Pam retweeted
Allowing your children to play with rattlesnakes may be unwise, experts say.
Canada should be cautious about deepening trade with China, says Tokyo-based academic
theglobeandmail.com/politics…
Pam retweeted
I was born in Calgary. I've spent my whole life in Toronto.
Over the past two years, filming the documentary Broken Country, I've spent more time in Alberta than I have since I moved east. And I've come away seeing the separation debate very differently than I did going in.
I met a lot of separatists. Almost none of them were who I expected. They weren't angry cranks with a flag. They were farmers, nurses, oil workers, small-business owners, grandparents. And the thing that surprised me most: most of them want nothing more than to remain in Canada. They just can't see another choice.
Think about what they've lived through. The National Energy Program. Pipelines approved, then cancelled, then litigated into the ground. A tanker ban on one coast. Hundreds of billions sent east through equalization, returned as lectures about how the industry that pays for Canada's infrastructure and provincial shortfalls is something to be ashamed of. A federal government that has gone to court to argue Alberta's own resources aren't Alberta's business. And through all of it, a Parliament where their votes are a rounding error.
You can disagree with every policy position Albertans hold and still see the pattern: a province that built one of the most productive economies on Earth, asked over and over to apologize for it.
The people pushing for a referendum aren't traitors. They're patriots. They are standing up for what they believe in and fighting for a better future for their kids, a future their own federal government keeps telling them they don't deserve. That's not a tantrum. That's what citizens are supposed to do when nobody in power is listening.
I'll say it plainly: I want nothing more than for Alberta to stay in Canada. This country is not whole without it. If Alberta leaves the country I love and am fighting for will cease to exist.
But maybe a referendum vote is exactly the wake-up call the rest of us need. Not because Alberta should leave, but because the rest of Canada has to finally decide whether it wants to be a partner or a landlord.
Pam retweeted
Call me crazy (or bananas) but couldn't we maybe, just maybe, focus on creating the conditions which enable Canadians to have more kids instead?
With Canada’s population growth at a historic low of 0.5 per cent, Mark Carney is in a position to proactively lead the debate on restarting immigration, Adam Radwanski writes. thestar.com/business/mark-ca…
Pam retweeted
The EU wants closer ties with the EU.
Govt gaslighting has become incredibly effective.
The majority of Canadians have no idea about the European Union and its decay.
Majority of Canadians support closer formal ties with European Union: poll
theglobeandmail.com/canada/a…
Pam retweeted
More reasons to vote Option 2.
How many times does Alberta have to ask?
For nearly half a century, modern Albertans have tried to change their relationship with Ottawa.
We asked for a Triple-E Senate. We held elections for our own senators. We tried constitutional reform.
We proposed the Alberta Agenda, calling for greater control over pensions, policing and taxation.
Four Alberta MPs presented the Buffalo Declaration, outlining what they believed was necessary for Alberta to become an equal partner in Confederation.
We established the Fair Deal Panel.
We held a referendum on equalization. Nearly 62% voted for constitutional change.
We fought federal energy policies, challenged legislation in court, and watched major pipeline projects disappear amid political and regulatory disputes.
But the larger question remains.
After decades of elections, proposals, negotiations, court challenges and referendums, how much has actually changed about Alberta's structural position within Canada?
And perhaps more importantly:
What evidence do we have that another decade of waiting will produce a fundamentally different outcome?
That's the question I think Albertans should be asking as they consider their future.
Vote Option 2 on October 19th.
#cdnpoli #abpoli #AlbertaIndependence
Pam retweeted
The risk has not disappeared.
The NEP is history, but the power that produced it remains.
So does Ottawa’s power to impose export taxes, restrict pipelines and target Alberta’s energy economy.
The risk has not disappeared. Option 2 gives Albertans leverage to address it before the next crisis arrives.
