Justice Minister Mickey Amery has approved the order in council clearing the way for Alberta’s controversial referendum question on whether to have a referendum on independence.The move follows months of political and legal wrangling over Alberta’s revised Citizen Initiative Act, which lowered the threshold for citizen-led referendums.The issue exploded after the Alberta Prosperity Project submitted a proposed referendum question asking Albertans whether the province should “become a sovereign country and cease to be a province in Canada.” Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure referred the question to the courts for constitutional scrutiny, triggering a public clash with Premier Danielle Smith and Amery, who argued the process was being bogged down by bureaucracy.An Alberta Court of Kings Bench justice stayed the APP's petition.Smith has repeatedly insisted she does not support Alberta independence, but has also argued Albertans have a democratic right to pursue referendum questions if enough signatures are collected.The referendum question will ask Albertans, "Should Alberta remain a province of Canada or should the Government of Alberta commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada?"
