Petition asking if Alberta should remain in Canada approved by committee

A Canada flag, left, and an Alberta flag flap in the breeze with Wedge Mountain in the background at the site of the G7 Leaders meeting in Kananaskis, Alta.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

MLAs part of a review committee have approved a referendum petition that will ask Albertans if the province should remain in Canada.

The United Conservative Party members outnumbered the Opposition on the committee, swaying the vote.

The decision comes after the UCP caucus prematurely released a statement Wednesday recommending the referendum, prompting the end of committee’s meeting which resumed Thursday afternoon.

UCP MLA Jason Nixon said the release was sent in error, but voted with other party members in the committee against discussing the matter further.

New Democratic Party members at the committee meeting pressed the UCP to elaborate on the media breach, which were continuously avoided.

Brandon Lunty, UCP MLA, said the questions posed by the Opposition were irrelevant to the motion of the day.

Opposition MLA Court Ellingson proposed that the province consult with First Nations before putting the referendum to Albertans.

“The government can’t pass the duty to consult,” said Ellingson during the meeting.

Last week, courts deemed a petition led by separatist group Stay Free Alberta unconstitutional, as First Nations were not consulted.

The group has filed an appeal of the Court of King’s Bench ruling.

Premier Danielle Smith called Justice Shaina Leonard’s decision an overreach, adding that the province is reviewing legal options that could include the use of the notwithstanding clause.

UCP committee members accused their Opposing colleagues of stalling the meeting with the consultation amendment, which the NDP refuted.

“It’s just ridiculous, comedic on top of what happened yesterday,” said Edmonton-Mill Woods MLA Christina Gray.

The amendment to consult with First Nations was ultimately struck down.

NDP’s Rakhi Pancholi raised concerns of a recent data breach that saw the release of more than three million Albertan’s private information leaked, saying a referendum shouldn’t be held until the investigation into the breach has been completed.

Pancholi and her party colleagues voiced their suspicion that the premier would be announcing her own referendum on separation in a televised address Thursday evening.

“She is using this committee to legitimize her desire to have a question on a referendum,” said Ellingson.

Nixon called a point of order, saying “what the premier thinks or does not think is certainly not under discussion in this motion.”

Smith and her cabinet will now review the petition.

More to come.