Alberta Committee Faces Criticism in Forever Canadian Review

0:00Alberta's new committee on the forever Canadian petition hit a rough start at its first meeting, with NDP members blasting UCP leaders for dragging. Their feet. This group's job is to review the massive citizen push to keep the province firmly in Canada and make recommendations to the legislature. The petition, started by former Deputy Premier Thomas Lukasuk, racked up over 456,000 signatures way past the 200. 94,000 needed for a potential referendum. It fired back at Separatist talk, while a rival group pushing to leave Canada hit legal snags with their own effort. NDP reps like Rocky Pincholi called out the timing, noting the committee waited 45 days into its 90-day window to even meet. They worry recommendations won't hit until November 2026 if the work spills past the May 14th legislature break conveniently. Dodging any Separatist referendum heat. Pincholi's motion to wrap up by May 7th got shot down, as UCP folks insisted on doing

1:02the job right instead of rushing. They also question letting Lukasuk testify right away, but that's offered debate later. The UCP government under Premier Danielle Smith says Alberta should stay in confederation, even as they've eased rules for referendum petitions by. Dropping signature hurdles, keeping the unity debate alive as this committee pushes forward. That's the story for today. Calgary News Today, driven by AI.