A judge has dismissed a case seeking to allow for a secession referendum.
Canada, a country comprising 10 provinces and three territories, is made a unit by the existence of a federal government. However, some people in the province of Alberta have been seeking a way for the province to secede.
This week, Justice Shaina Leonard dismissed a case brought by a pro-secession group in a court in Edmonton. The group goes by the name Stay Free Alberta.
The judge confirmed the group had garnered the necessary 300,000 signatures from residents of Alberta. However, she noted that the appeal presented to the same court had to be addressed first.
The appeal came from one of the groups that comprise Canada’s original tribes, the First Nations. In the appeal, the group claimed it had not been consulted on the matter of secession.
The Ruling on Alberta’s Secession Attempt
In the ruling, Justice Leonard dismissed the secession case because Alberta’s Premier, Danielle Smith, had not consulted with First Nations.
If Alberta were to secede, it would be an autonomous entity. It would be governed differently from its immediate neighbours, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
According to Justice Leonard, it was also erroneous for the province’s Chief Electoral Officer to allow the petition to proceed. Premier Smith promised that her government would appeal the ruling.