A campaign of misinformation has put unwarranted fear in the hearts of Alberta’s rural landowners, says a man who hopes to become Alberta’s next premier.
Ted Morton, who resigned from cabinet to enter the leadership race, joined fellow MLAs Evan Berger and George Groeneveld in Red Deer on Friday to defend the Alberta Land Stewardship Act, which encompasses three contentious bills aimed at expropriation of property for creation of major roadways and utility corridors.
In his address to the Alberta Beef Industry Conference on Friday, Morton said a lawyer working for another Alberta political party has been spreading fear about the impact of Bills 19, 36 and 50.
He refused to identify the lawyer to the Advocate, saying that “everyone” knows who he means.
Among some “half-truths” Morton identified is that there will be no avenue of appeal for landowners whose property is needed to build roads or erect power lines.
“If politics is the art of the half truth, the lawyer that’s been used by this other political party to spread this around, I’d say he’s a real Picasso.”
The Land Stewardship Act is based on seven regional plans defined by Alberta’s seven watersheds, Morton and Berger said in their presentation.
People will still have the access to appeal that they have had in the past, said Morton. However, the regional plans cannot be challenged in court.
The reasoning behind that is similar to the workings of the Worker’s Compensation Board, in which approved claimants cannot sue their employers, said Morton.
The idea is that the money goes to the claimants, not to the lawyers representing them, he said.
Additionally, the compensation plan puts a fence around the rights of people who claim to be affected by a decision.
The act creates a package that allows landowners to negotiate compensation with neighbouring developments and projects that cross their property, he said.
At the same time, people from other areas of the province, including environmental groups like the Sierra Club, will no longer be able to claim that their rights are affected by development on property to which they have no attachment, said Morton.
He cited a situation in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming where a small number of wolves from Alberta were introduced to Yellowstone Park, but were much more successful than intended. Ranchers sought a limited cull on the wolves to reduce the number of livestock and wildlife being taken down.
However, the cull is being held up by an injunction filed by the groups who do not have a stake in the region, said Morton.
“That’s what we did not want to happen here. We think you want political accountability. If there are mistakes or problems, do you want to come and talk to us, or do you want to hire lawyers and go before a judge. This is about political accountability.”
In an question and answer period afterward, cattle producer Doug Fawcett from Consort said landowners expect the government to protect their rights and freedoms and not to remove or extinguish them in any way.
“To protect individual rights and freedoms of the people is the mandate that people have granted a democratic government,” said Fawcett.
“Any attempt for a government to do otherwise is not acceptable.”
bkossowan@www.reddeeradvocate.com