By Nadine Wellwood
"The Referendum Goose Is Cooked — and it’s a made-in-Alberta problem.
Constitutional lawyer Professor Bruce Pardy joins Nadine to explain why Alberta’s Citizen Initiative Act (s.24) and the Referendum Act (s.8.11(3)) effectively block a genuine independence question. This isn’t a federal or Supreme Court issue — it lives in Alberta’s own statutes, and it can be fixed by the Alberta Legislature.
In this conversation:
- What “verboten” means and why a clean independence question is effectively prohibite
- Citizen Initiative Act s.24 & the Referendum Act s.8.11(3) — how they tie Alberta to Charter & s.35 constraints
- Why the Chief Electoral Officer sent the question to court (and why that’s process-correct)
- The hierarchy problem: a provincial constitution is subordinate while Alberta remains in Canada
- Federal appointment of provincial superior court judges & the centralization bias
- Plan A: repeal the two sections and proceed; Plan B: demonstrate public will and force the issue back to the Legislature
- Why parallel provincial wins (pensions, tax collection, policing) are separate from independence — and could be done now
My take: If Alberta wants an honest referendum, repeal the obstacles first — then ask a clear question."