Pam retweeted
If only there was the same level of concern about interference by foreign countries - say China - in our federal elections.
thestar.com/politics/federal…
Pam retweeted
Friendly federal governments come and go. So do Prime Ministers and promises. What remains is a system in which Alberta can be outvoted and overruled on the very industries that sustain our prosperity. Vote Option 2 to pursue lasting protection—not another temporary reprieve.
Pam retweeted
The NEP taught Alberta a painful lesson: when Ottawa turns against our economy, we bear the consequences. That danger did not disappear—it returned after 2015 in a different form. Option 2 gives Alberta leverage to insist on permanent protections, not temporary promises.
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Former federal lobbyist and Conservative spin doctor Ken Boessenkool has spent months telling Albertans that he can fix our relationship with Ottawa without fundamentally changing it.
Fine.
Then where is his plan?
What concrete reforms will give Alberta lasting protection from federal governments that can override our interests? How will those reforms actually be achieved?
Four months since he announced he would show us his Lead Not Leave plan, Albertans deserve more than Ken's hollow assurances and crude insults.
Especially from someone who recently wrote:
“Direct democracy is for losers.”
Albertans asking important questions about their future are not losers. They are citizens exercising democracy.
Ken is an insider trying to protect his own interests, not yours.
Pam retweeted
The Globe’s Alberta Hit Piece Is Propaganda Masquerading as Journalism cnm5000.substack.com/p/the-g…
Pam retweeted
EDITORIAL: No, Canada is not a ‘European’ country
Prime Minister Mark Carney has prepared Canadians for his bid to have Canada become an associate member of the European Union by claiming, “Canada is the most European of non-European countries.” The problem is, it's not true.
torontosun.com/opinion/edito…
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STATEMENT FROM LET ALBERTA DECIDE CO-LEAD KEITH WILSON, K.C.
Albertans should welcome any serious effort to get our energy to world markets. But with the October 19 referendum only weeks away, they are also entitled to ask some hard questions about today’s Pacific Link announcement.
The first is: why now?
Alberta has been seeking tidewater access for decades. This new pipeline was formally referred to the Major Projects Office on July 2. Yet the major announcement declaring it a project of national interest arrives immediately before Albertans make an important decision about their future constitutional relationship with Ottawa.
That timing deserves scrutiny. Its Ottawa playing politics to get Albertans to forget about decades of mistreatment and how Canada does not work for Alberta.
Albertans should also look carefully at what was actually announced. This is not yet a fully approved, financed or construction-ready pipeline. The current estimated cost is between $35 billion and $44 billion. Taxpayers are now on the hook for the overwhelming majority of the initial ownership interest, while major questions remain about final financing, new BC tolls on Alberta oil, shipper commitments and the ultimate cost to taxpayers.
The pipeline comes with many strings attached imposed by Ottawa. The $20-30 billion Pathways carbon-capture project will be another hit on taxpayers.
This brings the combined cost to taxpayers of over $70 billion which is the same amount as the total budget for the Alberta Government including health care, education, and social programs.
Today’s announcement is significant and I hope the pipeline ultimately gets built.
But Albertans should judge it on the facts, not the timing of a press conference. Does Canada still work for Alberta or can Alberta do better? That’s the question that will be decided on October 19.
Serious change is needed in the constitutional relationship so that the Alberta Government does not have to spend decades of effort and billions in taxpayer dollars just to get a new pipeline.
Pam retweeted
For allegedly being a bunch of poorly educated hillbillies, many Alberta independence supporters sure have nice homes.
Pam retweeted
The pipeline announcement is like an abusive husband promising his wife the he won’t beat her anymore AFTER she contacts a divorce attorney.
Wake up Alberta. You’re being played!
Vote option 2!
Pam retweeted
Big numbers make big headlines.
But a model isn’t a crystal ball. Its results depend on the assumptions you put into it.
I believe the Calgary Chamber’s latest report paints an unnecessarily dire picture while leaving important economic realities out of the equation.
So I made this video to provide another perspective and let Albertans judge the arguments for themselves.
Watch:
youtube.com/watch?v=h3tWUu5O…
And mark carney wants us to align with the EU. Terrible policy decisions.
