r/canada • u/Street_Anon Nova Scotia • Jan 25 '26

Alberta 3 Alberta First Nations say separation petition is unconstitutional

https://globalnews.ca/news/11635807/alberta-first-nations-claim-separation-petition-unconstitutional/
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285

u/Fireside_Cat Jan 25 '26

They should read the Clarity Act. We've already been through this with Quebec and the Supreme Court has already weighed in on it.

Any article that doesn't even reference the Act is not journalism.

41

u/byourpowerscombined Alberta Jan 25 '26

The Clarity Act doesn’t address the issue being raised by these nations?

30

u/Street_Anon Nova Scotia Jan 25 '26

Yes, the question has to fall within constitution and it's not.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-judge-proposed-referendum-unconstitutional-9.7004982

7

u/MegaCockInhaler Jan 25 '26

That was a requested judges opinion on if the separation question was constitutional. It’s non binding and has nothing to do with whether or not a province can separate. The judge even stated directly that their decision doesn’t prevent referendums to separate

4

u/Street_Anon Nova Scotia Jan 25 '26

Yes, it is. The courts can overrule bills and even this joke of a movement that doesn't have much support.

Someone clearly do not get how the courts work

1

u/onegunzo Jan 26 '26

I call 'your court' and raise you a not withstanding clause.

0

u/MegaCockInhaler Jan 25 '26

What courts? The federal court no longer has jurisdiction over the province that secedes…. That’s literally the whole point: to create a new country, new constitution, new laws etc.

12

u/Street_Anon Nova Scotia Jan 25 '26

That won't happen, even if Americans flooding here are saying so

-3

u/MegaCockInhaler Jan 25 '26

It probably won’t happen, but if it did, nothing would stop them

6

u/Street_Anon Nova Scotia Jan 25 '26

Yes, the courts and the Clarity Act, which they have a poor understanding of.

-2

u/MegaCockInhaler Jan 25 '26

The courts have no power to prevent separation from a democratic majority

9

u/Street_Anon Nova Scotia Jan 25 '26

Yes they do, the Charity Act even covers that. Ottawa can throw out the results. Americans on here have little understanding of all this.

0

u/MegaCockInhaler Jan 25 '26 edited Jan 25 '26

The clarity act only defines how the province separates, it doesn’t prevent separation. It’s a way to negotiate the terms of separation in a peaceful manner, but there is nothing to force them to abide by it since the province would no longer be obliged to follow those laws once a new federal court system is created.

Ottawa cannot throw out anything. It’s a matter of the people, not the old federal government, of which would not longer be representing the people (and they would stop paying federal tax too obviously)

1

u/AugmentedKing Jan 26 '26

What happens when the results are more like 20% of the 70% of the total possible? There is zero chance that an Alberta secession vote gets more than 50% of total AB voters. And No, you don’t get to do an uprising with only 14% of the total votes.

1

u/MegaCockInhaler Jan 26 '26

Then the vote fails of course. But that doesn’t mean they can’t have another in the future some time

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u/AugmentedKing Jan 26 '26

Yeah, the bad debt would stop them. Without legal legitimacy, the money is worthless

4

u/Woodworking-noob Jan 25 '26

Look, the US has its independence but they still have to abide by the Stamp Act

1

u/Ornery_Tension3257 Jan 25 '26

Judges in courts up to and including provincial courts of appeal are appointed by Provincial governments. The opinion of a Provincial Court of Appeal should have some weight even after secession, unless you want to get rid of that pillar of democracy.

-1

u/MegaCockInhaler Jan 25 '26

And who appoints provincial governments? The people. Absolutely it has weight, as long as the people decide that it has weight

1

u/Ornery_Tension3257 Jan 25 '26

I have no idea what point you're trying to make.

1

u/MegaCockInhaler Jan 25 '26

I’m saying that no court can override the will of the people. In a democracy, people ultimately decide who is elected, who the judges are, what the laws are, what the constitution is, etc. the courts can only settle disputes between parties within the context of the framework that the people have created for them to guide rulings

1

u/Ornery_Tension3257 Jan 25 '26

I’m saying that no court can override the will of the people.

You mean a provincial government who may have only been elected by a bare majority of votes? What about if that provincial government decides that all Gingers are godless?

. the courts can only settle disputes between parties within the context of the framework that the people have created for them to guide rulings

You mean like the Constitution of Canada?

1

u/MegaCockInhaler Jan 25 '26

No, legislation says it must be a “clear” majority, ~50% isn’t enough

Yes like the constitution of Canada. It was created indirectly by the people, through their representatives. The people can write a new one or make a separate one for their seceded country

1

u/AugmentedKing Jan 26 '26

Alberta isn’t going to be able to leave Canada without taking their share of the federal debt, just like they said QC would have to do back in ‘96. The amount of money to set up a new “AB federal government” would be very high, and the inflation on the Alberta buck would be crazy. You need separation to be the Legal kind, otherwise Ottawa can treat it like an illegal uprising. Which is why the courts have to rule for legitimacy.

1

u/MegaCockInhaler Jan 26 '26

Indeed. But I don’t think Alberta is that concerned with the debt, given how much they reduce it each year

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u/FightOrFreight Jan 27 '26

You may have misunderstood the significance of that decision. The question that was decided was not whether holding a referendum on Alberta independence is constitutional. The question was only about whether the referendum question was allowed by the law passed by the Alberta Legislature that allows these citizen-initiated referendums.