VANCOUVER – No sooner were Alberta separatists celebrating provincial Justice Minister Mickey Amery’s secession-friendly Bill 14 for ending the court challenge that sought to block the Alberta Prosperity Project’s separation petition question than the Alberta Court of King’s Bench threw a spanner into the works.
Mr. Justice Colin Feasby issued a decision Thursday that the referendum question proposed by the APP – and clearly supported by its silent partner in this separatist venture, the governing United Conservative Party led by Premier Danielle Smith – was unconstitutional.
Justice Feasby also rapped Mr. Amery’s knuckles for attempting to make it impossible for Albertans to challenge the constitutionality of referenda questions. But as the judge surely understood, this is increasingly on brand for the UCP.
He should know. As Press Progress reported, Judge Feasby wrote a PhD thesis on Canadian election law. The UCP strategy, he said in his ruling, is “the antithesis of the stable, predictable, and ordered society that the rule of law contemplates, and democracy demands.”
“The rule of law plays a critical role with respect to the democratic process where stability of the governing legal regime enhances legitimacy and public confidence in the outcomes of elections and referendums,” he added. Indeed, given the direction taken by Mr. Amery’s legislation, it gets harder all the time to have much confidence in legitimacy of the Alberta referendum process.
“First Nations, as founding partners in the creation of Alberta, cannot be ignored or bypassed as Alberta contemplates its future whether that is part of Canada or not,” Judge Feasby also wrote. “The transformation of provincial and territorial borders into international borders would contravene the Numbered Treaties by significantly impairing the exercise of Treaty rights by First Nations.”
Of course, judged on their commentary, this is exactly what the separatist crowd intends.
“This case cannot be discontinued, and the Court cannot be silenced because the case has been decided,” Judge Feasby wrote in a passage referencing Bill 14. “These reasons are delivered despite the anticipated change to the law because reason giving is democratic. This case concerned a matter of importance to the public and these reasons are the product of significant investment of the diverse group of stakeholders who participated in this proceeding. The public is entitled to the fruits of this process that has been conducted largely at their expense so that if they are asked to vote on Alberta independence, they have a tool that may help them make sense of the legal dimensions of the secession of Alberta from Canada.”
Predictably, Alberta separatists (who are mostly 51st staters at heart) immediately pivoted on social media to calling for a unilateral declaration of independence, which even if not widely appreciated, has obviously been their fall-back all along.
For its part, Ms. Smith and the UCP still insist they kinda, sorta, maybe support remaining in Canada, as long as Alberta becomes a kind of super province that rules over all the others, even as they get back to doing whatever they can to effect Alberta’s departure from Canada.
It has been obvious since the start of the Smith Regime that the premier and her fellow travellers intended to create a constitutional crisis. It has become increasingly clear that one goal of that manufactured crisis will be to circumvent the constitutional limitations on unilateral secession.
So it can no longer be denied that the UCP is a separatist party, whether or not they talked about that part of their agenda at their recent annual general meeting. If its leaders had a shred of honour, they would drop the pretence.
They have no intention of letting a ruling by a judge or the constitution of our country stand in the way of their secessionist machinations any more than they are about to pay any attention of the will of the people, who clearly do not support breaking up the country.
We are entering treacherous waters here.
Are we ready to trade the rule of law for the rule of Trump, as historian Heather Cox Richardson described it yesterday in as essay that put today’s anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor on that infamous Sunday morning in 1941 in the context of the continuing MAGA attack on democracy.
It is high time for the lieutenant governor of Alberta to brush up on her power of reservation of provincial legislation, for the federal cabinet to start thinking about its power of disallowance, and for the national security agencies on which we lavish so much treasure to start paying attention.
Meanwhile, the recall plot thickens
Meanwhile, back in Wild Rose Country, the UCP’s self-inflicted recall crisis continues to metastasize. There are now 18 recall petitions listed on the Elections Alberta website. All but one name UCP MLAs. The name of Premier Smith doesn’t appear there, although there have been reports that a recall petition has been started in the Brooks-Medicine Hat riding she represents but does not live in. So that strongly suggests at least one more is to come.
