Western Seperation

[Muttley]

Well here is those two words we keep hearing out in the west again. They just won't go away, and maybe they shouldn't.

Last week there was a meeting in Regina to discuss this, does anybody know what it was all about? Was it well attended or just a bunch of mad farmers spouting off steam?

I am truly sick of Ottawa, but is sperating our answer? If it is how would we operate?
One comment made to me while I was working at the Farm Progress show was that the west should become one province and stay in Canada. I first thought nothing off this then after awile it doesn't sound so bad!!!

[carebear300]

I am not much for this separation thing either. I don't think in this day and age a smaller country could survive that well. But the more I think of it the uniting of all the western provinces into one sounds like a viable type idea. We could hopefully eliminate some of those MLAS and a whole bunch of highly paid civil servants, and that in itself would be a really good thing. The only thing is that they would have to let average everyday people in charge of the process or it would cost way more than it was worth. It would also take twice as long and no civil servants would be eliminated if we left civil servants or politicians in charge.

[cowman]

Well I've been a separtist since I was young...learned it at my mothers knee.
Consider what we get from eastern Canada? A banking system and financial policy designed for Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa. A "politically correct" social policy that has destroyed our culture. Goofy laws that reflect conditions in down town Toronto(gun law).Taxes, Taxes, Taxes!
We send them money and they send us BS! They tell us we have to help our poor brethern down east when in fact they mean Quebec?
The west(Manitoba-BC plus the Yukon and NW territories) would do very well thank you. I suspect the Americans would be very happy to enter into a very nice arrangement with us? They aren't stupid!
Now we can wave the flag and pound down a few Canadians and babble about health care and yell I AM CANADIAN but the fact of the matter is we have been getting screwed for a long time! In fact a few people from Ontario and the Maritimes just might like to join us!!
But we are a long way from independence. The Bay Street crowd still calls the shots...maybe Kyoto! And while Quebec has the right to separate if the majority so desires it would be a different story for the west. Afterall Quebec is a welfare bum while the west pays the bills! Not so hard to let the bum go but a different story when it comes to letting the money maker slip the tether!
One province would be a problem. As long as Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and BC continue to elect dingbats, Alberta would have a hard time accepting it. Can you imagine Doer or Calvert presiding over the oil industry? Well that would be the end of oil in Alberta! And believe me oil and gas are what makes her go in Alberta! Klein and his gang are about as close to socialism as we ever want to get!
And I don't know why that is? Saskatchewan has so much going for it but they just keep putting in these retards! It's almost like they've developed this loser attitude! And yet get them out in Alberta(in the patch) and they really shine! They become more Albertan than the Albertans! The same could be said for Manitobans. So what is the problem here?

[wilagro]

I beg to differ with you Cowman. Ralph and his gang are as close to dictatorship as we want to get.
As far as oil and gas are concerned...70% of our production whistles out of this province EVERY day. The U.S.A. owns most of our resources now...why would we want to join them? So they can own even more of our resources? About the only thing that we partially control is agriculture and it is sliding down the tube as well.

[cowman]

I guess I shouldn't have given the impression I am a great Ralph Klein fan! Some of the things he did were good but a lot of them have turned out to be a disaster. And that goes for Getty and Loughheed too! Since Dinning left office things have gone down hill pretty badly. I would suggest Dinning was the brains behind the early Klein government while Ralph was the show?
The oil and gas industry in Alberta is owned by Americans to a great extent, and yes we do probably sell about 70% of our production south. Thank heavens we have that good solid market! I suspect a similar portion of our agricultural production heads south also...again thank heavens!
When the oil and gas industry was just beginning in this province it was the Americans that provided us with the technolgy and finances to get it up and running. Eastern banks wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole! If it wasn't for the American oil companies there wouldn't have been an oil and gas industry in Alberta!
And lets not forget that Alberta has already said they would toss in their 40% of the new agricultural support money. Unlike the governments of Sask. and Manitoba who claim it will bankrupt them. And guess where that Alberta money comes from? Petro-bucks!

[Muttley]

Don't think for a second that kicking in some money to help farmers would break a province.
Just imagine how much of that would end up staying in the province and doing alot of good all over the place.
The problem in Sk. is we have a wishy washy little mouse for a premier and a bunch of rodents following him!!!!