WAGNER: Let Albertans decide — democracy, not courts, should determine Alberta’s future

In a widely reported decision, a Court of King’s Bench judge has halted the petition process for an independence referendum. As much as anything, it’s likely that the judge's left-wing bias was the determining factor in the judgment. This is something many Canadians have come to expect.Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi celebrated the decision and said the Alberta government now cannot hold an independence referendum: “They cannot do it without defying the law, without defying the courts, and without knowingly doing something that is illegal.”Never take legal advice from that man. His comments are completely out-to-lunch.Contrary to Nenshi’s nonsense, holding an independence referendum does not defy the courts nor is it illegal.After the Quebec independence referendum of 1995, the Canadian government of then-prime minister Jean Chretien referred three questions to the Supreme Court of Canada regarding the secession of Quebec. Without going into details, the bottom line of the court’s decision in 1998 was that Quebec could not unilaterally secede from Canada. However, if Quebec held a referendum with a clear question, and a clear majority voted in favour of independence, the federal government would be obligated to negotiate with Quebec over its independence.As a principle of constitutional law, the process for achieving independence is valid for all provinces, including, of course, Alberta.Mr. Nenshi and his staff may want to read the decision for themselves: Reference re Secession of Quebec..In the decision, the judges discuss four foundational constitutional principles that form the basis for their decision: federalism, constitutionalism and the rule of law, respect for minority rights, and democracy.In short, federalism refers to the division of powers between the provincial governments and the federal government. Constitutionalism and the rule of law make a democratic political system possible by creating the legal framework within which citizens make political decisions.Of course, respect for minority rights is essential to protect minority groups from being abused by tyrannical majorities.But people like Nenshi seem to have forgotten the fourth principle, namely, democracy. As the Supreme Court noted, democracy “is a fundamental value in our constitutional law and political culture.” The court noted that democracy “is commonly understood as being a political system of majority rule.” And the way the majority rules is through voting for candidates, and sometimes voting in referenda..This point is especially significant because, as the court added, “a sovereign people exercises its right to self-government through the democratic process.” Furthermore, it’s very important that the political system “be capable of reflecting the aspirations of the people.”How can the “aspirations of the people” be determined? The court helpfully answered that “a referendum undoubtedly may provide a democratic method of ascertaining the views of the electorate on important political questions on a particular occasion.”A referendum, you say? Mr. Nenshi, call your office!The Supreme Court was very clear on the role of democracy in any decision on provincial independence: “Our political institutions are premised on the democratic principle, and so an expression of the democratic will of the people of a province carries weight, in that it would confer legitimacy on the efforts of the government of Quebec to initiate the Constitution’s amendment process in order to secede by constitutional means.”If an independence referendum is held, “a clear majority vote in Quebec on a clear question in favour of secession would confer democratic legitimacy on the secession initiative which all of the other participants in Confederation would have to recognize.”.Who does the Supreme Court of Canada say has to recognize the legitimacy of a provincial independence referendum? Let me spell it out again: “all of the other participants in Confederation.” All of them. Every last one. And if that’s not clear enough, the court added, “The other provinces and the federal government would have no basis to deny the right of the government of Quebec to pursue secession, should a clear majority of the people of Quebec choose that goal, so long as in doing so, Quebec respects the rights of others.”As mentioned previously, this all applies to Alberta as well. A decision on Alberta’s future — to stay in Canada or to leave Canada — cannot be left to Liberal-appointed left-wing judges or even to elected officials. It is so serious that Albertans themselves must be the ones who make the final decision. They and their descendants will have to live with the consequences, whether for good or bad.There is only one way to properly determine whether Alberta will become independent from Canada: a referendum.Let the people decide!

WAGNER: Let Albertans decide — democracy, not courts, should determine Alberta’s future

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