News

Earlier this week, I was invited on to the "Darcy Gerow Podcast".

We had a long chat about the journey Project Confederation has been on so far, as well as our plans for the future.

The episode was an in-depth discussion on how recent events are shaping political discourse on Confederation and the Constitution, and how our team is on the cutting edge of those discussions.

With just a few days left until we find out who the next Premier of Alberta will be, I was pleased to be invited on the "Grey Matter" podcast to talk about the impact western alienation has had on the leadership race, the policies of the leading candidates, and what this means for the chances of Alberta successfully achieving greater independence - whether that be inside or outside of Canada.

You can listen to the full podcast episode now, here:

On Thursday, Project Confederation and I were featured in a front-page National Post column addressing western alienation and how this topic has come to dominate the current United Conservative Party leadership race.

The article is a deep dive into the relationship between western alienation and the current political situation in Alberta, but Post columnist Tyler Dawson was particularly interested in my perspective on how the issues around western alienation have escalated to this point.

In case you're not a subscriber, I've included a few highlights from the piece below.

I don't know about you, but I’ve noticed a definite shift in the tone of conversations around western alienation and fairness for Alberta.

The lack of progress on a fair deal in recent years has actually propelled the conversation forward.

The calls for action have become greater and the tactical conversation has become more serious, as Ottawa has not stopped its assault on our industries.

If there was one major takeaway from last night's UCP leadership debate, it was that Alberta's place in Confederation remains the most prominent topic of discussion in this race.

And all the candidates seemed to agree: Ottawa needs to stay in its lane.

Most of the candidates made positive statements about a number of issues that we have been promoting at Project Confederation - abolishing equalization, an Alberta pension plan and police force, the importance of Alberta controlling our own natural resources, and more.

The main disagreement, actually, was the best approach to take.

Last week, there was a story in the news that, at first glance, may seem unrelated to Alberta's fight for fairness.

However, when we dug into the details, we realized that it could have major implications for our province and our relationship with Ottawa.

On the last day of May, British Columbia Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Sheila Malcolmson, and her federal equivalent, Carolyn Bennett, held a joint press conference in Vancouver to announce that the federal government would be giving the British Columbia government an exemption from the enforcement of Canada’s federal drug policy.

On Tuesday, the Alberta Court of Appeal ruled 4-1 that the federal government overstepped its jurisdiction with the Impact Assessment Act - better known as Bill C-69.

The decision is not binding, and the federal government has already announced that they will appeal the decision, meaning that we're headed for another Supreme Court battle between Alberta and Ottawa.

We’ve been here before - the lyrics to Whitesnake’s 1982 hit song, Here I Go Again, come to mind:

Keystone XL? Cancelled.

Energy East? Cancelled.

Northern Gateway? Cancelled.

Teck Resources? Cancelled.

Pretty much anything out east? Approved!

Last month, Canadians were treated to the news that a new government - one they didn’t elect - had been formed, sort of.

Justin Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh reached a “Confidence and Supply Agreement” that would keep the Liberals in power until 2025, with the NDP backing the government on confidence votes and budgets.

While it's not an official coalition, with the NDP receiving no cabinet minister spots, for the purposes of Alberta, it might as well be.

Last week I wrote to you all about how some provinces are more equal than others when it comes to seats in the House of Commons.

You can refer back to last week's email for the full details, but here's a quick summary: