EDMONTON — Stay Free Alberta CEO Mitch Sylvestre filed an appeal on Friday of Justice Shaina Leonard's ruling to shut down the Sylvestra's Alberta independence petition by quashing the Chief Electoral Officer's decision to issue his group a petition. Leonard quashed the decision on Wednesday after her judicial review found that the CEO erred in issuing the petition due to a misinterpretation of a section of Bill 14 and a failure to respect a prior court ruling that declared Sylvestre's first Alberta independence petition unconstitutional. She also determined that the CEO issuing the petition triggered the Government of Alberta's duty to consult First Nations prior to any action that could lead to a potential violation of Treaty rights. Sylvestre's legal counsel, Jeffrey Rath, announced on Saturday that his client had filed an appeal of Leonard's decision to "KILL CITIZENS’ DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS IN ALBERTA." .The application claims 14 grounds for appeal, including that Leondard incorrectly interpreted Bill 14 when making her ruling, and failed to "properly distinguish between democratic expression, political processes, and legally operative Crown conduct."Rath said his team intends to file a stay application on Tuesday, which, if approved, would withdraw Leonard's decision until Sylvestre's appeal process is completed. Premier Danielle Smith said her government intends to appeal the decision as well, claiming that the UCP intended for the citizen initiative process to be "permissive." “We think that this decision is incorrect in law and anti-democratic, and we will be appealing it as a result,” Smith said on Wednesday.
