Man behind the Clarity Act has choice words for Alberta separatists and Danielle Smith

Former Liberal cabinet minister Stéphane Dion is lambasting the brewing separatist movement in Alberta and demanding that Premier Danielle Smith clarify her position and lay out the next steps depending on the outcome of a possible independence referendum.

"I have no patience for separatist blackmail," Dion said in an interview on Rosemary Barton Live airing Sunday morning. He served as intergovernmental affairs minister under Jean Chrétien and tabled the Clarity Act after the 1995 Quebec referendum.

"[Smith] needs to be clear," Dion told host Rosemary Barton. "Is she indifferent about the fact that Alberta is in Canada or not? Does she care? And if she cares, then she should say so."

The Alberta premier has maintained she doesn't want her province to leave the country. Instead, she supports "a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada."

But her government has taken steps that have made it easier for Alberta separatists to force a constitutional referendum, including lowering the number of signatures from 600,000 to 177,000  — a move that separatist organizers told CBC News was a "big gift."

Dion called that decision "irresponsible" and said it's "completely wrong to split the country." He also argued that if Smith is opposed to separation, she should explain why she lowered the bar to have a referendum on the issue.

The former Liberal minister also said the Alberta premier needs to explain to her province what could come next depending on the outcome of a referendum — namely who will lead negotiations for Alberta.

"If she doesn't believe in separation, does it make sense that it would be her that would go in these tough negotiations for something she does not believe in? It's a mess. And she needs to clarify what that means for Albertans and Canadians."

Last month, an official with the U.S. State Department confirmed that meetings were held with Alberta separatists, saying the department "regularly meets with civil society types" but adding that "no commitments were made."

Dion denounced those actions and said "we know that President [Donald] Trump is somebody very difficult to predict what he will do, but he has clearly expressed his view about annexation of territories in order to get the resources of these territories."

He also noted that the U.S. government has much more control over natural resources within its borders — unlike in Canada, where provinces have responsibility for energy and natural resources within their own boundaries.

"It would be a good deal for Trump, but completely bad for Albertans," Dion said, arguing that five million Albertans will need to share the dividends of their natural resources with about 350 million Americans.

"It's completely irresponsible to have done that from the point of view of Albertans and, of course, of all Canadians."

Alberta separatist Jeffrey Rath has said at least one of those meetings with U.S. officials was held in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF), a room purpose-built to defeat sophisticated foreign intelligence eavesdropping.