As I read this article it dawned on me that the separatist argument is not with Canada. It is with the past 10 years of failed Trudeau leadership. That is no reason to break up a country. Trudeau is gone. Hopefully his amateurish and downright disasterous leadership style will remain in the memories of Canadians for a long time and we do not repeat our own mistakes of voting someone like him into office.
Another Harper win was changing expectations regarding transparency and accountability.
One enduring win was creation of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, which embedded the norm of prosecutorial independence from political interference in law. That change was central to the SNC-Lavalin scandal when Justin Trudeau tried to strongarm a deferred prosecution agreement for a politically-connected company.
Another partial win was when the Harper government instituted transparency and reporting requirements for First Nations band leadership. That created a massive backlash among the band leadership, and also started to stoke some pushback among band membership who finally got a good look at how their elected leaders were spending money. Unfortunately, the Trudeau government walked back those requirements.
11 years of leftist climate extremism intended to diminish the Alberta economy, proligate federal spending, higher taxation , chaos in what constitutes a property right , no growth in GDP per capita and endless perfomative leftist gestures.
And over the last two years utter incompetence in dealing with any realism in respect of trade with the US - "elbows up" simply puts Canada further into the penalty box.
Alberta grivance has only grown , and with obvious justification.
What passes for a right wing federal alternative federally in Canada has never been able to fully champion a genuine confrontation with the ruling elites of Canada to alter this decline.
Alberta has options.
If Carney insists on extreme climate conditions in his negotiation with Smith, he can reap the whirlwind of reaction and resentment.
You outline what Mr. Boessnkool ignores. Canada's Parliamentary system has failed, where 40% popular support produces an autocratic majority, with no accountability for four years. Furthermore, the Easterners (and the BC hillbillies) were happy to watch Alberta struggle, providing transfer payments continued and their lives were unaffected.
The federalists will win the October plebiscite, just as they did in Quebec in 1980. The separatists will be forced to coalesce, become more reasoned and provide a more coherent argument next time.
In the mean time, Dr. Carney will deliver or our O&G exports become more dependent on the US (thank you Mr. Trump). Based on the noise coming out of Quebec, as well as the LPC's vote buying, Quebec's perspective will take priority. Even Dr. Carney can't blow and suck at the same time.
More hydrocarbon exports to the US is not a problem.
The real problem is not having "more" to actually sell which is the fundamental objective of Carney via open ended carbon taxes and decarbonization mandates.
Men like Boessenkool and Kenney are political careerists within the context of the Canadian federal system.
Yes the Reform Party and the flowing Harper era was a time of positive policy highlighting many of the views of Albertans & the West. But that was then & this is now.
Canada has morphed into more of a socialist/progressive framework and unfortunately we may not see anything resembling common sense center/center right thinking for many years. Canadians have clearly shown over the last number of election this not the path they want to travel.
The Liberal machine has done an exemplary job of convincing most of Central Canada that the Conservative Parties policies & its leaders are not suited for the modern day Canada and the prospects for change at the federal level is slim.
So while your submission is factual and highlights it has happened in the past I cannot seeing anything on the horizon that shows something similar is coming - unfortunately.
I agree with the premise of Lead not Leave, however what canada REALLY needs is constitutional reform, which Quebec and Atlantic Canada will NEVER agree to. An elected senate with half the current number of seats is crucial to our country. If we cannot get an elected senate abolishing it is the next best option. There is NO reason for needing 338 seats in our HOC when we no longer use pony express, rail, snail mail, dial up telephones or even in person meetings to communicate. No EDA country wide should be under 120,000 constituents, Atlantic Canada should be considered a region and some EDAs should cross provincial borders if necessary to equalize the votes across the country. I am not opposed to all regions having seats that cross provincial borders. Finally each region/province of the country should have a voice in Judge selection at every level of the courts.
I will credit every one of Mr. Harper's accomplishments and likely a few more (e.g. C-17s) that Mr. Boessenkool didn't mention. And still claim that he left the Liberal Lock on the country undisturbed.
No way could Skippy have ratcheted the country into such extreme terrain if Mr. Harper's accomplishments had actually changed anything!
"Win three: Harper didn’t just cut taxes, he cut spending. With life expectancy and working beyond 65 both going up, Harper raised the eligibility age of Old Age Security from 65 to 67. Less spending, less taxes, lower Alberta contributions."
This is not accurate. Harper passed this, but it was reversed by Trudeau in 2015. So this cannot count as a lasting accomplishment of the Harper government.
