Alberta: America's New Best Friend

President Kennedy said it. Nixon, too. As well as Ford, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and both Bushes. As far back as the days of Ike in the White House the promise to lessen the United State's dependence on foreign oil has been made. Administration after administration, Democrat and Republican alike, the issue was raised with the vow to give America more independence and self-sufficiency when it came to non-renewable resources. Today, America's reliance on oil from overseas has never been higher.

The rising tensions in the Middle East has placed the U.S. in a precarious position. While dealing with radical oil producing nations and maintaining shaky alliances with shady Arabian nations such as Saudi Arabia, the U.S. has found itself playing the odds when it comes to the future of gas availability. The attention has recently been swayed over to the side of finding 'alternative energy sources' to not only help find a solution to the oil issue but to the environmental problem as well. Even Dubya has started to talk about finding these so-called alternatives. What many Amercians don't realize is that there is a friendly, mostly pro-American place that has an abundance of oil. It isn't located in a volatile part of the world, and doesn't have a religious, radically power-obsessed dictator running the government. And it's close. Really close.

The province of Alberta is in the midst of an oil-driven economic boom, the likes of which have never been seen to this extent before. With the discovery of a process whereby oil is separated from sand, the oil sands industry has become the engine that has become the power not only behind the provincial economy, but has had positive effects on the entire Canadian economy as well. The impact has been felt across the province, with unemployment rates virtually non-existent and record wages being realized. An influx of Canadians from other parts of the country to take advantage of the boom has added to the new image of Alberta being the place of opportunity; the land where there are jobs for everyone. The buzz surrounding Alberta hasn't just been limited to Canada, as more and more Americans are being made aware of the prosperous Western Canadian province. The fact that Alberta's oil production will, within the next 3-5 years, exceed that of the entire production of Saudi Arabia's oil industry has made many in the American oil industry sit up and take notice. The more that the United States can get it's oil needs met through agreements with friendly nations the less they will have to depend on getting their crude from Islamic nutjobs.

It is no coincidence that Alberta is, in the political and social sense, against the grain of the rest of Canada. Albertan's are more conservative politically, and have the image of being fiercely independent as well as possessing a deep pro-capitalist attitude. Existing inside the decidedly more liberal rest of Canada, Alberta has a history of standing alone on many issues which have, at times, become public battles with the usually Liberal federal government. These days the Conservatives hold power federally, albeit in a minority parliament. Since coming to power last year, Prime Minister Stephan Harper has made successful inroads in the attempt to rebuild the tarnished relationship between Canada and the United States, which became strained under former Liberal P.M. Jean Chretien and his governments overtly anti-American mindset. Harper, with his government's strong commitment to continuing Canada's leading role in Afghanistan and his desire to strengthen economic ties with America, has shown his plan of putting Canada back on the world stage. Coming as it does with Alberta's oil windfall, this bodes well for America - as long as they know we are here.

Historically, Americans have known fairly little about Canada. Many misconceptions have floated around for years, often bringing the average Canadian to a good chuckle when we hear of them. (We've all heard about the American tourist who shows up in Calgary, in July, with skis strapped to the roof of his car. 'Where's the snow?')

The more Americans learn about Alberta and what we have to offer the more stable they will be. Presidents have long spoke of wanting to find a friendly source of natural resources. With Alberta sharing a border with the States, the opportunity is here.

A One Issue Nation?

There is no doubt that the number one issue on the minds of Canadians is the environment. Poll after poll has shown cleaning up our air to be the primary topic of importance for us. Long sold on the Kyoto Accord, the majority of Canadians do not agree with the federal Conservatives original plan of scraping our involvement in the international Robin Hood agreement in favor of a more encompassing pollution reduction plan. This misguided allegiance to the deeply flawed and potentially disastrous Kyoto route has put enough pressure on the feds that they have shown definite signs of caving in to the demand of the public and the opposition parties, first by pulling their own Clean Air act out of circulation in favor of an all-party committee attack on the plan, then by yanking under appreciated Rona Ambrose out of the Environment portfolio and replacing her with Ontario showman and strong global warming believer John Baird.

Given, Baird is more than capable for the job. He has proven to be a rising star in the government and has launched an impressive salvo of mini-rants on more than one occasion which have verbally slapped attempted Liberal accusations back across the room faster than a Serena Williams serve. But the point isn't Baird's gift of poli-speech, its the fact that he could be the Conservative M.P. whose position on the environment jives the most with the leftwing Libs, N.D.P., and Bloc Quebecois. His appointment to the top of the government's Ministry of Fixing The Ozone, along with the rumoured 50% inclusion of non-renewable resources into an upcoming Conservative solution to the fiscal imbalance, could spell big trouble of Alberta and the current oil-driven boom we are experiencing. Whether hidden in the guise of a new Equalization program or the cloak of saving our planet, it is becoming clear that an attack on Alberta's economy is now not a question of if, but when.

