A leader of Alberta’s separatist movement says some members of Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party caucus have signed the petition looking to force a vote on the province leaving Canada.
“It shouldn’t surprise anybody that UCP MLAs are signing the petition.”
The petition, launched earlier this month, calls for a referendum to ask Albertans: Do you agree that the province of Alberta should cease to be a part of Canada to become an independent state?
It needs to collect almost 178,000 signatures by May. If successful, it would then be up to Smith’s justice minister to refer it to the lieutenant-governor to call a referendum.
Rath wouldn’t name the caucus members who signed or say how many, citing confidentiality rules that dictate Alberta’s petition process.
Smith’s office deferred questions about whether her legislature members have signed the petition to the UCP caucus. It said Rath doesn’t speak for its members.
“Our United Conservative government is focused on building a strong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada,” the caucus said in a statement.
Rath responded to the refusal by the premier’s office to comment on the petition by accusing Smith of muzzling her caucus.
“It’s the same way that she muzzled all of us before the Alberta UCP AGM,” said Rath.
“She passed a resolution at the provincial board denying any debate on the floor of the AGM with regard to independence. She also made it clear that she would not allow any resolutions on the floor with regard Alberta independence. So I think what she’s saying is that she’s the boss of us and she wants to Albertans to remain oppressed by Canada,” Rath added.
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At a press conference in Edmonton on Friday, the deputy leader of the Alberta NDP accused Smith of “pandering” to the separatists to protect her job.
“Those separatists do not have the democratic right to represent the people of Alberta or our country, but they’re out there having those conversations,” Rakhi Pancholi said.
“The premier doesn’t serve the Wexit folks. She doesn’t serve the political base of her party. She serves the province of Alberta and the people who live here,” Pancholi said. “So I don’t really care if this is politically uncomfortable for the premier to have to admit that she has actively supported separatism in this province. The people of this province deserve to know the answer to that question.”
The Alberta Chambers of Commerce have denounced the prospect of a referendum on Alberta’s independence as bad for business and claim it’s driving away investment.
Pancholi points to the fallout from the 1995 referendum in Quebec as an example of what could happen in Alberta.
“That actually created an economic disaster for Quebec and they are still recovering from that. We saw the flight of capital, of head offices, of small businesses out of Quebec for years because Quebec appeared to be an uncertain and unstable place for people to invest their dollars and to build their lives,” Pancholi said.
Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi has called on all MLAs to sign a pledge against separatism.
“If they don’t, we’ll just assume all of them signed the petition,” Nenshi said in an interview. “(Smith) now is in charge of a separatist party and a separatist government, and she obviously cannot control her own MLAs.”
On Friday, the NDP said all its members had signed the pledge, but so far no UCP members have stepped forward to sign.
The UCP’s chief government whip, Justin Wright, called the NDP’s pledge a “cheap political stunt.”
However, Pancholi responded by saying the silence of the UCP MLAs “speaks volumes.”
The premier has consistently responded to questions about her stance on independence by saying she supports a strong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada, a phrase that Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt says “means nothing.”
“It appeals to both federalists and to separatists. So on one hand, she has made it much easier for the petition for separation. On the other, she’s negotiating MOU with Mark Carney. So she’s playing both sides,” said Bratt.
“But at a certain point, that’s unsustainable. If we get to a referendum, she’s got to do more than just say sovereign Alberta, United Canada. She’s going to have to say yes or no. Likewise her MLAs (wo are) repeating her phrases, they’re going to have to say yes or no.”
Bratt said there is also evidence that the campaign for a referendum on Alberta’s independence has some government support.
“The government is aiding and abetting this. This isn’t some outside group that they’ve never heard of and don’t know who they are. Jeff Rath and Dennis Modri and Mitch Sylvester were all at the UCP convention,” said Bratt.
“So given all of that, it would not surprise me that an MLA has signed the petition. What does surprise me is if they did so, why haven’t they publicized it?”
“It is completely inappropriate to seek to weaken Canada, to seek to go and ask for assistance to break up this country from a foreign power,” Eby said.
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Other premiers didn’t go so far, but many called on Smith to denounce the separation movement in her province.
“This is an opportunity for Premier Smith to stand up and say enough is enough,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said.
“Either you’re with Canada or you’re not with Canada.”
However, a the end of the first minister’s meeting Smith declined to denounce the separatists, saying she won’t demonize those in Alberta who have “lost hope” in Canada.
“What we need to do is we need to give Albertans hope,” she said. “We need to show them, not just tell them, not just words, but with actions that Canada can work.”
Rath has admitted to attending meetings with U.S. officials but denied that his actions amounted to treason.
“We have not entered into any agreements with the United States with regard to anything. We have not solicited funds from them. We are not receiving funds from them,” he said.
Rath said he discussed with U.S. officials a $500-billion fund or loan to help Alberta transition into an independent country but that it was more hypothetical than a serious attempt to solicit funds from a foreign government.
The referendum petition, spearheaded by Mitch Sylvestre, who is also the UCP constituency association president in the riding of Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul, has drawn large crowds at meetings across the province in recent weeks.
“I think we’re exceeding everybody’s expectations,” Rath said.
“Everybody’s really excited and joyful about having the opportunity to sign Alberta out of Canada, and we’re going to keep moving forward.”
However, an Ipsos poll, released earlier this week, said approximately 29 per cent of Albertans would vote to separate from Canada, but only half that number would support separation when faced with the costs and consequences of doing so.
— with files from The Canadian Press.
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