In an interesting turn of events last week, we had our dear neighbour to the east come to our defense. Brad Wall is not only a terrific premier but perhaps one of those leaders who will make a historic impact.
To be bold and to loudly stand up for a pipeline that not only Saskatchewan and Alberta need but, in reality, Canada needs has not gone unnoticed.
We in Alberta are not so fortunate. Our new leader, Rachel Notley, would rather play patty cake with the premiers of Ontario and Quebec. I can’t agree with this nonsense. To apologize for our current environmental policy and to publicly kowtow to the provincial leaders of the patronizing east is not only weak but it is a ridiculous way to do interprovincial trade.
Of course, in our politically correct, left-leaning society we can’t say anything that goes contrary to what fellows like David Suzuki say or we find ourselves branded as knuckle-dragging Neanderthals. We are so quick to dismiss the fact that global warming and cooling cycles have been going on since mother earth was born. Correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t think we had much man-made CO2 in the last ice age or when dinosaurs walked these parts in the midst of a greenhouse climate. Having said all of this, it is easy to jump on the “consensus” train and band together to punish the west and our “showboating” ways.
The famous Milch Cow cartoon from 1915 still rings true showing the cow stretching across this great nation being fed in Alberta and Saskatchewan and milked in Ontario and Quebec. This also brings up another interesting point; we may be creating some CO2 here but what about the big cities down east with their factories, their millions of motor vehicles, not to mention households. Who is the biggest offender? It appears that if the East can make us feel more responsible then maybe they can get even more out of us.
Brad Wall made some well thought-out points last week. Equalization does need to be closely looked at. The East wants our money and, apparently, they’ve decided precisely how we will make it for them. But, hold on a minute, maybe we can have some say. While Premier Wall is going to bat for us, we see where Premier Notley’s environmental heart is. She is rubbing her hands together dreaming of ways to make the oil and gas industry pay, and pay dearly to do business here in Alberta.
As a nation, we seem to be sliding into a socialist cocoon, a common Canadian trait. We just can’t seem to help ourselves. We see this cycle come and go, and every time it comes we choose a more liberal course, turning to government for everything.
Obviously, this is very popular down east. Big unions, big governments are the way they do things. We don’t like that in the West; at least we didn’t like it until lately. I don’t think that conservative thinking is dead in Canada but I do think it is going to take a beating because of our national split nature.
The West has enjoyed independence from the East, and we have prospered without their help for decades. But during that time we have become complacent. Not only that but during our prosperous times we have had a ton of immigration from other parts of the country, and these newcomers have brought a different view from what I call traditional western values.
We may be in for dark times with the price of oil already in peril and the prospect of Iran selling its oil into an already overstocked market. We sure need a Ralph Klein right now, don’t we? Perhaps Wall is that guy. Unfortunately, Mr. Wall is going to be the Lone Ranger.
If we happen to have a federal NDP government in the fall then we will really be in jeopardy. Hopefully the Canadian voter will not make the same mistake we’ve made in Alberta. But don’t count on it.
