Saskatchewan's Opposition NDP introduced legislation Wednesday that, if passed, would make it tougher for the province to separate from the rest of Canada.
Party leader Carla Beck told the legislative assembly it's a chance for Premier Scott Moe's Saskatchewan Party government to put its money where its mouth is and quash separatist sentiments after Prime Minister Mark Carney's win for the Liberals.
"I'm going to ask him to lead by example," Beck said. "Will he allow a free vote on my legislation so we can see once and for all who actually over there wants to keep Saskatchewan in Canada?"
Moe told the assembly he would allow a free vote on the bill. He also accused the NDP of trying to silence the public through the legislative changes.
"This is a government that is not interested in condemning people," Moe said.
"The legislation is in place in Saskatchewan that if there are the required number of people that sign the petition for that event to happen ... the people of Saskatchewan will have the voice under this government."
The premier has said Saskatchewan is not interested in separating, but he wouldn't stop a vote on the issue from coming forward.
Beck's bill doubles the threshold for citizens to initiate a plebiscite on separation, requiring 30 per cent of eligible voters to sign on to a petition instead of 15 per cent.
The threshold of 15 per cent would continue to apply to other issues.
"Citizen-led referendums are part of our democracy. People deserve to have a say," Beck told reporters before tabling the legislation.
"But, we also need to be clear as leaders that a vote to separate from Canada would damage our economy for years to come and the bar has to be set high to reflect the gravity of that vote."
Beck said the legislation would also prevent the government from unilaterally launching a referendum on separation unless it has a clear mandate from voters, which could come in the form of a general election.
She said a referendum vote, even if it fails, would scare investment away from Saskatchewan.
She pointed to economic issues that followed the Quebec independence movement in the late 1970s into the early 1990s, where businesses moved their corporate headquarters out of Montreal.
“The worst thing we can do is send a message of instability," Beck said.
There is an online petition in Saskatchewan calling on the province to negotiate new terms with Ottawa or look at separating. It had more than 3,000 digital signatures as of Wednesday.
Saskatchewan law allows public votes to come forward through plebiscites or referendums.
The public can initiate plebiscites through a petition, provided 15 per cent of eligible voters sign. The province can also direct a plebiscite and legislators can initiate a vote should they get a motion passed in the assembly.
Referendums are ordered by government. The result is binding if more than 60 per cent of ballots are cast in the same way on a question. Referendums aren't binding unless at least 50 per cent of eligible electors vote, the law says.
Elections Saskatchewan’s website says plebiscites are not binding.
Separatist sentiments have flared up in neighbouring Alberta.
Premier Danielle Smith's United Conservative government has introduced legislation that, if passed, would sharply reduce the bar petitioners need to meet to trigger a provincial referendum.
Smith has said she doesn't want Alberta to leave Canada, but she would allow a vote on separating if enough residents sign a petition.
