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Why Is Anyone Surprised?
JEFFERSON N. GLAPSKI
To those Albertans who are already pro-independence, the latest actions
from Ottawa are not surprising. They are another example of Canada
being Canada.
One critique that Canadian federalists have of FreeAlberta.com is that
our argument is simply one of economics. While we certainly have an
economic argument for independence and our lives and those of our
families would improve dramatically, that is not the primary reason for
our independence.
Canada is broken. It is a balkanized country, with different regions
against one another. And each of those regions have different
populations. In Alberta's case, our smaller relative population has had
several effects.
First, it means that we do not have a voice in the outcome of
federal elections. Only once has Alberta's vote even counted, and by
that I mean the composition of the party and the status of that
government would not have changed with or without Alberta. There is but
one exception to this in the past 40 years.
It means those areas with greater population make the rules. Albertans
are not masters in our own house. That is why legislation antithetical
to Alberta gets passed. That is why the Reform Party becomes
Easternized and eventually turned into the Conservative Party who
clamors for Ontario and Quebec votes like any other political party
(outside of the BQ).
This tyranny of the majority is usually prevented in civilized
countries by one of two mechanisms: a bicameral legislature, where the
excesses of the majority can be rejected by a House of Lords or a
Senate. The second mechanism that can prevent the excesses of
majoritarian rule is with a Constitution overturning legislation that
is not constitutional.
Canada's Senate is not effective, because it roughly has Senators based
on population. And it has been nothing but a means by which the federal
government reinforces its power, as opposed to the Provinces appointing
Senators to protect regional interests in a federal system.
Alberta is not protected by the Constitution, as Alberta has been
looted several times, despite Alberta having sole control over her
natural resources.
So if there are no political tools to fix the problem, what is the
point of staying? You see the result of the political system being
slanted against Alberta every day in terms of federal economic policy
harming Alberta. And the latest attempt by the Liberals, NDP and BQ to
form a coalition is nothing more than them taking advantage of the
shortcomings of Canada, and it will likely harm Alberta.
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What Credible Steps Can Be Taken?
JEFFERSON N. GLAPSKI
I've
had many letters asking what can be done to further Alberta's
independence, and those letters have increased in their frequency
lately.
The most important thing you can do is reject Canada sentimentally.
The arguments for Alberta gaining her independence have been made
strongly, and as Leon Craig notes, strongly enough where even the
opponents of Alberta independence admit that Alberta would be better
off from an economic, political and cultural standpoint. Federalist
Roger Gibbins admits that Alberta would be better off economically as
an independent country.
We've attempted to show on FreeAlberta.com that Alberta would be better
off economcially, where our per capita would rise to the world's 2nd
best behind Luxembourg. We argue that we'd be better off politically,
where Albertans would no longer be treated as second class citizens.
And our government would be ours, not an entity run by a different
people than us several thousands of miles away.
The rational case for independence is clear. The sentimental case for
independence is not. And this is a necessary pre-requisite for Alberta
rejecting Canada.
Note that we do not talk about Ottawa wronging Alberta on FreeAlberta.com. We talk about Canada wronging Alberta.
It is Canadians that are electing officials that continue to rob
billions of dollars from Alberta on a yearly basis, not just those from
Ottawa.
It is Canadians that elected tyrants like Trudeau that looted Alberta
with the National Energy Program, forced bilingualism, a high debt
load, an unfunded pension and other programs harmful to Albertans. This
was done, as Marc Lalonde mentioned, to keep the political power in the
East. And it was Canadians that continued to re-elect Trudeau time
after time, even when he was giving the West the finger, both literally
and metaphorically.
Albertans will not seek independence until they reject Canada, until
they reject themselves as being Canadians and consider themselves
Albertans instead. Our hope was that listing the historical wrongs that
Canada has perpetrated would tend to break the subconscious attachment
to Canada. AFter all, Canada has no attachment to Alberta except as
recipients of a check from Albertans.
If you have family in Canada, keep in mind that you probably have
family elsewhere in the world that you are able to visit, even though
you may not be in the same country as the United States or Germany,
where they may reside.
Think of the things you consider to be Canadian, and you may actually
discover that they are actually Albertan characteristics, like walking
through the badlands, or hiking through the mountains or foothills. And
as you go through that imaginary hike, note that you will not find a
Maple Leaf like the one on the Canadian flag, but you will find plenty
of Wild Roses.
Only once you shed the emotional baggage of being a Canadian and become
an Albertan can independence occur. Then we can start enacting programs
that make independence possible, like the Alberta Firewall, and
eventually secede by referendum.
But first things first.
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