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Two Alberta separatists say their group has collected enough signatures from citizens to trigger a referendum on the province separating from Canada.
Mitch Sylvestre said the group, named Stay Free Alberta, has collected more than the approximate 178,000 required signatures. He also said volunteers who have been keeping tally as the signatures come in are expecting that number to grow.
“We [have] more than the buffer that’s required if [Elections Alberta] refuse signatures as well,” Sylvestre said in a phone interview Tuesday.
They still have another month to go before they must deliver the names to Elections Alberta for verification, but Jeffrey Rath, the general counsel for the group, said they want to announce their success now.
Stay Free Alberta wants to boost the spirit of canvassers, who will continue to gather names in the weeks to come, said Rath.
He also said the name-gatherers have been getting harassed in person and online, with one getting spit on.
The group also wants to counter online messaging that Stay Free Alberta can’t collect enough signatures, said Rath.
“There’s just been lots and lots of online trolls and other idiots trying to suggest that our campaign isn’t well managed,” he said.
“It was demoralizing to some of our volunteers and our canvassers.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has said she will move forward with a provincewide referendum if the required number of signatures are gathered and verified.
“I have said that any citizen initiative that gets the requisite number of signatures will be put on the ballot,” Smith reiterated to reporters on Tuesday during an unrelated news conference.
When asked about Rath’s reported invitation for her to join the independence movement, she repeated her long-standing support for what she calls a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada.
“And I’m hoping that I will be able to convince more and more people that Canada can work,” she added.
Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said Smith, despite her protestations of patriotism, continues to pander to separatists.
He said Smith’s government has been procedurally delaying moving forward on a “Forever Canadian” petition organized by former deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk to make it official policy that Alberta stay in Canada.
“The half a million Albertans who signed the ‘Forever Canadian’ petition are still waiting for their day in the legislature,” he said.
Nenshi also criticized Smith for reducing signature thresholds to make it easier for a separation question to go on a referendum ballot.
“This isn’t democracy. This is a premier grasping for power,” he said.
The organizers of the independence petition say they have reached the government set threshold of more than 177,000 signatures. That means their petition, which supports Alberta separatism, can now be submitted to Elections Alberta to have the signatures verified.
Smith said questions need to be cleared up on whether Lukaszuk’s petition drive was to trigger a provincewide referendum or trigger a vote by legislators in the house.
She pointed to Lukaszuk’s statements in the media, and added “I think we need to hear from Mr. Lukaszuk.”
Her office later cited Lukaszuk’s application from last June, which states “since a referendum appears to be imminent,” it proposes the question: “Do you agree that Alberta should remain in Canada?”
Lukaszuk said in an interview with The Canadian Press last week that he is concerned Smith will allow the separatist question to leapfrog his own.
He also said he filed his petition as a policy proposal because he wants it to be resolved in the legislature by a vote, but the premier can put his question on a referendum if she wants.
A legislature committee led by UCP MLAs is set to meet April 21 to begin work to discuss the Forever Canadian petition.
NDP deputy leader Rakhi Pancholi has noted that if the committee doesn’t report to the legislature by the time the house rises in mid-May, the petition won’t be tabled until after a referendum on immigration and constitutional questions planned for late October that could also include the separatists’ question.
In a letter to UCP backbencher Brandon Lunty — the committee chair — on Tuesday, Lukaszuk asked to appear before the committee in person.
He also called for the committee to quickly work to resolve the Forever Canadian question to the legislature for a vote.
Lunty, speaking to reporters Tuesday, said he’s looking forward to discussing next steps, but declined to say whether he supports Lukaszuk appearing at the committee or how quickly his panel can finish its work.
