Remarkable displays of leadership from premiers

“For the Albertan who’s been frustrated over the lack of progress on pipelines, you’ve got the premier of B.C. announcing LNG, we’re working on Churchill, we’re working on northern trade corridors. This is a moment to get big things built in Manitoba, and I would say now is the time to work together.

“Why don’t we hold off on this referendum talk for a year or two, and see if we get these pipelines under construction? Because, at the end of the day, we want Canada to succeed … Let’s work together and show Alberta just how appreciated they are in the rest of this country.”

— Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew

If Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was expecting her fellow premiers to quietly stand on the sidelines while forces within her province, and even within her United Conservative Party, work to have Alberta secede from Canada, she experienced a cold dose of reality on Tuesday afternoon.

During her remarks at the press conference following the conclusion of this year’s annual gathering of western Canadian provincial and territorial premiers — hosted this year by Smith in Kananaskis, Alta. — she recited a list of grievances that she says have driven many Albertans to favour separation.

In particular, she criticized a recent decision of the Alberta Court of King’s Bench that quashed a citizen-initiated petition for a separation referendum in part because Smith’s government did not consult with affected Indigenous groups prior to Elections Alberta’s approval of the question.

Smith told reporters that the judge’s ruling was incorrect, arguing it overstated the duty to consult and required petitioners to carry out those consultations. “The issue, I think, in the court is whether that duty to consult should apply to citizen-initiated petitions,” she said. “And that’s where I think that the court erred in judgment. And I think it’s also anti-democratic.”

Kinew immediately interjected, telling Smith “That is not correct, a lot of what you just said there … It is not up to the petition gatherers to fulfil the duty to consult. It is up to you, as the Alberta government, to fulfil the duty to consult. And in this case, when there is clearly going to be an impact on well-established, existing hunting and fishing rights, by putting up an international border if some would have their way, the judge ruled, and I would agree with the judge’s ruling, that that is going to infringe on rights. And so there is a duty to consult.”

Smith also blamed successive British Columbia governments for harming Alberta’s interests, saying that “I can’t erase the actions of B.C. premiers going all the way back to Christy Clark to set up barriers and try to derail our economic infrastructure to the coast.”

That prompted B.C. Premier David Eby to respond that Smith’s planned route for a new oil pipeline would put critical mineral and LNG projects that have First Nations support in B.C. at risk. Echoing Kinew, he said that “I disagree profoundly with Premier Smith’s referendum. I think it is a huge mistake.”

This is the kind of strong, vocal leadership Canada needs at this critical moment in our history. Canadians cannot passively permit the separatists and their enablers to monopolize the discussion with their petty complaints and half-baked solutions. For that reason, we encourage leaders across the country to make their views known, and continue to do so until the separatist threat has passed.

The frankness of Kinew’s remarks — combined with his courage to deliver them in Alberta, mere feet away from Smith — represent a remarkable display of leadership that Manitobans should be proud of.

His defence of the duty to consult is commendable, and so too is his suggestion that the Alberta referendum be postponed in order for Albertans to see the progress being made on pipelines and other projects that will benefit their province.

Smith immediately rejected Kinew’s pitch, but the reasonableness of his request represents a compelling argument against separation, and one that will no doubt be repeated over the coming months: With so much being done across Canada that will benefit the Alberta economy, why would Albertans be in a rush to jeopardize all that progress?