Alberta won’t drop appeal of quashed separation petition

The Alberta government says it will not drop its appeal of a court decision that quashed a citizen petition on separation, despite calls from First Nations chiefs and the Opposition to do so after Monday’s referendum.

Justice Minister Mickey Amery said in a statement the government believes the decision “contained errors of law.” He said that “citizens should not have to meet a duty to consult to gather signatures from fellow citizens on a citizen initiative petition,” CBC News reported.

Four First Nations, Athabasca Chipewyan, Siksika Nation, Blood Tribe and Piikani Nation, challenged the process around Stay Free Alberta’s citizen petition. In May, Justice Shaina Leonard ruled the province failed to consult them and overturned Elections Alberta’s approval of the petition. Because of that ruling, the government’s question on the Oct. 19 ballot asked whether Albertans supported starting the legal process toward a second, binding referendum on separation.

Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam said Albertans made their answer clear. “The people said it straight out: we are not going to go through a separation,” he said, asking why the province would keep a process Albertans gave no mandate for. Chief Crowfoot said dropping the appeal could help repair what he called a “fractured” relationship between First Nations and the province.

NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi echoed the call at a news conference Friday morning. “Certainly the First Nations are spending money on lawyers, we taxpayers are spending money on lawyers, let’s listen to what Albertans said on Monday and just drop it,” he said.

The petition’s organizer, Mitch Sylvestre, has filed his own appeal and wants the government to keep fighting. He said it matters for democracy in Alberta because other contentious questions could be challenged the same way. Crowfoot said he does not expect Sylvestre to drop his appeal.

Kathleen Mahoney, professor emeritus at the University of Calgary’s faculty of law, said that because there are two appeals, the process continues even if the government withdraws. She said staying in the case could give the government clarity on when consultation must happen in a process that affects Indigenous rights. If the appeal court upholds the lower ruling, she said, “it’s over,” but if it finds consultation could come later, the government could be required to deal with the original petition, with no timeline set.

The dispute follows a vote in which First Nations also raised concerns. See our earlier coverage of ballot shortages on First Nations, the late referendum count and First Nations leaders’ reaction to the vote.

The information is from CBC News reporting.

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