Democracy also requires that all Canadians have a say when a fraction of the electorate in one part of the country tries to break Confederation.
And democracy requires that in the event of an actual attempted separation, the parts of the province that don’t want to leave Canada, such as, oh, say, the cities of Calgary and Edmonton, remain part of Canada. If Canada is divisible, then Alberta is divisible.
But none of this is about democracy. Democracy is not a free floating concept. It operates within existing institutions and social constructs. Separatists aren’t engaged in a democratic project, they are proposing a revolutionary act of constituent power.
Democracy is the wrong lens through which to view attempts to break up a country in the absence of genuinely inhumane conditions or systemic oppression. And as much as I agree enthusiastically with many separatists’ grievances with Ottawa (and other provincial governments), this is not that.
You HAVE to watch this clip!!!!
The UCP released a statement on the referendum committee before the committee was even done!
Seriously, watch this clip!
This is the UCP's "democracy" in action.
This is beyond the pale!
#abpoli#ableg#cdnpoli
Except for the part where the document has the checkmark next to "legislative or policy proposal" and not "constitutional referendum proposal".
come on man.
https://t.co/4vUOT89zcj
Today I served as a substitute member on the Select Special Citizen Initiative Proposal Review Committee.
Thomas Lukazuk brought forward a petition called "Alberta Forever Canada."
Approximately 400,000 Albertans signed it.
They met the legal threshold to trigger a referendum.
@david_parker Just gunna leave this here because I feel its relevant. For additional context, Chappel has been historically anti-Carney. Food for thought.
https://t.co/bdHRk3gT6J
Lets actually sit down and do the math on Alberta separation, because it seems like nobody else wants to.
Right now, Alberta’s budget is roughly balanced. About $70-75 billion in, same amount out. It’s not perfect, but it works. The second you leave Canada, you don’t just stop sending money to Ottawa. You inherit the whole damn machine they were running on your behalf: borders, military, pensions, Employment Insurance, courts, federal policing, Indigenous obligations, foreign affairs, currency, central banking, all that shit.
That’s not some rounding error. That’s an extra $30 to $60 billion a year in new costs slamming onto a province that was already spending every dollar it made. So now you’re looking at $105-135 billion in annual spending against $75 billion in revenue on a good year. That’s a $30-60 billion hole every single year, and nobody in the separation movement wants to talk about it.
And it gets worse. You’re also picking up $120-150 billion in inherited federal debt. That’s another $4-6 billion a year just in interest payments before you’ve even hired your first border agent or opened a single embassy. Where the hell is that money supposed to come from?
How do you close a gap that big? You’d need brutal spending cuts, a new sales tax, higher income taxes, higher corporate taxes, and you’d better pray oil stays above $80 a barrel. Even then you’re white-knuckling it.
The real kicker is the oil revenue swings like crazy. Your new government costs sure as hell don’t. You can’t call up the military or the pension guys and say “Hey, prices are down this month, take some time off.” The bills keep coming whether WTI cooperates or not. And now there’s no Bank of Canada to bail you out when shit gets sideways. You’re on your own. Good luck with that.
This isn’t about politics or which team you’re on. It’s just arithmetic. You want to be pissed at Ottawa? Fine, there’s plenty of reasons to be fucking pissed. But don’t confuse being pissed off with actually having a plan. Right now the separation crowd is long on anger and real short on math that adds up.
@ConcernedDually@wrecker44@jkenney Freshest data i could find was 2024, so its possible its stale. But hey, at least i provided a link, not some untracable low res image. do better.
I understand that my personal information, including my home address, was shared publicly on a screen at a recent Alberta separatist event. It was also recorded on video, and is now circulating.
This was apparently part of the outrageous data leak of Albertans’ private information, wherein Elections Alberta shared its entire detailed provincial voter database with the “Republican Party of Alberta,” which in turn shared it with some separatist group called the “Centurion Project,” whose leadership then shared my personal information publicly.
Over the past few years I have received no shortage of threats from people broadly associated with the separatist / antivax / far right movement in Alberta. So it is disturbing that my personal information is now broadly available, particularly in those circles.
While I have been targeted specifically, the broader data breach may also effect vulnerable Albertans, including victims of domestic violence, journalists, activists, judges, and other public servants for years to come.
I will retain legal counsel to seek advice on recourse regarding this outrageous and potentially dangerous violation of my personal privacy.
JUST IN: 🇨🇦 Former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney called Alberta separatist Jeffrey Rath “a clown and a carny barker,” warning that Alberta independence would be economically suicidal.
Late to this. When I saw it last week I just dismissed it as random slop from some juvenile MAGA account.
I just learned that the President of the United States himself posted this image of a map with Canada as part of the USA. He did so *before* PM Carney spoke at Davos.
Our sovereignty is not a joke. Those who went before us overcame huge adversity to build Canada as a proud, distinctive, albeit improbable country. A country that, despite its real flaws, is regarded as a beacon of opportunity & ordered liberty around the world.
I cannot understand the attitude of some Canadians - especially some of my fellow Conservatives - who are indifferent to this constant mockery and belittlement by the head of state of what used to be our closest ally.
In any normal time, this👇alone would be a major diplomatic incident that would result in démarching the US Ambassador, possibly recalling our own Ambassador for consultations, international and congressional condemnation, etc..
But Trump has dumbed down deviancy so much that another threat to annex a free & sovereign neighbour goes almost unnoticed.
And yet we have quislings here who blame Canada for having provoked this unhinged behaviour. Who cannot understand why Canadians are anxious and insulted. Who dismiss as a distraction Trump’s threat to “use economic force” to annex Canada; or his actual use of such force to disrupt our economy; or to insult the honour of our fallen soldiers.
No, this is not the “art of the deal.”
No, it’s not “just a joke.”
No, it’s not “Trump Derangement Syndrome” to be disgusted by constant threats toward and denigration of our country.
To the blame Canada crowd: have some respect. If not for yourself, then for those who built this country, and those who died for it.