Currency, healthcare, policing: Separatist group answers questions on independence plan at local meeting

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A local group has held another meeting in Cecil Lake to discuss the possibility of an independent northeast B.C. 

On October 9th, residents gathered in Cecil Lake for a northeast B.C. independence meeting at the Cecil Lake Community Hall. 

Wayne Bell, a member of the local separatist group which has been holding meetings in the region over the past several years, was one of the organizers and speakers of the October 9th event. 

“We, the people, have the authority to do this,” Bell told the meeting. “We need to unite and get it done.

“There’s no limit to what we can do.” 

Organizers hosted a similar event in July to gauge local interest in the Peace River region separating from Canada and becoming independent. 

Bell explained independence from Canada was the goal of the group, and described its current plans, ideas and intentions.

Questions from attendees included what independence would entail, be it becoming independent from Canada or joining with Alberta.

“We have to be independent before we can move forward,” Bell said. “And the word is a huge possibility, down the road, but we have to get our independence first.”

Several videos were also played, cautioning against ‘dystopian digital controls’ and the Clarity Act, or Bill C-20, a piece of legislation passed in 2000 which outlines the conditions under which the federal government of Canada would negotiate a province’s secession. 

According to research database provider EBSCO, the act was passed in response to Quebec’s referendum in 1995, when the province voted on whether it should leave Canada and pursue its own sovereignty. Elections Quebec lists the result as narrowly defeated, with the ‘no’ camp receiving 50.58 per cent of the vote. 

At the October 9th meeting, Bell claimed the group only needed 10,000 people to “show up” at a location described as the “Fort St. John Rec Centre” to be able to declare independence for the Peace River region. In answer to an attendee, Bell stated the total population of the region was 88,000. 

Energeticcity.ca’s research showed the population of the Peace River Regional District recorded during the 2021 census was 61,532, and the population of the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality in the same timeframe was 3,947. 

Bell told the meeting he believes once 10,000 people make their desire for independence known, a letter of independence can be sent and “within two months” the region would be independent. 

Energeticcity.ca could not find evidence of this in independent research. The Clarity Act, which is available to read on the Government of Canada’s website, says the “secession of a province, to be lawful, would require an amendment to the Constitution of Canada” and would “require negotiations in relation to secession involving at least the governments of all of the provinces and the Government of Canada, and that those negotiations would be governed by the principles of federalism, democracy, constitutionalism and the rule of law, and the protection of minorities.”

At the meeting, when explaining the group’s idea of a “road to independence,” Bell said he did not want politicians and lawyers to be involved in the process due to their affiliation with established authorities. 

Some attendees departed during the meeting, stating they had attended in search of  “suggestions or answers,” while others asked questions on topics ranging from healthcare and finances to government and policing.

Some voiced their concerns about the uncertainties and unanswered questions, with one saying she would “never sign a blank check” of independence without knowing how everything is going to be handled. 

“I’m very dissatisfied with our government, but I’m also a little bit cautious, because I don’t want to switch from one bad system to another bad system,” she stated. 

Bell explained the group was looking for volunteers to assist with research, education and outreach. The volunteers would also join conversations within the group regarding the specifics of independence.

When one attendee questioned how the region would be policed without access to the RCMP, she was told “everyone hunts” in the region and sheriffs would be elected, rather than appointed. 

Another asked about healthcare, and organizers said they believed there would be “no shortage” of healthcare workers following independence due to the region’s prosperity.

Energeticcity.ca has reported on long-standing issues with recruiting and retaining healthcare staff in northeast B.C., with doctor shortages in the area dating back to at least 1974. For example, healthcare provision has been the subject of protests, petitions, lobbying of government and debates at local government level, and the topic regularly appears in the opinion columns of Energeticcity.ca. The challenge has previously been attributed to a range of factors, including a struggle to attract qualified workers to rural areas.

In the meeting, Bell said he believes once the region is independent, it would be easier and cheaper for oil and gas companies to get permits, which he said would serve to revitalize the region’s economy by allowing more natural resources to be extracted and processed.

The organizers said they would not pursue a new currency, with the new region using the Canadian or US dollar. 

In a previous interview with Energeticcity.ca, Bell stated the independence group meets regularly in Fort St. John with flags and banners by the intersection of 92A Street and Highway 97 on Sundays, and that more meetings would be held to offer information to interested residents.