Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and her hand-picked panel heard from several Albertans Tuesday who argued the only way to get the province a fair deal from Ottawa is to leave confederation.
The event in Red Deer was the first in a series of town halls to address public concerns with the federal government.
Some 450 people showed up to put questions to Smith and the 15 other members of her Alberta Next panel about the grievances inspiring separatist sentiment in the province.
Most of the attendees lauded Smith and the panel’s strategies to wrest more control from the federal government, including pulling out of the Canada Pension Plan and creating a provincial police force to replace the RCMP.
Jon Sedore came from the town of Trochu, about an hour’s drive south of Red Deer. He told the panel he agrees with Alberta independence, and noted that even with the majority in the room expressing agreement with its proposals, Ottawa still stands in the way.
“If you ask for permission for freedom, you’re never going to get it. If you declare your freedom, that’s where we can start,” he said to applause.
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