The Line is clearly a federalist posting. Not news, as unbalanced, from an Alberta perspective. It is sad that the federalists have no solution to the longstanding concerns of Albertans regarding Confederation. I will be voting "No" to the "Forever Canadian" question.
A "No" vote means:
No unelected, unaccountable, agenda driven, activist judiciary.
No FN veto.
No transfer payments.
No to the flawed electoral system.
No unelected senate.
No pandering to Quebec.
No omnicause based policies.
No CBC.
No to the CRTC too.
Just as I would have voted "No" to the "Alberta Free" question. This is not the time, but 2027 might be. So "Yes", to a post-pipeline failure referendum on leaving Canada.
Mr. Trump did more to help Alberta than anything Dr. Carney has done, to date.
It is fair game for a news organization- especially an independent one - to take an editorial opinion with respect to a series of topics.
However, dismissing Western discontent and the secessionists so cavalierly is both poorly staged strategy, and unworthy of their very real concerns.
Has Keith Wilson ever been on your show? Given that Jen is a genuinely skilled interviewer, it seems to me it would be grand journalism if he were to appear on the program.
Canada has some very real problems. Some are institutional, some are foundational, and many are just the result of repeated, unforced errors. The problems do not seem to be mitigating. In fact, in many cases, they are getting worse.
To ask a question from the title of this post, why?
The nationalists arguments seem to converge on the "change is scary" narrative. That's a lot of benefit of the doubt and I don't think Canada is at the stage where nationalists can ride on inertia anymore.
All this said, yes Canadians and Albertans aren't rebels or bold people. Mediocrity is preferred to disruption for most Canadians. It just is.
Again I feel that I have to remind you, it's not just Alberta.
" Separatism is simply not a productive solution to any of those problems." Thanks for the acknowledgement that there are existing and long standing issues. Can I challenge you to supply Western Canadians with a few solutions to address said problems? These issues have been simmering for many years with little to no solutions put forward. And why would you and the rest of Eastern Canada want to change anything for the betterment of Canada? You're the king of the castle!
“In short, we think it’s a grift that is attempting to channel genuine frustration and outrage toward enriching and benefitting a small number of people who are engaging in a pointless fantasy exercise that can only lead to division and damage for the province and good people within it.”
Sounds exactly like Liberal Ottawa policy and practice since the Trudeau Senior days. Just swap “ succeeding” for “attempting”, “country” for “province”, translate to French, and “Voila”!
A refreshingly solid stand. Thank you Line people. It was good that in your previous podcast you mentioned how Alberta's been virtually a one-party State for most of the last 50 years. The fact that people will continue voting for a party no matter how shabby a job they do has allowed them to blame a lot of their failures and weaknesses on the federal government. "Not happy? Look! Squirrel/Trudeau!" Also as a former Albertan I can tell you that the constant griping is not winning you any friends. You guys demand more pipelines but we all chipped in something like $35 billion to build you one and it's like it never happened. Why should we do that again? Virtually no one in the rest of Canada dislikes Alberta but there's no need to push that. And let's not forget that the reason you pay the most in transfers is because you are the richest province. That's a strange thing to whine about. Could it be that the inequality issues in Alberta are an internal, provincial government problem? Another thing that isn't mentioned is the huge effect the oil industry has in this. I've just read Don Gillmor's short book "On Oil" and I can't recommend it enough. It wasn't Ottawa who drastically lowered the oil royalty rates and mismanaged the Heritage fund. Separation won't help any of that and will leave Alberta in roughly the same spot as Puerto Rico... and the rest of Canada definitely diminished. A referendum is not needed but a whole lot of hugs are.
No one likes being taken advantage of, even rich people.
As for the pipeline, it isn't charity. Ottawa screwed up and chased all the private sector builders away but Ottawa still needed the oil revenue. So the built it themselves. It that if national unity this country is screwed.
With you all the way on Vote to Stay. This has been your consistent position from the outset, I think you are correct and will support you and others working for Alberta to remain in Canada 🇨🇦
As regards Trump, my head hurts trying to figure out how anyone thought the US could find success by showing the Iranians they have a hole card to use that can't easily be taken away?
Maybe the CRTC could focus on finding ways to keep us from getting fucked over on our cell phone bills?
Assuming that there will, indeed, be a vote on separation, it will be interesting to see what steps are taken in anticipation of any American influence - especially in the shadow of the Ford government's forays into infuencing US policy making.
