Alberta Petition to Break Away From Canada Is Dealt a Court Blow

A judge in Alberta on Wednesday delivered a blow to activists’ efforts to hold a referendum on the Western Canadian province’s split from the country, siding with an Indigenous group that argued the government has an obligation to consult with it as their rights would be directly affected by secession. The Court of King’s Bench of Alberta ruling sided with the Indigenous group, the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, in its lawsuit against the provincial government. The group argued that the secession of Alberta from Canada would introduce new international borders, violating its rights under long-established treaties. The group maintained that...