MAKICHUK: The West resides, in a terrible place, called Canada
We are nothing more than a colonial subject to our greedy, insatiable Ottawa overseers
The other day, I had a nice lunch with a friend, at a Polish bakery, which offers up fantastic hot perogies, cabbage rolls and kolbassa.
One of those hidden secrets in Cowtown, that not everyone knows about.
Fantastic food, in a nice, gentle ambience.
Free parking in back, too!
And, hell, it was on a Wednesday, so there wasn’t a lot of customers to get in our way.
As usual, the food was fantastic.
And so was the discussion.
My friend, whom I’ve known for years, and, whom I respect, read my column about Alberta independence following the election disaster.
He told me straight up, why is everybody “whining?”
Things are good! Much better than the 1960s, when nobody had money.
These are the best of times, he said. Why can’t we just enjoy them?
And why are people so unhappy? Why do they want to leave the Confederation?
Life is good in Alberta, he said — which, is true. Things are good. But, they could be a whole lot better.
Better as in, your kids don’t have to leave for the US or the EU, to get good, high-paying jobs.
As long as we pretend that everything is great and bury our heads in the sand … I guess, things will seem good. Sweetness and light.
Your own private Cinderella land!
Yes folks, there are those in this province, who would have us bow down, like dogs, faithful to our Eastern Masters.
And above all, keep our blinders on.
OK, time for a deep breath.
Having lived here since 1979, I have a hard time accepting that.
My parents raised me different.
They taught me to abhor injustice. And to fight for what is right.
Treat others with respect, but don’t forget, to treat yourself with respect too.
It’s a two-way street. Or at least, it should be.
To believe everything is OK, is a greater sin. It ignores a lengthy history of Laurentian exploitation and humiliation of the worst kind.
Truth be told, the West is nothing more than a colonial subject to our greedy and insatiable Ottawa-East overseers.
Southern plantation owners of the modern age. Ruthless carpet-baggers, intent on making a buck at our expense.
If you’ve worked in Calgary, chances are your company’s head office is in Toronto. A place where all decisions are made.
It was a sobering lesson, I learned very quickly.
Pawns in the game of life. Disrespected, ignored and exploited. And don’t you dare speak up.
Disagree with the boss? Out the door you go.
Head office demands more profit? Out the door you go again.
Trying to start a union? God help you.
And who gets the bonuses? The big shots in Toronto.
Bay Street snakes in suits, who love rewarding themselves. For running the equivalent of a Ben Hur slave ship.
Perhaps we should also ignore, the billions of dollars siphoned off in transfer payments, to support a country, that has literally forsaken us.
Money that should have gone into our Heritage Fund, or to help us diversify.
Should we hide from that truth? Ignore it, and live our lives in Cinderella land?
Reminds me of that old British expression, “I’m all right Jack.”
A statement that indicates a selfish attitude, where someone is only concerned with their own well-being and doesn't care about the struggles of others.
If you’re an oilpatch CEO, you probably like things the way they are. You’re making millions at the top, and the last thing you want is a referendum.
But not everyone can drive an Aston Martin, and live in a $5-million home in Bearspaw, or afford a trophy wife.
Many Alberta families are just trying to keep their heads above water.
The best of times? Don’t tell them that.
And so, what is our thanks, for supporting the Canadian economy for those decades? For driving growth and productivity?
Making life better for Canadians, from sea to shining sea.
Horrific top-down Liberal legislation, that aims to kill us. Kill us dead.
The truth of the matter, is that the new Liberal government, under Prime Minister Mark Carney, has no intention of lifting the emissions cap on Alberta’s oil & gas industry.
No breaks for farmers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan either. At least not yet.
Carney also says he will stick with Justin’s infamous Bill C-69, the Impact Assessment Act.
A mountain of horrific anti-development legislation, that killed dozens of job producing projects in the so-called “lost decade” of Trudeau mismanagement.
Jobs that would have empowered First Nations.
It would also seal our fate to being last in the G-7, in terms of productivity and GDP per capita growth.
All at the behest, of a green extremist, by the name of Steven Guilbeault, who somehow inveigled his way, into the seat of power.
A mysterious Rasputin-like figure, allowed to run roughshod over you, me, our children and our future grandchildren.
Backed by a fool named Justin Trudeau. Arguably, the worst PM in Canada’s history.
The worst anything, in Canada’s history!
Bizarrely, we have the third largest oil reserves in the world, yet we still import oil from other countries.
Ships that come down the St. Lawrence River. That’s all fine and dandy.
But Quebec goes all outraged Latin, if we dare suggest, a pipeline across its province. A pipeline that would be much safer.
According to sources, Alberta pays out $15-27 billion per annum, to the rest of the country in transfer payments.
Taking that into account, and just for a moment, consider ...
We have to fight tooth and nail, just to get the respect of the feds in Ottawa. Just to get these bastards, to listen to us.
To treat us like human beings.
On that front, give a listen, to what Premier Daniele Smith recently said.
“I would certainly hope that, our new prime minister has taken the time to read our Constitution, and I would direct him to pay specific attention to Section 92A, which gives the province not the federal government, the exclusive jurisdiction over non-renewable natural resource development.”
“Alberta will continue in its pursuit of doubling our oil and gas production to meet the growing global demand for energy, and we'll not let Ottawa stand in our way.”
“We'll not tolerate the continuous unconstitutional overreaches made by federal liberal government measures like the emissions cap, the net zero electricity regs, the net zero electric vehicle mandate, and the energy industry advertising ban … (these) must be stopped now.”
“And make no mistake, Alberta will do whatever it takes to shield our economy from the liberals’ growth-killing lunacy.”
“These amendments we're introducing today would include denying federal workers access to our facilities and the information they contain.”
“I will continue to fiercely and unapologetically stand up for Albertans and defend the best interest of our province, our economy and our industry.”
Growth-killing lunacy. Unconstitutional overreaches. Emission cap. Energy industry advertising ban.
Does this sound like a friendly government to you? A government that wants to build us into “an energy giant?”
Dear God in heaven.
We should order British Army Challenger 3 tanks from Rheinmetall, and place them at the border.
You bastards want a fight. We’ll give you a fight.
“Fire in the hole!”