A separatist supporter holds a box during a rally in front of the Elections Alberta headquarters in Edmonton earlier in May. A judge struck down the petition on Wednesday that called for an independence referendum in the fall.HENRY MARKEN/AFP/Getty Images
Provinces must respect the rights of Indigenous peoples if they want to hold independence referendums, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday, one day after an Alberta judge struck down a separatist group’s petition in favour of a secession vote.
Court of King’s Bench Justice Shaina Leonard on Wednesday threw out a petition that sought to force a provincewide independence vote this fall. Alberta, she said, was required to consult with First Nations about the proposed question because the possibility of secession would affect treaty rights. But the province failed to consult, she said.
The decision landed just as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Mr. Carney were putting the finishing touches on a new deal for industrial carbon pricing, a key component of their bid to build a bitumen pipeline to the West Coast. The pair is expected to unveil the new framework on Friday in Calgary. Ms. Smith argues a new agreement could reset the relationship between Alberta and the federal government, pacifying would-be separatists in the process.
Mr. Carney on Thursday said independence referendums must adhere to the rules.
“We have standards and an ability for provinces to hold referenda on a variety of subjects. Obviously, we support that,” he said at an unrelated news conference. “That means respecting the rights of Indigenous peoples.”
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Mr. Carney insisted he is not trying to build a bitumen pipeline to quell separatist angst. But Ottawa, he said, is working with Alberta to make the country stronger.
“The best place for Alberta is in Canada, and certainly, a Canada that works, which is what we’re pursuing,” Mr. Carney said.
The Prime Minister, however, could soon face another threat to national unity from Quebec.
Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon told reporters in Montreal on Thursday that he was watching the fallout from the Alberta judgment, but wasn’t overly concerned about the implications for a possible Quebec referendum. His party has promised a vote on independence in its first mandate if it wins October’s provincial election.
“I hope Alberta will reaffirm what all provinces should affirm, that our legislatures have the right to determine consultations of its own population without the federal government uselessly intervening,” he said.
In Alberta, separatists – many of whom support Ms. Smith’s United Conservative Party – are putting pressure on the Premier to call a sovereignty referendum regardless of the court ruling. Ms. Smith said her government will appeal Justice Leonard’s decision and called the ruling “anti-democratic.”
Supporters of Alberta separatist leader Mitch Sylvestre at a rally in front of the Elections Alberta headquarters in Edmonton, May 4.JASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press
Justice Leonard’s decision is a major setback for Alberta’s independence movement. Last week, separatist leader Mitch Sylvestre said his group collected roughly 301,000 signatures supporting an independence referendum.
Michelle Gurney, spokesperson for Elections Alberta, said on Thursday that the signatures will be kept in storage and won’t be counted until all related court proceedings are over.
In December, Court of King’s Bench Justice Colin Feasby ruled that Mr. Sylvestre’s independence proposal was unconstitutional under Alberta’s citizen-initiative laws and that First Nations can’t be bypassed as the province considers its future in Canada.
At the same time, Ms. Smith’s government changed the rules, allowing citizens to launch referendum petitions without Elections Alberta first determining whether their proposed questions are constitutional. Ms. Smith said she didn’t want courts or Elections Alberta to gatekeep referendum questions from the electorate.
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The changes allowed Mr. Sylvestre to resubmit his referendum proposal to Gordon McClure, the chief electoral officer, who approved it in late December.
But this week, Justice Leonard ruled that Mr. McClure’s decision “was unreasonable” and he never should have approved the petition.
Ms. Smith earlier this year scheduled a referendum for Oct. 19. The government proposed nine questions related to immigration and the Constitution, but not separation. Still, the government said other questions could be added if petitioners such as Mr. Sylvestre succeed in their signature drives.
Naheed Nenshi, the Leader of the Alberta New Democratic Party, argued the Premier’s plan to appeal Justice Leonard’s decision is a waste of money and an attack on the rights of Indigenous people.
“She’s willing to take up that fight, spending Albertans’ money to support separatists’ friends,” he said during Question Period. “This does not solve any problems.”
Ms. Smith reiterated her position that the judge’s decision is incorrect and anti-democratic. The government designed the citizen-led petition process to be “permissive,” she said in the legislature.
“We don’t want to deny 300,000 people the opportunity to have their signatures and their efforts considered and validated.”
She continued, arguing the roughly 400,000 people who signed a pro-Canada petition want a referendum on independence, too. “We now have over 700,000 people, between these two petitions, that want to have some question on this issue discussed in an open way and voted on in the fall.”
Caucus and cabinet, she said, will debate what to do next.
“We don’t live in a society that has judicial supremacy,” she said. “We live in a society that has parliamentary and democratic supremacy.”
With reports from Eric Andrew-Gee and Emma Graney