Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was quick to condemn a May 13 court ruling throwing out a petition for a referendum on Alberta’s separation from Canada, citing improper consultation with First Nations.
In her May 13 decision, Justice Shaina Leonard of the Alberta Court of King’s Bench ruled that Elections Alberta’s approval of the petition question—the first step toward gathering signatures—was unlawful because the Crown had not yet fulfilled its duty to consult First Nations.
Petition organizers said they had collected over 300,000 signatures, more than the required 177,732 needed for their petition to qualify as a referendum. With the process halted by the court, Elections Alberta now won’t proceed to validate the signatures for a potential referendum on the issue this year….