{"id":103522,"date":"2025-07-30T01:21:15","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T01:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/103522\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T01:21:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T01:21:15","slug":"alberta-premiers-request-for-separation-referendum-question-approval-rebuffed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/103522\/","title":{"rendered":"Alberta premier\u2019s request for separation referendum question approval rebuffed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alberta\u2019s chief electoral officer is rebuffing calls from Premier Danielle Smith and her justice minister to reverse course and sign off on a proposed referendum<\/a> question on separation.<\/p>\n

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On social media, Smith and Justice Minister Mickey Amery said earlier Tuesday that Albertans should be able to embark on gathering signatures \u201cwithout needless bureaucratic red tape or court applications slowing the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their remarks came after chief electoral officer Gordon McClure announced he had referred the proposed referendum question on separation to the courts so a judge could decide if it contravenes Canada\u2019s Constitution.<\/p>\n

McClure, in a statement Tuesday, responded by saying he\u2019s merely following procedure and that the gravity of such a potential referendum invites judicial oversight and close inspection.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn seeking the opinion of the Court, the Chief Electoral Officer is fulfilling his duty under the Citizen Initiative Act in an independent, neutral and non-partisan manner,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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The proposed question \u2014 which needs McClure\u2019s approval before the group behind it can start gathering the signatures necessary to get it on a ballot \u2014 seeks a yes or no answer to: \u201cDo you agree that the Province of Alberta shall become a sovereign country and cease to be a province in Canada?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Amery says in his post that since the province would ultimately be responsible for implementing any referendum result, the electoral officer\u2019s request for judicial scrutiny is premature.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe encourage Elections Alberta to withdraw its court reference and permit Albertans their democratic right to participate in the citizen initiative process,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s post said she agrees with Amery, but adds she believes in \u201cAlberta sovereignty within a united Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n

McClure, in his statement, said the question is \u201cserious and significant,\u201d and that it has \u201cthe potential to have profound impact on all Albertans.\u201d<\/p>\n

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He also clarified that he\u2019s specifically looking for a judge to rule if the proposed question contravenes specific sections of the Constitution, including the rights set out in the Charter, the enforcement of those rights, and treaty rights.<\/p>\n

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Smith and Amery\u2019s comments came after the group that submitted the question called the electoral officer\u2019s Monday decision a \u201cdelay tactic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opposition NDP deputy leader Rakhi Pancholi, in a statement, accused Smith and Amery of going against the administration of a law they themselves set in order to appease separatists<\/a> within the United Conservative Party.<\/p>\n

\u201cYet again, Danielle Smith and her UCP government\u2019s authoritarian tendencies, corruption and incompetence are on full display,\u201d Pancholi said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAlbertans deserve better than a government hell-bent on tearing our country apart to save their political skins.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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