EDMONTON – Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi pushed Premier Danielle Smith on Tuesday about members of her caucus supporting Alberta independence, after First Nations Chief Kelsey Jacko claimed his MLA Scott Cyr admitted to being a "separatist." "I guess we did have some conversation with some of the MLAs that signed a separation," said Jacko on Monday when the Western Standard asked if the chiefs had had any interactions with Alberta independence leaders. "So yes, we did have conversation with them. Doesn't look good."When asked to expound on his comment, Jacko said Cyr, the MLA who oversees Cold Lake First Nations' riding, supports independence. "I really had heated conversation about him, and he supports the separation movement," Jacko said. Cyr rejected Jacko's comments on Tuesday. "As I have said previously, I, the Premier, and our United Conservative Caucus support a strong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada," said Cyr. He also expressed respect for Jacko, and said he is working to serve the Cold Lake First Nations people. "I have nothing but respect for Chief Jacko," Cyr said. "I am focused on the priorities of his First Nation, which is the highway going through his First Nation that needs to be paved. I am also looking at how our province can partner on getting water to residents on his reserve." .Nenshi pressed Smith about Jacko's accusations on Tuesday and challenged her to open up about how many UCP MLAs have signed Stay Free Alberta's independence petition. Smith rebutted by saying, "None of my MLAs have indicated to me that they have signed." Instead, she said they have repeated UCP's stance of being in favour of a "sovereign Alberta within a united Canada." "That is the position of this government, this position of our caucus," Smith said. However, her response did not satisfy Nenshi, who has continuously called the UCP's repeated stance "word salad." "If someone asks you if you are a separatist, just say 'No,'" said Nenshi to reporters prior to Tuesday's session. "And here's the problem, none of the UCP caucus will bloody say they're not separatists. It's not a hard thing to do, but they won't actually say it, because they're pandering.".Smith acknowledged Jacko's comments, though, suggesting that an individual should not reveal who has and has not signed a petition."The whole point of a petition campaign is to make sure that the signatures are kept confidential," Smith said. "That's the reason why a petitioner is not allowed to keep the signatures afterwards.""And I have to say that anyone who is suggesting that any person has their name on that list without the person's permission is probably violating the spirit and the intent of the legislation."
