Just under two years ago I found myself at a small-town Christmas concert in southern Alberta speaking with a despondent constituent.
With tears in her eyes, she told me she had just sent a $20 donation to the ex-leader of the official Opposition, Danielle Smith. I know for some, it doesn't seem like a lot of money, but I got the sense it meant a great deal to her. It was a sacrifice for a cause and principles she believed in. That concert was one of my first public events after a whirlwind day that swept nine of my former colleagues to the then government benches. The hurt, the sorrow and, yes, even anger were palpable. However, the shock eventually subsided after Albertans definitively had their say at the polls that they would not tolerate or support this type of backroom dealing. Today, that event has been relegated to merely a sad footnote in Canadian history. It's been said that in politics, absurdity is not a handicap. As I watched Premier Rachel Notley embrace PC MLA Sandra Jansen and welcome her over to the government side, I started to see why that may be true. Once upon a time, the leader of the NDP said those floor crossings represented “a betrayal to a number of different voters” and that “both leaders are equally guilty of betraying the people who voted for them.” Premier Notley campaigned, in part, on an explicit mandate to end this type of politics. But this week, here was this same person, now as premier, embracing an avowed opposition critic while welcoming her into the government fold. In the coming days and months, Premier Notley will have to justify if she is comfortable with such “betrayals” of democracy as long as they come in more palatable doses. As with my former Wildrose colleagues who crossed the floor, I'll leave the business of untangling the intellectual knots they've tied themselves in to those now on the government benches. They are ultimately accountable for their actions, and as in 2015, I know Albertans will definitively give judgment on the actions of all those involved. Albertans are honest people. They believe in the honour and unspoken contract of a handshake. It's no different at the ballot box. Albertans work hard and expect their politicians to stay true to their word. Is it any wonder that voters disengage from the democratic process when their trust is repeatedly violated like this? For an opposition MLA to pack up and move across the aisle won't sit well with a growing number of Albertans who want stable conservative leadership. The reality is between election cycles, many people have bills to pay, mouths to feed and households to maintain. Party affiliation should tell voters clearly what principles and values an individual stands for and was elected under. Drew Barnes is the Wildrose MLA for Cypress-Medicine Hat
