I have a novel idea: our legislature should retire bill numbers like the NHL retires jersey numbers.
For hockey fans, there’s a special significance to the number 99, for instance. It is hung in tribute from the rafters of the arena. It evokes wistful smiles of legendary exploits in bygone decades. It has become almost sacred – the hockey community could never tolerate this number on the back of another player. It is no longer a mere placeholder on the team roster. It is a symbol of epic proportion.
Something struck me this past weekend at the Reboot Alberta conference: Bill 44 has made a similar impact on an entire generation of Albertans. Of course, Bill 44’s imprint on our collective political psyche owes itself to an entirely different kind of fame – Bill 44 is more notorious than celebrated. It evokes stinging memories of frustration with impervious governments and regressive moralities. It has become almost mythical – the citizens of Alberta have only to mutter “Bill 44” and immediately a sympathetic and knowing nod is elicited from their audience. It is no longer a mere placeholder on the legislature’s order paper. Like jersey number 99, it too has become a symbol of epic proportion.
A conspicuous sense of disaffection permeated discussion at Reboot Alberta. I know, no surprises there given the crowd. But what was very curious was the way in which participants sometimes struggled to articulate their exasperation with the Progressive Conservative dynasty. Many spoke passionately, losing themselves in their words, slipping deeper into disjointed ramble, sacrificing coherence for catharsis. And just as their audience was on the verge of abandoning them, they would utter the famous phrase: “you know, Bill 44,” and immediately everyone would be back with them in the same place. And this phenomenon is not limited to the Reboot Alberta crowd. Even those among my friends that have what could be generously characterized as a passing interest in politics will express the whole gamut of their political disaffection with the words “Bill 44”.
I strongly suspect that the mythical significance of Bill 44 will be recorded by historians when they write the Downfall of the Dynasty. Furthermore, I strongly suspect – at least for the next several years – that the 44th bill of every legislature will recall those tense and torrid weeks in the summer of 2009 when Albertans took notice and stood up. Heck, even the world peered briefly into our small corner of the globe when #bill44 became a trending topic worldwide on Twitter. So, in a purely psychological way, Bill 44 is already hanging from the rafters of the legislature. Wouldn’t it be grand it we could actually put something up there?
