Alberta court strikes down independence petition over First Nations complaints

An Alberta Court of King’s Bench judge has blocked Elections Alberta’s approval of a petition that would force a referendum on the province separating from Canada.

In two decisions posted on Wednesday, Justice Sheila Leonard ruled that Alberta’s chief electoral officer Gordon McClure wrongfully approved the petition given an earlier ruling that found the separation question would violate First Nations’ treaty rights. She also found that the Crown had failed in its duty to consult with applicants Piikani Nation, Siksika Nation, Blood Tribe and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation.

Despite the decision, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith could still add a separation question to a planned October referendum, which will let voters decide whether or not to secede from the federation.

The petition, led by an organization called Stay Free Alberta, claimed to have collected just over 300,000 signatures in favour of separation. If Elections Alberta was to verify the signatures of that petition — which asks “Do you agree that the Province of Alberta should cease to be a part of Canada to become an independent state?” — Smith had said she would add the question to the referendum.

Several First Nations had raised opposition to the petition in court, arguing that it threatened to undermine their treaty rights, which in many cases predate Alberta’s formation in 1905. Justice Leonard had earlier agreed to delay Elections Alberta’s verification process, until Wednesday’s decision overruled it.

• Why Canada needs to start taking Alberta’s separatist movement seriously
• Carson Jerema: How the Liberals turned an alarming number of Albertans into separatists

More to come…

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