Alberta’s NDP Opposition leader says Premier Danielle Smith’s comments rejecting the legitimacy of the federal government betray her unspoken plan to lay the groundwork for eventual separation.
Rachel Notley cited Smith’s comments to the house just before members passed her sovereignty bill earlier Thursday, in which Smith rejected the federal government’s overarching authority.
“It’s not like Ottawa is a national government,” Smith told the house at 12:30 a.m. Thursday.
“The way our country works is that we are a federation of sovereign, independent jurisdictions. They are one of those signatories to the Constitution and the rest of us, as signatories to the Constitution, have a right to exercise our sovereign powers in our own areas of jurisdiction.”
READ MORE: Alberta passes sovereignty act, but first strips out sweeping powers to cabinet
Notley, speaking to reporters, said, “At 12:30 last night when she thought nobody was listening, the veil was lifted and Danielle Smith’s interest in genuinely pursuing initial steps toward separation were revealed.
“(They) demonstrate that her view is actually that which is aligned with these fringe separatist wannabes like folks who drafted the Free Alberta Strategy.
“Those comments are utterly chaos-inducing.”
Free Alberta Strategy was a 2021 policy paper drafted in part by Smith’s current top adviser Rob Anderson.
The authors of the paper argue that federal laws, policies and overreach are mortally wounding Alberta’s development.
They urge a two-track strategy to assert greater autonomy for Alberta within Confederation, while simultaneously laying the policy and administrative groundwork to transition Alberta to separation and sovereignty should negotiations fail.
The strategy was the genesis for Smith’s controversial sovereignty bill that stipulates the Alberta legislature, rather than the courts, can pass judgment on what is constitutional when it comes to provincial jurisdiction.
The bill also grants cabinet the power to direct municipalities, city police forces, health regions and schools to resist implementing federal…
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