But I digress. A bigger point that has not been given it's due is the question of cause. What is it exactly, that is causing our water's to rise and the hurricanes to blow? I will openly admit that I do believe human development has been part of the problem. With the exploding population and the push to industrialize economically poor nations, it only makes sense that we would be contributing to the global warming problem. Contributing to it - not necessarily causing it. I remember back in the 1970's when the top scientists of the day gave grave warnings that they were certain the Earth was heading into....wait for it.....another ice age. See, the brainiacs theorized that the pollution caused by the big, bad businesses of the world was going to somehow block out the sun a' la a nuclear winter, thereby making the ice caps grow and causing the world to freeze. Fast forward a couple of decades, and now many of the same geniuses are certain that we are all going to burn.

History shows that the planet experiences natural environmental fluctuations. While we should devote a certain amount of resources to finding ways to perhaps slow the process as well as how to protect living creatures, we must not spend all of our valuable time trying to find an all-encompassing solution to an unfixable problem. We can't forget that there are many other pressing issues in the world today.

Unity, Not a Messiah, is Needed

Ronald Reagan: Not even he could help right now.

One of the favorite catch-phrases that independent-minded Albertans like to use is "we need a leader." Many of us have said on occasion that we need someone to come out of the woodwork and bring us together as a single force. If only, we have thought, The One would emerge and give us instant credibility, then we would be taken seriously. The problem is, it isn't a political messiah that we need. Heaven knows, from spending time chatting with many Alberta separatists, we have enough quality people with excellent leadership skills who could become the face of our movement and do an admirable job doing it. A lack of good candidates for the top job isn't the issue. The issue facing us is: will we ever be able to unify as one political movement, no matter who the boss is?

The public perception of an Alberta separatist is that of a radically right wing redneck who probably is a farmer, and is perhaps a man of faith who old fashioned and not too smart. With all due respect to those who actually fit this description, the picture painted isn't all that accurate. Admittedly, there is a high percentage of self-proclaimed conservatives who would like to see Alberta break the shackles of equalization payments and forced bilingualism. But it shouldn't be forgotten that as the movement grows, it will logically have to accept those who are moderate on certain issues but who are patriotic Albertans that support the idea of our independence. Herein lies the problem.

The movement has seen is share of recent incidents that have taken the focus off of the real issue. The debacle at a Separation Party of Alberta board meeting perfectly illustrates the in-fighting and internal bickering (not to mention the ideological power struggles) that have come to represent our group. The Parti Quebecois has had its internal issues as well, but they continually find a way to keep their objective - an independent Quebec - at the forefront of their agenda. They have realized that many of the topics for debate can and must be settled after Quebec has reached its independence from Canada. The discussion on social issues, trade, and other such matters could be placed to the side in favor of a strong push for sovereignty.

It is true that an Alberta independence party would have to lay down some policy on these issues before separation occurred, but the argument could be easily made that Albertans would like to determine their own destiny and policies on these matters after the fact. What is important is our shared goal for an independent state, with all Albertans being able reap the benefits. This won't happen as long as solidarity eludes us.

Unless we can somehow come together as a unit, Ronald Reagan himself could come back from the dead to take control of the movement and we still wouldn't achieve our goal. With the possible raid on our economy from either Stephen Harper's equalization plan or Stephane Dion's Kyoto monster, we have a small window of opportunity to get organized. Will we rally for Alberta, or will we have future regrets?

Random Rants

Despite what the C.B.C. would have you believe, support for the Kyoto Accord isn't what it used to be. It seems the more people become educated about the issue, the more support for it dips........By the time the next federal election campaign comes around, Prime Minister Harper's biggest concern might not be how to get votes in Quebec, but how to keep votes in Alberta........As whispers of a new federal raid on Alberta's economy grow stronger, I'm starting to think Ted Morton should have been made Premier Stelmach's Intergovernmental Affairs Minister..........Message to Nelly Furtado: you're no longer distinguishable from the usual poptarts on the radio. Do us a favor and go back to your roots. You're first two CDs were unique and refreshing..........The Little Mosque on the Prairie is the perfect metaphor for the Canadian multicultural policy - badly written and not at all funny..........The job our troops are doing in Afghanistan is simply inspiring. Too bad our news gremlins choose to ignore the huge rebuilding efforts and successes, and instead focus on our casualties........Eastern and Western Canada will never truly be united as one nation. Not because of economic differences, but because we just don't like each other........In 30 years, the War in Iraq will be looked upon as a necessary moment in the overall war on terror, and history will show Dubya as a man ahead of his time. And no, I haven't been drinking.........Place your bets: we will recognize Iran's threats as genuine before or after it's too late?........If the N.D.P. loses voters to the green Liberal Dion and to the surging Green Party, don't expect Jack Layton to be the leader for long..........I'm getting so old, I remember when MTV actually played music videos..........The best politically-oriented show on television today is The Glenn Beck show, without a doubt. The best nonpolically-oriented show? Rescue Me...........If you haven't bought the OZ DVD collection yet, do yourself a favor and grab it. Shows like that don't come around too often...........and finally, let's all make the world a better place and not watch The View anymore? If we all tune out, maybe Rosie will just go away.

