‘Enough Is Enough’ protest against Danielle Smith, UCP planned for Calgary this weekend

A series of protests are slated to happen across the province this weekend as part of a growing movement to stand up to Alberta’s UCP government.

The ‘Enough Is Enough’ protest in Calgary will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday outside City Hall.

Organizer Rebecca Brown tells CityNews she helped plan the demonstration in order to call out Danielle Smith and her government. She says people are simply fed up with the UCP and a series of recent controversial bills introduced by the province were just the tipping point.

“They are just not being truthful and they are not being transparent,” she says. “A government that purports to be libertarian and small government is actually trying to centralize all of its power in one place.”

Brown says she thinks the new bills are chipping away at democracy.

The province tabled Bill 20 last month that would grant the government sweeping powers over municipalities, including the right to fire councillors, overturn bylaws and postpone elections.

Also last month, the UCP introduced Bill 18 that would give it the power to veto any deal between the federal government and provincial entities, including municipalities and post-secondary schools.

“They are driven so strongly by their ideological bent,” she says. “They seem to be driven so much by their feelings. They are not listening to Albertans.”

The Enough Is Enough movement is expected span the province with demonstrations also happening in Edmonton, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. Brown says the Calgary protest will include a live band and speakers.

CityNews reached out to the UCP who say they support the right for anyone to protest, but claim recent polls suggest Albertans support their government.

“If anyone has any concerns about government policy, they’re free to reach out to any of our MLAs through their constituency offices,” says UCP Government Whip Shane Getson in a statement. “We’re staying focused on moving the province forward.”

Other groups critical of Smith and the UCP, like AB Resistance, are expected to take part in this weekends protests.