Alberta NDP says last-minute meeting on petition may signal looming referendum vote

By Lisa Johnson Alberta’s Opposition says the decision by Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservatives to schedule a last-minute committee meeting suggests they might be looking for a new way to get a separation question put to a referendum this fall. NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi says a bipartisan legislature committee headed up by Smith’s UCP plans to meet Wednesday to discuss a pro-Canada petition put forward by former deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk. Lukaszuk gathered more than 400,000 names to force either a legislature or a provincewide referendum vote on keeping Alberta in Canada. The commit…