Potential Alberta separation referendum question referred to judge for approval

A potential referendum question on Alberta separating from Canada has been referred to a judge for confirmation that the question doesn’t violate the Constitution.

The proposed Alberta separatism question seeks a yes or no answer to whether people agree with the province becoming a sovereign country and ceasing to be part of Canada.

Alberta’s chief electoral officer says in a news release that provincial laws require potential referendum questions to respect more than 30 sections of the Constitution, including the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

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The potential referendum question was submitted to the electoral officer earlier this month by Mitch Sylvestre, an executive with the Alberta Prosperity Project who has been touring the province promoting independence.

If approved, Sylvestre would need to collect 177,000 signatures in four months to put the question of Alberta separation on a ballot.

In June, Alberta’s electoral officer approved a competing question that seeks to have Alberta make it official policy that the province will never separate from Canada.

— More to come…