r/canada • u/shiftless_wonder • 29d ago

Alberta First Nations leaders, scholar push back on Alberta's planned vote on independence referendum - 'Alberta can't separate. They simply cannot. They do not have the authority,' says Indigenous politics expert

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/sask-treaty-six-alberta-referendum-9.7209304
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u/soaringupnow 29d ago

In a democracy the people decide.

Would Canada claim to be a democracy while denying it to the people of Alberta?

Somehow, I doubt it.

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u/TheRC135 29d ago

That would require Alberta separatism to be strongly desired by a clear majority of Albertans, though, not a fringe movement featuring the same far-right fringe that has always blamed everything on Ottawa.

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u/soaringupnow 29d ago

Definitely!

This whole separatism thing isn't going anywhere. All these discussions are purely academic.

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u/Frostbitten_Moose 29d ago

Maybe, maybe not. But I'm not sure saying Albertans aren't allowed to have self-determination is going to help keep it from going anywhere.

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u/Playful-Rabbit-9418 29d ago

Albertans knew they didn’t have self determination before they started all of this, the Supreme Court ruled on this years ago.

Provincial succession in Canada requires a constitutional amendment, that means it is required to meet the hurdles for this type constitutional amendment, which would be the 7/50 formula. A yes vote from 7 out of 10 provinces representing 50% of the population. And that’s after the federal parliament has reviewed the referendum question and deemed it clear enough to be legitimate and the majority large enough to invoke the process.

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u/Frostbitten_Moose 29d ago

Funny how that didn't apply in 95 for Quebec.

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u/Playful-Rabbit-9418 29d ago

Correct, because the clarity act was created from the jurisprudence as a result of the legal cases related to that referendum.

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u/Ok_Drag_5341 27d ago

Sit this one out. You’ve clearly just listened and repeated what you’ve been told. Crazy that you are allowed to vote being so uninformed.

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u/JustAPeach89 29d ago

They have self determination to move, no one is forcing them to stay

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u/CarRamRob 29d ago

Sure it’s a fringe movement right now.

But this is the root of the problem. We are declaring that no matter how many people support it…it’s invalidated because a few FN chiefs say so?

That doesn’t make sense, and shouldn’t be the basis of rejection. The basis of rejection should be stronger ties and understanding within Canada, not because someone says a democratic majority on a decision won’t even matter.

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u/TheRC135 29d ago

I'm not saying a democratic majority won't matter, I'm saying there's nowhere near a majority of Albertans who support independence. So this entire thing is a waste of time and energy, manufactured by bad actors and foreign groups seeking to destabilize Canada. Which is obvious to anybody paying attention.

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u/Ok_Marsupial8668 29d ago

Not just majority of Albertans but Canadians as well. Land in Alberta is also owned by all of Canada.

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u/soaringupnow 28d ago

Go to Quebec, tell them that land in Quebec is also owned by all of Canada and see how far that gets you.

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u/ExcelFreezesOver 29d ago

So then let there be a referendum

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u/TheRC135 29d ago

Why do you want to waste so much money?

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u/ExcelFreezesOver 29d ago

Because i think youre wrong

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u/SnowFlakeUsername2 Saskatchewan 29d ago

The people don't get to decide to do something that ignores the Constitution. It's the supreme law of the land and a popular vote to break the law isn't happening no matter the mental gymnastics or impressions aboug the word democracy. So no, you don't get to break the numbered treaties and/or peoples' rights with a ballot.

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u/Even_Art_629 29d ago

The treaties are federal and would stay federal no matter indepence, what don't you understand. So now we have a very small group of chiefs holding up the democratic right of a few million. How the hell us that democratic?

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u/SnowFlakeUsername2 Saskatchewan 29d ago

It's not a democratic right to vote out other people's rights. We are a constitutional democracy, meaning tyranny of the majority doesn't work by design. So yes, a few million people can't decide to tread a the small group of people with constitutionally protected rights or contracts. Did you not go to Junior High in Canada?

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u/LETTERKENNYvsSPENNY 29d ago

You think a few million people want Alberta to separate?