Hearing on constitutionality of Alberta separation question to proceed: judge
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Court of King's Bench Justice Colin Feasby said in his ruling Thursday that a judicial review and full hearing on the constitutionality of the question would benefit democracy.
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'A referendum on Alberta independence that could lead to the breakup of Canada is serious business,' the judge said, adding that he thinks there are valid arguments to be made on both sides of the issue.
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'The citizens of Alberta deserve to have these arguments made properly and heard in full. Democracy demands nothing less.'
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Alberta's chief electoral officer, Gordon McClure, referred the question to court last month so a judge could determine whether it violates the Constitution, including treaty rights.
The group that submitted the question, the Alberta Prosperity Project, applied last week to have the referral quashed.
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Feasby said there was a high threshold to throw the review out and arguments made by the group's lawyer fell short.
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'The referendum proponent calls (McClure's) referral to the court premature, an abuse of process and an affront to democracy. It is none of those things,' the judge said.
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'The referral to the court may result in delay, but it reinforces the legitimacy of the referendum process by ensuring that unconstitutional questions are not put to a vote.'
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Lawyers for Justice Minister Mickey Amery and the chief electoral officer didn't take a position on the application to quash the referral. However, the minister and Premier Danielle Smith have criticized McClure, saying they think the question is constitutional and should have been approved.
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Jeffrey Rath, the lawyer for the Alberta Prosperity Project, said outside court he wasn't surprised his application failed.
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But he's confident the question will survive the scrutiny of the review to come.
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'We're going to move forward and it'll give us a lot more opportunity to continue to talk to our fellow Albertans about the benefits of independence,' Rath said.
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B.C. Green Party Leadership candidates Emily Lowan, left to right, Jonathan Kerr and Adam Bremner-Akins are shown in a composite image of three undated handout photos. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout — B.C. Green Party (Mandatory Credit) VICTORIA — Stuart Parker was 21 when he became the leader of the B.C. Greens in 1993 after campaigning against McDonald's use of ozone-damaging foam packaging. He said youth alone won't be enough to sustain the next leader of the Greens, in a race where the average age of the contenders is just 30. 'So yes, I got in as the young, radical urbanite, but I maintained my leadership of that party for seven years by spending my time on the road,' said Parker, who has also run for the New Democrats and more recently has worked for the B.C. Conservatives. Parker said he campaigned not on his age, but by shaking as many hands as possible, and meeting and listening to people. The Greens' leadership contest, with a voting period from Sept. 13 to 23, features 24 year-old Emily Lowan, who is an organizer with Climate Action Network Canada, 23-year-old student Adam Bremner-Akins, and family doctor Jonathan Kerr, the elder of the group at 44. By comparison, the last two Green leaders, Sonia Furstenau and Andrew Weaver, were 54 and 59 respectively when they stood down. Lowan and Bremner-Akins have no doubts that they are experienced enough to lead. 'I absolutely think I am, and I don't think that is just arrogance,' Lowan said, adding she has a 'decade of extremely relevant experience as a movement-builder, as a campaigner and a policy researcher.' Bremner-Akins, meanwhile, pointed to his experience on the party's provincial council and two runs as candidate for the party. 'It's not always used on the younger end of the spectrum, but age is just a number,' Bremner-Akins said. 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