I didn’t really talk about this, particularly because I’m not from the west but I feel like with the rise of Facebook groups and lots of disinformation surrounding separation — I should at least attempt to clear things up.
First things first, separation of provinces is unprecedented. There is no well-defined legislation that describes separation procedure from end to end. With that being said, we have some court rulings from the Supreme Court for when Quebec was going through separation that partially describes some requirements.
I’ll be heavily relying Clarity Act (2000), which is an act that amends the original 1998 Reference re Secession of Quebec act to provide additional details and clarity.
– https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-31.8/page-1.html
Provincial Referendum
The very first thing that needs to happen should a province wishes to separate is to produce a referendum. The referendum must be a clear question about secession and must be unambiguous. It cannot be open to interpretation, it can’t be vague or part of a multi-part question.
The referendum must be a clear majority. The Clarity Act does not specify a specific percentage but does imply that other factors should be taken into consideration such as voter turnout and regional divisions. A simple majority (50% + 1) may not be sufficient if the results are close or there was a lack of voter turnout.
Negotiations
If the referendum meets the above conditions with a clear majority of voters expressing interest of separation — then the next step is the provice must open negotiations with the federal government.
These negotiations is to set the terms of secession and must include issues such as borders, division of assets & debt and rights to minority groups, such as the rights of Indigenous peoples.
Naturally when the citizens of province separates, what happens to their Canadian citizenship? Will they still be able to freely into Canada? Will the Canadian currency will continue to be used and will they be able to use the existing payment infrastructure for SWIFT/Fedwire/LVTS? Will the borders be the same, what if there are clear regions within the province that wants to remain in Canada? These are all some examples of complex issues that needs to be addressed and these negotiations will take generations to resolve.
Constitutional Amendment
Once the negotiations is settled — next requires a consitutional amendment to legalize the secession. This requires the consent of both the federal government and at least seven provinces representing at least 50% of the population (otherwise known as the “7/50 rule”).
International Recognization
Assuming that the constitution is amendment that simply means that Canada now considers that the province is separated and independent from Canada. It does not mean other nations around the globe recognizes that state as a sovereign state from the international community.
Additional Key Points
Despite many pro-separation groups claims, no province can unilaterally declare independence in any legal framework within Canada. The Clarity act provides legal guidance stating that a province cannot unilaterally declare independence. It is a process that is designed to be negotiated and consensual by both parties.
To unilaterally secede from Canada, would mean to do so by force which is simply outside the realistic realm of possibility, given the estimate of actual pro-separation supporters.
This doesn’t exclusively apply to this topic but online Social Media is a global community. The comments present on social media could be with people from inside or outside of a particular province, each spouting their own opinions, their own interests. Interaction could be from inside or outside of Canada. It’s estimated that more than half of ALL internet traffic is bot generated with 43% of of that traffic being malicious intent, with an estimation that only 41% of online material is accurate or human-generated content. Propaganda is heavy on sensitive topics and topics of secession is a petri dish of malicious foreign engagement with a intent to sow division, to create animosity among ourselves, and to make it appear a movement is larger than what it actually is, potentially leaving yourself feeling like the “odd” one.
Nonetheless it is a subject that should be taken seriously and politicians that uses secession talking points to simply inflame a user base should be held accountable during election times.
