Alberta's separation question

Two accounts of how the separation question got there.

Alberta's government says it has a duty to uphold its citizen-initiated referendum laws and give citizens a voice. Citizens organized two petitions, one to remain and one to leave, the National Observer reported. Neither put its own question on the ballot, and the government wrote Question 10 itself. Premier Danielle Smith has said hundreds of thousands of residents signed petitions seeking a vote, The Epoch Times reported. She has said she had no choice but to put separation on the ballot and put the issue to rest. Naheed Nenshi, leader of the Opposition New Democrats, said a premier who believed in Canada would 'tell the separatists to go pound sand'. The Alberta Transition Council's plan states what it calls 'the core democratic proposition behind independence'. It asks 'which electorate should have the final authority to choose the government making decisions for Alberta' in fields that belong to the federal government. Drew Barnes, a former United Conservative Party caucus member and one of the separation supporters the National Post interviewed, objected to a federally owned pipeline. 'Ottawa already gets too involved in our oil and gas business,' he said. The Canada West Foundation calls Alberta's grievances over fiscal transfers and resource policy long-standing and real. Adam Legge, president of the Business Council of Alberta, says Alberta still needs 'more fairness in the federation'. Keith Wilson, co-lead of the Alberta Transition Council, wrote that the foundation's report 'offers no concrete or enforceable roadmap' for fixing those grievances.