Jason Kenney is well aware of the "value" of the referendum. It's a show to keep his supporters emotionally engaged. See: Stephen Harper and the elected Senate. He knew all along that it would take a constitutional amendment to change the Senate but saying that out loud wasn't good for fundraising or harvesting angry votes.
Unfortunately, showboating is a lot easier than actually dealing with problems (look south for an extreme example). I think that Albertans have been poorly served by recent Conservative politicians both provincial and federal. Their continuing refusal to tackling climate change head on is painting Alberta into a very difficult corner. Wexit is the emotional solution but soooo not the practical one. Where is the new Lougheed?
The idea behind the referendum was to force Ottawa and the Provinces to the table. If we can not get them to the table, we can not negotiate anything. I do believe it is the Fiscal Stabilization that needs to be changed and again that can not happen unless there is a referendum to bring everyone to the table. Can Alberta win? Perhaps not but its the only way we can get them to even negotiate. There is also a glitch in equalization to which the closer the other Provinces get to the same standard of living, which is getting closer due to the loss in revenues from Canada and the worlds war on the Oil Sands, the more we pay. This must be fixed. Resources are also Provincial Jurisdiction to which the Federal Government has taken over and that goes against our Constitution. Kenney is addressing this in court as I write. So if the Federal Government can walk all over the Constitution and take control of all resources through their new regulatory body, that was once independent of government in order to be more fair, then why does Alberta have to continue to pay equalization because it is in the Constitution? The only way Premier Lougheed would sign the Constitution, due to the last war that a Trudeau had on Alberta, was to ensure all resources stayed under the control of the Province to which they belonged. So if BC can stop the Trans Mountain pipeline, going against the Constitution and tying it up in courts for years, along with the protesters, then why does Alberta have to pay equalization? If Prime Minister Trudeau and the Federal Government can walk all over our so called Constitution with Bill C69 and Bill C48, against the recommendations of the Senate, then why do we have adhere to the Constitution and continue paying into Equalization? So if Quebec who did not sign the Constitution can stop any pipeline from Alberta going through their Province, why do we have to follow the Constitution? If no other Provinces or the Federal Government of Canada have to follow the Constitution then why do we have to continue paying equalization? What you fail to recognize is that the Constitution obviously is not worth the paper it was written on. Meanwhile they will destroy Alberta by dragging things through courts, costing taxpayers billions of dollars, because others won't follow the Constitution but expect Alberta to do so in every way. Trevor Tombe is not a Constitutional lawyer so perhaps you need to look at things from a different perspective. If not doing anything about the situation we find ourselves in is due to the fact it is in the Constitution, then you best get that word out to the Federal Government of Canada and all other Premiers and politicians in Canada, as they seem to forgot we have a Constitution.
Albertans have to walk the walk when it comes to provincial autonomy. There are many areas where Alberta could become more autonomous but Premier Kenney chooses to ignore them. Everything from immigration to police, to even agricultural policies (such as supply management) and vaccine procurement are dictated by Ottawa are only because we allow them to be. Kenney willfully is leading his base on and it shows by his actions.
As for pension, allow Albertans to opt out of the CPP and invest our own money as we see fit in an expanded RRSP scheme. I have done much better than the CPP over the last 25 years.
None of this would be necessary if Alberta would just stop trying to be successful and growing. If Albertans would just remember they can never be equal partners and were more grateful for the gentle, guiding hand of the graduates of Loyola and UCC, they would find true happiness and contentment. :-)
A referendum in Alberta on the federal equalization program is a political stunt, and nothing more. I'm sure it will go down well with many in Alberta. That's what Kenney is banking on. He traffics in division and disinformation about "Canada" to further his electoral fortunes. In this, of course, Kenney is not unique. He's using the same SOP that successive Alberta Premiers have used to keep a sufficient number Albertans angry at Canada to help ensure their elections and re-elections. Enough Albertans, it seems, fall for it every time.
