We are at a pivotal moment in Alberta’s history. Once again, Alberta has no representation, no voice in a newly elected federal Liberal government. We are in in our fifth year of recession and unprecedented unemployment. Premier Jason Kenney has responded by creating the “Fair Deal” panel to consult Albertans on how best to respond to this crisis.
To make informed decisions, it’s time for Albertans to do a policy audit of the past 30 years. Where have we been? Where are we today? The results are not happy.
Alberta is worse off today than it was 30 years ago. Despite the considerable efforts of such exceptional leaders as Peter Lougheed, Preston Manning, Ralph Klein and others, Alberta is more vulnerable to destructive federal policies than we were in the 1980s. Here’s the balance sheet:
Lougheed’s greatest achievement was the addition of Section 92A to the 1982 Constitution Act. Section 92A affirms and protects all provinces’ rights to develop their own natural resources. For Alberta, this meant primarily oil and gas and was intended to prevent a repeat of Pierre Trudeau’s National Energy Program. But today, his son’s carbon tax and Bill C-69 — the no-pipelines-ever law — are NEP 2.0. They make section 92A almost meaningless. This stranding of Alberta’s oil is aggravated by the Liberals’ tanker ban off the north coast of B.C., Bill C-48. Of course, there is no similar ban on oil tankers in the St. Lawrence River bringing OPEC oil to refineries in Quebec.
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See Also:
(1) Kenney says Albertans won’t like threat of a general strike
(2) Kenney’s party shows up united and affable in first gathering since landslide victory
(3) UCP firearms motion first step in firewall against feds’ meddling
(4) UCP members show overwhelming support for ideas to give Alberta more autonomy
