A group of First Nations in Alberta has issued a sharp warning to the provincial government, declaring that there is no lawful way for Alberta to separate from Canada without their consent. In a strongly worded letter, the Treaty 8 First Nations said recent statements by Premier Danielle Smith and her government have put the province in direct constitutional conflict with Indigenous peoples across the territory.
Central to their argument is the history of Treaty 8 itself. The First Nations point out that the treaty predates the creation of the province of Alberta, which means the province is not even a party to it. The obligations under Treaty 8, they say, are owed to the Crown, and as a result those treaty rights cannot be altered or set aside by a provincial government acting on its own.
They also warn of a concrete consequence of separation. Carving Alberta out of Canada, the letter argues, would draw an international border straight through Treaty 8 territory, splitting lands the agreement was meant to protect. The group's Grand Chief put the position bluntly, writing that there is no lawful path by which Alberta can pursue separation while bypassing the rights, consent and constitutional status of Treaty 8 First Nations.
That consent, the letter stresses, has not been sought and has not been given. The Grand Chief wrote that it would not be granted under duress or through any process designed to circumvent the nations' constitutional rights, language that leaves little room for the kind of unilateral move the First Nations fear the province may be contemplating in the months ahead.
The letter also takes aim at comments by the Premier about amending Section 35, the constitutional provision requiring governments to consult Indigenous communities. The First Nations describe that requirement as entrenched in the Constitution and not subject to the whims or periodic changes of a province, warning that any attempt to weaken it would be treated as an attack on their rights.
At issue too is when the duty to consult applies. The First Nations cited the Premier's statement of May 26 that consultation was required only for major resource projects such as pipelines, and not for petitions or referendums. That position, the letter notes, has already been rejected in two court cases, including one that struck down an earlier separation petition because Alberta had failed to consult.
Despite those rulings, the letter says, the government still plans to hold its separation referendum on October 19, raising the question of whether it will press ahead with a course the courts have already found unlawful. The First Nations end with a demand that Alberta immediately cease any move toward a referendum without the full consultation, accommodation and consent of Treaty 8 nations. As of the report, no response had come from the province or the Premier.