𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐍𝐨 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐕𝐞𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐦 — 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐎𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐰𝐚, 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐬, 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬, 𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫-𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬
There's a lot of noise about who could "veto" a referendum in Alberta. Here's the truth, plain and simple:
𝐍𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐯𝐞𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚.
That includes, but not limited to:
- The 𝐟𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 (𝐎𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐰𝐚)
- First Nations 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬
- 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
- 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫-𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐬
- 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐬
- 𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬
𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐖𝐡𝐲:
𝟏. 𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐦𝐬
The Canadian Constitution allows provinces to hold referendums on matters under their jurisdiction. Alberta doesn't need anyone's permission to ask its citizens a question through a democratic vote.
𝟐. 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐬
Most provincial referendums are 𝐧𝐨𝐧-𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠. They don't create laws — they simply reflect the will of the people. And 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐯𝐞𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧.
𝟑. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐯𝐞𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭
No government, organization, or protest movement has the authority to legally cancel or overrule the outcome of a provincial vote. There's 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐦 in Canadian law that gives anyone a "veto" over the will of a province's people.
𝟒. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬
In the 1998 Reference re Secession of Quebec, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that if a province holds a referendum with a clear question and a clear majority, then both the federal and provincial governments have a duty to negotiate. It did not say that anyone could veto the result.
𝟓. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 — 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐭𝐨
First Nations, religious groups, and protest movements 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤, 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝.. Their participation in democratic dialogue is essential. But 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. The same goes for anyone organizing or attending counter-protests: you have the right to oppose — not the right to override.

Support for separation at least in Alberta keeps rising.

From A Leger survey.

"To what extent would you support or oppose the province of Alberta becoming a country independent of Canada?" 47% were in favour compared to 48% opposed, with those in support higher than in many previous polls.

Second, while 62% of Canadians nationally are opposed to Alberta separating compared to 26% in favour, 55% said they "understand why Alberta might want to become an independent country" compared to 37% who said they didn't understand.

The survey of 1,537 Canadian adults taken from May 16-18 found more people in every province, among both men and women and in every age group, saying they understood why Alberta might want to become an independent country, than those who said they didn't understand.

These numbers refute the erroneous perception that support for separation is a view held by only a small minority in Alberta and that Canadians are unsympathetic to what's driving it.

It also indicates that mocking Alberta Premier Danielle Smith for introducing a bill lowering the bar for citizens seeking to trigger province-wide referendums on issues such as separation, won't make the controversy disappear.

Lawyer Jeff Rath posted this on X today...a letter to Elections Alberta urging them to prepare for a citizens initiative referendum.         

Quote from: . on May 21, 2025, 11:59:53 PMAnd? He got away with it, didn't he? Not even a slap on the wrist, certainly no prison sentence for engaging in illegal activities.

Freeze the chug's bank accounts. Do it now. Make the bastards scream like their dickhead counterparts south of the border.

Mr Trudeau never faced consequences for trying to get his Justice Minister to break the law. There were no consequences when he was found guilty  twice of ethics violations.

Quote from: DKG on May 20, 2025, 10:01:28 AMIt certainly would be fair. But the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Trudeau's draconian measures under the Emergencies Act was illegal.

And? He got away with it, didn't he? Not even a slap on the wrist, certainly no prison sentence for engaging in illegal activities.

Freeze the chug's bank accounts. Do it now. Make the bastards scream like their dickhead counterparts south of the border.

If government revenue obtained from Albertans remained the same but went directly to the Alberta Government alone, the revenue of that government between 2014 to 2024 would have been:

• 2014: $70.2 billion
• 2015: $71.5 billion
• 2016: $66.95 billion
• 2017: $69.5 billion
• 2018: $70.2 billion
• 2019: $75 billion
• 2020: $68 billion
• 2021: $72.2 billion
• 2022: $104.2 billion
• 2023: $107.1 billion
• 2024: $113.9 billion

Even support for Alberta having it's own pension plan is now in majority territory.

