Public Interest Alberta launches campaign against separation, says 'no to the nine'

Public Interest Alberta is joining the federalist forces with the launch of a campaign to vote to remain in Canada, as well as say ‘no’ to the remaining nine referendum questions.

The provincewide campaign was launched in Calgary on Tuesday, with subsequent kickoffs in Lethbridge and Edmonton on Wednesday and Thursday, and focuses on face-to-face conversations. Volunteers will be going door-to-door, attending community events, distributing information and organizing voters.

Bradley Lafortune, executive director of Public Interest Alberta, said the referendum is an “intentional distraction” and aims to cause division.

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“Alberta is so much better than what’s in this referendum. We have real priorities and real concerns when it comes to health care, education, our democracy, affordability, quality of life. There’s so many things we could be focused on,” Lafortune said.

“Not only are we concerned about the separation question, obviously, but the other nine questions as well, that really scapegoat newcomers and immigrants to Alberta in order to advance a pretty nasty political agenda.”

The goal, he said, is to encourage people to get out to the polls on election day — or to request a mail-in ballot in advance — and to ensure people are well-informed about what all 10 questions are asking.

“Our message is, participate in this referendum, even though it’s divisive, even though it’s distracting, and send a clear message that we want to move on with our real priorities,” he said. “Let’s get this over with, let’s put this behind us.”

Public Interest Alberta is a non-profit, non-partisan organization, and Lafortune said in his view, the topics in the referendum are non-partisan in nature.

“Alberta is a place where people come to start a good life, and we think that we shouldn’t scapegoat people who came here to do that,” he said.