As I read this article it dawned on me that the separatist argument is not with Canada. It is with the past 10 years of failed Trudeau leadership. That is no reason to break up a country. Trudeau is gone. Hopefully his amateurish and downright disasterous leadership style will remain in the memories of Canadians for a long time and we do not repeat our own mistakes of voting someone like him into office.
Nah, it is with the ROC.
Another Harper win was changing expectations regarding transparency and accountability.
One enduring win was creation of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, which embedded the norm of prosecutorial independence from political interference in law. That change was central to the SNC-Lavalin scandal when Justin Trudeau tried to strongarm a deferred prosecution agreement for a politically-connected company.
Another partial win was when the Harper government instituted transparency and reporting requirements for First Nations band leadership. That created a massive backlash among the band leadership, and also started to stoke some pushback among band membership who finally got a good look at how their elected leaders were spending money. Unfortunately, the Trudeau government walked back those requirements.
What?
11 years of leftist climate extremism intended to diminish the Alberta economy, proligate federal spending, higher taxation , chaos in what constitutes a property right , no growth in GDP per capita and endless perfomative leftist gestures.
And over the last two years utter incompetence in dealing with any realism in respect of trade with the US - "elbows up" simply puts Canada further into the penalty box.
Alberta grivance has only grown , and with obvious justification.
What passes for a right wing federal alternative federally in Canada has never been able to fully champion a genuine confrontation with the ruling elites of Canada to alter this decline.
Alberta has options.
If Carney insists on extreme climate conditions in his negotiation with Smith, he can reap the whirlwind of reaction and resentment.
You outline what Mr. Boessnkool ignores. Canada's Parliamentary system has failed, where 40% popular support produces an autocratic majority, with no accountability for four years. Furthermore, the Easterners (and the BC hillbillies) were happy to watch Alberta struggle, providing transfer payments continued and their lives were unaffected.
The federalists will win the October plebiscite, just as they did in Quebec in 1980. The separatists will be forced to coalesce, become more reasoned and provide a more coherent argument next time.
In the mean time, Dr. Carney will deliver or our O&G exports become more dependent on the US (thank you Mr. Trump). Based on the noise coming out of Quebec, as well as the LPC's vote buying, Quebec's perspective will take priority. Even Dr. Carney can't blow and suck at the same time.
More hydrocarbon exports to the US is not a problem.
The real problem is not having "more" to actually sell which is the fundamental objective of Carney via open ended carbon taxes and decarbonization mandates.
Men like Boessenkool and Kenney are political careerists within the context of the Canadian federal system.
Not exactly Alberta first.
Like there’s no whirlwind now? What if anything would happen?
Polling numbers, post a breakdown between Smith and Carney
Yes the Reform Party and the flowing Harper era was a time of positive policy highlighting many of the views of Albertans & the West. But that was then & this is now.
Canada has morphed into more of a socialist/progressive framework and unfortunately we may not see anything resembling common sense center/center right thinking for many years. Canadians have clearly shown over the last number of election this not the path they want to travel.
The Liberal machine has done an exemplary job of convincing most of Central Canada that the Conservative Parties policies & its leaders are not suited for the modern day Canada and the prospects for change at the federal level is slim.
So while your submission is factual and highlights it has happened in the past I cannot seeing anything on the horizon that shows something similar is coming - unfortunately.
Well, Andrew and Pierre have certainly convinced people of that.
And Mr. O'Toole?
I agree with the premise of Lead not Leave, however what canada REALLY needs is constitutional reform, which Quebec and Atlantic Canada will NEVER agree to. An elected senate with half the current number of seats is crucial to our country. If we cannot get an elected senate abolishing it is the next best option. There is NO reason for needing 338 seats in our HOC when we no longer use pony express, rail, snail mail, dial up telephones or even in person meetings to communicate. No EDA country wide should be under 120,000 constituents, Atlantic Canada should be considered a region and some EDAs should cross provincial borders if necessary to equalize the votes across the country. I am not opposed to all regions having seats that cross provincial borders. Finally each region/province of the country should have a voice in Judge selection at every level of the courts.
Anyone know what a ratchet is?
I will credit every one of Mr. Harper's accomplishments and likely a few more (e.g. C-17s) that Mr. Boessenkool didn't mention. And still claim that he left the Liberal Lock on the country undisturbed.
No way could Skippy have ratcheted the country into such extreme terrain if Mr. Harper's accomplishments had actually changed anything!
"Win three: Harper didn’t just cut taxes, he cut spending. With life expectancy and working beyond 65 both going up, Harper raised the eligibility age of Old Age Security from 65 to 67. Less spending, less taxes, lower Alberta contributions."
This is not accurate. Harper passed this, but it was reversed by Trudeau in 2015. So this cannot count as a lasting accomplishment of the Harper government.