Going to Calgary to watch the Fildebrandt/Bratt debate on Alberta Independence live was a good choice to make. It did not disappoint. Both men were professional in their demeanor, maintained a fairly polite discourse, and Donna Kennedy-Glans was a perfect choice for moderator. The recording is online for all to watch now.         

Each debater had a one-liner that stuck with me. Mr Fildebrandt declared that Alberta was the child that had to drop out of school to support the rest of the family. While the analogy is not quite right, the sentiment is certainly accurate. Mr Bratt’s comment that “neither of us would want to get in the boxing ring with Justin Trudeau” got a lot of laughs; probably not for the reasons he may have been thinking.  

At one point, Mr Bratt brought up immigration. He said Alberta separation would not go over well with immigrants who came to Canada, not Alberta. Even going so far as to mention skin color, insinuating all separatists are white and born here. A number of immigrants stood up in protest to his comments, including white ones.

When discussing money, a comment from Mr Fildebrant was that Albertans should not have to feel bad for doing well, and I agree. Going on to say, “Why shouldn’t we be able to buy a new boat every year? This is Alberta!” came off as a bit smug. More than that, it completely misses the fact that a lot of Albertans are not doing well financially. Mostly because of decisions made in Ottawa. It was a missed moment to make a much stronger point on the financial health and state of Albertans.

Mr Bratt continually referred to historical achievements that should make Canadians proud. He also mentioned several times that we should be fine with sharing our bounty with the rest of Canada. Mr Fildebrant pointed out that the Canada Mr Bratt described does not exist anymore. Furthermore, we should not be forced to support a country that does not support us.

Hoping to hear something, anything, that would provide a reason to ‘stay’, the ‘separatists’ not only left empty handed, Mr Bratt’s response was ‘I don’t have to give a reason’. Then the usual excuses followed. It will be too hard, too expensive, and our place in Confederation is just our lot in life so get over it. What Mr Bratt does not understand is that too hard and expensive are not deterrents. They are simply challenges to overcome. Essentially, Mr Bratt insulted us with a one-two punch. First, by saying he does not have to give us a reason to stay, then by insinuating we are not up to the challenge of leaving.    

While the back and forth between the debaters carried on, standing at the back of the room provided a perfect vantage point to ‘people watch’. About two-thirds were on the ‘leave’ side and ‘one-third’ on the remain. That surprised me. Where were Mr Bratt’s supporters? And about a third of the way through, three of them walked out.

Speaking of walking out, at the back of the room was a man with a bigger camera on a tripod whom, we later learned, was with CTV. Half way through the event, he also packed up and left.       

Watching the crowd as a whole, it was hard not to notice two guys in particular. Their claps for Mr Bratt were consistent and filled with enthusiasm. Then something happened. Every so often, they would look at one another and then clap in response to something Mr Fildebrandt said. Were they seeing another side that they hadn’t considered before? Maybe. Then a few others in the room began doing the same.

Bratt’s argument for staying was that Canada was great (past tense) and we need to honor that by keeping the country together, no matter what.

As the Prime Minister said himself earlier this year, hope isn’t a plan and nostalgia isn’t a strategy.

Fildebrandts summary for leaving was the great Canada of the past does not exist anymore and we do not need to go down with the ship.

I agree.

Onward and upward.  

The political differences between Alberta and the rest of Canada, could not have been more perfectly illustrated than through the events of last weekend.

After Jagmeet Singh completely annihilated the party, the NDP finally decided they need a new Leader. A convention was held and, after watching the clips, it truly is a wonder anything got accomplished at all. One could appreciate delegates spending most of their time and energy making Points of Order if there were some sort of contentious party business being dealt with. But that was not the case. Peppered among those Points of Order were several Points of Personal Privilege.

Typically, at these things there are two colored cards: green to vote ‘yes’ and red to vote ‘no’. Not at this convention. Multiple cards were on full display and they all meant something. The skin color and/or culture and/or part of the lgbtq community she/her/he/him/they/their/them identified with determined the color of card. The more marginalized the delegate was, the more preferential treatment they received, including the ability to butt in line. If a delegate felt they were not receiving the preferential treatment he/him/she/her/they/them/their deserved, that delegate would make a Point of Personal Privilege and let everyone else know about it. Those who scream ‘inclusivity’ were literally in a race to the bottom.    

