The Separatists Are at It Again!
Forewarned, forearmed; to be prepared is half the victory.
Polster 338 Canada shows Quebec separatist party Parti Québécois ahead in the polls. We may be only one referendum away from the dissolution of Canada! Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, but if it does, we’d better plan for contingencies. Let me recommend to Alberta’s provincial government a new ministry: Future Sovereignty. We’ll just add it to the Directory of GOA Ministries between Forestry and Health. Likely no one will even notice, but if there are howls of outrage from the usual complainers (I’m looking at you, recipients of the Government of Canada’s Journalism Labour Tax Credit), we’ll simply say “Don’t blame us, blame the PQ, and their federal cousins the Bloc Québécois.” We’re simply assuming the ready position in case worse comes to worst, and our beloved Canada goes the way of the Byzantine Empire. A distinct possibility given the contents of Bill C-20: an enactment that provides clarity on the secession of a province from Canada.
Alternatively, we could sit back, and let the federal government make decisions for us once le cheval has left the barn. Of course, Ottawa making decisions for Alberta typically does not work out well for Albertans.
So, we should probably begin with The Premier's mandate letter to outline the objectives and priorities of the inaugural Minister of Future Sovereignty. How would we manage those files currently Ottawa’s bailiwick? My next post will have the mandate letter I recommend. Here’s a short Sample:
Marriage/Divorce Hey! Alberta will be like the child stuck in the middle when Canada and Quebec divorce. We can play one side against the other. Happy for Quebec, though; divorce from Canada will be like getting fired from a job they’ve hated for years.
Penitentiaries Let’s get creative! How about “work camps” for criminals who vandalize resource infrastructure? The “work” part will be surviving an Alberta winter in “camps” without the use of fossil fuels.