As the United Conservative Party makes strides toward hitting the ballot for the 2019 provincial election, its weekend founding policy convention set the stage for what the party will stand for. It was what many expected from the new party, calls to repeal the Carbon Tax a focus on publicly funded but privately delivered health care, return to a flat tax and support for the province's energy industry. When it comes to finances, taxes and approaches to health care and education, the UCP is about what Alberta voters expect to see from a provincial Conservative party. What many were watching for was how the party would fair on its social platform. This has always been a stumbling block for Alberta Conservatives as they fight to find a home for the more progressive in their numbers. With the amalgamation of the Progressive Conservative Party and the Wildrose, many wondered where the line would be drawn on the spectrum. One motion seems to have defined the weekend on that front - Motion 30, which calls for the reinstatement of "parental opt-in consent for any subject of a religious or sexual nature, including enrollment in extracurricular activities/clubs or distribution of any instructional materials/resources related to these topics." While party leader Jason Kenney is adamant the motion is not a veiled way to out students joining Gay-Straight Alliances at schools, something the NDP protected against in Bill 24, even members of his own party aren't so sure. MLA Ric McIver blasted the motion hearkening it back to the Wildrose MLA who in 2012 wrote a blog post stating gay people are destined to burn in a lake of fire. The fallout resulted in massive losses at the polls for the party. Kenney tried to smooth over concerns by saying the motion would not inform party policy nor has he ever been interested in outing LGBTQ2s+ students. Assuming that to be true, the problem still remains that 57 per cent of the nearly 1,000 UCP delegates at the convention voted in favour of the motion. If this was truly about ensuring parents' rights to be informed about educational matters relating to sex and religion, the portion about after school and social clubs should have been omitted. Considering such clubs are student led and not part of the curriculum, they have no educational relevance and parents should not need government intervention to know where their children are when the bell rings. If they do, the motion should have referred to improving the child welfare act and neglect laws. The motion does nothing more than perpetuate the stereotype that Conservative Albertans are intolerant, backward and have failed to keep pace with the changing demographics of constituents choosing instead to cater to a dwindling minority on the far right. Debates like this only serve to accomplish one thing and that is to push students out of the safe spaces provided to them by schools. Those spaces are made available courtesy of teachers who volunteer extra time. Making it a political issue will only serves to lead schools and teachers to shy away from the hassle. Safe spaces for young people are in short supply, threatening them to further political gains is reckless and flies in the face of every adult's responsibility to protect our youth.
