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Premier Danielle Smith has drawn a line in the sand, saying that she will not hold another referendum<\/a> on Alberta separation should the majority of her province vote to remain in Canada.\u00a0<\/p>\n But her statement raises questions about the fate of the original citizen\u2019s initiative petition that called for a vote on separation \u2014 one of the first falling dominos to put Alberta on the referendum path \u2014 that remains stalled before the courts.\u00a0<\/p>\n Should an appeal by the Alberta government and a separatist group be granted, that petition could again move forward, potentially reviving the referendum conversation, legal experts say, whether Smith wishes it to be or not.<\/p>\n “When it comes to the prospect of a government referendum (on holding another referendum) and a citizen\u2019s initiative coexisting in the world, \u201cnothing like this has happened before,\u201d says Kathleen Mahoney, professor emerita of the faculty of law at the University of Calgary.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re in uncharted waters,\u201d added Gerard Kennedy, a constitutional law professor at the University of Alberta.\u00a0<\/p>\n The potential quagmire dates back to January, when separatist group Stay Free Alberta began gathering signatures for its petition, which wanted an unabashedly-separatist question put to the province in a constitutional referendum. The petition asked: \u201cDo you agree that the province of Alberta should cease to be a part of Canada to become an independent state?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n But that effort was quashed by a judge who found the group had failed to consult with First Nations, a decision sharply criticized by Smith. She would ultimately announce the government would pose a referendum question of its own on the province\u2019s relationship with Canada, on which Albertans will vote next week.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cross Country Checkup is asking:\u00a0What\u2019s at stake for you in the Alberta referendum? What conversations are you having with friends and family? What questions do you have?\u00a0Leave your comment\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0and we may read it or call you back\u00a0for Sunday’s show<\/p>\n Both Stay Free Alberta and the provincial government appealed the court decision that put the first petition on hold. In June, Court of Appeal Justice Alice Woolley granted a partial stay, which allowed the signatures to be counted<\/a> while the appeal continued.<\/p>\n