Alberta separatism poses a real threat to our nation

Danielle Smith is entirely responsible for allowing this separatist rhetoric to continue. It’s also a distraction from the real issues facing Alberta right now, like the health care crisis in our hospitals and emergency rooms. We’ve already seen in Quebec and the UK the immense economic damage separatism referenda leave in their wake. Don’t forget, this Premier and her UCP government changed the rules on citizen initiatives to allow this petition to move forward. They lowered the threshold for signatures, they took away powers from Elections Alberta and the Chief Electoral Officer and gave them to the Minister of Justice. They conveniently raised the application fee only after this separatist petition was approved by the Minister himself. This isn’t leadership for Alberta or for Canada. We can do better for everyone.