Hello Chestermere-Strathmore readers.
We have just recently finished up our session of the Legislature. I wanted to take this opportunity to share some of those accomplishments with you.
To ensure we enhance public safety across the province, we passed Bill 61: The Vital Statistics Amendment Act. This bill will ban dangerous offenders from changing their names and hiding in our communities (similar to legislation we passed last session banning sex offenders from doing the same thing). By closing this loophole, we are taking steps to protect Albertans, particularly children, from dangerous people.
We also passed Bill 18: The Corrections (Alberta Parole Board) Amendment Act, to create an Alberta Parole Board that will provide a fairer, faster, and more responsible justice system and end the ‘revolving door’ that has seen so many repeat offenders. We heard a lot from you as we did our round tables throughout the constituency just over 18 months ago. Thank you to all of you who gave us tremendous feedback there and along with the recommendations from the Fair Deal Panel, which was tasked with consulting Albertans on strategies to secure a fair deal in the Canadian federation and advance our province’s vital interests.
We passed Bill 52: The Recall Act. You may not remember, but my very first private members bill was recall legislation, but it did not pass. This legislation gives Albertans a way to remove elected officials they feel are not upholding their responsibilities, and Bill 51: The Citizen Initiative Act, to provide Albertans a more direct role in the democratic system by enabling eligible voters to propose legislative, policy, or constitutional action on issues that affect them.
And we passed Bill 211: The Municipal Government (Firearms) Amendment Act to act as a firewall against federal legislation that could have given municipalities the ability to create their own firearms laws – potentially leading to a confusing patchwork of firearms laws across the province. The vast majority of Alberta gun owners are responsible, trained, and licensed. These folks are not the problem. This legislation will make it, so firearms legislation is under the sole jurisdiction of the province.
This past week, we all mourned with our First Nations sisters and brothers as hundreds of unmarked graves were found in Saskatchewan. More will be found as our nations here in Alberta find unmarked graves at the 25 residential schools in our own backyard. We will all collectively do what we can to help our indigenous families as we uncover the tragedy, murder, neglect, sexual and physical abuse, and cultural genocide of these beautiful people.
Lastly, I would like to tell you about an amazing event I attended this past weekend. I was honoured to stand with the Filipino community as they celebrated their Independence Day. It was a privilege to stand on the ground at Prairie Winds Park in NE Calgary, where there will be a statue of their freedom fighter José Rizal, who was the spokesman for the Philippine reform movement and was executed for standing up to the Spanish demanding freedom of assembly and expression, and equality of Filipinos and Spaniards before the law. I was touched by the love in our Filipino community and was especially moved that I was invited to sing in Tagalog.
It was so lovely to see so many families out at the park with their little BBQs and making meals. We walked by one young Muslim couple cooking kebabs and brewing coffee, and we waved as we walked by. They invited us to their mat and insisted on sharing their meal with us and because of COVID protocols, they brought out extra cutlery and put on their masks. They offered to serve us their homemade food, but we could not stay and share food with them due to the protocols, but the kind gesture of inviting strangers to sit and eat with them brought me to tears. This is the generosity and kindness that I grew up with within this province. This is what built this beautiful place we call home, and in the middle of despicable acts of racism and bigotry, they have every reason to be afraid, but instead, this family decided to share what they had with us on this beautiful day. I will forever be grateful.
As always, we love to hear from you.
