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A Grande Prairie local has applied for a petition to recall Grande Prairie MLA Nolan Dyck.
Recall petitions for United Conservative Party MLAs are growing across the province following the government’s use of the notwithstanding clause to force teachers back to work.
“Dyck was chosen by the people to represent their interests and not echo the party line,” said Casey Klein, who submitted the petition request to Elections Alberta on Friday, Oct. 31.
“Public office is about representing everyone, and Nolan has been unresponsive to constituents who don’t align with his party’s agenda.”
Dyck responded to the News request for an interview with a statement that read the “recall process should not be used to overturn democratic elections just because an individual disagrees with government policy.
“Recalls are meant to address breaches of trust, serious misconduct, or a sustained failure to represent constituents, not political disagreements,” the Oct. 30 statement read.
Five days later on Nov. 3, Dyck made a motion to amend the $13.5 million supplementary funding request from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer to $1.5 million in the Standing Committee on Legislative Offices. The funding request was due to an increase in petitions, recalls, and a potential provincial referendum.
“I’m only requesting the funds that I require to address the immediate needs that my office currently faces,” said Alberta’s Chief Electoral Officer, Gordon McClure.
The motion passed in committee.
He’s not listening
Klein’s recall statement says Dyck “is not listening to the people of Grande Prairie.
“He has consistently followed the UCP party line instead of representing our community’s concerns.”
It goes on to accuse Dyck of ignoring emails, responding with form letters, and refusing phone calls and that when he does meet with locals “he defends government decisions rather than listening, dismisses concerns, avoids accountability, and directs people to file FOIP requests for information he will not provide.”
Klein said that in her experience, Dyck is quick to dismiss what constituents say.
She said that when asking the MLA about his taxpayer-funded trip to the U.S. in February for a Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., he directed her to file a Freedom of Information and Privacy Act (FOIP) request.
“I wanted to know who did he meet with? What did he talk about? How did it benefit the people of Grande Prairie?”
In his statement, Dyck says he has met with Klein and “listened to their concerns in person, and my office has continued to correspond with them on their issues.”
“This recall process exists to restore accountability when that trust has been broken,” said Klein.
She noted that others have been shut out from meeting with Dyck in last-minute cancellations, and organizations such as Inclusion Grande Prairie have also noted the difficulty of communicating with local MLAs.
The final straw for Klein was Dyck’s support of Bill 2 and its use of the notwithstanding clause to end the teacher strike and force teachers back to work.
“Endorsing the notwithstanding clause, stripping away the collective bargaining right to strike, Nolan chose power, party line, over principle,” said Klein.
“He betrayed the teachers.
“He betrayed the working class, and that’s who our MLA is supposed to represent, the people of Grande Prairie.”
Dyck did not directly respond to why he voted for Bill 2.
“I alongside our United Conservative caucus remains focused on what we were elected to do, which is standing up for Albertans by growing our economy, lowering taxes, and creating opportunities,” his statement reads.
Klein will need about 9,407 signatures for her petition to be successful.
The application still needs to be approved by the Chief Electoral Officer, who will determine if the requirements for the petition application are being met.
On Oct. 23, Elections Alberta confirmed a recall petition has been issued for the current Minister of Education, Demetrios Nicolaides.
The petition needs 16,006 signatures to be successful.
Nicolaides released a public letter saying, “The petitioner is using the recall process to influence government policy and not because she has any legitimate concerns regarding my conduct as your MLA.”
On Monday, a second recall campaign for MLA Angela Pitt, Airdrie-East, was approved.
“The public confidence needs to be restored in local representation,” said Klein.
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