A war of words between First Nations chiefs and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith continues to escalate with no sign of either side backing down.
In an interview with Global News on Thursday, the Grand Chief of Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta, Trevor Mercredi, defended a call for the premier to be investigated for treason and said chiefs from treaties 6, 7 and 8 will be meeting with the RCMP to discuss their demand.
Among their concerns are the premier’s “disrespect of Indigenous treaty rights that are entrenched in the Constitution,” her decision to hold a referendum in October that could kickstart the process of Alberta’s separation from Canada, and the UCP government’s push for a new pipeline to the West Coast without “healthy discussions” involving First Nations.
“It’s quite concerning to have a premier that’s publicly diminishing our rights at every news conference,” said Mercredi.
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The Grand Chief of Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta is defending a call for Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to be investigated for possible treason.
Global News
Asked about the chief’s call for an investigation into possible treason, Smith said, during an unrelated press conference in Calgary on Wednesday, that the chiefs should “check themselves,” adding “this kind of overwrought language has no place in a democracy.”
In a press release issued on Wednesday, the Assembly of Treaty Chiefs (AOTC), representing treaties 6, 7 and 8, announced they had “unanimously passed a resolution” calling for an investigation by the RCMP and auditor general into the actions of the premier and members of the United Conservative Party (UCP) to determine if they constitute treason under section 46 of the Criminal Code of Canada .
A press release, issued on Wednesday, outlines the Chiefs’s reasons why they’re calling for an investigation.
“We consider this a very serious matter here in Alberta — the talk about separation and the outside interference coming from the United States and other areas — and we feel that, you know, it’s time to call on the RCMP to investigate the possibility of treason,” said Mercredi, who added, “Maybe we’ll be asking for a resignation as well.”
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“Does it fit the legal definition of treason? I’m not too sure. We’re not too sure yet. That’s what we want to find out,” said Mercredi.
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“But we have to use that strong wording because of the fact that when you’re starting to tear apart treaties, tear apart the Constitution, that, you know, basically binds Canada. We have to really take a serious look at what’s happening here. It’s not child’s play. There’s real impacts to this,” Mercredi added.
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Alberta’s Danielle Smith tells First Nations chiefs to ‘check themselves’ over treason accusations
“You know, there’s so much going wrong here in Alberta and this is not the way to handle it. We have our issues with the Canadian government — we always have, we have issues with Alberta — but this is the way not to move forward. This is not way to garner support for the issues that we have. You know we have to be collaborative, we have talk and we have to sit. And none of that is happening.”
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Mercredi also took issue with a social media post by the premier’s chief of staff, Rob Anderson , who called the chiefs’ call for an investigation “a dark path that we see in third world banana republics.”
In a comment posted on social media, the Alberta premier’s chief of staff compared the chiefs’ demands for an treason investigation to something “we see in third world banana republics.”
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“It’s too bad that the premier has to resort to these types of words and allowing her staff to put out social media and calling the treaty chiefs a banana republic. That’s something that we expect from her,” Mercredi added.
The UCP government refused to offer any further response to the chief’s demands on Thursday, instead referring Global News to the premier’s Wednesday press conference when Smith appeared to back her chief of staff by calling the chiefs’ demands for a treason investigation “disgraceful.”
“I think it’s disgraceful that any government that wants to be taken seriously would level the charges that serious against another government,” Smith said.
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“I’ve had my differences with the federal government, but I have never used language like that. That language has no place in this democratic discussion.”
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Judge quashes Alberta separatist referendum in major win for First Nations
In an interview with Global News, Mount Royal University political science professor Lori Williams said there has been “unhelpful language” coming from both sides.
“Indigenous leadership as well as by Danielle Smith. Her musings about renegotiating Section 35 seemed quite disre…
Read the full article at Global News →
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