Alberta treaty chiefs unite against United Conservatives’ proposed sovereignty act
Nov 18, 2022 | 12:44 PM
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EDMONTON, AB – All of Alberta’s treaty chiefs have come together to oppose Premier Danielle Smith’s proposed sovereignty act.
The chiefs of Treaties 6, 7, and 8 all the province’s treaties say in a statement that it’s offensive and they reject it outright.
Few details of the legislation’s substance have been released, but Smith has said the bill would allow Alberta to opt out of federal measures deemed harmful to provincial interests and that it would be among the first to be introduced in the upcoming legislature session.
The creation of the Sovereignty Act is among the objectives that Smith has given Justice Minister Tyler Shandro as part of his mandate letter.
The chiefs say their treaties were made with the Crown, not Alberta, and that the provincial government has no say over their lands and territories.
Treaty 8 First Nations Grand Chief Arthur Noskey says, “How can the province make a sovereignty bill when our treaties were made before the creation of Alberta?”
They call the bill a ploy to undermine Indigenous rights protected in the Constitution Act.
The next session of the Alberta Legislature is to begin Nov. 29.