While it is widely understood that this phenomenon is a popular response both to offensive UCP policies and evidence of corruption, the party’s line is that it’s somehow a conspiracy ginned up by the NDP Opposition and sinister progressive groups.
In reality, the NDP has been far too timid to adopt such tactics, and most progressive groups are too small and disorganized. As for the labour movement, another suspect, most unions have been too busy negotiating contracts this year.
The UCP has been smart, therefore, not to organize retaliatory petitions against NDP, because that would suggest they too were abusing the recall law, which they claim was intended only for use against “egregious” misdeeds by individual MLAs.
So the addition of Calgary-Beddington MLA Amanda Chapman, a New Democrat, to the list suggests the UCP has either changed its strategy, or its own members are now joining the popular rebellion in a way not particularly helpful to their own party.
There are also reports that at least one petition campaign against a UCP MLA was started by the governing party’s own members with the intention of failing while blocking a legitimate petition by residents genuinely unhappy with their local member. TIA – this is Alberta – so nothing is impossible.
“We are entering treacherous waters here.”
“Twas the witch of November come stealing….”
Thanks, Gordon Lightfoot. How did you know?
You’d think Black Hat Guy and his followers would be joyful with the province’s Bill 14, but no. They like the parts about subverting the legal process and banning the use of the word Conservative. But what they don’t like is the proposed change to the Election Act that would switch the power to sign nomination papers for candidates from the UCP board and UCP constituency associations to the party leader. In other words, the person with the final word on election candidates will be Danielle Smith. As Black Hat Guy pointed out in one interview, Danielle was limited to appointing two candidates in a vote at last weekend’s AGM. If Bill 14 goes through unchanged, she’ll have full control over all 78 candidates! Bill 14 is the death certificate for the former Wildrose Party. The grassroots have withered and turned brown.
Here are a number of items that we can take to the bank:
The lieutenant governor will channel a potted plant and do absolutely nothing.
The feds will sit on their thumbs and do nothing.
The Alberta NDP will continue its determined campaign of half measures and timidity.
Despite Smith prostrating herself before Trump, he will not make Alberta the 51st state. It will be given the same status as Puerto Rico. However, Trump will accept the oil and water that Smith will willingly hand over.
The one thing I’ve come to understand about this mess is even when the whole idea of separation is put to bed, this province is going to be left with one of the biggest legal messes that might be impossible to fully clean up
Kyle: Fair point. We will also be left with messes in health care and education, and quite possibly other fields as well, that will be difficult or impossible to fix. DJC
It’s incredible to see the massive bias in this page, and a lot of people reading it don’t even realize. Most separatists AREN’T pro-51st unlike this column says. If you take a little time and read about the APP, as well as separatist groups across Facebook and a couple other places you’ll see we are LARGELY pro-independent country, NOT, pro-51st. Another thing: “Oh the separatists are going around the law and have no respect for the law” well when the law is being weaponized and won’t allow a DEMOCRATIC vote on whether we want to leave or not it’s blocked, your right. All I have to say is this, first don’t believe every news story you see (on the left OR the right). Second, all we want is a vote on if we leave. If we have the vote, and it’s a legitimate vote (no fraud) and we don’t vote to separate, fair enough. But not even being allowed to vote on it is insane. People keep saying we’re a minority. Well if that’s so, why are you so afraid of letting us vote on it?
The problem isn’t everyone else, it’s that you and your ilk are so blinded by stupefying ignorance that you can’t see that an independent Alberta WILL = absorption by the US. You are being played by forces that don’t have your bests interests in mind at all. Even if the Separatists were a grassroots movement (hint: they are not) and an independent Alberta was workable (another hint: it isn’t) true Canadians aren’t afraid of a separation vote, they are worried the vote would be subject to interference a la Brexit. And it won’t be the Pro-Canada side that rigs it, I’ll promise you that.
