All of Alberta's treaty chiefs came together Friday to oppose Premier Danielle Smith's proposed Alberta Sovereignty Act..The chiefs of Treaties 6, 7, and 8 said in a statement the act is offensive and they reject it outright. .In a joint statement issued Friday, the chiefs of all three of the province’s territories stated they're united in opposition to any claims being made over “our peoples, lands and territories.”.Smith has yet to release a final copy of the act.."It is nothing but a dangerous and damaging plan to undermine democracy and abandon the rule of law," said Chief Darcy Dixon of the Bearspaw Nation.."This is a far cry from sovereignty.".Smith released an overview of the proposed Alberta Sovereignty Act on September 6..READ MORE: Smith releases overview of proposed Alberta Sovereignty Act.According to Smith, defending Alberta from Ottawa’s continuous economic and constitutional attacks against Alberta and her proposed Alberta Sovereignty Act have been the central issues of the UCP leadership campaign.."The majority of Albertans are frustrated with the ineffective letter writing campaigns and empty rhetoric employed by past premiers in dealing with attacks on Alberta by our federal government, and want effective action to deal with the ‘Ottawa Problem’ without further delay," said Smith..Smith said the act is a proposed law that would affirm the authority of the provincial legislature to refuse provincial enforcement of specific federal laws or policies that violate the jurisdictional rights of Alberta under Sections 92-95 of the Constitution or that breaches the Charter Rights of Albertans.."Tens of thousands of Albertans have embraced the idea of the Alberta Sovereignty Act, and many more are open to learning more about how it could be practically and effectively deployed," Smith said.."We take offence to Danielle Smith's forthcoming sovereignty act and outright reject it," said Arthur Noskey, Grand Chief of Treaty 8..Chief Tony Alexis of the Alexis First Nation said the bill is aimed at easing resource extraction in the province.."This bill sets up the province to allow extraction at any rate, completely unprotected.".“This is just another glaring example of the many things that are so wrong with the UCP government," Alberta NDP Critic for Indigenous Relations Richard Feehan said..“From the very moment Danielle Smith promised this would be her first piece of legislation, Albertans have been very vocal in their opposition to this damaging bill.".The next session of the Alberta Legislature will start November 29.
All of Alberta's treaty chiefs came together Friday to oppose Premier Danielle Smith's proposed Alberta Sovereignty Act..The chiefs of Treaties 6, 7, and 8 said in a statement the act is offensive and they reject it outright. .In a joint statement issued Friday, the chiefs of all three of the province’s territories stated they're united in opposition to any claims being made over “our peoples, lands and territories.”.Smith has yet to release a final copy of the act.."It is nothing but a dangerous and damaging plan to undermine democracy and abandon the rule of law," said Chief Darcy Dixon of the Bearspaw Nation.."This is a far cry from sovereignty.".Smith released an overview of the proposed Alberta Sovereignty Act on September 6..READ MORE: Smith releases overview of proposed Alberta Sovereignty Act.According to Smith, defending Alberta from Ottawa’s continuous economic and constitutional attacks against Alberta and her proposed Alberta Sovereignty Act have been the central issues of the UCP leadership campaign.."The majority of Albertans are frustrated with the ineffective letter writing campaigns and empty rhetoric employed by past premiers in dealing with attacks on Alberta by our federal government, and want effective action to deal with the ‘Ottawa Problem’ without further delay," said Smith..Smith said the act is a proposed law that would affirm the authority of the provincial legislature to refuse provincial enforcement of specific federal laws or policies that violate the jurisdictional rights of Alberta under Sections 92-95 of the Constitution or that breaches the Charter Rights of Albertans.."Tens of thousands of Albertans have embraced the idea of the Alberta Sovereignty Act, and many more are open to learning more about how it could be practically and effectively deployed," Smith said.."We take offence to Danielle Smith's forthcoming sovereignty act and outright reject it," said Arthur Noskey, Grand Chief of Treaty 8..Chief Tony Alexis of the Alexis First Nation said the bill is aimed at easing resource extraction in the province.."This bill sets up the province to allow extraction at any rate, completely unprotected.".“This is just another glaring example of the many things that are so wrong with the UCP government," Alberta NDP Critic for Indigenous Relations Richard Feehan said..“From the very moment Danielle Smith promised this would be her first piece of legislation, Albertans have been very vocal in their opposition to this damaging bill.".The next session of the Alberta Legislature will start November 29.
