15. Courts Overturning Democratic Legislation A recurring frustration among Alberta seniors is that court rulings — not legislatures — have driven major social changes. For example, a Quebec Superior Court judge struck down restrictions on MAiD eligibility, forcing Parliament to expand the program far beyond its original scope, bypassing democratic deliberation.
16. Supreme Court Upholding the Carbon Tax When Alberta’s Court of Appeal ruled the federal carbon pricing law unconstitutional, many Albertans — including seniors — celebrated it as “a great victory for Canadian federalism.” The subsequent Supreme Court of Canada ruling upholding the tax deepened the conviction that the judiciary sides with central Canadian political interests over Alberta’s constitutional rights.
17. Judicial Activism on Social Issues Conservative Alberta seniors widely believe that courts have become instruments of social engineering — advancing progressive causes on abortion, gender, Indigenous land claims, and euthanasia without meaningful public input — essentially transferring lawmaking power from elected representatives to appointed judges.