The Line is clearly a federalist posting. Not news, as unbalanced, from an Alberta perspective. It is sad that the federalists have no solution to the longstanding concerns of Albertans regarding Confederation. I will be voting "No" to the "Forever Canadian" question.
A "No" vote means:
No unelected, unaccountable, agenda driven, activist judiciary.
No FN veto.
No transfer payments.
No to the flawed electoral system.
No unelected senate.
No pandering to Quebec.
No omnicause based policies.
No CBC.
No to the CRTC too.
Just as I would have voted "No" to the "Alberta Free" question. This is not the time, but 2027 might be. So "Yes", to a post-pipeline failure referendum on leaving Canada.
Mr. Trump did more to help Alberta than anything Dr. Carney has done, to date.
It's so nice to have a sane conservative publication with Alberta roots.
It is fair game for a news organization- especially an independent one - to take an editorial opinion with respect to a series of topics.
However, dismissing Western discontent and the secessionists so cavalierly is both poorly staged strategy, and unworthy of their very real concerns.
Has Keith Wilson ever been on your show? Given that Jen is a genuinely skilled interviewer, it seems to me it would be grand journalism if he were to appear on the program.
Canada has some very real problems. Some are institutional, some are foundational, and many are just the result of repeated, unforced errors. The problems do not seem to be mitigating. In fact, in many cases, they are getting worse.
To ask a question from the title of this post, why?
The nationalists arguments seem to converge on the "change is scary" narrative. That's a lot of benefit of the doubt and I don't think Canada is at the stage where nationalists can ride on inertia anymore.
All this said, yes Canadians and Albertans aren't rebels or bold people. Mediocrity is preferred to disruption for most Canadians. It just is.
Again I feel that I have to remind you, it's not just Alberta.
" Separatism is simply not a productive solution to any of those problems." Thanks for the acknowledgement that there are existing and long standing issues. Can I challenge you to supply Western Canadians with a few solutions to address said problems? These issues have been simmering for many years with little to no solutions put forward. And why would you and the rest of Eastern Canada want to change anything for the betterment of Canada? You're the king of the castle!
Read your opinion of separatism.
“In short, we think it’s a grift that is attempting to channel genuine frustration and outrage toward enriching and benefitting a small number of people who are engaging in a pointless fantasy exercise that can only lead to division and damage for the province and good people within it.”
Sounds exactly like Liberal Ottawa policy and practice since the Trudeau Senior days. Just swap “ succeeding” for “attempting”, “country” for “province”, translate to French, and “Voila”!
A refreshingly solid stand. Thank you Line people. It was good that in your previous podcast you mentioned how Alberta's been virtually a one-party State for most of the last 50 years. The fact that people will continue voting for a party no matter how shabby a job they do has allowed them to blame a lot of their failures and weaknesses on the federal government. "Not happy? Look! Squirrel/Trudeau!" Also as a former Albertan I can tell you that the constant griping is not winning you any friends. You guys demand more pipelines but we all chipped in something like $35 billion to build you one and it's like it never happened. Why should we do that again? Virtually no one in the rest of Canada dislikes Alberta but there's no need to push that. And let's not forget that the reason you pay the most in transfers is because you are the richest province. That's a strange thing to whine about. Could it be that the inequality issues in Alberta are an internal, provincial government problem? Another thing that isn't mentioned is the huge effect the oil industry has in this. I've just read Don Gillmor's short book "On Oil" and I can't recommend it enough. It wasn't Ottawa who drastically lowered the oil royalty rates and mismanaged the Heritage fund. Separation won't help any of that and will leave Alberta in roughly the same spot as Puerto Rico... and the rest of Canada definitely diminished. A referendum is not needed but a whole lot of hugs are.
No one likes being taken advantage of, even rich people.
As for the pipeline, it isn't charity. Ottawa screwed up and chased all the private sector builders away but Ottawa still needed the oil revenue. So the built it themselves. It that if national unity this country is screwed.
With you all the way on Vote to Stay. This has been your consistent position from the outset, I think you are correct and will support you and others working for Alberta to remain in Canada 🇨🇦
As regards Trump, my head hurts trying to figure out how anyone thought the US could find success by showing the Iranians they have a hole card to use that can't easily be taken away?
Maybe the CRTC could focus on finding ways to keep us from getting fucked over on our cell phone bills?
Thanks!
Assuming that there will, indeed, be a vote on separation, it will be interesting to see what steps are taken in anticipation of any American influence - especially in the shadow of the Ford government's forays into infuencing US policy making.