If Alberta opts out of CPP and takes the share they have contributed, that is the immediate end of CPP.

Say what?! Alberta Pension Plan now backed by most Albertans

As part of a poll commissioned by the Alberta government, the question is posed.

If a provincial referendum vote was held today, would you vote for or against the following?

Replacing the Canada Pension Plan, the CPP, with an Alberta Pension Plan, an APP, that guaranteed all Alberta seniors the same or better benefits.

A drum roll, please. This needs a drum roll.

Yes to replacing the CPP with an Alberta Pension Plan. 55 per cent. No and keep the CPP. 45 per cent.

For the record, this hot-off-the-press poll was commissioned by the Alberta government.

Expand article logo  Continue reading

The poll was conducted by Trend Research under the direction of the well-respected Janet Brown.

In February of this year the Leger firm had a poll where 23 per cent were in favour of an Alberta Pension Plan, 55 per cent were opposed and 22 per cent didn't know where they stood.

Only 23 per cent backing an APP is the exact same number of support as a Leger poll found last summer.

After the 2019 election win by the Liberals under Justin Trudeau, when many Albertans were angry at the prospect of more years of grief from Ottawa, then-premier Jason Kenney struck a Fair Deal panel.

The panel said Alberta was putting more money into the CPP than it was getting out. A younger population, higher incomes played a big part in that.

Some said it was like the much-reviled equalization with Alberta on the short end of the stick.

The panel's recommendation was to develop a plan for an Alberta Pension Plan and put the idea to a referendum vote of Albertans.

But the idea of the APP didn't take off.

That was then, this is now.

Apparently, if this poll is on the money, it has taken off.

We live in interesting times in Alberta.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/bell-say-what-alberta-pension-plan-now-backed-by-most-albertans/ar-AA1ERTtr

Quote from: . on May 20, 2025, 08:10:03 AMShould freeze his bank account, see if he falls into line as easily as the participants of the trucker convoy were supposed to and didn't.

What? It's a perfectly reasonable response (according to liberals) and one which they clearly have reason to believe will shut down any opposition... which I dare say was based off their own fears since the truckers certainly didn't seem to let it throw them in their stride. Freeze his bank account, remind what's left of Truedeaup's support base that this is pretty much straight out of their playbook..... hell, you can even thank them for showing us the way to fucking with their heads if you really feel like sticking it to them. It'll be a total hoot!

It certainly would be fair. But the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Trudeau's draconian measures under the Emergencies Act was illegal.

Should freeze his bank account, see if he falls into line as easily as the participants of the trucker convoy were supposed to and didn't.

What? It's a perfectly reasonable response (according to liberals) and one which they clearly have reason to believe will shut down any opposition... which I dare say was based off their own fears since the truckers certainly didn't seem to let it throw them in their stride. Freeze his bank account, remind what's left of Truedeaup's support base that this is pretty much straight out of their playbook..... hell, you can even thank them for showing us the way to fucking with their heads if you really feel like sticking it to them. It'll be a total hoot!

Quote from: Lokmar on May 19, 2025, 11:27:17 AMWOW! He's cheep AND easy!!!

Most chug chiefs are for sale.

Quote from: Herman on May 18, 2025, 11:03:49 PMThis is the type of scumbag the Alberta NDP is using or rather paying.

"A prominent First Nation leader in northern Alberta, Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN), is facing criticism after records revealed he received $55,000 from the American Tides Foundation to oppose oilsands development.

The payment, disclosed in a US tax filing, was made to a numbered company linked to Adam and other ACFN officials.
The money was used to support political activities against the oilsands, including Adam's appearance alongside singer Neil Young at an anti-oil event in Toronto.

Despite the controversy, Adam's remains an outspoken critic of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's push toward a potential independence referendum.

Adam's has been highly vocal against Bill 54, which makes it easier to trigger referendums, including one on independence from Canada.
Adam has not publicly addressed the $55,000 payment."

WOW! He's cheep AND easy!!!