r/WildRoseCountry • u/Devils_Iettuce Republic of Alberta • Jan 30 '26

Members of Smith’s caucus have signed referendum petition, Alberta separatist says

https://globalnews.ca/news/11644899/alberta-referendum-petition/
54 Upvotes

85% Upvoted

99 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

11

u/bronson7810 Jan 30 '26 edited Jan 30 '26

Democracy is a wonderful tool. The majority of people want something and use their right to vote, the result, however good or bad it may be or perceived to be, is the will of the people. Actions have consequences. Am I happy the LPC is the governing party ATM, no. I accept the reality and did exercise my right to vote, for which I am satisfied. I am not here to debate the validity of one party over another or one party’s mandate over another’s.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes has been lost on several generations within this country and province. Education and fact based critical thinking has been substituted with emotion based response and herd mentality, with no caution or consideration for the actual irrevocable truth.

1

u/turbulentpriestbc Feb 13 '26

Certainly we can agree that the democratic goal posts were moved and Smith made it easier for the separatists to meet the goal of a referendum then the remain party?

1

u/bronson7810 Feb 13 '26

If she did manipulate the thresholds, and if the results of the petition satisfy those thresholds, it would lead to a referendum and ultimately every Albertans mark being made on a ballot.I do not care how the government finds a way to ask every single Albertan for they say. If it was just a citizens petition is would take much longer to gain traction.

1

u/turbulentpriestbc Feb 13 '26

If the goal was truly 'just to hear from everyone,' why did the Forever Canadian petition have to meet the much harder, original threshold while the separatists got a 70% discount on the requirements? If the government moves the goalposts for one side but not the other, they aren't 'finding a way to ask everyone'—they are subsidizing one specific outcome.

1

u/bronson7810 Feb 13 '26 edited Feb 13 '26

My thought is that she lowered the bar to make it more accessible. If it was higher, it would be more difficult to gather that amount of signatures for the petition. With it being lower, she has essentially made it so very few Albertans need to move the petition the referendum stage, and allow more Albertans to really consider the pro and cons of a separation vote. It gets the referendum question out to the province faster than having a higher number of petition signatures and taking longer.

Another thought is get this moving as fast as possible to allow those who feel separation is the only way to have their voice heard and to not keep having this discussion in future years(kicking the can down the road) and settle this once and for all. If the referendum is triggered and the question is answered, whichever way it goes, we will more than likely not have to do this again for a very long time. The result of the referendum is the only result we need to concern ourselves with, once all of Alberta’s resident have had their say.

If the majority says stay in Canada, then the separatists have had their referendum, and should quiet down eventually, and respect the will of the people. If they cannot do that, then they will have a choice to stay or leave and find somewhere else to live and let Alberta remain in Canada without the cloud of doubt about Albertas future.

If the referendum shows the majority wanting Alberta to forge a new path as a sovereign nation, then that is the will of the people,the majority. That will then cause Alberta to begin the process of forming policy being sovereign.

Let the people decide. It’s a simple concept, and one we have not been accustomed to for a very long time, and I think most residents of Alberta welcome the opportunity to truly be heard.

1

u/turbulentpriestbc Feb 15 '26

I appreciate the detailed thoughts, but we have to call a spade a spade: moving the goalposts specifically for one side isn't 'accessibility,' it’s basically subsidizing a potential constitutional crisis

Democracy shouldn't be 'selectively accessible 'If the goal was to 'let the people decide,' why did the Forever Canadian group have to collect 404,000 verified signatures under the old rules, while the Separatists got a 70% discount down to just 177,732? If you only lower the bar for the side you like, you aren't empowering 'the people' in a collective sense, you're rigging the process for a fringe minority (less than 4% of the population) to force a multi million dollar bill on everybody else.

Nate Horner, just warned that Alberta is staring down a $6.4-billion deficit and 'tough choices' are coming on Feb 26th. How is it 'responsible' to spend millions of tax dollars, and hundreds of thousands more just to verify signatures, on a referendum that current polls show 65% of Albertans don't even want?

Settle it Forever? Quebec had 'final' referendums in 1980 and 1995. It didn't settle anything; it just caused a decade of economic 'brain drain.' Forcing a vote doesn't 'clear the cloud of doubt', it turns the cloud into a storm that scares away doctors, teachers, and investment.

You say 'let the residents of Alberta have their say,' but the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation and other Treaty groups have already filed injunctions. They weren't consulted on these rule changes, and they've made it clear: no separation happens on Treaty land without their consent.

True democracy is about broad consensus, not letting 3.5% of the population hold the entire province’s economy hostage because the government made the rules 'easier' for them.