By Maggie M, Editor, Wedgee-in-Chief, theWedge.LIVE
A surprising, bold step was taken yesterday, February 20, 2020, by Calgary MP Michelle Rempel.
Alberta is abuzz with Rempel’s broadcasting of the Buffalo Declaration, a thirteen-page document fleshing out treatment of Alberta as a “colony” by the Trudeau federal administration and long overdue action.
(Buffalo was the name of the lands that include N.W.T., Alberta and Saskatchewan until 1905.)
The Declaration seeks equal treatment received by the Laurentian Elites (Quebec and Ontario) for Alberta failing which a number of measures will be sought. These include Premier Jason Kenney’s Fair Deal options including the creation of a provincial revenue agency, withdrawing from the CanadaPension Plan, establishing a provincial police force, and other measures. This CPP move may cause short-term financial pain to Albertans but all signs are they are prepared.
Polls show that 80% of Albertans are hankering for secession. Four Albertan MPs (so far) are prepared to lead Alberta to sovereignty.
“On behalf of the people we represent who are frustrated, hopeless, jobless, and who will not accept the status quo any longer : we are drawing a clear line in the sand.
Rempel is returning home for the battle and reportedly, aims to run as Prime Minister of Alberta when and if the time comes to secede. She calls for a referendum on the matter in the event the province continues to suffer under a dispassionate partisan-led, leftist agenda. The Citizen’s Initiative Act could receive royal assent by Stampede Week this July 2020, enabling the process this year.
It is also commonly agreed the rejection of the Teck Frontier mine–which has met ever regulatory hurdle over the course of the last ten years–could be the linchpin. This reneging could not be labeled in any other term other than ‘bad faith.’
The primordial question we ask ourselves, “How much time does Alberta have before it exceeds the tipping point toward permanent economic decline and is declared a failed state?” This question may seem an overreach but the destruction of the fossil fuel industry in Canada is the aim of well-heeled foreign-funded NGOs who wield great influence in Ottawa.
There is no political will in the coalition of the left on the Hill to promote the fossil fuel industry without a complete capitulation to cost-prohibitive climate change and socialist dogma.
To wit, the Prime Minister has banned the leader of the Official Opposition from discussions on pipeline blockades in a meeting this week. This violates House of Common rules and rights under our Constitution. In our history, nothing comes close to this flagrant abuse of power.
The Buffalo Declaration is a MUST read for all Canadians. It is comprehensive and touches all topics related to Alberta’s status quo.
As of this day signatories to the Buffalo Declaration include M.P. Michelle Rempel, Calgary Nose Hill; MP Blake Richards, Banff-Airdrie; MP Glen Motz, Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner; MP Arnold Viersen, Peace River-Westlock.
Read Page one Here (link to PDF follows):
The Buffalo Declaration
Canada is in crisis.
Our federation has reached a crossroads at which Canada must decide to move forward in equality and respect, or people in our region will look at independence from Confederation as the solution.
We believe a Canada united in equity is in the best interests of its inhabitants. However, that is not the current state of Canadian federation. Immediate action must be taken to permanently correct inherent inequities that privilege some at the expense of others.
The economic and social challenges faced by Canada today are not the cause of the strains on our union, but rather are the symptom of the colonial power structures from which Alberta and Saskatchewan were born. Many of the people who we represent have expressed to us that they feel Canadian federation is deeply broken, and inherently unjust. They are disconnected from, and feel disrespected by, the power class of the Laurentian consensus.
We must emphasize that the roots of the anger felt by our people are not a passing political moment in time.They have been historically repeated and are entrenched in our political system. While challenges faced by Albertans today have been exacerbated by the incumbent federal government’s punitive legislative and regulatory changes; the political veto of critical infrastructure projects, and inaction when our economy is in crisis; these too are a symptom of a historical and pervasive structural problem.
This is to say that defeating the incumbent Liberal government, or building a pipeline, will not permanently address the systemic inequities Albertans face. For confederation to be sustainable, Canada must commit to permanent nation-building structural change within its institutions of power. In a more equitable Canada, one region’s ability to prosper should not be dependent on what political party is in power in Ottawa.
No longer can the fate of our people be determined by a class of politicians, bureaucrats, lobbyists, academics, journalists, or business leaders who have no real connection to,or understanding of,our land or our culture.
All of Canada’s political leaders have a duty to their country to fight for an equal confederation. Those seeking Western support to lead the Conservative Party of Canada have a distinct duty to do more than list platitudes of support, but to commit their names to achieving necessary reforms.
Bluntly put, the status quo is no longer acceptable to people we represent. Many Albertans are considering their place in Confederation and are done with failed appeasement tactics or temporary measures. That said, we also believe many want Canada to firmly commit to work in good faith with us to make a concerted effort to repair our national bonds before seeking to cut them.
The Wedge 