Alberta First Nation argues separatists have no right ‘to petition for the breakup of Canada’

A lawyer representing an Alberta First Nation at a hearing to quash a potential independence referendum in the province said Tuesday that the vote would violate long-established treaties and argued that separatists have no right “to petition for the breakup of Canada.”

Orlagh O’Kelly, counsel for Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, said in her opening arguments that the case is “foundational to the continuation of the numbered treaties, the maintenance of the treaty relationship and, as a consequence, Alberta’s continued existence in Canada.”

Ms. O’Kelly argued that “there is no unbridled right to petition for the breakup of Canada, nor is there unbridled parliamentary supremacy.”

The three-day hearing will see Court of King’s Bench Justice Shaina Leonard decide whether to suspend Alberta’s pro-independence petition, which has separatists trying to collect the nearly 178,000 signatures needed to force a referendum on leaving the country.

Sturgeon Lake, a band in northern Alberta, is suing the Alberta and Canadian governments and the province’s chief electoral officer hoping to get an injunction quashing the petition.

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The judge heard arguments from the First Nation’s lawyer in an Edmonton courtroom about how a secession vote would undermine First Nations’ treaty rights and leave the province vulnerable to foreign interference, among other concerns.

Some Alberta First Nation leaders, including Sturgeon Lake Chief Sheldon Sunshine, attended the hearing in-person, along with more than 100 other people who attended virtually. An online chat attached to the hearing was overrun with a back-and-forth between independence supporters before it was shut down by court officials.

This week’s hearings follow several changes to Alberta’s direct democracy laws passed by Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party government that have increased the likelihood of an independence referendum and galvanized the province’s separatist movement. While most public-opinion polling shows support for independence in Alberta at around 20 per cent to 30 per cent, the movement has had a very active public campaign.

The Premier has said an independence vote could be added to a referendum ballot she has scheduled for Oct. 19 where the province has planned questions on immigration and other constitutional issues.

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Last spring, Ms. Smith substantially reduced the number of signatures needed to force a constitutional referendum to nearly 178,000 from about 588,000. Last week, independence advocate Mitch Sylvestre said organizers had reached that goal, one month ahead of the May 2 deadline to deliver the signatures to Elections Alberta for verification.

Also, in December, the Alberta government legislated additional changes to the Citizen Initiative Act that removed the safeguard requiring referendum questions to comply with the Canadian Constitution. However, the changes also mean the Alberta government wouldn’t be forced to implement the results of a referendum if doing so would violate the Constitution.

Ms. O’Kelly is asking Justice Leonard to reinstate the Citizen Initiative Act’s constitutional protections and suspend the independence petition.

The Alberta government is scheduled to provide its legal arguments later Tuesday afternoon.

In its submission to Justice Leonard, the province says Sturgeon Lake’s legal arguments are “premised on speculation about potential future outcomes” and that “foreign interference has never required Canada to stop a democratic process.”

“The injunction would prevent legislation from operating and stop the flow of ideas before reaching the government.”