Separatist referendum petition signatures cleared for verification after court ruling
An Appeal Court judge ruled Monday that signatures on the separatist petition can be counted, though the preferred binding referendum question won't appear on the October ballot.
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Organizers fighting to hold a referendum on Alberta quitting Confederation have won a partial victory in court, though the path forward remains uncertain.
Justice Alice Woolley ruled Monday, June 29 that signatures on the separatist referendum petition can be counted and verified. The petition had been effectively thrown out by a lower court judge last month, days after the separatist group handed in their sheets to Elections Alberta.
Woolley's decision maintains that the separatists' preferred binding referendum question can't be added to the October 19 referendum until the appeal process plays out. The lower court judge had ruled the petition process was offside because the province failed to fulfil its constitutional duty to consult First Nations.
The separatists, led by activist Mitch Sylvestre, say they gathered at least 300,000 signatures—more than enough to allow the province to kick-start a binding referendum on leaving Canada. Monday's ruling clears the way for those signatures to be verified, a necessary step if the group hopes to push forward with legal challenges to the lower court decision.
