Judge Rejects Alberta Separatists’ Petition Over Lack of Consulation with First Nations

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On May 13, Justice Shaina Leonard rejected a petition delivered by Stay Free Alberta that requested a referendum on the question of Alberta gaining independence from Canada. The referendum was refused due to the provincial government not meeting its constitutional duty to consult First Nations groups on matters that impact them. Stay Free Alberta leader Mitch Sylvestre said the petition received more than 300,000 signatures.

Leonard delivered her ruling after Indigenous groups in Alberta argued that an independent Alberta, brought about without consulting them, would infringe on Treaties 6, 7, and 8 that they had signed with the Alberta government.

“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,” Leonard’s decision reads. She found that the Crown did not fulfill its legal duty to consult with the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Blood Tribe, Piikani Nation, and Siksika First Nation, according to CBC.

 Leonard also found that the chief electoral officer of Elections Alberta, Gordon McClure, made an error of law by allowing the petition to proceed in the first place, because he didn’t account for a previous court ruling that established that Alberta’s separation would infringe on Indigenous people's treaty rights, according to CBC.

Leonard’s court ruling has elicited a range of reactions from both Indigenous groups and supporters of the petition.

Siksika First Nation Chief Samuel Crowfoot says the decision affirms that treaties are "living constitutional agreements" between First Nations and the Crown.

"The Alberta government would do well to change their course in dealing with First Nations and engage with us in a respectful and meaningful way when it comes to consultation," Crowfoot said, as per CBC. "We want to be part [... of] improving Alberta, not roadblocks in their efforts to appease a fringe minority.”

Allan Adam, chief of the Athabasca Chipewyan tribe, said that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith should let Leonard’s decision stand. "If you want to show true leadership, you want to show grit, here's an opportunity for Premier Smith and Canada, along with the First Nations, to sit down and start building this country and start developing some of the resources," Adam said, according to CBC.

Finally, Troy Knowlton, chief of the Piikani Nation, supported Leonard’s affirmation of treaty rights. "Proceeding with an unconstitutional question would have caused irreparable harm to our treaty rights," Knowlton said in a statement.

On the other hand, the Alberta government decided to appeal Leonard’s decision. In an unrelated news conference on May 13, Smith said that the court decision was “incorrect in law and anti-democratic” and that she plans to appeal it. 

Additionally, on her biweekly radio show on May 16, Smith said the provincial government will intervene if a judge is overstepping on matters that have a broader interest, and that her government wants to preserve the Citizen Initiative Act.

“The citizen-initiative process is supposed to be permissive, because we want citizens to feel confident that they can get their fellow citizens together and put a question of public interest on the agenda,” Smith said, according to CBC.

“How is a group of well-meaning citizens supposed to even meet that bar [of consulting with Indigenous peoples]? They can’t,” she added.

Sylvestre has also opposed the decision. He said that members of Stay Free Alberta will pay to become members of the United Conservative Party, Smith’s political party, to persuade her to call the referendum. "They're gonna be reminding Danielle Smith that we expect her to call the question under Section 1 of the Referendum Act, or there's any number of consequences that will flow from 301,000 new [United Conservative Party] members who support independence," Sylvestre said, according to CBC.

Furthermore, Sylvestre’s lawyer, Jeff Rath, said Leonard's decision was "completely incomprehensible” and that he plans to appeal.

However, Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi urged Smith to abandon pursuing the separation question altogether. "Premier, call off the referendum and put this to bed," Nenshi said, according to CBC. "This petition is dead. This referendum is dead.”