Calgary council split over taking a stance on Alberta's independence referendum

Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas says he anticipates bringing urgent business or calling a special meeting so city council can debate whether to take an official stance on the upcoming Alberta independence referendum this fall, CBC reports. Some councillors argue the debate sits outside their jurisdiction. That is the real question underneath the procedural one: whether a municipality has standing at all in a provincial separation vote, or whether taking a side would just be a council speaking for residents it has no mandate to bind.