US EditionAlberta’s Smith says courts should not be gatekeepers on constitutional questions
The proposed law grants Justice Minister Mickey Amery authority to approve referendum questions, potentially halting court challenges and impacting a petition signed by over 400,000 Albertans.
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith proposed legislation to halt an ongoing court case and give Justice Minister Mickey Amery authority over referendum questions.
- A day earlier, Justice Colin Feasby ruled a separatist referendum question would contravene the Charter and the province's referendum law, and said the United Conservative government’s mid-process rule change is undemocratic.
- Danielle Smith, Alberta Premier, argued those seeking an independence referendum should not have `gatekeepers,' like the courts, and said courts `seem to want to approve the ones they like, and hold up the ones they don't like.'
- Changing the approval process would pause an ongoing court case and shift authority to Justice Minister Mickey Amery, sparking a legal-political clash that Judge Colin Feasby called undemocratic Friday.
- The Canadian Press reported this story first on Dec. 6, 2025, highlighting Smith's ongoing public debate including her Oct. 7, 2025, press conference on Parliament Hill.
45 Articles
45 Articles
Alberta Says Judge’s Criticism of Petition Bill Amounts to Interference
The Alberta government says a provincial judge’s comment on a new bill aimed at removing barriers to citizen-initiated petitions interferes with the democratic process. Heather Jenkins, press secretary to Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery, was referring to a Dec. 5 decision by Court of King’s Bench Justice Colin Feasby in which he noted that Bill 14, the Justice Statutes Amendment Act, 2025, could potentially silence the court. Introduced by…
EDMONTON—Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says that those who want a referendum on independence should not be held back by "guardians," such as the courts. Ms. Smith spoke on Saturday on her interactive radio program, for the first time since her government proposed a bill to put an end to ongoing judicial proceedings on this issue. She argues that giving the Minister of Justice, Mickey Amery, the power to rule on referendum matters is a guarantee…
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