Alberta is claiming its place in Confederation.
asserted
Alberta → claim → Confederation
When polls open on Monday, we encourage Albertans to vote to remain in Canada, and reject the second option to begin pursuing a separation referendum.
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we → open → referendum
Alberta’s challenges within the country are very real, but ultimately solvable — even if they involve some compromise, as is always the case in a democracy.
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they → involve → democracy
A strategy of changing the country from within is already working.
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strategy → change → within
The Impact Assessment Act was again found unconstitutional last Friday by the Alberta Court of Appeal, part of a successful effort by Premier Danielle Smith’s government to challenge Ottawa whenever it steps out of its constitutional lane.
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it → find → lane
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Smith also deserves credit for bringing Prime Minister Mark Carney closer to her view on the resource sector, even though we are still hesitant to celebrate a pipeline.
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we → deserve → pipeline
There is much more that should be done, but the prime minister has jettisoned, or watered down, or created workarounds for, several destructive policies brought in under his predecessor.
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minister → be → predecessor
We believe Carney should go much further, but that Ottawa has come this far is a testament to what Alberta can achieve when it applies appropriate pressure.
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it → believe → pressure
There has even been some positive movement on judicial appointments, which we doubt would have happened without the Alberta government raising the quality of judges as a central issue.
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government → doubt → issue
In June, Carney appointed to the Supreme Court Manitoba Justice Glenn Joyal, who has a long history of criticizing judicial overreach.
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who → appoint → overreach
Similarly, just this month, lawyer and academic Malcolm Lavoie, who is respected among those skeptical of judicial activism, was appointed to the Alberta Court of King’s Bench.
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who → respect → Bench
We hope to see more appointments like this and for Alberta to be more routinely heard.
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Alberta → hope → this
It might be tempting to say that these successes were only possible because of the pressure provided by a looming referendum, and in one sense, it has been some time since Alberta has been this influential in national affairs.
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Alberta → say → affairs
However, the province has successfully advanced its interests right from its inception.
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province → advance → inception
Alberta political leaders lobbied for provincehood, which was granted in 1905.
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which → lobby → 1905
Later, in the 1930s, and more directly in the 1980s, Alberta succeeded in gaining constitutional control over its resources.
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Alberta → succeed → resources
It also helps that Mark Carney’s support is drawn in part from moderates, even some conservatives, who want a clean break from the Justin Trudeau years.
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who → help → years
And despite the prime minister’s penchant for big government solutions, he seems to recognize that Canada’s resource sector is a key part of absorbing any trade damage inflicted by the United States.
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sector → seem → States
Whatever role the possibility of a referendum has played, what matters is a government in Edmonton successfully making its case to Ottawa, building relationships with other provinces, and going to court whenever the federal government attempts to centralize a piece of provincial responsibility.
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government → play → responsibility
That said, the growth of a separatist movement in Alberta could have been predicted.
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growth → say → Alberta
Trudeau brought in policy after policy to suppress economic growth in the province, uniquely singling it out for the twin objectives of punishment and extraction.
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Trudeau → bring → punishment
When Liberal politicians have claimed that there is no business case for oil and gas, or for a new pipeline, it was because of choices the government made under Trudeau to suppress such a case, including the Impact Assessment Act, multiple carbon taxes and fuel regulations and the now-withdrawn threat of an emissions cap.
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government → claim → cap
Albertans are also net contributors to federal social programs, paying more per capita, when accounting for transfers it receives back, than any other province.
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it → pay → province
This state of affairs might not be so bad if the rest of the country didn’t sometimes seem hell-bent on treating the province like little more than a piggy bank and a target for faddish environmental regulations.
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rest → seem → regulations
Though Albertans are wealthier on average, they shouldn’t be exploited for it.
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they → exploit → it
It is a relief that there has now been a break in hostilities, but the challenge remains to ensure things improve from here.
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things → remain → hostilities
We believe it is up to Albertans to make their case and it is up to Ottawa to recognize that what is good for Alberta is good for the whole country.
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is → believe → country
The best vehicle for achieving this is through the Conservative Party of Canada, which has substantial representation in the West, but Alberta needs to work with whoever is in power.
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whoever → achieve → power
Independence wouldn’t just bring uncertainty and great cost; it would also make Alberta vulnerable, as a very small country, to foreign manipulation and pressure.
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Alberta → bring → manipulation
If you think Canada is susceptible to foreign interference, imagine a country a tenth the size.
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Canada → think → country
Separation is also not as straightforward and orderly as some independence advocates claim.
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advocates → claim → ?
While the Supreme Court’s 1998 secession reference recognized an obligation on Ottawa and the provinces to negotiate in good faith with a province that votes to separate, there is no obligation to allow separation.
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that → recognize → separation
Any unilateral declaration of independence would be unlawful, or “unconstitutional,” according to the court.
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declaration → accord → court
Apart from that, Albertans are Canadians, with a shared history and culture that must be asserted more than it is — just as we must do a better job recognizing our brethren from across this great nation.
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we → share → nation
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