Jonnette Watson Hamilton

Bill 12 and ADAP: What Alberta’s New Disability Law Means for AISH Recipients and Disabled Albertans — Zachary Weeks Bill 12 introduces major changes to AISH and creates the new ADAP program. This plain-language breakdown explains how Bill 12 affects disability benefits, appeal rights, and the everyday lives of disa...

This is a complete, plain language summary of the devastating changes being made to supports for disabled Albertans by the UCP's blandly named Bill 12: The Financial Statutes Amendment Act, 2025, including ideas helping to resist these attacks.
#abpoli

www.zacharyweeks.ca/blog/bill-12...

The UCP's latest attacks on vulnerable Albertans -- on trans youth in Bill 9 and on disabled Albertans in Bill 12 -- are despicable.
Using their majority to ram through this law that destroys human rights in the middle of the night with minimum discussion suggest they know how bad they are. #abpoli

MLA Rakhi Pancholi captures the essence of Bill 14. From Hansard, second reading last night.
#abpoli #ableg

Smith's latest abusive use of the notwithstanding clause: "Alberta’s most recent use, the fourth in two months, employs the clause to shield a transphobic, anti-science, anti-evidence, anti-autonomy assault on rights."
She's also showing such ignorance of what a constitutional democracy is.
#abpoli

Citizen Initiative Application Approved, Notice of Initiative Petition Issued - Elections Alberta EDMONTON – Today, Alberta’s Chief Electoral Officer, Gordon McClure, issued a Notice of Initiative Petition. This confirms a citizen initiative petition application has been received and the Chief Ele...

Elections Alberta has just issued a press release confirming that Corb Lund's coal petition meets the requirements of the Act.
"The GoA shall prohibit by law any and all new coal mining activities, including new approvals and permits, within the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains."
#ableg #abpoli

"low emissions Albertan bitumen"

Charlatans always always think other people are stupid.

When legislation aims to ensure that investments of multiple First Nations in litigation are wasted, aims to silence judges, and shows no regard for the integrity and limited resources of the justice system, I should hope judges in this country will not be mute.

Great to see Amy Matychuk back on the @ablawg.bsky.social roster!

Danielle Smith uses notwithstanding clause to declare herself premier of B.C. Prime Minister Mark Carney disagrees with the concept of a premier of one province unilaterally taking over a different province, but his hands are tied by his unwillingness to do anything about it.

Between UCP Premier Danielle Smith's use of the notwithstanding clause twice this fall and the MOU she signed with PM Carney this past week, this satire is close enough to the truth to really bite.
#abpoli

www.thebeaverton.com/2025/11/dani...

YouTube video by Rob Breakenridge Show PODCAST: Corb Lund on why Albertans deserve as say over coal mining along the Eastern Slopes

Good interview. @robbreakenridge.bsky.social does a nice job of introducing citizen initiatives & Corb an equally good job of explaining why we need clear legislation to prohibit coal mining activities in the eastern slopes.
#ableg #abpoli @cpawssab.bsky.social

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlGm...

The UCP’s fall legislative session reveals volumes about what the party really values and what it doesn’t: no rights for teachers and trans folks (Bills 2 and 9) no rights for those who depend on AIMCo investments (Bill 12) but hey, we’ll pay out to aussie coal companies any time. #ableg #abpoli

Thousands of folks at the MacDougall Centre saying No to Notwithstanding on Trans Day of Remembrance 🩵🩷🤍

One of the “activist” groups the premier refers to is the Canadian Medical Assn. The other two, Egale + Skipping Stone, backed up their injunction claim with reams of medical and other evidence. Evidence that the gov’t itself is lacking. The UCP is the real activist here. ablawg.ca/2025/11/19/t...

Delighted to see this.
Time for the environment to ride the wave of recalls and citizen initiatives!
This is the first legislative proposal (rather than a policy or constitutional proposal) under the Citizen Initiative Act.
Bonne chance & lots of hard work ahead.

