Edmonton: The Alberta Division of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today called on all MLAs to give Albertans citizen initiated referendum rights provincially - just as they already have at the municipal level.

"If Albertans are mad about an issue at the local level - they can start a petition and get enough names to force a referendum vote in their municipality. But if they want change on an issue controlled by the province - tough luck so far," said CTF Alberta director Mark Milke.

"Why does the province think it's OK for Albertans to vote on a contentious issue - VLTs for example - locally, but not province-wide Citizens should not be treated as children or mere spectators on issues that they feel strongly about," said Milke.

The CTF called on MLAs to pass Bill 216 - the Citizen's Initiative Act - due before the legislature for second reading next week. The CTF will fax its Alberta membership this weekend to press their MLAs to support this bill. In a recent survey, 91% of CTF Alberta members said they wanted the right to initiate referendums at the provincial level.

The CTF also released a list today of recommendations on Bill 216 amendments for MLA Denis Ducharme (Conservative - Bonnyville-Cold Lake) the bill sponsor, which would ensure Albertans have the same referendum rights provincially as they do at the municipal level. They include guaranteeing any referendum passed by the public would be passed by the legislature, that 50% of the votes cast plus one would ensure passage, and that government would be barred from taking sides in any citizen initiated referendum.

"British Columbians can start a referendum or even recall an MLA," said Milke. "But Albertans cannot force a province-wide vote on any issue."

Bill 216, a private member's bill, is expected to face second reading in the legislature on Wednesday, November 18. The last private member's bill on citizen initiated referendums to face a vote in the legislature, Bill 210 (1996) failed by a vote of 33-28. 32 votes against that bill came from Conservative MLAs.