Ontario professor David Welch wrote a piece for the Globe and Mail contending that the Alberta independence movement shouldn’t be taken seriously because Albertans aren’t a “people” and can’t qualify for international recognition. He is wrong that this makes the movement unserious, that Albertans cannot be a political people, and that the grown-up response is to stop “dignifying” the question.

Welch begins with the international law of secession and works backward. International law is hostile to breakups of existing states and Welch makes a grand leap in assuming an independent Alberta would never be internationally recognized. If that were the end of the analysis, Scotland, Catalonia, and Quebec would also be closed files. Independence movements tend not to be asking for the permission of the rest of the world in their pursuits nor do they need them. Particularly in Canada.

Canada is unlike most other countries in that it has created a legislative path to provincial secession through the Clarity Act. The path may be winding and difficult, but it is theoretically achievable and legal through a provincial referendum. It can be argued that Alberta can’t clear all of the hurdles to independence, but it is dead wrong to claim Alberta hasn’t the legal right or ability to get there.

Welch then claims that Albertans are not a people and the province is little more than an administrative unit created in 1905. All borders are technically a form of administrative creation. It doesn’t mean they aren’t valid or that they can't be changed. Welch’s claim that Albertans aren’t a distinct people is typical Laurentian arrogance from the type of person who rarely ventures more than a hour away from Toronto. Alberta is no less distinct than Newfoundland and anybody spending time in either province without wearing Ontario-centric blinders can see that.

Welch wants leaders to close the file by changing the subject. He feels the discussion shouldn’t even be entertained and ignores the legal mechanism the province is working toward. His tone has the feel of an abusive partner shouting “You aren’t allowed to go! Don’t even talk about it!” In the end though, while it may get messy, relationships based on such premises are doomed to a split.

Alberta doesn’t need the permission of the international community any more than it needs the blessing of Mr. Welch to pursue independence. It has the right and the means to secede and only needs the permission of a majority of its population on a clear question to do so.