COMMENTARY: The Willful Blindness of the East – The Status Quo of Trudeau/Carney & Co. Isn’t Sustainable – William Lacey

The status quo in Canadian politics isn’t sustainable for national unity

By William Lacey

That’s it. I’m officially a separatist…sort of. Really, I’m just completely tired of Ontario and Quebec. After 10 years of frozen economic output, a runaway immigration program, and a debt profile that went hyperbolic, Eastern Canada appears to have decided that another four years of the same old, same old is a good path forward.

In short, they think that the clown car that led this country, after just swapping out the driver (who happened to be one of the people who was supplying the directions), is a good idea.

Having been born and raised in Alberta, I feel that there is a significant amount of the battered spouse syndrome that is alive and well in the province, with people saying “I know the rest of the country love me. They’re just having a bad day.” No matter how many times I ask “what’s in this great union for Alberta” I get the same kitschy feedback. Be grateful for Canada and its social programs and “free” medical system (they are broken), Canada in the Great War (umm…that was 107+ years ago), great moments in sports, tidewater access (umm….that’s a quiet threat), etc.

When it comes to one tangible answer, I just get silence. But the reality is that the East is perfectly happy to look down their noses, take the money, and then say “you are not one of us; you lack provenance!” Now some of you may say that is bullshit and that Albertans are an ungrateful bunch. But being someone who has lived in both the East and West, and worked with people who come from all walks, I know firsthand the bias exists.

Alberta, and the West, have made outsized contributions to confederation, much of that through the system that we call equalization. The idea behind this system was so that all parts of Canada get equal treatment through the taxation system, taking funds generated by “have” provinces and redistributing those funds to “have not” provinces, making sure that all are afforded the basics that Canadians have taken to be their definition of Canada.

This is essentially done by looking at the fiscal capacity of each province, based on the average national tax rate, and then “balance” the books based on this average capacity. And that’s fine. But in the world I live in, when one group reaches out and helps the other, there is an acknowledgement of the effort, not a “va te faire foutre!” like comes out of Quebec. There is a certain irony from the chart below that it looks like Quebec is giving the finger to the rest of the country.

The reality is that the East views it as beneath them to say thank you for such a contribution. Moreover, many go out of their way to vilify the work that is done and to demean those who do it. So you wonder why the frustration mounts? The fact of the matter is that I believe that the Conservative movement has been codified out East as a fringe movement, only to be voted for when the Liberals need a brief time out.

Do I think separation is a real possibility? Not really. There are numerous challenges, some of which are more difficult than others. The largest one is probably related to indigenous matters, but they too likely suffer from a version of battered spouse syndrome. There is an underlying tenet that the Federal Government cares for them, but based on what I have seen, that is a unique “standard of care” that is being applied. I actually believe that better outcome for the indigenous people could be achieved under a new relationship, assuming both sides were open minded.

Now before you say “you are on the fringe, you don’t represent the masses”, I can tell you that I know a lot of people who are leaders in their professions within this province, whether that is health, law, business, etc. that all echo these feelings. The frustration is palpable, it is real and it is broader than you think.

So, with this I finally raise my hand and make the call that “I’m tired of the relationship I am in.” This pains and saddens me deeply, as I am someone who has worn the maple leaf with great pride and who has been happy to pronounce “I am Canadian.” I think it’s time to reconsider who I view as my partner.

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