From Wikipedia. Are we there yet?
Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, established authority. Sedition may include any commotion, though not aimed at direct and open violence against the laws. Seditious words in writing are seditious libel. A seditionist is one who engages in or promotes the interest of sedition.
Because sedition is overt, it is typically not considered a subversive act, and the overt acts that may be prosecutable under sedition laws vary by jurisdiction.
Heather Cox Richardson’s article was both validation to what alot of us have thinking, but also disturbing that we were right. IMHO it also pinpoints just how much Stormy Danielle is following the playbook.
As far as Mr Neudorf, the article was in both the Lethbridge paper and the breakdown. All I can say is I’m not surprised; we already know the program.
From FB- Progressive Canadians for Truth Justice and Democracy …
Form Letter that can be used to contact the Government about “Section 90 of the Constitution Act 1867 . It is not ceremonial, it is not obsolete. It was built for moments when a province decides to operate outside the rules of law, reject Federal jurisdiction or place Canada’s constitutional order at risk…..;
Whether we can get the government to pay attention and do something before it’s too late, well..?
Every voice matters.
Lukaszuk is a leader without a party, the ANDP is a party without a leader.
And never the twain shall meet. DJC
The Canadian province of Alberta was created by the government of Canada, with consideration of existing treaties with the indigenous peoples of the land. The powers granted to the provincial government was to administer, govern and to manage the resources. I don’t believe the “land” was given to the province; the land is Canadian/indigenous land. So if the separatists were to win a referendum (unlikely as that may be) are they planning on buying the land from Canada and the indigenous peoples? If they just want to take it then the relevant federal agencies certainly should be looking very closely at seditious or treasonous activities on the extreme right. Dizzy Danny is doing her best to make sure they all get to keep their AKs…
Jorobb: We can’t rule out the possibility the separatists will “win,” either because the government rigs the system and cheats outright, or because the population is subjected to massive foreign interference and mischief as happened in the Brexit referendum. Quite possibility some combination of both. Nor can we rule out the possibility the separatists will lose clearly and nevertheless cry “Stop the Steal” and unilaterally declare independence. Nor can we assume that in such circumstances, the Trump secretary of state will not recognize the separatists. That is why this needs to be nipped in the bud sooner than later, and not by giving in to the UCP, who will always move the horizon on their demands. DJC
Would it help to remind them that the TMX pipeline is currently owned by the Gov’t of Canada? Not that it will matteer in a few years when the demand for oil drops.
And DJC because the entire Trump doctrine is funding and supporting this fifth column for their benefit. Not Alberta’s, Not Canada’s. If CSIS is supposed to be *our* intelligence agency, maybe they’d best be de-coupling some of their info from the south and going after those pockets where American dark money is flowing before the Donroe Doctine takes hold.
Dave–is the NDP too timid to adopt “such topics” or “such tactics”?
Jim: Thanks, and I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to moderate comments. You are right. Tactics was the intended word. It’s been changed. DJC
Hello DJC and fellow commenters,
I wonder how much Alberta is losing in investment by corporations/businesses that are deciding not to locate in Alberta because of uncertainty about separation.
Also, these businesses might be concerned that they will have to pay for expensive health insurance for employees who will want to be able to jump the queue for treatments available in the private system but not public system. Looking at the very high cost of health insurance in the U S, it is reasonable to suppose that costs would be similar in Alberta.
Christina: If it’s not happening now (and it probably is) it soon will be. DJC
Now that the UCP is a term and a half old and on its second leader we might ask what has it done right? Well, it did win two elections in a row, so there’s that. But the first one in 2019 failed to recover 20-odd seats conservatives used to own for a long, long time before the NDP’s astounding 2015 upset victory, so plainly not all erstwhile conservatives were ready to return to the new United Conservative Party. Why?
