Alberta Premier schedules referendum on whether to have separatist referendum for Oct. 19

By Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 

(ANNews) – Hours after NDP MLAs’ proposal to engage in consultation with First Nations before proceeding with an independence referendum was voted down in committee, Premier Danielle Smith announced a referendum on whether there should be a future independence referendum for October.

Both developments provoked harsh words from First Nations leaders.

On Thursday evening, Smith hosted an address to the province on her personal YouTube page, in which she announced that she will add another referendum question to the suite of nine questions focusing on immigration restrictions and provincial powers already scheduled for Oct. 19.

The question is: “Should Alberta remain a province of Canada or should the Government of Alberta commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada?”

Smith emphasized that she intends on voting in support of remaining in Canada, citing Prime Minister Mark Carney’s retreat from various policies she objected to, including an oil and gas emissions cap and clean electricity regulations.

Last week, Court of King’s Bench Justice Shaina Leonard quashed a separatist referendum petition drive, agreeing with Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and the Blackfoot Confederacy’s argument that the government needed to consult with them before the chief electoral officer approved the petition.

In her address, the premier re-iterated previously expressed criticism of Leonard’s “troubling decision.”

“This ruling fundamentally misinterprets the nature of the duty to consult, which was never meant to prevent citizens from making their voices heard through a democratic process,” Smith said.

The premier added that her government intends on appealing Leonard’s “incorrect ruling,” a process which she acknowledged “will take many months, possibly years.”

She portrayed the new referendum question as “another way to hear from Albertans while we wait for our legal appeal to be heard.”

“Because this proposed referendum question does not directly trigger separation, but if successful would ask Alberta’s government to commence the legal process necessary to hold a binding referendum on the matter, the recent court ruling would not be applicable,” said Smith.

‘The beginning of the end of Treaty’

After Smith’s announcement Chief Billy-Joe Tuccaro of Mikisew Cree First Nation in Treaty 8 issued a statement calling the premier a “traitor and a separatist,” which noted that First Nations  haven’t received “even an invitation to the table,”

“The question announced today is intended to be the beginning of the end of Treaty,” Tuccaro said, referencing a “manufactured UCP separatist crisis.”

Smith concluded her address by cautioning “against the trap of using division and demonization tactics.”

“The Premier talks about hatred and vilification,” said Tuccaro, “but she opened up a world of hate on First Nations and continues to do so by attacking independent Courts for siding with us, Treaty and the constitution.

“Her words are meaningless.”

Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation Chief Sheldon Sunshine issued a brief statement in response to the additional referendum question, characterizing Smith and the UCP as “undemocratic, authoritarian, and willing to bend to the whims of a loud, angry minority.”

“First Nations have been sounding the alarm bell for months now. Danielle Smith continues to trample on Treaty, and continues to damage the economy and reputation of the province in order to stay in power,” wrote Sunshine.

“It’s time for others to join us in fighting for our rights, the rule of law, and a functioning democracy.”

Committee debates Forever Canada petition

On Wednesday, a Select Special Citizen Initiative Proposal Review Committee met to discuss what to do with the Forever Canada petition spearheaded by former deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk.

The pro-federalism petition, which obtained 438,568 verified signatures, asks: “Do you agree Alberta should remain in Canada?”

Stay Free Alberta, the organization behind the pro-independence petition drive, claims that it collected 300,000 signatures. These haven’t been verified due to a stay Justice Leonard ordered on counting separatist petition signatures until she issued her decision, which ultimately rendered the number of signatures moot.

Unlike the separatists’ petition, which was a constitutional referendum proposal, Forever Canada submitted a policy proposal, giving the government the option of debating the petition in the Legislature or sending it for a referendum.

As the petition was being debated in committee, the UCP Caucus sent out a news release claiming the committee had voted to proceed with a referendum via the Forever Canada question, which led to the meeting’s adjournment until Thursday.

The committee, which consists of four UCP MLAs and two NDP MLAs, ultimately voted to send a report to Cabinet advocating for a referendum on whether Alberta should stay in Canada, with the NDP MLAs writing a minority report.

But before that, NDP MLA Court Ellingston proposed an amendment to explicitly call on the committee to consult with First Nations before recommending a referendum, noting how “anything with respect to First Nations” was “glaringly absent” from the motion they debated.

“The government can’t bypass the duty to consult,” said Ellingston. “We heard that from the courts last week.”

MLA Rakhi Pancholi, the other New Democrat on the committee, noted that deputy chair Sawhney, who serves as Indigenous relations minister, was silent during the amendment debate.

“We are only here now because the preferred question that the government wanted to go forward to referendum was struck down by a court for failure to consult,” she said, referencing the Stay Free Alberta petition. “Let’s not make that same mistake twice.”

Ellingston’s proposed amendment was rejected along partisan lines.

After the committee voted to recommend a referendum, Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations Grand Chief Joey Pete released a statement accusing the premier of overseeing a “separatist regime.”

“Premier Danielle Smith and her party are beholden to the separatists who put them in power. Everything they do is subservient to that debt – without consideration for laws, Treaty obligations or the wellbeing of future generations,” said Pete.

He lamented how “First Nations are once again carrying the burden of defending the Constitution of Canada while the Government of Canada remains silent.”