Alberta separatist petition reaches final day for collecting signatures
Alberta separatists are on the final day of collecting signatures for a petition that could trigger a referendum on the province's independence, with the group claiming to have gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures. Premier Danielle Smith has said she would move forward with a provincewide referendum if enough names are gathered and verified.
Alberta separatists have until the end of the weekend to gather signatures for a petition that could trigger a referendum on independence. The group, Stay Free Alberta, claims to have collected more than the required 178,000 signatures since the petition started in January. Mitch Sylvestre, head of Stay Free Alberta, plans to hand the paperwork in on Monday to Elections Alberta's head office in Edmonton. Jeffrey Rath, a lawyer for the independence movement, said the signatures gathered 'number in the hundreds of thousands.' Premier Danielle Smith has pledged to move forward with a referendum if enough signatures are verified. A court challenge launched by Alberta First Nations is pending, but Rath expressed confidence that it will not affect the petition's outcome.
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