In theory, voters can have their specific concerns addressed during an election. But that's not reality. Elections simply do not provide Albertans with a direct say on any issue, but rather with a choice as to which party should run the province.

A vote for an Opposition Party candidate is a vote to replace the Government Party, and a vote for the Government Party candidate is a rejection of the Opposition Parties' bid for power. But Albertans cannot use their ballots to implement - or to reject - any specific policy concerning health, education, labour, social services, justice, fiscal issues, the environment, energy, infrastructure, agriculture, or other areas of provincial responsibility.

Total control remains with the politicians up to five years at a time. And when voting day finally arrives, issues are drowned out by one big question: which leader/party should be Premier/Government Even when issues are debated in the election, voters do not have a direct and specific say on any of them individually. You cannot say whether spending is too high or too low, or whether taxes have been cut too far or not enough. All you can
really say is whether the Government Party should be re-elected, or replaced with an Opposition Party.

Citizens in Switzerland, British Columbia and many U.S. states have more choice. They can by-pass their politicians and force a referendum on an issue of concern. They vote for their representatives, and can also vote on a legislative proposal at the same time. Since the 1800s, the Swiss have voted on their constitution, immigration policy, international treaties, tax rates, and other issues. Americans in 23 states have voted on physician-assisted suicide, reducing property taxes, Sunday shopping, campaign finance reform, raising tobacco taxes, outlawing steel traps in hunting, and other issues.

For example, legislators in the state of Massachusetts passed a "temporary" income tax increase in 1989 to deal with a fiscal crisis. Once the crisis had passed, the state income tax was not rolled back to its previous rate, even as government spending continued rising faster than inflation and population growth. Years of phone calls and letter-writing, plus several election cycles, did not succeed in getting politicians to honour their
promise. Finally, fed-up taxpayers collected the required number of signatures and put a proposal on the ballot to reduce income tax back down to where it had been before the "temporary" increase. In November of 2000, citizens had the opportunity to vote on this specific issue, along with choosing their state and federal representatives. After a hard-fought campaign featuring heated debate on the pros and cons of a cut in taxes and spending in this liberal Democratic state, 59% voted for the proposal.

Albertans could enjoy the same right to initiate referendums - provided their MLAs vote for the Citizens' Initiative Act later this month. In spite of 79% of Albertans wanting this legislation, with only 15% opposed and 6% undecided, MLAs rejected it in 1994, 1996, and 1998. Unless Albertans phone and write to their MLAs, it may be rejected again.