In 2015 voters punished both the Wildrose party because its leader Danielle Smith and part of her shadow cabinet crossed the floor to the government side and the PCs for accepting them: for the first time voters elected an NDP government which, the Dippers having only held a few seats for many years, was victory by default. But the Dippers didn’t turn out too bad after all and when Jason Kenney led the newly shotgun-wedded UCP to victory in 2019, the NDP kept several times as many seats as they had before their upset win four years earlier.
It appears that even more erstwhile PC supporters cast for the NDP in 2023 after having observed the UCP oust its founder and leader only part way through his first term and replace him with Danielle Smith. In 2023 she finally won a mandate of her own but the NDP now had the largest Loyal Opposition in Alberta history.
Of course all is not well within the UCP but unlike the ProgCon split between fiscal hawks and Red Tory doves, the UCP split is between moderate conservatives and radical secessionists. Nevertheless the government continues to rack up one achievement after another even if it has to use the notwithstanding clause to do it.
Sarcasm aside, the UCP is a terrible government. Governing is hard, no doubt—but if Danielle thinks that’s hard, just wait until she applies the same acumen towards unilateral secession.
I can’t help but compare the UCP’s decision to turn their back to the courts in this scenario to the story that came out last week where UCP ministers claimed that they invoked the notwithstanding clause to end the teachers’ strike because binding arbitration would have resulted in a settlement that would have cost the taxpayers of Alberta millions of dollars, and they wanted to be responsible caretakers of taxpayer funds.
When Elections Alberta first referred the APP question to the courts, they said it was to make sure the question being proposed was constitutional, before the proponents spent thousands of hours gathering signatures, and the government spent a lot of money certifying signature gatherers and getting the petition started, then later validating the collected signatures. Elections Alberta very understandably felt that there was no point going through all of that if at the end of the process a court were to rule the process was unconstitutional. Doing so is just a responsible way of looking after taxpayer funds.
Still on the topic of being responsible with taxpayer funds, last week the UCP introduced legislation preventing people from suing AIMCo for money lost from their pension plan as a result of AIMCo making bad investments. If it is possible for a government to pass legislation making it impossible to sue the government, couldn’t they have also passed similar legislation making it impossible for a coal company to sue a government for profits they did not make because the government pulled the plug on their coal mine? Readers may recall that that was the Smith’s government reasoning for allowing the Australian coal company to go ahead with their mine, because the coal company had threatened to sue the government for $15B.
It’s like there is a cheat code for governing…pass coherent and constitutional, and non-odious laws.
Always funny stuff from the prog position. First Nations were partners in founding Alberta more or less the same way they were partners in founding residential schools and jails. That “the infamous” attack by the Japanese on a massive imperialist naval installation established on land literally stolen by the US at gunpoint from the indigenous population less than fifty years prior, (resulting in the indigenous monarch being charged with misprision of treason and overthrown), is somehow analagous to the Drumpf spectacle is indeed rich. At least as droll is the idea that in a petrostate like Albertistan “the stable, predictable, and ordered society that the rule of law contemplates, and democracy demands” could possibly exist. Calgary Beddington’s boundaries do overlap with those of the federal Nose Hill riding, bastion of Oklahoma’s favourite adopted daughter, Michelle Rumpel-Stiltskin, so some kookery is bound to occasionally flare up.
Question: Should Alberta separate in whatever form, what will happen to federal MPs representing Alberta in Ottawa? And to a lesser extent, to Senators?
We will never stop the corruption and malfeasance in Ottawa. We can remove ourselves from it and quit funding it.
Virgil L Cuerrier: You have it all backwards. The corruption and malfeasance is from the UCP.
Vergil – Will you apply what you say in your second sentence to the corruption and malfeasance in Edmonton?
If you want to be an American, move to south of the 49. And hope you are not refused entry.
Don’t expect the corruption and malfeasance in Washington to be any less. DJF
Speaking as we have the most corrupt provincial government in Alberta history, and south of the medicine line they are descending into decadent Gatsby level insanity, corruption, and depravity. LETS JOIN THEIR HORRORSHOW
Alberta’s GDP is close to half of what Ontario’s is, and Quebec is nearly a third larger than we are, in dollars. We don’t fund Canada, in fact nearly half the countries GDP is made up by Ontario alone, and I don’t hear them whining like you are. Read a chart.
