A Grande Prairie city councillor is sounding off on what he believes was misleading information about an additional vote on the same day as the municipal election. On Wednesday, the provincial government announced that Albertans will elect three Senate nominees in a separate ballot on October 18th.
In a tweet Wednesday evening, Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Kaycee Madu suggested that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hold off on appointing Alberta’s senate replacements until after the election, saying the province has a “strong tradition of electing their representatives.” Minister Madu has since clarified his remarks, recognizing that only the prime minister can appoint a Senator and electors will only be endorsing their picks.
However, Grande Prairie City Councillor Dylan Bressey says the process should have been clearer from the offset.
“The Senate elections aren’t actually directly electing a senator to office. Instead it’s making a recommendation to the prime minister, and that’s fine, and maybe a worthwhile process,” he says. “But, if the minister insists on ramming federal and provincial issues alongside local elections, then [he] can at least be honest about what he is doing.”
Bressey, who has been critical of other proposed changes to the Municipal Elections Act, including the potential to allow changes to financial contribution caps to be lifted, believes more potential partisanship in local politics is simply unwelcomed.
“Usually, municipal politics is about taking pragmatic approaches to improving our community, not about fighting for the right team.”
A referendum vote over equalization payments and formulas will also be held on October 18th.