By Somya Lohia, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Shootin’ the Breeze A citizen initiative petition proposing a referendum on Alberta becoming an independent country has been declared successful after Elections Alberta verified enough signatures to satisfy the requirements of the Citizen Initiative Act. The agency announced Friday that statistical verification estimated 222,597 valid signatures from an initial submission of 286,593 signatures, surpassing the required minimum of 177,732. Despite the successful verification, the process cannot move forward until the courts decide an appeal stemming from an earlier ruling that quashed the petition. The petition, titled A Referendum Relating to Alberta Independence, asks whether Alberta \u201cshould cease to be a part of Canada to become an independent state.\u201d It was organized by proponent Mitch Sylvestre. Chief electoral officer Gordon McClure determined the petition… <\/p>\n
By Somya Lohia, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Shootin’ the Breeze A citizen initiative petition proposing a referendum on Alberta becoming an independent country has been declared successful after Elections Alberta verified enough signatures to satisfy the requirements of the Citizen Initiative Act. The agency announced Friday that statistical verification estimated 222,597 valid signatures from an initial submission of 286,593 signatures, surpassing the required minimum of 177,732. Despite the successful verification, the process cannot move forward until the courts decide an appeal stemming from an earlier ruling that quashed the petition. The petition, titled A Referendum Relating to Alberta Independence, asks whether Alberta \u201cshould cease to be a part of Canada to become an independent state.\u201d It was organized by proponent Mitch Sylvestre. Chief electoral officer Gordon McClure determined the petition... <\/p>\n