Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says people seeking an independence referendum should not face “gatekeepers,” including courts. She spoke on her radio call-in show today, her first appearance there since her government proposed legislation that would halt an ongoing court case on the issue.

Smith said giving Justice Minister Mickey Amery authority over referendum questions upholds democracy. She said the courts “seem to want to approve the ones they like, and hold up the ones they don’t like.”

Her comments came a day after Alberta Justice Colin Feasby said a separatist question would conflict with the Charter and the province’s existing referendum law. In a decision issued Friday, Feasby said the United Conservative government’s proposed legislation would change the rules in the middle of the game and called that undemocratic.

Based on reporting by Global News.