Petition signature counting resumes as Alberta separatist group gets partial win at court of appeal

Petition signature counting resumes as Alberta separatist group gets partial win at court of appeal

Justice Alice Woolley rules signature verification, report to public can take place

An Alberta separatist group has secured a partial win at the province’s top court after a lower court judge quashed its referendum petition last month.

On Monday, Court of Appeal Justice Alice Woolley issued a decision in which she ruled the chief electoral officer can resume verifying signatures on Stay Free Alberta’s referendum petition and reporting the results to the public.

But the judge stopped short of allowing the results to be reported to the justice minister and then referred to the lieutenant governor, which could trigger a constitutional referendum.

“A full stay risks the initiative petition proceeding to a referendum before determination of the appeal,” wrote Woolley.

The group's application with the court of appeal asked for a stay of Court of King’s Bench Justice Shaina Leonard's decision so that the process could continue, pending the appeal.

In May, Leonard quashed Stay Free Alberta’s petition which, according to the group, had garnered more than 300,000 signatures.

The petition question reads: "Do you agree that the Province of Alberta should cease to be a part of Canada to become an independent state?”

Leonard found the provincial government neglected its duty to consult First Nations and the chief electoral officer made an error in law in approving the petition.

Both Stay Free Alberta and the provincial government filed an appeal of Leonard’s decision.

Premier Danielle Smith criticized the ruling, calling it "anti-democratic."

Days later, Smith announced a different question on separation to be included in the province’s Oct. 19 referendum, along with nine other proposals on constitutional and immigration reform.

The question asks Albertans whether they want to remain in Canada or hold a second, binding vote on separation in the future.

But Stay Free Alberta wants its own question to be put to Albertans.

Group leader Mitch Sylvestre has said publicly that the UCP base is angry at the premier's pro-Canada stance. Smith said that she would advocate for Alberta to stay in Canada in the upcoming referendum.

During the court of appeal hearing earlier this month, Jeffrey Rath, a lawyer for Stay Free Alberta and one of its leaders, argued that should Woolley grant his stay application, it would not guarantee his group’s question would be put to a referendum vote on Oct. 19.

Rath argued if the signatures are verified and reported to the minister, “it would create political pressure for such a question to be asked.”

In her decision, Woolley said Rath had demonstrated his group would suffer “‘irreparable harm’ with respect to practical problems that may arise from delaying the verification process.”

Woolley wrote that Stay Free Alberta had not established that it would suffer the same harm from a delay in a referendum on its proposed question, “particularly given Alberta's decision to conduct a referendum on October 19 exploring voter preferences on the central issue of importance to him, namely, Alberta's future in Canada.”

A date for the appeal has not been set. Woolley also declined to order an expedited hearing.

She noted that Rath did not indicate he was ready to proceed on an expedited basis and that neither Stay Free Alberta nor the government have taken any court steps beyond filing their notices of appeal.

Meghan Grant is a justice affairs reporter. She has been covering courts, crime and stories of police accountability in southern Alberta for more than 15 years. Send Meghan a story tip at meghan.grant@cbc.ca.