Judge says proposed referendum on Alberta independence would be unconstitutional

An Alberta judge says a proposed referendum question on Alberta separating from Canada is unconstitutional, in a decision given less than 24 hours after the provincial government introduced legislation that would have ended the court proceeding.

Once Bill 14 came into force, the court action would have been discontinued, preventing Court of King's Bench Justice Colin Feasby from issuing a decision, even though several days of arguments had already been presented.

The proposed referendum question, submitted by Alberta resident Mitch Sylvestre, is "Do you agree that the Province of Alberta shall become a sovereign country and cease to be a province in Canada?"

Feasby's decision concludes that the referendum proposal contravenes the Constitution Act, then added that this does not "mean tha