Alberta judge tosses out petition for province to separate from Canada

Alberta judge tosses out petition for province to separate from Canada Just nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleAFP via Getty ImagesAn Alberta judge has thrown out a petition seeking for the province to separate from Canada, after indigenous First Nations groups argued that an independent Alberta without their consultation would infringe on their land rights.The ruling was delivered on Wednesday in an Edmonton court by Justice Shaina Leonard, according to Canadian media. It comes after Stay Free Alberta, the group behind a citizen-led petition on Alberta independence, said it had gathered more than 300,000 signatures - enough to trigger a province-wide referendum.Justice Leonard paused verification of those signatures pending her decision on the First Nations legal challenge. CanadaIndigenous Canadians