EDMONTON — Premier Danielle Smith told Albertans on Saturday that she intends to form a cabinet committee to assess how the provincial government should approach the next steps following the successful Forever Canada legislative petition. The petition, filed by Thomas Lukaszuk, stated that the applicant and signatories were asking the Government of Alberta to call a referendum on the question, "Do you agree that Alberta should remain in Canada?""We have a bit of a quandary there, because even though he got, I think, 402,000 verified signatures, which passes the bar," said Smith during her Your Province, Your Premier radio show. Lukaszuk has since stated that he would like the government to hold a policy vote in the Legislative Assembly to reaffirm Alberta's commitment to remaining in Canada, rather than a referendum."So we have to question the legality of that, because the question he put forward very clearly said that it would be a vote of the people of Alberta, and I think a lot of people signed on that basis," Smith said. .Her comments came after a caller asked her what she planned to do with the petition, given that the question was left off the list of questions to be posed to Albertans in the recently announced October referendum.Smith said that the bipartisan committee will be charged with determining what the government is legally required to do with the petition, and, if it determines that the question needs to be posed in a referendum, it could be added to the October ballot.Many callers raised comments about Alberta's referendum, with some praising Smith for being in touch with what Albertans want."Hi, Premier Smith, your address on Thursday illustrates that you are working for all Albertans, not to add to your personal wealth or for self-aggrandizement," said one caller..She also faced some criticism from those who asked whether she was furthering the divide amongst Albertans, a claim made by the Alberta NDP on Friday.Smith echoed that she believes the referendum and questions on immigration are at the forefront of Albertans' minds, and that she would like to see immigration strategies refocused on economic migrants and those looking to make a permanent commitment to Canada, not on temporary residents.She was also asked why she felt the need to spend the time and resources on a referendum on the proposed immigration policies, rather than leaving that to herself and the other elected officials.In response, Smith said she called for the referendum because the immigration issues were not an issue at the time she was elected; therefore, Albertans deserve to have a say and deliver a mandate for how the government approaches them."I think people should get used to the idea that citizens initiative are going to be part of the democratic process," Smith said."You can either have an election and have your representative make these decisions on your behalf, but some issues are so important that we think it's gotta l be all Albertans who weigh in on them."
