EDMONTON — Premier Danielle Smith claims a validated "Water Not Coal" petition would need to go through a legislative committee before it could be placed on the ballot, casting doubt on whether Corb Lund's petition will complete the process in time for Alberta's October vote. "There's a process that is outlined in the act, that's the best, the process, and we'll follow that process along on this one too," said Smith on Saturday during her Your Province. Your Premier radio show. Lund submitted his legislative citizen initiative petition to Elections Alberta on Tuesday after claiming he had collected over 200,000 signatures from Albertans calling on the Government of Alberta to enact legislation to stop all new coal mining and exploration projects on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains. .The petition's signatures must be counted and verified by Elections Alberta, but if validated, it would then be referred to a legislative committee to assess the initiative and decide whether it should trigger new legislation or a referendum vote on the matter. "That means that that's got to go to a committee, just as the Forever Canada petition did," Smith said. "It said members from the opposition, as well as members from the government, and they will do the review, talk to Justice, figure out what exactly that would mean, and then make a recommendation." This review process effectively kills the chances of Lund's petition question making it to Alberta's October referendum, as it cannot be initiated until the Legislature reconvenes on Oct. 27, eight days after the Oct. 19 vote. .In February, Smith suggested that Lund's petition could end up on the October ballot if it obtained the required signatures. "Whether it's the independence petition or the coal petition, if they get the requisite number of signatures, our intention would be to put those on the ballot at the same time," said Smith.Smith and the UCP have the authority to place a coal mining question on the October referendum on their own, without going through a legislative committee, if they elect to do so. If the petition does go through and is recommended for a referendum, the question may appear on Alberta's binding independence referendum, which could be triggered by the October referendum's question on whether to pursue such a vote. Lund's question could also run in conjunction with Alberta's next general election, scheduled for October 2027.
