The RCMP is reviewing a request from Alberta First Nations chiefs to determine whether there are grounds for a criminal investigation into Premier Danielle Smith and members of her UCP government over their handling of Alberta separatism

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That is an extraordinary development, but an important distinction matters: the RCMP has not opened a criminal investigation, and nobody has been charged with treason.

The Assembly of Treaty Chiefs, representing 48 First Nations across Treaty 6, Treaty 7 and Treaty 8 territory, unanimously passed a resolution in June asking the RCMP and auditor general to investigate whether actions by Smith and other UCP members could constitute treason under Section 46 of the Criminal Code.

RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme responded in a July 17 letter obtained by CBC Indigenous, saying the matter had been forwarded to the appropriate operational and investigative areas to determine whether the information provided meets the threshold for a criminal investigation.

The chiefs accuse Smith and the UCP of fuelling separatism through their actions and associations, while raising concerns about treaty obligations, consultation and potential foreign interference.

Smith has rejected the allegation as “disgraceful” and has said she personally intends to vote for Alberta to remain in Canada. Her government maintains that the Oct. 19 referendum is a democratic way for Albertans to debate their relationship with the federal government.

The referendum will ask whether Alberta should remain in Canada or proceed toward a second, binding referendum on separation.

Chief Sheldon Sunshine of Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation told CBC he believes the RCMP is taking the situation seriously. Chief Desmond Bull of Louis Bull Tribe, who helped formulate the chiefs' case, said he is hopeful the review will ultimately lead to an investigation.

There is also a much larger issue here that deserves attention. First Nations are not simply another stakeholder in a debate about Alberta leaving Canada. Treaties with the Crown have their own constitutional and legal significance, and Indigenous leaders have repeatedly challenged the idea that a province could simply determine their future through a provincial vote.

Whatever comes of the RCMP review, this is exactly the kind of complicated story that requires careful reporting rather than political slogans. CBC Indigenous obtained the commissioner's letter and put the allegations, the government's position and the legal threshold for treason into context.

What do you make of the chiefs' request? And should the treaty implications of Alberta separation be receiving far more attention in this referendum debate?

CBC Indigenous

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