Alberta separatism threats spur First Nation to revive lawsuit against Sovereignty Act

Grand Chief Greg Desjarlais of the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations says no referendum can overturn the treaty that encompasses most of central Alberta.

"We're tired of seeing the government pass these bills where you don't see two sentences of Indigenous inclusion, and that has to stop," Desjarlais told the media at an anti-separatist rally on the steps of the Alberta Legislature building in Edmonton, amiskwaciwaskahikan, on Thursday.

About 600 people were at the demonstration, many with flags and signs protesting Alberta's separation from Canada and the controversial Bill 54, proposed by Premier Danielle Smith's government.

"I think we're tired of being pushed around," Desjarlais said.

"Maybe she thinks First Nations people are in the way, and it's about time that we rise and stand up, in a peaceful way."

Bill 54, the Election Statutes Amendment Act, has sparked resistance from many Indigenous leaders in the province since it was tabled two weeks ago.

The bill would reduce the number of signatures required to trigger a referendum on independence and extend the signature collection period to 90 days from 60.

"Bill 54 is unconstitutional," said rally participant Helen Starr from Peerless Trout First Nation, a community about 230 kilometres north of Slave Lake, Alta.

"Our agreement was with the federal government way before Alberta was even created.... And they [the province] have no right touching anything that does not belong to them."

Lawsuit with the province

Onion Lake Cree Nation, whose land spans the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, announced just hours before the rally that Alberta's "growing separatist agenda" has spurred it to revive a more than two-year-old lawsuit against the province.

The lawsuit was originally filed with the Court of King's Bench less than two weeks after the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act was passed in December 2022, but it was on hold until Wednesday, lawyers for Onion Lake Cree Nation said.

"Our decision to advance our litigation on the Alberta Sovereignty Act is in direct response to the ongoing separatist talks happening," Onion Lake Cree Nation Chief Henry Lewis told a news conference in Edmonton on Thursday.

"Our message to Premier Smith is that these are treaty lands. They are not yours to take, and we're prepared to go to court to defend our constitutionally protected rights under treaty."

The lawsuit claims the Sovereignty Act undermines and infringes upon Onion Lake Cree Nation's constitutional treaty rights and seeks temporary and permanent injunctions that the act cannot be held against the First Nation or its people.

The First Nation said the law and several bills currently in the legislature fuel Alberta separatism — among them Bill 54, which would make it easier for citizens to initiate referendums on issues including separation from Canada.

"Premier Smith's Sovereignty Act, combined with many of the significant changes with two other laws, sends a clear signal that her government is willing to manipulate laws, intimidate First Nations and control public opinion to push the separatist agenda," Lewis said.

"The Sovereignty Act has always been about undermining federal authority and asserting provincial control. This goes against our treaty relationship with the Crown."

A spokesperson for the premier's office old CBC Indigenous in a written statement that the Alberta government will always recognize, protect and honour treaty rights, as reasserted by a clause that was added on Wednesday.

"The bill now includes a clause stating that nothing in a referendum under the Act is to deviate from existing Treaty rights. Alberta's government is deeply committed to honouring and respecting all Treaty rights enshrined in the Constitution."

Lewis said it's something he's heard before during his years of negotiating agreements with governments.

"That clause is always entered, but guess what? They don't honour it," he said. "Pure and simple, it's nothing.... It doesn't mean nothing to me."

Lawyers for Onion Lake Cree Nation said the province has until June 6 to file a statement of defence against the lawsuit. A spokesperson for the government told CBC Indigenous that a statement of defence will be filed in due course.

The First Nation launched a similar lawsuit against Saskatchewan in April 2023, arguing the province's Saskatchewan First Act also violates treaty rights.