Alberta UCP members voting on controversial policy proposals for AGM

Alberta United Conservative Party members are deciding on the policy resolutions they will be voting to send to the floor for the annual general meeting. While the policy resolutions were sent to Alberta UCP members through private links, the Western Standard was able to obtain one to examine them on Friday. Once UCP members have decided on the resolutions most important to them, those ones will be sent to the AGM’s floor where they will decide whether or not to adopt them during it on November 2. Resolutions are submitted through a constituency association (CA). They can be about adding or modifying a policy to the UCP Constitution. While the motions are non-binding, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith might follow through on adopting them. Some of the topics of the controversial policies are abortion, fluoride, and parental rights. Here are some of the motions the Western Standard anticipates will cause controversy if passed. • The Calgary-Lougheed UCP CA has put forward a resolution to protect female spaces and categories for biological females and their young children. “The United Conservative Party believes females deserve and require the safety, privacy, and dignity of spaces and categories reserved solely for them and their young children,” said the CA. “Women’s washrooms, changerooms, shelters, and other female spaces are places where women are the most vulnerable physically and psychologically.” It said the presence of males in these spaces presents a safety issue and a danger to women and girls. Males are being permitted access to them based on self-declaration or identification as females. • The Cardston-Siksika UCP CA has put forward a resolution to protect minors from exposure to sexually explicit performances and events receiving public funding. “The primary motivation behind this policy is the protection of minors from content that may be inappropriate or harmful to their development,” said the CA. “Public indecent exposure by topless women and bottomless men have historically been unacceptable behaviour and could include events with sexually explicit attire and demeanour.” Research and psychological studies suggest early exposure to sexually explicit or inappropriate content can have adverse effects on young people’s mental and emotional well-being. It said the policy aims to mitigate these risks by ensuring only minors are exposed to content suitable for their ages, fostering a safe, healthy environment for their growth and development. • To try to fight Marxism and communism, the Drayton Valley-Devon CA has introduced a resolution to have the UCP amend teacher qualifications so every pre-service teacher takes one university three-credit course about their origins and consequences. “One of the current standards set out by the AB Education’s Accountability Survey when measuring the atmosphere of a school is the students’ attitudes towards being active citizens in our democracy; thus, through implication, teachers are required to encourage students to be active citizens in their communities and government,” said the CA. “To be an active member in a community and to move it forward in a positive manner requires a knowledge of the past.” It said a three-credit course in the history of Marxism and the rise of communism detailing their evils contrasting them with the superiority of capitalism should be in the wheelhouse when asking students to engage in democracy.• The Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock CA has put forward a resolution to stop funding third trimester abortions except when a woman’s physical health is in jeopardy. “There is no limitation on when an abortion can be legally obtained and funded in Canada and Alberta,” said the CA. “The only two countries that have no limit are Canada and North Korea.” The later in the pregnancy an abortion is performed, the CA said there is more of a risk to the mother. By bringing forward this policy, it said it would encourage earlier abortions when they are desired and allow for plenty of time for decisions to be made before the end of the second trimester. Smith said in May her government would not be bringing forward any American-style restrictions on abortion. READ MORE: UPDATED: Smith says ‘no’ means ‘no’ to abortion restrictions“No,” said Smith. A reporter asked her again if she would bring in abortion restrictions. • The Calgary-Fish Creek, Highwood, Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland, and Sherwood Park CAs brought forward a resolution to ban COVID-19 mRNA vaccines in all age groups in Alberta. “Albertans should always have the opportunity to choose the best medical intervention for themselves and their children; however, because suppression of medical expert opinions and research prevented Albertans from making informed medical decisions, there must be an immediate moratorium on the COVID-19 vaccination until such time that transparent information is imparted to Albertans,” said the CAs. “The COVID-19 mRNA vaccination was introduced into the Canadian market via emergency use authorization.” When COVID-19 vaccines were coming out, they alleged proper research and testing was not done to ensure safety and efficacy, which resulted in an unprecedented number of vaccine injuries and deaths. They added harms such as these should never be a routine outcome for a third party or system at the expense of Albertans. • The Leduc-Beaumont CA has introduced a resolution to ensure all medications, treatments, and surgeries needed for gender changes are costed as elective cosmetic procedures directed to the requested patient. “These are in the realm of cosmetic surgery, and costs should not be placed on all taxpayers,” said the CA. • In what certain people might interpret as conspiratorial, the Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul, Calgary-Buffalo, and Strathcona-Sherwood Park CAs have introduced a resolution prohibiting without the expressed written consent of the Alberta government the release of chemicals into the atmosphere to control temperature, weather, or sunlight intensity. “The Government of Alberta and the Federal Government have jurisdiction over the environment in the Province of Alberta,” said the CAs. “Currently, weather modification by Insurance companies (cloud seeding to mitigate hail) is allowed and is common knowledge amongst the public.” At the moment, they said some UCP members are concerned about weather modification happening in their jurisdiction without their consent. They pointed out the resolution would reinforce the desire to have full transparency and consent over any weather modifications. • The Calgary-Peigan CA brought forward a resolution to protect Alberta’s waterways and lakes from municipalities wanting to introduce inorganic fluoride. “Additives to our water supply will inevitably end up in our wastewater system, then into the Bow River watershed,” said the CA. “As such, the provincial government should be consulted when applying inorganic fluoride to any municipal water source anywhere in Alberta.” The purpose of adding fluoride is to help prevent tooth decay. It said fluoride is unneeded for a single bodily function. Calgarians revisited the issue of whether or not to add fluoridation to Calgary’s water in 2021, with 62% of them voting yes and 38% voting no.READ MORE: Calgarians vote yes on equalization, Tories to SenateCalgary pulled fluoride from the water supply in 2011. A study found decay in children’s teeth had risen by 65% a few years later. It received a report in 2020 pegging the cost to add fluoride at $30.1 million over 20 years.• While parental rights was a hot topic at the last UCP AGM, the Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul, Cardston-Siksika, Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, and Sherwood Park CAs have come out with a resolution to support a parental rights bill that ensures parents have the main control of their children. “If a Bill of Parental Rights is to be drafted, it is of the utmost importance to ensure parental rights are not perceived to be subject of government approval or granted to us by the government, instead of their acknowledgment of this natural/God-given right,” said the CAs. “If we the people allow governments to believe they have the power to legitimize these rights in the first place, we may find these same authorities (i.e. another government) then believing that they have the power to make aspects of these very rights illegitimate.” They said a mature minor designation has risen and given justification to circumvent parental rights before minors reach the age of majority. In response, they acknowledged this policy will re-establish the primacy and natural standing of parental rights and ensure the government cannot undermine the role of the family. Alberta UCP members voted at the AGM in November to support a resolution to require teachers, schools, and school boards obtain written consent for minors wanting to identify as a different gender.READ MORE: Alberta UCP members pass resolution demanding parental consent for gender changesHowever, the resolution was not binding on the Alberta government.“Our board brought this resolution forward because the 13-year-old grandchild of one of our board members and seven of her school friends all decided they identified as the opposite sex they were born,” said an Edmonton-West Henday UCP member.

Alberta UCP members voting on controversial policy proposals for AGM

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