KINSELLA: Alberta Premier Danielle Smith picking fight with Canada to get re-elected

The Trudeau government has gone too far, this time.

Their proposed law, which we are just learning about, is far worse than what anyone had expected. It is shocking, in fact.

Justin Trudeau’s office blandly says his new law is designed to “protect Canada from legislation or policies that are harmful to Confederation.” But it is much, much more than that. And it is far worse.

Here is a summary of what the so-called Federalism Act would do:

– Any provincial law or regulation the Trudeau cabinet dislikes can be overturned. All that is required is some ill-defined “harm” to Canada. As the Trudeau cabal see it.

– The bill would empower Trudeau’s cabinet to order federal agencies — departments, boards and employees — to simply ignore provincial laws and regulations. Go ahead, disobey any provincial law — whatever it may be about — that the Trudeau gang dislike.

– The proposed law would give the federal cabinet unlimited power to bypass the traditional legislative process — and amend whatever law or regulation they see fit. Provinces would not be consulted, and the House of Commons would be ignored.

– Any law, at any level, that the Trudeau cabinet dislikes can be repealed or tossed out — just like that. At the federal level, the provincial level, the municipal level: cabinet’s power would be supreme.

– The Federalism Act would allegedly give the Trudeau cabinet supremacy over decisions of the courts, as well. If cabinet dislikes what a provincial judge has ruled, they will able to overrule it.

– Finally, “any law” that Trudeau and his team consider “harmful” — and, again, no one has defined that word, yet — can be summarily tossed out. It doesn’t matter what a premier or a province thinks. It’ll be gone.

Shocking, right? Appalling, isn’t it? A big, big surprise that such a thing is happening in Canada.

Except, as some of you have probably figured out by now, the surprise is this: Justin Trudeau and his government don’t have, or plan, any “Federalism Act.” I just made that up.

What I didn’t make up, however, is this: the Alberta government is doing all of those things enumerated above. They’re real, and they’re aimed at Canada itself. And they’re found in Premier Danielle Smith’s Alberta Sovereignty Act. She unveiled it earlier this week.

All of the things described above are being done by Smith and her rogue government — not Justin Trudeau. By her, not him.

Can you imagine the hue and cry, if the Liberal Party leader were to introduce a bill that would emasculate the provinces in that way? Can you imagine the outrage and the opposition?

It’s early days, but the reaction to Smith’s clearly-unconstitutional — that is to say, clearly illegal — Sovereignty Act has been mostly limited to academics and media pundits. But the reaction that Smith desired the most hasn’t happened yet. Yet.

The vandals who make up Danielle Smith’s inner circle, you see, know that their Sovereignty Act is unconstitutional. They’ve admitted as much, on the record.

So what are they up to, then?

Smith’s gang want a confrontation with Justin Trudeau and his government. They want a fight.

So far, Trudeau — wisely — isn’t offering one. He’s almost offered a Trudeau-esque shrug, saying little. He’s keeping his powder dry.

So, too, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre — he has said little about Smith’s gutting of the Rule of Law, and Confederation. He knows that, if he were to become prime minister, a law like Smith’s — passed, say, by the New Democrat government in B.C., or the Liberal government in Newfoundland and Labrador — would create a very big problem. For him.

So the federal leaders wait. But Danielle Smith, Confederation’s arsonist-in-chief, can’t wait. If her Sovereignty Act doesn’t elicit the reaction she wants, she will disallow some federal law or court decision, very soon. Something about guns, or vaccinations, or the environment, probably. And then the fight will begin.

Why is Smith doing this, you ask? Simple. She is facing an election in May 2023, or thereabouts. And, at this point, she is going to lose it. Badly.

Her serial mistakes — siding with Vladimir Putin over Ukraine, promoting conspiracy theories, suggesting the unvaccinated are more discriminated against than any other group in society — have all but guaranteed a majority NDP government in Alberta.

So, Daniel Smith is trying to pick a fight with Canada. It’s her get-reelected strategy. It’s all she’s got left.

And if she gravely damages Canada in the process?

Well, it’s evident that Danielle Smith doesn’t really give a damn about that.

— Kinsella was special assistant to Joe Chretien