Judge orders temporary pause on Alberta separation referendum petition process

An Alberta judge has put up a roadblock on a petition drive to force a vote on the province quitting Canada.

Justice Shaina Leonard, in a written decision issued Friday afternoon, says Alberta separatism organizers can continue collecting signatures.

But she says Elections Alberta can’t verify those names or otherwise refer the matter to Premier Danielle Smith’s government until an overall decision is issued on the associated First Nations’ court challenge.

Lawyers for multiple First Nations are calling for Alberta’s citizen-initiated referendum process and a separatist group’s use of it to be halted, saying without due consultation it amounts to a treaty violation and is unconstitutional.

They were in court in Edmonton this week trying to get the petition drive stopped in the meantime.

Lawyers for the Alberta government argued against it by saying until the province acts on a referendum there is nothing it legally needs to consult on.

In her judgment, Leonard said there are serious issues at play and First Nations’ interests would be harmed if she didn’t issue a temporary pause before making a final decision in the next few weeks.

“The applicants have provided evidence of harm from lack of consultation and harm to treaty relationships,” Leonard wrote in the decision.

“To be clear, the court is not staying the collection of signatures; this decision has no impact whatsoever on the signature collection period or when that period expires (on May 2).

“Rather, the court is staying the next steps in the process.”

A group named Stay Free Alberta says it has already collected enough signatures to force a provincewide vote on leaving Canada, and Smith has promised if such a petition is verified, the issue will go on the ballot.

Stay Free Alberta needs close to 178,000 names and it said last week that it already surpassed that total.

The judge’s decision effectively stops Elections Alberta from taking steps to verify those names should Stay Free Alberta decide to submit them earlier, before the May 2 deadline.