably feel a little . . .

The Deputy Speaker: On the hoist amendment?

Mrs. Forsyth: Yes, and I’m going to be speaking on this bill again You know, Mr. Speaker, I need to get on the record that Calgary- Fish Creek does support the hoist amendment but quite frankly does not support Bill 29 as it’s written. We will be providing some amendments, and I’m sure that in working with the opposition members, we will be talking about more amendments. But as the bill is written, and as has been explained before, the bill is flawed. It is seriously flawed. I can’t understand, when the government talks about open and accountable and they talk about the love of the land, why they would bring a piece of legislation that, in my mind, is so flawed. Actually, it’s to the point that it’s ridiculous, and they want people in this Assembly other than the government side to, first of all, support the piece of legislation. What’s more surprising to me than anything is that they want Albertans to buy into this piece of what I would consider crappy legislation. On that, I will sit down, and I will listen to some of my colleagues and hear what they have to say.

The Deputy Speaker: Standing Order 29(2)(a) allows for five minutes. The hon. Member for Calgary-Varsity.

Mr. Chase: Yes. A question to the hon. Member for Calgary-Fish Creek. The hon. members of this House have seen me stand up throughout the past week – and I would have stood up again today given the opportunity – tabling concerns over Bill 29 that I have received not only from Albertans but from throughout North America and across Europe over concerns about the loss of Alberta’s pristine wilderness and its governance. My questions to the hon. Member for Calgary-Fish Creek: how important in terms of expressing concerns is the tabling process, and will members of the Wildrose Party be tabling concerns that individuals have sent to them to express their abhorrence of the moving from legislation into regulation that Bill 29 represents?

Mrs. Forsyth: Well, I would suggest, Member, that probably a lot of the tablings that you’ve already done we’re in receipt of because I know that on some of the ones that I’ve got here, you’ve been CCed. So I would gather that probably a lot of the e-mails and letters and phone calls that you have already tabled we are in receipt of. I can certainly see that you’ve been CCed on a lot of the ones that we have. Will we be tabling the e-mails or the letters or the phone calls we received? You know, I don’t want to be critical, but I think there are other things that we could better spend our time on than the tabling, but we will continue to speak out on behalf of the e-mails, the phone calls, and the letters that we have received.

The Deputy Speaker: The hon. Member for Calgary-Varsity.

Mr. Chase: Thank you. Again to the hon. Member for Calgary-Fish Creek: do you think it’s important that people’s voices, specifically attributed voices, be heard in this Assembly? Are you worried that that ability to have individuals’ concerns expressed will be lost with Bill 29 moving from legislation to regulation?

Mrs. Forsyth: Mr. Speaker, I understand where this hon. member is going, and I appreciate what he’s trying to do. As I explained, I’ve been a member of this Assembly for many, many years. I have no problem tabling anything if the person who’s writing me or phoning me says: I want you to specifically table something. I will be tabling something in this Legislature on Wednesday at the request of the people that I have met with that wanted me to specifically table something. I, quite frankly, as a member of the opposition and, I’m sure, this member of an opposition have not got the time, with the budget that we have been given by the members of this Legislature and by Members’ Services, for the staff to take the time to phone all of the individuals that have written me and emailed me to ask for their permission to table. We have staff right now, our two little researchers, working hours and hours and hours trying to provide us with at least briefing notes and maybe some half-speeches.

Again, I appreciate where he’s going. I have no problem tabling on behalf of people that have asked me to table, but for the people that have e-mailed me or written, I’m not tabling without their permission.