If Alberta truly seeks to separate, it must employ more than fear – the desire to leave the deficiencies of Canada’s confederation. It must employ greed - the desire to attain something of much higher value. The prizes for separation are numerous and spectacular.
Consider Switzerland. It too is landlocked. It lacks Alberta’s massive resource and agricultural wealth. Yet it’s per-capital GNP is US$83k or 60% more than Alberta’s per-capita GNP of US$52k. Imagine what prosperity would ensue if Alberta was run Swiss-style.
Leaving Canada would set Alberta free
Leaving Canada would bring an immediate gain by ditching transfer payments of $20 billion per year. That’s $4,600 per Albertan or $18,000 per typical household. Think of the tax cuts or enhanced healthcare, education or government services that would bring.
Leaving Canada would set Alberta free from its supposed share of the Canada’s $1 trillion of debt. This equates to $27k per Albertan or about $100k per typical household. Why should Alberta have any share of Canada’s debt? After giving the other provinces $600 billion, it is a clear case that no federal borrowing was done to the benefit of Alberta.
Alberta as a nation would need only two levels of government – municipal and national. The current provincial government could easily morph into a newly minted federal government.
There is a long list of Canadian institutions and structures that could be modernized, renovated or discontinued. Design an unemployment system that motivates people to return to work rather than become perennial seasonal workers on the dole in the off-months. Build an immigration system that welcomes the truly persecuted as well as those who bring tangible skills, entrepreneurialism and wealth generation and screens out the economic migrants who are currently receiving RCMP concierge service at Roxton Road. End the disastrous Indian Act and end Canada’s practice of two sets of laws and build a nation where one set of laws applies equally to all. The expense of bilingualism to appease a province that has no respect for Alberta could be culled. Write a tax code where the impoverished benefit from a high minimum threshold for taxation, where an income tax return could be completed on one page and progressive taxation could be flattened. And kill the GST.
Alberta could take over its own policing, pension funding and energy and environmental regulations. Even better, Alberta could adopt a European style health care system, and bring its health-care ranking into the top-ten tier rather than being ranked in the 30s on a world scale. The current march towards globalization with its wealth-zapping, ineffective foreign funding and virtue-signaling aspects could easily be ended.
Alberta could have a field day with democracy, starting with the establishment of its own constitution. It could choose to have an elected senate, an appointed senate, or no senate at all. Gone would be the days when the town of PEI, with its 156,947 residents, has four senators, and Alberta, with 4.3 million residents and 50 times the GDP, gets only six. Elections could be mandated to a certain day, rather than being opportunistically “called” by the government in power. The leader of the Alberta nation could be elected as an individual, rather than being chosen by the party in power. Judges could be elected rather than appointed. Best of all, Alberta’s national leadership would be self-determined, rather than be influenced by those in other provinces who vote for what is good for their locale, and who give two hoots about the consequences to Albertans.
How to achieve this? Start with a fresh leader – the business community alone can surely supply many excellent candidates to be the first President of the Republic of Alberta. Commence negotiations to become a protectorate of the USA. Canada will never negotiate in good faith over Alberta’s departure but it will have no choice if Alberta and the USA band together. Stage a referendum to separate with a clear question. Commit the new government to call a free election within six months of separation from Canada. Start the process and watch Saskatchewan join in. Forget Greenland, the USA would love to add Yukon, NWT and Nunavut as a protectorate to foil Russia’s north pole plans and impede China’s northern passage desires. Soon to follow would be Manitoba and B.C.
There is a huge prize awaiting. It’s now the time for Albertans to do what they do best - get the job done!
John Budreski
Vancouver, B.C.
As Albertans, we say: “Enough is Enough”. That’s why we’ve launched this website “Action Alberta” and a newsletter to inform, educate, and motivate Canadians to stand up, speak out and take action to address the inequality and s rel=“ubstandard treatment of Alberta and its citizens by our Federal Government. Our goal is to change how we are treated by our Federal Government.
