The Alberta government has amended its proposed referendum legislation to make it clear that citizen-initiated petitions cannot infringe on the treaty rights of indigenous peoples.
The amendments respond to feedback from First Nations and indigenous partners and are intended to “reassert” the province’s commitment to protecting treaty rights in the event of a citizen-initiated referendum, Justice Minister Mickey Amery said in a May 14 statement.
“Since introducing the legislation, we have been clear that any citizen-initiated referendum question must not violate the constitutional rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples, and must uphold and honour Treaties 6, 7 and 8,” Amery said….