‍

In an effort to, in the words of former United Conservative Party leader Jason Kenney, “ensure that politicians work for you every day, not just during election campaigns”, the UCP proposed and delivered on a promise to enable voters to recall elected provincial members of the legislative assembly of Alberta in the event of “serious breaches of trust and gross misconduct”.

It was generally considered a win for political accountability in the province.

Over the last few months, however, ostensibly in response to the use of the notwithstanding clause to force teachers back to work after negotiations stalled, a handful of United Conservative Party MLAs have been targeted by recall campaigns that seem in the eyes of many to be more about political gamesmanship than about holding elected officials accountable for serious breaches or ethical lapses.

Many have also questioned, given the haste with which said recall petitions have been springing up, whether these initiatives are indeed grassroots or if Union and opposition allies are misusing the recall policies for political gain.

UCP MLA for Airdrie-East Angela Pitt finds herself among the MLAs facing a recall petition and discusses this in this episode

‍