Alberta Fact Check: Has Premier Smith committed treason as alleged by some Indigenous chiefs?
The Assembly of Treaty Chiefs are calling for Danielle Smith to be investigated for treason.
The usual pack of aggrieved Alberta chiefs representing Treaty 6, Treaty 7 and Treaty 8 have demanded that the RCMP investigate Premier Danielle Smith for treason.
Treason in Canada is a serious crime and the law provides very narrow definitions of it. Nobody in Alberta has committed treason, never mind the premier.
Section 46 breaks it into high treason and (ordinary) treason.
High treason covers:
- Killing or attempting to kill the King (or causing serious bodily harm, maiming, imprisoning, or restraining him).
- Levying war against Canada (or acts preparatory to it).
- Assisting an enemy at war with Canada (or armed forces Canada is fighting against).
Ordinary Treason includes:
- Using force or violence for the purpose of overthrowing the government of Canada or a province.
- Without lawful authority, communicating or making available military or scientific information (or sketches, plans, etc.) to a foreign agent
- Conspiring to commit high treason or the force/violence overthrow the government.
Holding a non-binding referendum asking Albertans if they want to hold another referendum doesn’t meet the bar of treason. Even holding a true, binding, Clarity Act compliant question on separation would not be an act of treason.
The effort by chiefs to criminalize a premier for daring to let Albertans weigh in on questions in a referendum is a figurative crime against democracy. The actions of these chiefs could almost be considered a form of local treason as they appear to be an attempt to overthrow an elected level of government through force.
The RCMP should (and likely will) treat this request with the eyeroll it deserves and move on.
The chiefs have embarrassed themselves in demonstrating a profound ignorance of Canadian law. As representatives of a level of local government, they should know better. They have come off as petulant and inept with their demands of the RCMP.
Premier Smith has told the chiefs to check themselves. That’s a more polite response than the chiefs deserve after wrongly accusing her of such a serious crime.
Cory Morgan
Cory Morgan is an Alberta-based columnist, political commentator, and longtime advocate for Western Canadian independence. He is the author of the recently updated book The Sovereigntist’s Handbook, a grassroots guide for independence supporters and political activists.
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