You gotta love how the fringe minority and separatist corporate minion backed UCP supporters can highjack the Alberta consciousness and knife it to shreds……..for the continual defunding of HC&E and the privatization of said public institutions should be the dominant theme in last days of a provincial institutions hemorrhaging…..when will people ignore the ditch bille corporate bullies always bending the issues and throwing social responsibility under the bus of the electorate…….come on people…..call out the corporate ownership of the people’s province…..the backroom control of democratic principle must come to an end…….are Albertans getting really getting the best deal from the corporate welfare laden O&G industry?…..
Thank god we have judges now willing to stand up for us, after lawyers to me that Ralph Klein was making certain that all judges were conservatives protecting conservative policies.
Alan Spiller: These aren’t Conservatives, even in the slightest bit.
Anonymous No they certainly aren’t there is nothing conservative about these Reformers trying to be Members of the American Republican Party and destroying everything our conservative hero Peter Lougheed created for us, and the Alberta easily fooled idiots, mostly seniors, have let them do it, haven’t they?
Allan K. Spiller: You certainly have it right.
If a judge rules one way and the premier doesn’t like it and goes about things to keep things going her way can’t she be arrested or something. Just arrest her for treason and be done with it or theft over $5K, well she wants to steal the province and steal Indigenous land, etc. Whatever. Breaking up our country for no good reason, just toss her in jail for a few years. To bad there aren’t tapes of her making arrangements with MAGA or some such things. I have a better idea, let Smith go to Mara la go and bar her from returning. Who needs some one who wants to break up the country or we could let her set up her own country, invade Alberta over night and declare it conquered and its part of Canada but under marshal law. works for me, perhaps not for others or the law, but ……………
The UCP sure has become a separatist friendly party. I suspect many Albertans, including more moderate conservatives, were shocked by the behaviour at the UCP AGM and how the party now seems to be dominated by separatists and other extremists. It is hard to tell how much of this Smith actually believes, or if she is just enabling this because she feels compelled to go along with what the party wants. Although I suppose that’s an academic point as she is enabling separatists and validating their ideas.
She has been doing so for a long time. The consequences of playing footsie with separatists have just become clearer at the AGM and since.
So Albertans will likely get a separatist referendum question even if it is not constitutional and even if most Albertans don’t want the division and damage it will cause. Smith’s solution to her own law being an obstacle for this was to change the law. This is not the first time she has tipped the scales to benefit separatists and probably it will not be the last.
It is no surprise that a government that has lost touch with most Albertans and has become captive to extremists in its own party is now facing so many recall campaigns as well.
The UCP are trampling all over democracy, one day at a time. It’s also going to be very difficult to rectify the immense damage the UCP has done to Alberta. Reprehensible. Quite frankly, this is sickening.
Say it happens, and Alberta becomes sovereign. Who do you thin would govern it? Danielle Smith? Jeffrey Rath?
More good news! Just today, Elections Alberta approved the application for another recall petition. Guess who? Right–Danielle Smith herself.
Of course, most of these petitions won’t succeed. Smith herself is safe, if rattled. But if only a couple of MAGA-wannabes get the boot, the others might hide their fangs and sheathe their claws for a time.
Or they might go into a fear-induced rage. I dunno, just sayin’.
Mike J Danysh: This will certainly make the UCP wake up. If if it doesn’t, the UCP are still finished, because of their immense corruption.
USer here following secession movement. The CBC claims an Alberta judge says independence is unconstitutional. Don’t engage statist psyops. I can imagine an English judge ruling that the US Declaration of Independence was not constitutional, assuming England had one. You don’t need the approval of your abusive husband to leave. Anyway, it seems a major part of Canada is seeking secession, so it is logical Ontario leave. Again, why grant some long murdered authority to the abusive bully?