I doubt that most of Canada would pay much attention to the result of a referendum that means nothing.
No matter how loud we yell "There take that!!" we will not be heard 4000 km away in Ottawa.
As Albertans, we do not hold our governments to account and continue to elect the same old same old. With this in mind, how could we possibly turn over hard earned pensions and a reasonably unpolitical police force over to the folks who brought us the War Room, the cooperate tax bonus and the Keystone Investment.
In Alberta we elect our government with our emotions rather than our brains. A government that may influence where my pension is invested or chooses the leadership and rules of engagement for our police had better be accountable.
Since the day Mr. Kenney was parachuted in from Ottawa to save Alberta conservatives from themselves we have been treated to corruption and incompetency the like of which we have not seen before, but mark my words, he will be re-elected because we just cannot help ourselves.
Firewall sounds nice but I just don't think we can be trusted with it.
I think Tombe, whose work on equalization is incredible and informative, misses the point. It is that very 10% that you're talking about that makes Albertans upset. Whether we're still considered a "have" province or not, Albertans no longer feel like the rest of Canada supports them. That leads to a feeling of why are we paying or helping the other provinces.
The fact of the matter is that pipelines, and by extension the energy industry and Alberta, have been made the symbol of the climate change fight. Albertans feel personally attacked by the rest of the country, and don't feel like we should be sending ANY money out to help with other provinces. That doesn't change no matter how you do the math on equalization.
Fossil Fuels are a declining asset... perhaps not in my lifetime but certainly in my daughter's.
We may not be as rich ... especially if we don't use the HSTF to help diversify our economy as Peter Lougheed, the last great conservative premier, intended.
Jason Kenney is well aware of the "value" of the referendum. It's a show to keep his supporters emotionally engaged. See: Stephen Harper and the elected Senate. He knew all along that it would take a constitutional amendment to change the Senate but saying that out loud wasn't good for fundraising or harvesting angry votes.
Unfortunately, showboating is a lot easier than actually dealing with problems (look south for an extreme example). I think that Albertans have been poorly served by recent Conservative politicians both provincial and federal. Their continuing refusal to tackling climate change head on is painting Alberta into a very difficult corner. Wexit is the emotional solution but soooo not the practical one. Where is the new Lougheed?
The idea behind the referendum was to force Ottawa and the Provinces to the table. If we can not get them to the table, we can not negotiate anything. I do believe it is the Fiscal Stabilization that needs to be changed and again that can not happen unless there is a referendum to bring everyone to the table. Can Alberta win? Perhaps not but its the only way we can get them to even negotiate. There is also a glitch in equalization to which the closer the other Provinces get to the same standard of living, which is getting closer due to the loss in revenues from Canada and the worlds war on the Oil Sands, the more we pay. This must be fixed. Resources are also Provincial Jurisdiction to which the Federal Government has taken over and that goes against our Constitution. Kenney is addressing this in court as I write. So if the Federal Government can walk all over the Constitution and take control of all resources through their new regulatory body, that was once independent of government in order to be more fair, then why does Alberta have to continue to pay equalization because it is in the Constitution? The only way Premier Lougheed would sign the Constitution, due to the last war that a Trudeau had on Alberta, was to ensure all resources stayed under the control of the Province to which they belonged. So if BC can stop the Trans Mountain pipeline, going against the Constitution and tying it up in courts for years, along with the protesters, then why does Alberta have to pay equalization? If Prime Minister Trudeau and the Federal Government can walk all over our so called Constitution with Bill C69 and Bill C48, against the recommendations of the Senate, then why do we have adhere to the Constitution and continue paying into Equalization? So if Quebec who did not sign the Constitution can stop any pipeline from Alberta going through their Province, why do we have to follow the Constitution? If no other Provinces or the Federal Government of Canada have to follow the Constitution then why do we have to continue paying equalization? What you fail to recognize is that the Constitution obviously is not worth the paper it was written on. Meanwhile they will destroy Alberta by dragging things through courts, costing taxpayers billions of dollars, because others won't follow the Constitution but expect Alberta to do so in every way. Trevor Tombe is not a Constitutional lawyer so perhaps you need to look at things from a different perspective. If not doing anything about the situation we find ourselves in is due to the fact it is in the Constitution, then you best get that word out to the Federal Government of Canada and all other Premiers and politicians in Canada, as they seem to forgot we have a Constitution.
