Premier Danielle Smith is rejecting the ruling of an Alberta judge who on Wednesday quashed a separatist petition and says the province will appeal the court ruling.
In her written judgment, 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 Alberta’s separation would be a violation of treaty rights.
Premier Danielle Smith, during an unrelated announcement in Edmonton shortly after the decision came down, called the court’s ruling incorrect in law and anti-democratic.
“I would say that it is a single judge who has made a decision, and we have now 700,000 Albertans — whether they’re on the remain side or the leave side — who’ve said that they want to have this public debate,” said Smith.
“Since we believe that this one is incorrect in law and anti-democratic, we will be appealing it.”
Smith said she’ll be meeting with her cabinet and UCP caucus to further review the decision and decide next steps.
“We want to hear from Albertans. That’s what we think democracy is.”
Lawyers for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and Blackfoot Confederacy, made up of the Piikani Nation, Siksika Nation and Blood Tribe, took the Government of Alberta, the province’s Chief Electoral Officer and Mitch Sylvestre, who is leader of the Alberta independence movement, to court.
The province’s referendum process and its use by separatists, they argued, is unconstitutional because it does not include a requirement to consult with First Nations.
The separatist group Stay Free Alberta handed in its petition last week and boasted that it had nearly 302,000 names — well above its 178,000 requirement.
Premier Danielle Smith has said if the petition had enough signatures, the group’s question would be put on a ballot during a planned referendum this fall.
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Lawyers for the province have defended the process and pushed for the separatist petition to play out.
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 be triggered.
Wednesday’s judgment was preceded by a ruling from the judge last month when she paused 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 that would implement succession, had a duty to consult, but no consultation occurred so “Alberta breached its duty to consult with the applicants.”
The judge also said “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 Chief Electoral Officer’s decision has a potential adverse effect on those Treaty rights.”
Reaction to Wednesday’s ruling was swift.
The lawyer for the separatist group Stay Free Alberta issued a statement on social media.
“We disagree fundamentally with the decision which appears on its face to violate the principles of natural justice and contain numerous errors of law,” said Jeffrey Rath, who added that the group will be filing an appeal.
Elections Alberta also issued a statement, saying, “We are analyzing the decision and outcomes to determine what that means for Elections Alberta and citizen initiative petitions in progress, and will need some time to do that work.”
The premier has already outlined nine questions dealing with immigration and constitutional changes that will be asked during an Oct. 19 provincial referendum.
However, Wednesday’s court ruling means the possibility of including a separation question on the ballot remains up in the air.
The pro-federalist “Forever Canadian” petition was earlier verified, but an Alberta legislative committee hasn’t yet decided if the question asked on that petition — “Do you agree that Alberta should remain within Canada?” — will be put to a referendum or a vote amongst all MLAs on the floor of the provincial legislature.
Thomas Lukaszuk, a former Alberta deputy premier, spearheaded the “Forever Canadian” petition, which collected over 400,000 signatures and was verified by Elections Alberta officials in December.
–with files from The Canadian Press.
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