A farmer protested policy at a Danielle Smith town hall. 5 days later, it was paused
CBC
Chad Anderson had travelled 90 minutes from his farm near Cremona, Alta., to bend the premier's ear, but it was starting to look futile.
He'd come to a town hall with Danielle Smith and Agriculture Minister RJ Sigurdson in Okotoks, an apparent rehearsal of sorts for the Alberta Next panels that kick off next week, with Smith presiding as chair.
Last week's Okotoks event was approaching its end, and a too-long lineup of attendees separated Anderson from the question microphone, all of them hoping to plant a seed in the premier's mind.
Believing he'd miss his chance, Anderson told others what he wanted to ask about — changes to a farm program that would rein in his farm's licensed but uninspected slaughtering business. They let him jump ahead in line, he recalls.
"Last year we sold 30 [head of] beef ... we've done it safely and of the highest quality," Anderson told the July 2 town hall south of Calgary.
"Last week I got an email from Alberta Ag effectively cancelling the program," he added, to scattered boos in the crowd.
Anderson listened to Sigurdson defend the government's policy change and emphasis on meat safety. But the rancher was struck by the premier sitting quietly next to her minister, glancing over with what Anderson described as a "what's going on?" look.
Five days later, on July 7, Alberta Agriculture announced that after hearing farmers' concerns, it would indefinitely pause the limits to on-farm slaughter licenses that it had just brought in.
Anderson believes he has the premier to thank for halting the change, even if he can't prove it.
"I think it was probably critical to it," he told CBC News in an interview this week.
"She cares about small business. She cares about the entrepreneurial spirit."
More than three decades after Ralph Klein won his first election as premier on the slogan "He listens. He cares," another Alberta premier has carved out a reputation for hearing Albertans' pleas and then acting on them.
The five-day turnaround from town hall complaint to policy bulletin may be a pronounced example of Smith's responsiveness, but she has repeatedly demonstrated this approach to supporters, especially those in the United Conservative base.
The premier whose government has banned vote tabulating machines, restricted health care treatments for transgender youth and — just this week — banned books with sexual content in school libraries is also the leader whose party has passed convention resolutions requesting those changes.
Ontario’s police watchdog is investigating after an officer involved shooting at Danforth Go station early Saturday morning, said Toronto police.
Montreal officials will hold a ceremony to mark the 36th anniversary of the Polytechnique massacre today.
The City of Regina's proposal to build a roadway through the McKell Wascana Conservation Park should be discarded, local conservationists say.
A holiday event that began in 2020 during the pandemic with three floats on pickup trucks has now become one of Kelowna’s big winter events, drawing thousands to the city’s downtown core.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
It’s been hard to keep track of how many legal challenges and active court proceedings the United Conservative government has tried to quash or pre-emptively block in the last six weeks, but let’s try to tally:
Margaret Walker, the emcee of a Waterloo vigil commemorating the victims of the Montreal massacre, doesn't feel enough is being done to reflect on the killings and address gender-based violence.
The P.E.I. Humane Society says it is doing far more fundraising than it used to, and rising expenses — including the cost of animal medications — are a big reason why.
Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.