Albertans have to walk the walk when it comes to provincial autonomy. There are many areas where Alberta could become more autonomous but Premier Kenney chooses to ignore them. Everything from immigration to police, to even agricultural policies (such as supply management) and vaccine procurement are dictated by Ottawa are only because we allow them to be. Kenney willfully is leading his base on and it shows by his actions.
As for pension, allow Albertans to opt out of the CPP and invest our own money as we see fit in an expanded RRSP scheme. I have done much better than the CPP over the last 25 years.
None of this would be necessary if Alberta would just stop trying to be successful and growing. If Albertans would just remember they can never be equal partners and were more grateful for the gentle, guiding hand of the graduates of Loyola and UCC, they would find true happiness and contentment. :-)
A referendum in Alberta on the federal equalization program is a political stunt, and nothing more. I'm sure it will go down well with many in Alberta. That's what Kenney is banking on. He traffics in division and disinformation about "Canada" to further his electoral fortunes. In this, of course, Kenney is not unique. He's using the same SOP that successive Alberta Premiers have used to keep a sufficient number Albertans angry at Canada to help ensure their elections and re-elections. Enough Albertans, it seems, fall for it every time.
I doubt that most of Canada would pay much attention to the result of a referendum that means nothing.
No matter how loud we yell "There take that!!" we will not be heard 4000 km away in Ottawa.
As Albertans, we do not hold our governments to account and continue to elect the same old same old. With this in mind, how could we possibly turn over hard earned pensions and a reasonably unpolitical police force over to the folks who brought us the War Room, the cooperate tax bonus and the Keystone Investment.
In Alberta we elect our government with our emotions rather than our brains. A government that may influence where my pension is invested or chooses the leadership and rules of engagement for our police had better be accountable.
Since the day Mr. Kenney was parachuted in from Ottawa to save Alberta conservatives from themselves we have been treated to corruption and incompetency the like of which we have not seen before, but mark my words, he will be re-elected because we just cannot help ourselves.
Firewall sounds nice but I just don't think we can be trusted with it.
I have questions, and they may be founded on misconceptions, but here they are:
- Do we even know what the question is going to be?
- Is equalization fair (e.g. does Quebec's hydro resources count in the calculations) ?
- Why does a rising provincial economy cause immediate clawback of benefits, while a falling economy has a delay in increasing of benefits?
- However did we manage before equalization?
If nothing else this will educate the public.
I'm ambivalent and a bit of a pessimist; in the long run as Alberta's economy continues to decline the issue will settle itself.
I think Tombe, whose work on equalization is incredible and informative, misses the point. It is that very 10% that you're talking about that makes Albertans upset. Whether we're still considered a "have" province or not, Albertans no longer feel like the rest of Canada supports them. That leads to a feeling of why are we paying or helping the other provinces.
The fact of the matter is that pipelines, and by extension the energy industry and Alberta, have been made the symbol of the climate change fight. Albertans feel personally attacked by the rest of the country, and don't feel like we should be sending ANY money out to help with other provinces. That doesn't change no matter how you do the math on equalization.
Revealingly short-sighted, immediate-self-interested populist politics.
Before Leduc 1949 we were a have-not province.
Fossil Fuels are a declining asset... perhaps not in my lifetime but certainly in my daughter's.
We may not be as rich ... especially if we don't use the HSTF to help diversify our economy as Peter Lougheed, the last great conservative premier, intended.
We are (most of us) Canadians and proud of it.