When Minister Mike Ellis introduced Bill 49 — the Public Safety Statutes Amendment Act — in the Alberta Legislature, it was a straightforward proposal.

The bill cracks down on scrap metal theft, improves disaster response coordination, lays the groundwork for Alberta's own provincial police force, and adds new safeguards to limit government overreach when emergency powers are used.

These are commonsense measures — especially for rural Albertans who are tired of being ignored when it comes to rising crime and slow emergency response.

But instead of responding with thoughtful debate, NDP MLA Samir Kayande launched into a smug, tone-deaf rant, calling Calgary-Elbow "privileged," accusing the UCP of staging a "dangerous power grab," and dismissing rural crime as nothing more than political theatre from separatist wingnuts.

UCP MLA Shane Getson cuts through the hyperbole to explain what Bill 49 actually does, and why the NDP's condescension rubbed so many the wrong way.