OTTAWA — Indigenous lawyer Leighton Gray was the shock star of an Alberta independence rally on the provincial legislature in Edmonton over the weekend.
Gray, a felony defence legal professional and Carry the Kettle Nakoda Nation member based mostly in Chilly Lake, Alta., delighted the pro-independence crowd when he laid out his imaginative and prescient for a future Alberta the place all residents are handled equally beneath the legislation.
“To the federal government, (and) I’m speaking in regards to the federal authorities now, I’m the opposite. I’m an Indian,” mentioned Gray. “Which is to say I reside in an apartheid state. That’s what Canada is.”
“If we’re going to create the best society, a brand new Alberta that’s free and affluent, that society must be one which unifies Indigenous peoples and, as Albertans, invitations them into the group that ends the otherness,” he completed to applause.
Gray made the case, by way of his 20-minute speech, that the Indian Act of 1876 set the Indigenous on a separate, and inferior, path from the non-Indigenous.
“They name us the First Nations, however I discover we’re first in all of the unsuitable issues and we’re final in all the great issues,” mentioned Gray.
He mentioned he didn’t perceive why the Indigenous teams combating the referendum on separation need to proceed a “dysfunctional relationship” with Ottawa.
“What I’d say to those chiefs who’re pleading and going to courtroom and attempting to cease Alberta independence, clarify to me how this relationship is sweet for our individuals. As a result of I’m only a dumb nation lawyer, but it surely goes means over my head,” mentioned Gray to one other spherical of applause.
Gray mentioned the best way to interrupt the “cycle of abuse” was by voting for Possibility 2 within the Oct. 19 referendum on separation .
His self-assessment as a “dumb nation lawyer” undersells his spectacular resume , which incorporates, amongst many different accolades, changing into Alberta’s youngest lawyer appointed to the King’s Counsel in 2010 and being named one in all Canada’s Prime 50 Attorneys in 2024.
Nationwide Put up spoke to Gray about his assist for Alberta independence. This interview has been edited for readability and size.
The referendum is in six weeks and polls present most Albertans have already determined how they’ll vote. Why wait till now to make your case for independence?
I used to be not personally concerned within the referendum drive. I’ve simply, kind of, been a speaker who’s invited to attend numerous occasions. What’s pushed me to leap into the fray a bit extra has been the oppositional angle towards the referendum that’s been taken by the premier (Danielle Smith). If I had identified, say six or 9 months in the past, that she’d be taking this stance, I most likely would have achieved issues otherwise.
A lot of the reporting heading into the referendum has framed the pro-independence facet as racist and anti-Indigenous — and never with out the assistance of feedback made by a few of its purported leaders. Do you suppose you could possibly have weakened this narrative by taking a extra seen position earlier on?
Effectively, I’ve a number of respect for what individuals like Mitch Sylvestre and Jeff Rath have achieved to deliver this challenge to the forefront, and I’d by no means need to disparage these guys. However one of many issues the independence motion lacks proper now could be a transparent chief that may set the tone and set up message self-discipline. There’s no query that the opposite facet has used this in opposition to us.
Do you see your self as somebody who might presumably be the face of the motion?
No. I don’t have any aspiration to be an out-in-front political chief. That isn’t in my DNA proper now. I’d see myself extra as possibly a key advisor. Somebody who might assist develop coverage for, for instance, Indigenous peoples.
Is media consideration on Indigenous critics of Alberta independence — akin to courtroom challengers and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew — underrepresenting Indigenous assist for independence?
Completely. After I join with Indigenous individuals, both by way of my podcast or once I exit and communicate, I usually discover that they need the identical issues as everybody else does: protected streets, correct well being care, good colleges for his or her children. It’s laborious to argue that Canada is succeeding in these areas, particularly once you have a look at the residing situations on reservations. Many don’t even have potable water!
Of the individuals planning to vote “Possibility 2” subsequent month, there appears to be two teams: those that desire a clear break from Canada and those that need to ship Ottawa a message. Which one are you?
I feel the very best we are able to hope for is to ship Ottawa a message. In contrast to some within the motion, I occur to suppose that we have already got a reasonably good Structure. The issue is that we’re not governing ourselves in accordance to it. It was by no means supposed for us to have this omnipotent federal authorities, with actually all efficient lawmaking energy concentrated within the prime minister’s workplace. I’m extra within the line of seeing the independence motion as a means of exhibiting Albertans, and certainly the remainder of Canada, that there’s a greater solution to govern ourselves.
Nationwide Put up
rmohamed@postmedia.com
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