鈥淲estern alienation will only grow.鈥�
That鈥檚 what former Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall said in a panel during Global鈥檚 election coverage on Oct. 21. 鈥淢r. Trudeau鈥檚 brand is toxic, in Alberta, and in Saskatchewan, and in Ontario, and British Columbia and much of Manitoba. And if it鈥檚 followed up by policies by some new minority government, led by Mr. Trudeau, then we鈥檝e got issues.鈥�
Earlier in the night, another former Saskatchewan premier, Roy Romanow, also spoke of western alienation.
And he鈥檚 got some experience with separatists, having led this province during the 1995 near death experience that was the second Quebec referendum.
Lisa LaFlamme asked him about separatism in Quebec, with the rise of the Bloc Quebecois. Romanow countered by saying, 鈥淚 do see it rising from the western part of the nation. It isn鈥檛 quite as open and dynamic as it was in the days of Ren茅 L茅vesque, during those periods, but it clearly is evident now, and 小蓝视频 present.
鈥淥ut here in the West, there鈥檚 a concern they鈥檙e 小蓝视频 blocked. People are 小蓝视频 blocked, for example, in the pipeline development and in the oil and natural gas area. That our votes don鈥檛 really count for much. We don鈥檛 really have much strength. And to me, the biggest concern from this election, apart from individuals, very important individuals, of course, are these big issues. The issues of national unity, and whether or not we鈥檝e got the leadership or the mechanisms to be able to resolve, or work to resolution鈥� in a way that says we are committed to a united Canada. I think it鈥檚 a little bit underground, but I鈥檓 getting sense of that in my constituency of friends.
To have Wall and Romanow essentially spouting the same thing, that鈥檚 saying something.
In his victory speech, newly re-elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the usual sop to Quebec separatist sentiments, as has pretty much every prime minister going back forever and a day. But then he said something quite different.听
鈥淭o Canadians in Alberta and Saskatchewan, know that you are an essential part of our great country. I鈥檝e I heard your frustration, and I want to be there, to support you. Let us all work hard to bring our country together.鈥�
Why would he say that, unless there was a recognition that the tenous threads that hold Canada together are 小蓝视频 torn asunder? Why not mention the other provinces?
That鈥檚 because there is an issue alright, and he鈥檚 the primary one pulling the threads apart.
He might have said, 鈥淭here is so much more that unites us, than divides us,鈥� later on in that speech, but that鈥檚 not what we heard on the phones that night.
On election night we called several people in the oilpatch across Saskatchewan. Most now think western separatism is an issue. A very serious issue. More on that in a minute.
Danielle Smith tweeted, 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 joking when I said launched a separatist movement in Alberta tonight. Here鈥檚 a petition that signed up 2200 people in the first two hours.鈥�
Indeed, various separatism-themed social media pages, like VoteWexit.com and Alberta Separatism, gained tens of thousands of followers in hours. But as we learned from the Yellow Vest page about 10 months ago, that doesn鈥檛 necessarily translate into a lot of action.
Drew Lake was one of the people we called. He put it this way: 鈥淭hey say that there鈥檚 three types of Alberta separatists, or western separatists, coming up to this election. There are the ones that are willing to separate, regardless of the election results. There were the ones who had no interest in separating, regardless of the election results. And there was a big group who were sitting back to see what happened. If it was a Conservative majority, that movement would have died off to quite a degree. But that third group, they say, is an absolute monster that鈥檚 laying in the shadows. If you add up the two groups in favour of separation, that鈥檚 in the 60-65 per cent range, far in excess of what Quebec was ever able to muster up.鈥�
Lake made a Facebook post on election night saying, 鈥淟et鈥檚 start having these talks,鈥� was shared nearly 100 times in an hour. In it, he said, 鈥淚 say we hold a non-partisan emergency meeting in Lloydminster this Saturday, October 26th. We need to gauge support for听this movement and discuss some ideas on how we proceed.鈥�
That鈥檚 not latent resentment. That鈥檚 people willing to start taking action.
This is a very real crisis, folks.
One of the primary reasons behind the current federal equalization payment structure is because it essentially bribes Quebec to stay in Canada. And those bribes are paid for buy western oil, pure and simple. We are hearing it loud and clear: if that鈥檚 the way its going to be, we, in the west, are just about done.
What could the federal government do to solve this? First, restructure equalization dramatically, and include hydroelectric power generation in the equation. Second, build the Energy East pipeline, right now. The plans are all there. Just dust them off and do it, immediately. Start surveying and get shovels in the ground next summer. Get EVRAZ to put on another shift if need be.
Those two actions would nip this entire separation concept in the bud, probably for good. But will this re-elected Liberal government do either of those things? Not a chance.
Building a $23 billion pipeline might be the cheapest option, compared to what we could lose otherwise. That would be our united country.
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