Podcast: ‘Alberta Forever Canada’ petition organizer says to expect a knock at your door soon

“Do you agree that Alberta should remain in Canada?”

That’s the question Albertans would potentially see on a referendum if Lukaszuk’s crew does get the signatures, and if Premier Danielle Smith decides a referendum is worth the effort.

But this all comes as another group is fighting in court for their petition to be approved, and with backing from government lawyers, claims Lukaszuk, who was in an Edmonton Court of King’s Bench courtroom Thursday to witness the proceedings firsthand.

So what happens if they do get all those signatures by the Oct. 28 cut-off?

“Forever Canada is not seeking a referendum, because we believe there needs not to be [one]. We believe, by far, Albertans don’t want to separate from Canada. We’re not arguing the status quo is perfect, but that there are ways to resolve it, and the threat of separation should not be one,” Lukaszuk told rdnewsNOW and The Everything Red Deer Podcast this week.

“Either [the premier] makes the right decision and abandons her support for separatism and starts negotiating with the prime minister and other provinces in good faith without threatening separation continuously, and brings that to the legislature for all MLAs to vote on, or if she wants, yes, she would be politically compelled to have a referendum.”

Lukaszuk admits he isn’t “overly optimistic” the premier will do the right thing.

And by the way, he’s abundantly confident they’ll get all the signatures. If the petition was allowed to be online, he believes they’d have already doubled the necessary amount.

Further, Lukaszuk claims to have 20,000 volunteers who’ve signed up through forever-canadian.ca, and a couple thousand Elections Alberta-approved canvassers who’ll be knocking at your door soon, if they haven’t already. You may even see them at your local farmer’s market.

You can still sign up to help do that, he says, with more information at the aforementioned website.

“There are indeed about 10 per cent of Albertans who actually seriously consider separation, and we all know who they are. There’s another 10 per cent who sort of entertain the idea, and they see it as a leveraging tool, or are willing to sort of fantasize about it,” says Lukaszuk.

“The remaining 80 per cent, rural, urban, are proud Canadians; they may not be happy with the relationship between Ottawa and Alberta, or Alberta and other provinces, but that’s just who we are, that’s the nature of Canada. They wear their maple leaves, travel with a Canadian passport, salute our flag, and the idea of being a citizen of a newly formed country is something they don’t want to consider.”

On why he didn’t wait until the new rules were in place so that he had more time to get fewer signatures, Lukaszuk explains he simply didn’t want to be wrestling with separatist groups at the door of Elections Alberta the morning the new legislation came into effect.

He also believes the non-partisan nature of his efforts speaks volumes.

On his group’s governing committee, Lukaszuk — again, a former Progressive Conservative MLA — has Reform Party co-founder Ian McClelland, as well as Brent Rathgeber, a Conservative Party MP under Stephen Harper, former Alberta NDP MLA Brian Mason, and former Liberal Party MP and deputy premier Anne McLellan, not to mention a representative from the Alberta Federation of Labour.

“This brings everybody together because this is about love for Canada, and declaring our allegiance to Canada,” he says. “We may disagree politically on policy issues, but when it comes to being Canadians, we’re in the same trench fighting separatists.”

Asked about treaties, Lukaszuk explains that subject is directly related to why the elections commission deferred the separatist question to court in the first place.

He also says Indigenous people are the biggest stakeholder in all of this.

“Separation basically throws in the trash can all the treaties — and First Nations, rightfully so, argue Alberta cannot separate from Canada because they have treaties with the Crown,” he says.

“Separatists are in court arguing very cynical arguments that First Nations don’t have to worry, and that they’ll give them enough money, which is insulting because the treaties are not about money. They are very existential to who First Nations are and what their rights are on this land. What Premier Smith is doing in court is not only supporting separatists, but totally ignoring and trashing treaties.”

Premier Smith has not personally been in court, he clarified.

Meantime, an Innisfail town councillor is among those who’ve registered to canvass for signatures.

Jason Heistad says more municipal leaders need to come out of the woodwork and support Lukaszuk’s petition, adding that he thinks it should and will be a major campaign issue for many during this October’s municipal elections province-wide.

“Citizens are going to want to know where you stand,” Heistad, a fourth-term council member, told rdnewsNOW this week.

“Be very clear on it. You may not be loved by some of the electorate and those who are potentially going to elect you, but it’s better to take a stand, and stand up for who you are as an individual. That’s where I see this one.”

Heistad adds this is an opportunity for an important conversation, if nothing else.

“No matter what side you’re on, this is very important. It’s an opportunity to be civil with one another and a conversation and not be angry at one another,” he says.

“This is what we should be striving for. We’re more alike than different.”

by Josh Hall | @Vancan19

Podcast: ‘Alberta Forever Canada’ petition organizer says to expect a knock at your door soon

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