Premier Danielle Smith’s government’s Alberta Next panel has proposed adding a question to next year’s referendum on working with other provinces to achieve a fairer Constitution.The panel is touring Alberta to gauge support on various issues, and the province is looking to hold a referendum in 2026 — a referendum some look forward to as a vote on independence.Smith’s government supports the independence vote, but is also making moves to add more questions to the ballot through the Alberta Next panel.In a video released Wednesday, the panel says it will be asking Albertans how the province “can better protect (itself) from Ottawa's economic attacks while building a more prosperous, strong and sovereign Alberta within Canada.”.Alberta Prosperity Project files constitutional petition application on Western independence.The panel proposes Alberta take a lead in pressuring Ottawa to amend the Canadian Constitution to “empower and better protect provincial rights.”“Some things that made sense 150 years ago may no longer make sense today,” says the video’s narrator.“That is why the Constitution contains an amending formula that permits the Constitution to be altered should enough provinces and the federal government agree to it.”.WATCH: Alberta independence group unveils its referendum question.The panel proposes a list of eight amendments:Amending the division of powers to indicate that core areas of provincial jurisdiction are immune from federal legislation, and in shared areas of jurisdiction, provincial laws prevailImposing constitutional limits on federal spending power in areas of provincial jurisdictionAdhering strictly to representation by population in the House of CommonsEither abolishing the Senate entirely or having it actually represent provincial interests as originally intendedAllowing provinces to appoint their own King's Bench and Court of Appeal justicesExpanding the Supreme Court to allow for more justices from Western CanadaEliminating the Ottawa residency requirement for judges on federal courtsMandating provincial approval of the appointment of a lieutenant governor to a province
