KINSELLA: My view, as an Albertan, on separatists trying to break up Canada
· Toronto Sun
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Full disclosure: I despise separatists.
My family were all born in Quebec. That was home. But in the 1970s, we had to leave the province because the separatists drove us out – we spoke English.
There have been two referenda in Quebec on separation. They cost Canada and Quebec jobs, investment and political stability. More than 700 companies left Quebec. Canadian stocks and companies lost value. And the experts say that the national economy was hit with billions in losses, year after year.
So, families like mine left. Peter Lougheed governed Alberta back then. He believed in Canada. But Lougheed always fought for a better deal for Alberta – within Canada.
Here’s another disclosure: Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and I went to the same high school in Calgary. She was there a few years after me. Later on, when I was involved in politics and she wasn’t, Smith had me on her Calgary 770 CHQR radio talk show a few times.
She wasn’t very smart. She always gave the impression that she was robotically reading the questions someone else had prepared for her.
This week, Smith again read the question that someone else had prepared for her. It’s a question that will be damaging to many, many people in the months to come.
Smith promises referendum question on future referendum
Here’s the question: “Should Alberta remain a province of Canada or should the Government of Alberta commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada?”
Just 37 words, but they are going to start causing lots of pain and unhappiness. Here’s why.
The Alberta separatists are livid. They didn’t want a referendum to hold a referendum. They wanted a direct and binding vote on leaving Canada now, not later. They’ve promised to drive Smith out of the Premier’s Office for betraying them .
The pro-Canada people aren’t happy . They’ve denounced Smith for causing untold economic damage, to the province and the nation, for no good reason. They’re furious about the political uncertainty Smith has unleashed.
National political leaders not happy
Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was born in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories but raised in Alberta, isn’t pleased. He had just signed a historic pipeline deal with Smith, and then she turned around and stabbed him in the back.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre isn’t happy, either. Poilievre was born in Calgary and represents an Alberta riding. He has unambiguously promised to campaign against Smith’s referendum on leaving Canada.
First Nations are raging. They point out, correctly, that Smith has a constitutional obligation to meaningfully consult with them . She hasn’t done that, and they’ve promised to again take her to court.
Is anyone happy about Smith making it easier for some morons to destroy the best country in the world? For sure. There’s the Russian covert influence network, Storm-1516, which Radio Canada International revealed has been helping the separatist cause in Alberta . Russian President Vladimir Putin sees a strong and united Canada as an enemy. He’s happy.
The MAGA Republicans are happy, too. DisinfoWatch, the Canadian Digital Media Research Network and CASiLabs have reported that “U.S. officials and influencers have joined the threat landscape” to boost the Alberta separatist movement. So, get ready for U.S. President Donald Trump to start promoting Alberta independence. His people have already been secretly meeting with the Alberta Canada-wreckers .
Gambit going to cause chaos and uncertainty
And for the rest of us – for those of us who want some stability in an unstable world, for those of us who want leaders who unite us and not always divide us – Smith’s gambit is going to cause boundless chaos and uncertainty. It’s going to throw the country into an unnecessary and unwanted fight about the country. And it’s going to bring back that most unwelcome word of all: “constitution.”
So, many of us are going to be really, really unhappy in the months ahead. All because Smith, who doesn’t seem to be particularly bright, has decided to kick a political hornets nest.
The only good thing, for those of us who still believe in this country, is this:
It won’t be the end of Canada.
But it sure as hell is going to be the end of Danielle Smith as premier.