Early press release from UCP caucus stalls Forever Canadian review committee

The UCP caucus announced the results of the Forever Canadian referendum recommendation before the committee voted on it. Jeremy Thompson reports.

The Alberta government’s move to add a potential separation question to a fall referendum was stalled by an apparent UCP media release error that announced a decision before it was actually approved.

A UCP caucus press release announced Wednesday that the bipartisan committee reviewing Thomas Lukaszuk’s Forever Canadian petition recommended asking Premier Danielle Smith’s government to initiate a provincewide vote on Alberta’s status within Canada on Oct. 19.

That decision, based on a motion proposed by the committee’s majority UCP members, was emailed to media around 3 p.m. - while the group was still debating and before a vote had occurred.

Lukaszuk had appeared before the committee, composed of two Opposition NDP and three UCP MLAs, on Wednesday afternoon to answer clarifying questions about the Forever Canadian citizen petition campaign.

The pre-emptive press release drew the frustration of NDP committee members who said the early decision made a “sham” of the entire review process and Lukaszuk’s answers. They called for the issue to be brought before the legislature Speaker.

The entire committee adjourned for the day without approval on a referendum recommendation, with UCP member Jason Nixon agreeing the release was a mistake but ultimately voting alongside other UCP members against taking the matter any further.

A UCP caucus spokesperson later clarified its first statement was “distributed in error.”

Lukaszuk took to social media to express his disappointment.

“While the committee is still deliberating on the #ForeverCanadian petition, government just issued a press release that the committee has already made a decision and recommended a referendum on separatism,” he wrote. “Wow! Decision before it was made. A gong show?”

The review committee was established after confusion around whether Lukaszuk’s successful petition would be put to vote across Alberta or among the legislative assembly.

Alberta NDP deputy leader Rakhi Pancholi and her fellow MLAs had previously accused the UCP-dominant committee of stalling the process of adding a pro-Canada question to a fall referendum.

By the time the release issue was resolved, Wednesday’s meeting had moved past its allotted time.

The confusion comes on the heels of another, opposite citizen-led petition question of which the future is unclear.

Last week, a Court of King’s Bench judge struck down an Alberta separation petition that was also campaigning for a referendum question.

It was deemed unconstitutional because Stay Free Alberta, the group leading the petition, did not consult First Nations. Premier Danielle Smith has said her government would be appealing the ruling.

Lukaszuk told media he believes Wednesday’s committee meeting was a way to avoid a potentially lengthy court process to get separation proceedings rolling once more for an Oct. 19 vote.

The NDP committee members had expressed concern that a recommended ballot question could be worded differently than Forever Canadian’s petition question, which specifically asks, “Do you agree that Alberta should remain in Canada?”

The premature UCP statement acknowledged the combined 700,000 Albertans who had, in one way or another, expressed a desire to vote on the province’s standing with Canada.

A new committee meeting was scheduled for Thursday at 2 p.m., before a scheduled televised address from Smith, on the legislative assembly website.