The Leadership Race also became a race to the bottom. The provincial NDP Leaders for Alberta and Saskatchewan expressed great displeasure with the winner and immediately got to work distancing themselves from him. At the end of the day, the NDP party is much like the Borg in Star Trek. The provincial arms cannot decouple from the federal. They are one, but obviously not united.

While all of that was going on, equally cringe worthy were the Juno Awards. A Liberal who’s who that very few Canadians bother to watch, which explains why it is entirely government funded.   

Meanwhile, back in Alberta, where critical thinking and sanity still exist, around 700 people gathered in Calgary for Shaun Newman’s Cornerstone Forum. Attendees were treated to conversations on geopolitics, economics, genuine expert debates on today’s issues, with a segment on personal growth mixed in. Real dialogue with real people about the issues that should matter most to everyone. There was no way not to leave informed, enlightened, and exhausted. And the only cards exchanged were business cards.   

In a way, these three events shed even more light on what fuels the Independence Movement. The vast majority of Albertans identify with those who attended the Cornerstone Forum. Most Canadians do not. In short, we don’t have much in common with the rest of Canada. We are not the same and probably never were. And it’s time for Albertans to move on, and that is okay. Those who live in other provinces will disagree and that is okay, too. They can, but going our own way is not their choice to make. It’s ours. And we will.       

Now that we have had time to digest the latest provincial budget, it is hard not to notice how it highlights why we need to become our own nation. Much of our provincial deficit is directly due to federal policy. With no ‘business case’ for selling our natural gas and doing everything possible to keep our oil in ground, there is not nearly the royalty money coming in that could and should be. Add to that the flood in immigration to our province, both legal and illegal, means there are some tough conversations we need to have.  

During the teachers strike we learned about complex classrooms and the need for a lot more support. An incredibly large number of students speak little to no English. This also brings a plethora of associated behavioral problems that teachers and other students are having to contend with. The stories kids are sharing with their parents when they get home from school is unlike any generation before. In short, the added pressure on our education system is taking a toll on everyone and has created a collision course with chaos for all involved.

More money is needed to hire more staff, particularly specialized staff. Obviously. However, there is a problem. Our education system is experiencing a significant vacuum in funding. The parents of these students have not been here long enough to have contributed tax dollars to help support the very system they are putting the excess pressure on. And though the NDP and ATA both believe there to be a money tree outside the Legislature somewhere, having walked the grounds a number of times now, I have yet to see it.   

Healthcare funding is also stretched for much the same reason as education. Again, with an influx of people moving here, added pressure has been put on our healthcare system. What should be obvious to all yet isn’t, is our ‘free’ healthcare is not actually free. There is a cost to every service that is provided and those costs are covered by our tax dollars. However, just like with the education system, those who just got here have yet to contribute any money into this system either. Which means they literally are getting healthcare services for free while working Albertans pay for it. It was also discovered that more Alberta healthcare numbers have been generated and used than people living in Alberta, which is healthcare fraud. So, they too are getting healthcare for free while working Albertans pay for it.  

How we got to this place mostly lands at the feet of the federal government. Vetting potential immigrants and controlling the number of them is federal responsibility. Not only have they unequivocally failed in that obligation, they admit it with no apology and are announcing plans to make things even worse. Once people get into the country, moving around from province to province is easy. The ‘Alberta is Calling’ campaign that former Premier Kenney began, and our current Premier has continued, is where the province is to blame. That program needs to stop.  

Getting control of immigration is key in helping to manage provincial coffers. Rather than burdening Alberta taxpayers, there is another option. What our Provincial government could do is halt all education and healthcare services for non-Canadians until Albertans decide in a referendum if we are willing to continue bearing the burden of supporting them. The majority may decide yes, they may decide no. There is only one way to find out.

Furthermore, our Provincial government needs to pass two laws:

1)      Only Canadian citizens, over the age of 18, who have ordinarily resided in Alberta for a minimum of twelve months prior to provincial and municipal elections, referendums, and plebiscites can vote; and

2)      Proof of valid Canadian citizenship is required to vote in all provincial and municipal elections, referendums, and plebiscites. For those who were not born here, citizenship must be held for a minimum of twelve months prior to the voting date.

For some this might be controversial, perhaps even harsh. But there is no other way to ensure the integrity of all our government systems and services is maintained. The federal government won’t do it, so we have to. Which is all the more reason to continue exploring the option of becoming our own nation. Once we get there, much of this will no longer be an issue. Until then, we need to protect what we have in order to build a better future for all. Including those who may want to call Alberta home in years to come.