Mitch Sylvestre Delivers Over 300K Independence Signatures to Elections Alberta
Episode Stats
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Summary
Join us as we celebrate the historic victory of the Stay Free Alberta campaign. In this episode, we talk about the efforts of over 7,000 canvassers across the province to collect over 300,000 signatures in support of the campaign to have a referendum on the issue of on October 19, 2020.
Transcript
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Knock on the door. They're going to open the door and we're going to bring their signatures in.
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They're going to weigh them. Then they're going to seal them and I'm going to initial the seal
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and away we're going to go. Thank you very much everybody. Away we go.
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You guys, none of this happens. So just understand how important you are and how important you're
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going to be moving forward. You stood in the cold, you got abused, people yelled at you,
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people yelled at us on the way here. So what we did with all of our boxes is we took a
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picture of canvassers and we put a different picture in front of every one of our boxes
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is we're going to swear an affidavit of how many signatures we have here
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and I'm going to give it to the Premier and I'm going to read a letter to the
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right now that I'm going to send to her on your behalf
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which as far as we're concerned is going to be the official number
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and notice that these are all collected, they're all here, they're all behind us
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they're all going to be in the building and they're all official because we had to do a lot
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more than anybody else. We had to get physical addresses which were a really big deal as it
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turns out and as a consequence to that I don't believe that there's going to be any attrition
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in those boxes back there because our people paid so much attention to what was going on.
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Alright, so let me read you the letter that I have for Premier Smith.
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Dear Premier Smith, on behalf of the Stay Free Alberta campaign, I am pleased to advise
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you today that we deliver to Elections Alberta 301,450 signatures for the Alberta Independence
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Petition initiated under the Citizens Initiative Act, well surpassing the required threshold
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set by Elections Alberta. This process shows that Albertans are engaged and this is an
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issue people want to have a say on. From all perspectives, there has been significant interest
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to the discussion and participation demonstrating that this is a matter of province-wide importance.
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It also reflects the role of direct democracy with citizens engaging the legislative process
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This effort was about participation in democracy, plain and simple.
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As you are aware, there were significant administrative
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and legal hurdles that delayed the process and increased the cost.
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Despite these obstacles, we remained focused on the goal
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This effort would not have been possible without the dedication
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of thousands of volunteers, including over 7,000 canvassers.
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Many stood for hours in harsh Alberta weather, in freezing temperatures, rain, snow and blizzard
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conditions to give their fellow citizens the opportunity to sign.
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At the same time, we must bring to your attention one of the most common concerns we heard.
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Across the province, many Albertans expressed support for the petition and in many cases
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But they said they could not, out of fear of repercussions.
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Some were concerned that having their names recorded could expose them to government penalties
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or financial consequences such as frozen bank accounts.
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In addition, canvassers frequently faced harassment while carrying out this lawful activity, often
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Regardless of one's position, hesitation to participate in lawful democratic process
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raises serious concerns about confidence in civic freedoms.
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No Albertan should feel intimidated or at risk for engaging in a lawful process.
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While the Court has, for now, directed that the formal signature count be delayed, we
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We trust the government understands the significant effort, time and cost incurred by everyday
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That is the purpose of this process, why we participated and why we have prepared this
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statutory declaration confirming the final signature count.
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We understand approximately 1,500 extra signatures remain in transit due to delays with Canada
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We look forward to your government receiving this clear expression of the democratic will
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of Albertans and advancing the next steps to include this important question on the
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referendum ballot on October 19th 2026 respectfully Mitch Sylvester so the
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updated number now is three hundred and one thousand six hundred and twenty not
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counting our 1,500 more. So again, thank you very, very much everybody. This day is historic
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in Alberta history. This is the first step to the next step, and away we go. Thank you