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Alberta Independence Situation
My interpretation as to the Alberta Independence situation by Mike Bennison.
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At no time has Ottawa ever favoured us over provinces to the east. They use our money and resources to bribe them against us. That is one of the main reasons you will never get two prov. to separate at the same time. I think 100 years is long enough to qualify us, in the cautious /reasoning/ over swift reaction dept.
You can make mention of "ALBERTA INDEPENDENCE versus ALBERTA SEPARATION" In short you are playing semantics with too important a subject, this issue has been clouded along this line for the past year, and it has gotten the movement nowhere.
I'm going to address an important concern to Albertan's "My rationale: In present political-economic conditions, separatism is not workable on an individual provincial basis.” You have a catch 22 situation in which, on one hand if things are economically fine, there is no dissension in the populous, and if things are bad, then we do not have the economic where with all to carry off independence. We might as well all pack up our kit and go home, and then wait around another 100 yrs.
As far as economic/political partners is concerned, there's no such thing. Every state / prov. country, community, will makes their own decisions as to trade and commerce. Anyway being stuck in this confederation, it will not be an option until we are separated. Ottawa will call the shots until then. Many knowledgeable people, for many yrs have discussed this important subject at great length. Even back in the WCC days. But short of getting into a discussion on "Substantive form and prime-evil matter" The largest majority of all the economic experts agreed that Alberta could quite easily stand economically viably alone, and quite well I might add. If we can support the entire country, supporting one prov. shouldn't be much of challenge.
You talk of the need for a sea port. Well, Vancouver will still take all our sea traffic, and if the supply and demand program kicks in, more then likely, at a cheaper tariff then we are paying today. Remember we now would also have the American ports to choose from as well. As for the feds harassing us with embargoes & tariffs, and trying to disallow us passage through BC. I can only say, it would only be a small fraction, compared to the treatment they would receive trying to get their commerce back and forth across this country to tide water , that kind of thinking goes both ways and in our favour.
Getting to the PQ part . Que. indep. and AB. indep. Are totally different. I remember back before their last referendum, their premiere Lucian B. was on QR.77 radio at which time I asked him point blank "What can I do as an Albertan to help Que. leave confederation" His answer was simply" You can count on me." My analysis of this was that they did not want any help because they do not really want separation. What they do want is more equalisation money, which incidentally comes from the only place left with extra cash, ALBERTA. So any comparison between Que. and AB. is a non-issue. They are one prov. that could not stand alone, that's why there is a Bloc Que.party. The time to separate with all the T’s crossed & I’s dotted is never going to happen. The statement "Forge beneficial inter-prov/ international alliances, then have a referendum with more than one prov. at a time coming to the same conclusion at the same time.” is pie in the sky planning. There are going to be many obstacles for Independence to cross, we don't need to add our own, AND we don't need to get into a political independence fight with our hands tied behind our back, saddled with our own makeshift problems. We've had enough of back room politician’s making deals under the guise of forging economical and political ties; the problem is we Albertan’s always come up short. We Albertan are an independent minded people with strong views on pretty much everything, when it comes to deciding aye or nay on leaving confederation, it will be done on an individual basis, not on a mass collective agenda. Each person in his or her own time will see the long-term beneficial reasoning we are advocating. When that day comes hopefully the election call will not be far off.
FREE THE FUTURE REPUBLIC OF ALBERTA
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michael bennison commented on Contact Us 2023-04-23 20:34:08 -0600When tip candidates get up to speak make sure they have something to say, not that they have to say something !
michael bennison
In the 1982 provincial election, the Western Canada Concept Party of Alberta (WCC) ran candidates in 78 of the 79 constituencies. The WCC was an independence party, so this election was an historical watershed for Alberta.
I was one of those 78 candidates, running in Lethbridge East. In those days we were fighting against Pierre Trudeau, but nothing since then has diminished my enthusiasm for an independent Alberta.
For over 40 years I have promoted and tried to advance the cause for Alberta independence, first as a founding director for two independence parties, then as president of a third, and as a director of a fourth. My simple intention is to get Albertans on the quickest and easiest path to independence.
During those 40 or more years, I have seen Alberta being tread upon in all manner of ways by the federal government. Given this long-standing track record, there is no hope of ever fixing our alliance with Ottawa (i.e., Ontario and Quebec).
Some would say Canada is broken, but quite the opposite is true. Canada is working exactly how it was intended, that being to bring all power and resources to central Canada for their own selfish interests. As long as they have the majority of votes in Parliament that will never change.
This point lies at the root cause of why we are stuck in perpetuity of not being able to stop Ottawa from syphoning billions of dollars and resources at will from us, and that no provincial elected representative can do anything about it. This is the root cause of all of our provincial government funding problems, whether it’s health care, the justice system, old age pensions, education, policing, infrastructure, etc.
I have researched and never found one piece of Parliamentary legislation that favoured Alberta to the detriment of Ontario and Quebec, but I have no problem finding the reverse. I'm sure we can all cite our own central Canada misgivings toward Alberta.
Some would say that Justin Trudeau is our problem, but this could not be further from the truth. It is the system that puts him and his kind in, time after time, so if the prime ministers don't favour central Canada over western Canada, then they are simply replaced.
Trudeau may not be able to balance budgets, but he can count seats in the House of Commons. And to be fair, Conservatives have played the same game, with the same end results. It doesn't matter which party is in power, the outcome will always be the same. Alberta will always be on the losing end.
Remember, we had a prime minister from Calgary that did nothing for Alberta. What more proof do we need to tell us there is no answer other than total independence?
We are stuck in a dysfunctional democracy that disproportionately favors certain regions of the country. Meanwhile, Ottawa continues living on our dime, as we are treated as second class citizens in our own county.
This points to the main underlying problem. IT'S THE SYSTEM. The system always allows central Canada, via Ottawa, to control everything in their favor. That’s just the way it is; has been, and always will be. Until Ontario and Quebec want to allow a change, nothing will. But why would they? They simply have a source of free funds forever.
Nothing will change, no matter how much negotiation we do, or what party or representatives we send to Ottawa. The problems we had fifty years ago are just as prevalent today as they were back then. The only thing we will get out of this is lip service.
A majority of economic experts agree that Alberta could quite easily viably stand alone, and quite well I might add. If we can financially support much of the country, supporting one province should not be much of a challenge.
Take it from me, a guy who has been fighting for Alberta independence for over 40 years. More and more Albertans are beginning to see the light. Hopefully, one day we will be free from Ottawa.
I, for one, will always vote for Alberta Independence.