#ableg #abpoli

Invoking the Charter's notwithstanding clause means the UCP are trying to avoid justifying their ban as a reasonable limit under s 1 of the Charter, even as they claim they are taking an evidence-based approach to protecting trans & gender diverse youth.

Can't back that claim up, premier?
#abpoli

This post details what's at stake in the UCP's invocation of the Charter's notwithstanding clause to override the rights of trans and gender diverse youth. The government had other options, and to use the nuclear option of s 33 calls into question its confidence in its ability to justify its laws.

Trans Awareness Week 2025 - Egale Canada Every March 31st, the trans community and allies come together to observe Trans Day Of Visibility (TDOV)

On this 1st day of Trans Awareness week, here is a list of resources from our faculty providing legal analysis of anti-trans laws/policies (looking at you AB & SK). These resources are produced by allies, and it is also crucial to listen to voices from trans communities:
egale.ca/egale-in-act...

This thread.
#cdnpoli

The Upper Smoky basin that's part of the Peace River basin, which is part of the Mackenzie River basin system that drains into the Arctic Ocean? That Upper Smoky basin? It's in the regional plan for the South Saskatchewan River? 🤯 Did someone dig a ditch or what?

While the motion to expedite the leave application was granted, the UR Pride case will be heard separately from English Montreal School Board v AG Quebec. Seems a little surprising given the similarity of the S 33 issue, but the Bill 21 case must march on I guess
decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-...

When the first instinct of a so-called independent regulator is to call the Minister’s office for their “input” you don’t have an independent regulator

Recall efforts targeting UCP MLAs gain momentum after use of notwithstanding clause Efforts to recall UCP MLAs gaining traction following government invoking the notwithstanding clause to force striking teachers back to work

if there be a causal connection betwn the use of the NWC & recalls then we have an imp citizen-led brake on the routine use of NWC when a govt seeks a quick win. The fear of success may be enough.
I'm no fan of recall legislation but I'll shed no tears about this exercise.
#abpoli #ableg

This is a really helpful post that puts the UCP’s use of the NWS clause in context and makes the case for the ongoing justiciability of Bill 2’s constitutionality. Someone on here was looking for a primer on Bill 2 and s 33 the other day and this is it! And one more thing:

In a decision yesterday, the ABCA stated that "academic freedom exists to protect all scholarship, including that which may be unpopular or politically targeted." So-called 'activism' is still "research" + "teaching" exempted from FOIP applications. See 2025 ABCA 350, canlii.ca/t/kg5f3 at [40-42].

If a rational decision, the gov't would always use s33 if in doubt about a law's Charter compliance. Saves costs of defending in court now that s33's use seems normalized by QC, ON. I'm not saying the UCP is acting rationally. Little evidence of that in their AISH/CDB, COVID vaccine, etc decisions.

The CIJA Report | Jewish Faculty Network A Pattern of Anti-Palestinian Racism and Genocide Denial at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. Published by the Jewish Faculty Network.

A brave and incredibly important and valuable report from the Jewish Faculty Network.
#cdnpoli
www.jewishfaculty.ca/cija-report

Another Australian coal company has announced that it has reached a settlement ($95 million)with the GoA over its compensation claims due to Alberta's coal policy flip flops.
Once again this info comes to AB taxpayers from the company website.
No disclosure from the GoA.
#abpoli #cdnpoli

I've never received any kind of reply from @coreyhogan when I've emailed him, not even an acknowledgment of receipt. He is my MP too. I wonder if he replies if the subject is not the genocide in Gaza.

Helpful post on the ABCA’s discussion of the rules governing use of AI in court documents by @roberthamilton.bsky.social. And on the consequences for not following those rules.

Groups push back on Alberta’s strategy to deal with inactive oil and gas wells as plan moves forward | CBC Accessibility A band of advocate groups are pushing back on the province's current plan to manage its inactive and aging oil and gas infrastructure.

Bit of a deeper dive on the growing push back to #Ableg’s so-called Mature Asset Strategy: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...