Premier Danielle Smith is refusing the decision of an Alberta judge who on Wednesday dismissed a separatist petition and says the province will appeal the court’s decision.
In her written ruling, Justice Shaina Leonard ruled the petition should never have been issued because the provincial government failed in its duty to consult with First Nations and secession of Alberta would be a violation of treaty rights.
Premier Danielle Smith, during an unrelated announcement in Edmonton shortly after the ruling, called the court’s ruling incorrect in law and undemocratic.
““I would say it’s a single judge who has made a decision and we now have 700,000 Albertans — whether they’re on the remain side or the leave side — who have said they want to have this public debate,” Smith said.
“We want to hear from Albertans. This is what we think democracy is and we will be meeting with our caucus and our cabinet to further review the decision and decide next steps.
“Since we believe this is incorrect in law and undemocratic, we will appeal it.”
Lawyers for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and the Blackfoot Confederation, made up of the Piikani Nation, Siksika Nation and Blood Tribe, took the Alberta Government, the province’s Chief Electoral Officer and Mitch Sylvestre, who is a leader of the Alberta independence movement, to court.
The province’s referendum process and its use by the separatists, they argued, is unconstitutional because it does not include a requirement to consult with First Nations.
The separatist group Stay Free Alberta submitted its petition last week and boasted that it had nearly 302,000 names — far more than its request of 178,000.
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Premier Danielle Smith has said that if the petition had enough signatures, the group’s question would be put on the ballot during a referendum planned this fall.
The province’s lawyers have defended the process and pushed for the separatist petition to be played.
Neil Dobson, a lawyer for the province, argued in court that if a referendum passed and the province took steps to follow through, then a duty to consult would follow.
Wednesday’s ruling was preceded by a decision by the judge last month, when she halted the signature verification process for the petition while she considered the First Nations’ legal challenge.
On Wednesday, the judge said the provincial government, as the party enforcing the legacy, had a duty to consult, but no consultation took place so “Alberta breached its duty to consult with the applicants.”
The judge also said that “as a matter of logic and common sense, there can be no doubt that Alberta’s secession from Canada will have an impact on Treaties 7 and 8” and, “it follows that the decision of the Chief Electoral Officer has a potentially adverse effect on those Treaty rights”.
Reaction to Wednesday’s decision was swift.
The lawyer for the separatist group Stay Free Alberta has released a statement on social media.
“We fundamentally disagree with the decision which appears to violate the principles of natural justice and contains numerous legal errors,” said Jeffrey Rath, who added that the group will file an appeal.
Elections Alberta also released a statement, saying: “We are analyzing the decision and the results to determine what this means for Elections Alberta and citizens’ initiative petitions going forward, and it will take some time to do this work.”
The Prime Minister has already outlined nine questions related to immigration and constitutional changes that will be put to the table during an Oct. 19 provincial referendum.
However, Wednesday’s court ruling means the possibility of including a secession question on the ballot remains unclear.
The pro-federalist “Forever Canadian” petition was vetted earlier, but an Alberta legislative committee has yet to decide whether the question asked in that petition – “Do you agree that Alberta should remain within Canada?” — shall be put to a referendum or vote by all members of parliament on the floor of the provincial legislature.
Thomas Lukaszuk, a former deputy premier of Alberta, led the “Forever Canadian” petition, which gathered over 400,000 signatures and was verified by Elections Alberta officials in December.
– with file from The Canadian Press.
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