Alberta bill aims to clear further obstacles to citizen-driven referendum questions
Global News
Alberta's UCP government is changing the rules to make it easier for citizens to force a referendum on issues such as the prospect of the province leaving Confederation.
The Alberta government is clearing more legal hurdles faced by citizens aiming to put referendum questions on a ballot, including the prospect of leaving Confederation.
If passed, a bill tabled Thursday would halt a court proceeding on a pro-separatist referendum question that is awaiting a judicial decision, essentially giving the proponents a fresh start.
Justice Minister Mickey Amery told reporters the bill isn’t being put forward specifically because of that case, but those behind the separation question would be permitted to reapply at no cost.
Amery said it could be thought of as a “reset,” as the government doesn’t want to see citizens looking to participate in the democratic system be slowed down by the courts.
“If those seeking independence believe that they have the support for it, this is their chance to prove it,” said Amery.
The referendum proposal in question, put forward earlier this year by the separatist group the Alberta Prosperity Project, was proposed as: “Do you agree that the Province of Alberta shall become a sovereign country and cease to be a province in Canada?”
It was referred to the courts by Alberta’s chief electoral officer to determine whether the question was constitutional — a move Amery and Premier Danielle Smith had denounced as premature.
The legislation would prevent the chief electoral officer from referring future proposals to the courts, while giving that power to the minister.
Hundreds of flights were cancelled or delayed Tuesday, one day after powerful storms swept across the eastern half of the country and upended air travel in multiple cities.
The parent company of Bell Canada is planning to build a new data centre outside Regina that is billed to be a major contribution to Canada’s artificial intelligence sovereignty.
Kinew now says the province is taking a step back from this approach and ensuring that different health-care interventions are built within the site before opening.
In Thailand, an order for civil servants to work from home for the foreseeable future came with another – use the stairs while the energy squeeze continues.
The police agency in a news release on Monday said it was continuing a trend of 'persistently high levels' of both types of interpersonal violence.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford saw his attempts to stop his cellphone records being partially released blocked by a panel of judges. Critics say he's changing the law as a result.
It is believed to have been left by local troublemakers, though RCMP said in an email there was no criminality involved in the situation.
Hypothermia contributed to the deaths of 62 people in 2023, with nine of them considered homeless, and 57 deaths in 2024 with 11 people listed as homeless.
According to Transport Canada, 'the seatback recliners for the second-row seats may not have been manufactured properly' on certain vehicles.
The teen originally pleaded not guilty in February 2025, before changing her plea in December. The Crown and defence jointly submitted a maximum youth sentence of three years.
The government in 2024 banned supervised consumption sites within 200 metres of a school or daycare, targeting 10 sites across the province for closure by the end of March 2025.
A few weeks ago, Eric Sauvageau received a call from someone he believed was his son. He withdrew thousands from the bank and paid it before realizing he'd been scammed.
The federal weather agency says most of southern and central New Brunswick and western and eastern Nova Scotia will be impacted.