COLLINS – Smith’s Sovereignty Act gambit a sad omen for democracy
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I THOUGHT B.C. PREMIER DAVID EBY was being dictatorial in his plans to force municipalities to bend to the province in dealing with building affordable housing, absolving strata councils of the right to set their own rules regarding the way they want to live, taking over the management of the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver and pushing the courts to change bail restrictions for prolific offenders.
Just in those decisions, without proper debate in the legislature, without proper discussion among policymakers to vet the plans, all point to a heavy-handed approach to government that should give us all cause for concern.
I had enough fodder to give me enough material at least until the spring.
Much of that, however, was pushed aside by the announcement of the Sovereignty Act in Alberta.
Doug Collins has had a wide background in the broadcast industry, having done virtually every type of news and sports broadcasting, including news anchor, sports play-by-play, and editorialist. His “One Man’s Opinion” aired on TV from 1973- 2013. He retired from his management roles in the station in October, 2018, but continues to write his column. In 2019, Doug was awarded the Freedom of the City.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
Nothing wrong with our premier to jump over the hurdle of local petty politics. What I really don’t get though is the unreasonable vitriol about our prime minister. In a difficult time to govern we, in Canada, should stop bitching and be uberly thankful for all we have.
I must respectfully disagree with some, not all, of the commentary. It is actually a breath of fresh air to see somebody push back on Justin Trudeau, himself having governed as a dictator for some time now (with the NDP’s help) with their confidence and supply agreement until June 2025, by-passing parliament numerous times on important matters, no budgets, out of control spending, etc. Will Alberta succeed? Maybe, maybe not, but it is worth finding out. Trudeau has made it a personal mission to derail western oil and gas projects, TMX excepted (only grudgingly approved), a costly boondoggle that would likely have had product flowing by now if left out of government’s meddling hands. Hopefully Coastal Gaslink will be completed before another more-enlightened competitor eats our lunch on LNG. There is not yet a viable alternative to petroleum, the world wants and needs ethical Canadian oil and gas, but this government acts like tiny Canada can switch off of oil by next Wednesday and reverse climate change for the entire globe while Russia, China, etc, laugh at us for sabotaging our own economy. With C-48 and C-69, he has effectively hamstrung western oil and gas to the delight of Francois Legault, while continuing to allow drilling on the east coast, importing mid-east oil, and bringing tankers full of said mid-east oil up the St. Lawrence as far as Montreal. Good for Alberta for pushing back. I hope they succeed.