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With the Alberta referendum now in the books, some First Nation chiefs are calling on the provincial government to drop its appeal of a judge\u2019s decision to quash the citizen petition on separation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, now that the referendum\u2019s happened, the issue\u2019s moot,\u201d said Siksika Nation Chief Samuel Crowfoot. \u201c[Premier Danielle Smith] said up and down<\/a> that she’s not going to pursue another referendum. Well, I think now\u2019s the chance for her to put action to those words and to drop that appeal.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Crowfoot says doing so could help repair the relationship between First Nations and the province \u2014 a relationship, he says, right now is \u201cfractured.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n “The people said it straight out: we are not going to go through a separation. So my question would be is: why hang on to a process that the Alberta people gave her no mandate to speak on?” Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam said. <\/p>\n At issue is a petition led by pro-independence group Stay Free Alberta to prompt the province to consider a referendum question on separation.\u00a0It garnered more than 300,000 signatures\u00a0<\/a>earlier this year. <\/p>\n NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi echoed the chiefs’ calls at a news conference Friday morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cCertainly the First Nations are spending money on lawyers, we taxpayers are spending money on lawyers, let\u2019s listen to what Albertans said on Monday and just drop it,\u201d Nenshi said.<\/p>\n The province, however, says it won’t be doing that. Justice Minister Mickey Amery said in a statement the government believes the “decision contained errors of law.”<\/p>\n “Citizens should not have to meet a duty to consult to gather signatures from fellow citizens on a citizen initiative petition,” Amery said. <\/p>\n The legal picture so far <\/p>\n Four First Nations \u2014 Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Siksika Nation, Blood Tribe and Piikani Nation \u2014 challenged the process involving Stay Free Alberta\u2019s citizen petition.<\/p>\n In May, Justice Shaina Leonard ruled that there had been a failure to consult with the First Nations, and she overturned Elections Alberta\u2019s approval of the petition. <\/p>\n Because of that ruling, the government\u2019s question on the Oct. 19 referendum ballot asked if Albertans supported the province starting the legal process to hold a second, binding referendum on separation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The government<\/a> launched an appeal of Leonard\u2019s decision. Mitch Sylvestre, who led the petition drive, is also appealing it<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Crowfoot said he does not expect Sylvestre to drop his appeal.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, we\u2019ll handle Mitch\u2019s, but Danielle should drop hers on the part of the government of Alberta,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mitch Sylvestre hold boxes of signatures before submitting them for a separation referendum to Elections Alberta in Edmonton on May 4, 2026. (Jason Franson\/The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n For his part, Sylvestre says he would like to see the government continue its appeal.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think, moving forward for democracy here in Alberta, it’s very important that they have to appeal that,\u201d Sylvestre said.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause, I mean, this is a very contentious question, but there’s gonna be other questions that somebody’s going to disagree with. And, you know, all of a sudden, I can see that it won’t be long they won’t be able to ask any questions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792857177_35_default.jpg\")
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