Our democratic institutions have lost their lustre. Dreadfully low voter turnout, a disengaged public and an unhealthy apathy are now considered the norm. Albertans need to take back our democracy from our politicians and demand access to the legislatively protected, democratic tools necessary to stay engaged, informed and effective. Moreover, we need to feel relevant as participants, rather than mere spectators.
To accomplish this, Alberta needs to embrace the further enfranchisement of its citizens with tools such as citizens' initiative, fixed-election dates, recall and, perhaps, complete voting reform.
Democracy is like a penny: to someone who holds them in abundance, it can seem tarnished and easily discarded. To someone who has access to none, it seems like a pot of gold. However, no longer should Albertans simply be satisfied with the status quo in our democracy simply because others around the world do without.
To be sure, Albertans have been blessed to live in a society that holds regular elections without the fear of physical threat. Yet practices need to be refurbished. We didn't stop when only white, male landowners had the vote. It was rightfully extended to women, then aboriginals.
As it currently stands, the extent of our democratic action for most involves spending five minutes to drive to your local school or community hall once every 1,460 days to mark a ballot. "Participants" for one day, "spectators" for the next four years.
Undoubtedly, some will suggest that if people can't be bothered even to do that one simple act, why should we consider empowering apathetic, uninformed people to make more important decisions?
The question becomes one of the chicken and the egg. Did apathy break the current system, or did a broken system cause the apathy? Will people become more engaged if they are allowed to recall their MLAs, launch and participate in referendums or know their vote will count?
Of course, other options have been attempted around the world to increase voter turnout, including mandatory voting (Australia, Brazil, etc.) or paying citizens to vote (no country does, but in 2006 a ballot initiative was soundly rejected in Arizona that would have created a $1 million lottery for anyone who voted). Simply increasing voter turnout should not be the only goal. Citizens need to know their participation matters.
Few politicians want to give up the power to make decisions, despite polls showing the vast majority of Albertans want access to both the citizens' initiative and recall. A 2001 Environics poll indicated 79 per cent of Albertans wanted the right to be able to petition for and receive a referendum on an issue important to them. A 2006 Ipsos-Reid poll indicated 77 per cent of Albertans wanted the right to recall their politicians.
Alberta once had a citizens' initiative law. From 1913 to '58, Alberta had the Direct Legislation Act, where 20 per cent of the voters could petition the legislature to pass a proposed law. Unfortunately, the excessively high signature threshold ensured no referendums took place. According to Barry Cooper of the University of Calgary, the act was repealed after a handful of Albertans started asking questions on how the law could be used.
A similar story graces Alberta's history books when it comes to recall. Premier Aberhart's government passed the Recall Act in April 1936 and promptly rescinded the legislation in October 1937, retroactively, when he became a target.
The lesson to be learned here is that it's not Albertans who are the impediment to greater democracy, but rather our politicians. They are both the gatekeepers of reform, and the ones who have the most to lose.
Even implementing a simple democratic reform such as fixed-election dates has been like pulling teeth in Canada, because it removes a power the government enjoys to wield. Only B.C., Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador and the Northwest Territories have taken even this minor step.
And while changing the entire voting system has largely been rejected in the few provinces that have attempted it (B.C., Ontario and P.E.I.), at least they have had the discussion. In both B.C. and Ontario, citizens' assemblies were held to take status-quo-loving politicians out of the mix.
While the results may also be rejected in Alberta, holding a citizens' assembly on democratic reform would be an exercise worth attempting.
Systemic democratic reform would not cure all ills, nor would it create perfect voter turnout, but it could breathe a whole lot of life back into Alberta's moribund democracy.
