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The judge ruled that the provincial government had an obligation to consult with indigenous communities before starting the signature collection.
A Canadian court has struck down a bid to hold a referendum on independence in the province of Alberta, dealing a blow to separatist ambitions in the country's western province. Alberta Court of Queen's Bench Judge Shaina Leonard ruled on Wednesday to halt the process initiated by a separatist group to organize a referendum on secession from Canada.
Under the ruling, the provincial government had a legal obligation to consult with First Nations indigenous communities before organizers were allowed to collect signatures. Two First Nations groups argued that such a referendum would violate treaties they have with the British Crown, agreements that predate the creation of the province of Alberta.
“As a matter of logic and common sense, there is no doubt that Alberta’s secession from Canada would affect Treaties 7 and 8,” Justice Leonard wrote in her decision. The decision also considered legislation passed by the Alberta government that removed the requirement that referendum questions be constitutional, as well as the right of the chief electoral officer to refer proposals to the court for review.
Leonard said the separatist group should not be allowed to resubmit the request, as the first proposal was rejected by the electoral authority. Two weeks ago, separatist organizers submitted more than 300,000 signatures in support of the proposed referendum. However, a few days later, the initiative faced allegations that a group linked to the separatists had illegally obtained access to private electoral data, prompting investigations by electoral authorities and police.
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam said the decision “reinforces the importance of treaty rights, meaningful consultation and recognition of the serious impacts such decisions would have on Indigenous communities.” “This decision should close the chapter on the idea of an independence referendum. The court has spoken and so have the First Nations,” he said.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who says her government is pro-Canada but has taken steps that favor separatists, said she would appeal the decision. “This is a decision by a single judge,” Smith said, adding, “We believe this decision is legally wrong and undemocratic, so we will appeal.”
Earlier in the day, Smith had defended citizen petitions as an "important" democratic tool.
Meanwhile, separatist leader Mitch Sylvestre, who led the campaign to collect over 300,000 signatures, said he will ask the provincial government to include the issue of secession in the referendum planned for October.
Although the provincial government could add a question on independence without going through the petition process, such a move is expected to face the same legal opposition from indigenous communities.
The separatists' lawyer, Jeffery Rath, criticized the decision, saying it contains "numerous legal errors" and "violations of the principles of natural justice."
Both Rath and the provincial government argued that there was no obligation to consult with First Nations.
“The law requires consultation in cases of constitutional amendments that involve the transfer of federal powers to the provinces and that affect First Nations,” Rath said, adding, “from our perspective, no rules have been broken.”
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