The application to recall UCP MLA Nolan Dyck has been approved by Alberta’s Chief Electoral Officer.
Gordon McClure said the recall application met the requirements of the Recall Act, and he issued written notice to the applicant Casey Klein, MLA Dyck, Premier Danielle Smith, and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Ric McIver.
The signature campaign begins Nov. 22 and runs until Feb. 19, with 9,427 eligible electors needed to reach the 60 per cent threshold.
To sign the petition, individuals must have lived in the Grande Prairie electoral division for at least three months before signing and may only sign once. Electronic signatures are not accepted. A registered canvasser must witness each signature and sign as a witness, and must later swear an affidavit affirming, to the best of their knowledge, that the signatories were eligible.
At the time of the application, Klein told MyGrandePrairieNow she feels Dyck has failed to represent all constituents and accused him of prioritizing party policy over community interests.
RELATED STORY: Application submitted to recall Grande Prairie MLA
“I had a personal meeting with Nolan for half an hour earlier in the summer, and it went nowhere. [It was] very one-sided,” Klein said. “I had emailed him prior to asking him to reconsider to not do that, and he did.”
“No elected official should endorse stripping away collective bargaining or the right to strike. Nolan chose power over principle, and he betrayed the working class. He betrayed the workers of Grande Prairie.”
Klein said people from across the political spectrum — not just those who share her views — are frustrated by what she called his disrespect and lack of engagement.
Before filing the recall application, she said she emailed Dyck to warn him: “You have given us no confidence that you’ll ever put the community before your party… The application for the recall petition is the consequence for you refusing to listen.”
In response, Dyck told MyGrandePrairieNow he had met with Klein, listened to her concerns and continued to correspond with her through his office.
“Serving the people of Grande Prairie is an honour and responsibility I take very seriously,” he said. “The recall process should not be used to overturn democratic elections just because an individual disagrees with government policy. Recalls are meant to address breaches of trust, serious misconduct or a sustained failure to represent constituents, not political disagreements.”
He added that he and his UCP colleagues remain focused on growing the economy, lowering taxes and creating opportunities for Albertans.
