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A trailer lined with boxes of signed petitions calling for a referendum on Alberta separation were dropped off at Elections Alberta Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n
The Stay Free Alberta petitioners say they have collected 301,620 signatures, well over the 178,000 threshold that can prompt the province to consider a referendum question.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Supporters gathered outside Elections Alberta alongside a convoy of vehicles with Alberta flags flying celebrating the milestone for the group.<\/p>\n
Mitch Sylvestre, head of Stay Free Alberta, said the number is a clear signal that should prompt the addition of a question on separation on the October referendum ballot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis process shows that Albertans are engaged and this is an issue people want to have a say on,\u201d he said Monday.<\/p>\n
Sylvestre read out loud a letter to Premier Danielle Smith to the crowd.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe look forward to your government receiving this clear expression of the democratic will of Albertans and advancing the next steps.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said about 1,500 signatures remain in transit due to problems with Canada Post \u2014 those were not included in their final count.<\/p>\n
Smith has previously said she’d put the question to a referendum if enough signatures<\/a> are collected and verified.<\/p>\n But that verification process won\u2019t start right away, after an Alberta judge put it on pause<\/a> while she considers a court challenge from a group of Alberta First Nations, arguing the petition violates treaty rights.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stay Free Alberta lawyer Jeff Rath says that process is irrelevant because politically, the premier can’t ignore hundreds of thousands of signatures.<\/p>\n “As far as we’re concerned, whatever the court does or whatever Elections Alberta does at this point is meaningless,\u201d Rath said in a Monday morning interview.<\/p>\n A pro-unity \u2018Forever Canadian\u2019 petition had 404,293 signatures verified in December. That citizen initiative wants the government to consider making it official policy for Alberta to remain a part of Canada. <\/p>\n Signature verification<\/p>\n
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Jeff Rath, the lawyer for the Stay Free Alberta petitioners, says politically the premier can’t ignore Alberta separation anymore. (Emily Fitzpatrick\/CBC)<\/p>\n