What Is Harper Thinking?

For the first time that I can remember, a government has actually made me dizzy. The federal Conservative government has played good-move, bad-move for months now, and it's getting hard on the nerves. The Tories get my support when it comes to their example of great leadership by reaffirming our committment to helping the Afghani people, then turn around and call Quebec a 'nation' which made me shake my head. They get full marks for keeping their promise on things like the Accountability Act and the cut in the G.S.T., then lose those marks for caving in on the environment issue. And don't get me started on the Income Trust issue.

Now, the buzz is about allegedly leaked information that Harper's proposal to fix the so-called 'fiscal imbalance' will include non-renewable resources into the equation. Well, 50% of them, anyhow. If this is true, it would not only be a broken campaign promise (just like income trusts), but would risk the foundation of the Conservative's voting base - the West. Saskatchewan Finance Minister Andrew Thompson came out publicly against the plan, and other Premiers and provincial government members followed. Newly-crowned Alberta Premier Ed Stelmack, who has been given an early opportunity to show whether he will stand up for Alberta against federal attempts to raid our economy, reiterated Alberta's long-standing position that oil revenues must not be included in equalization. Crude isn't going to last forever, and adding those unstable figures into the equalization formula would lead to uncertainty in the near future.

Albertan's reaction to this is particularly strong, even personal on some level. The last time the federal government attempted to get it's hands on Alberta's wealth it sank our economy, and spiralled the province into a decade of economic freeze. This latest sneak-attack on Alberta's coffers may not be as direct as the incredibly-awful National Energy Program of the early 1980's, but the chances of a sudden bottoming out of our booming economy due to this is too great.

The separatist movement in Alberta was at it's hight in those days. Given our tendency to have long memories and longer grudges, we haven't forgotten what happened a generation ago. If Harper believes that even a partial raid on our tarsands will go unnoticed by people in the West, it could be the biggest miscalculation of his rule.

It's A World War, Stupid!

The arrests this week of several Iranians inside Iraq by American forces seems to have shocked many on this side of the ocean. After all, Iranians and Iraqis aren't exactly the best of friends, right? They fought a bloody war throughout the 1980's on the basis of religion and regional dominance, with both sides claiming victory when none was achieved.

The fact is this should surprise no one. It shouldn't even be a shock that those captured are part of the upper echelon of the Iranian military establishment. This isn't the first time intelligence personnel from Iran were captured inside of the war-torn nation, as several were found last autumn. What is surprising, however, is that nobody (including the American government) seems to see this as a major incident. The message that this sends is that Iran is committing war crimes, and because of the lack of consequences, will continue to do so.

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has proven to be one of the new generation of anti-West nutjobs, and his efforts in supplying the so-called insurgent forces with materials and money follows along the line of his public speeches where he condemns America and it's allies. His thirst for power over the Middle East is well-known, and his intentions are clear. He yearns to see the destruction of Israel, and his goal is to spread his form of religious dictatorship from one side of the region to the other. Emboldened by the lack of action from the West, Ahmadinejad continues to push the war deeper towards a multi-national conflict. Don't be surprised to hear of Syrian and Saudi Arabian 'intelligence' fighters being found as time goes on.

Add to this the nuclear aspirations of North Korea as well as the outrageous ambitions of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, and you realize that pretty well every continent now has a threat to global security. Still, the anti-war groups in North America believe that if the coalition were to suddenly pull out of Iraq (and, for that matter, Afghanistan) the entire problem would just go away. Reality check, people. The world is taking sides, and many of the nations have one target in their sights - us. The Israelis have figured this out, either due to clarity of thought or 60 years of living under Islamic terrorist threat, or both. Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently warned on The Glenn Beck Show that if America won't act to protect Israel, then Israel will have to take the necessary steps to protect itself. Given the dark clouds forming at their border, who could blame them? Maybe it's time that we saw the truth of the situation.

This is a different world war than in the past, as it is largely based on a clash of religious beliefs. The radical Islamists have interpreted the Koran, albeit incorrectly if we are to believe what the 'moderate' Muslims tell us, as a means to kill those who do not believe in their faith. That, my friends, means us. 9/11 was a glaring example of proof. Many other attacks of varying degrees have occurred since, and they will continue as long as the West plays politics with the issue.

The Western world almost waited too long in the 1930's when a global threat emerged. With today's technology and available nuclear and biological arms within reach, we cannot afford to make that mistake again.

Dion Rearranging the Deck Chairs

The ship is going down, and all of the rats are jumping overboard. At least that is the image that comes to mind these days when thinking of the federal Liberal Party. Within the past few days, the Grits have seen their numbers reduced by two seats in the House of Commons. Already a fairly ineffective official opposition to the governing minority Conservatives (and seeing very little, if any, gain in the polls under freshly chosen leader and nutjob tree-hugger Stephane Dion), the Libs became even weaker with the defection of one M.P. to the Tories and the resignation of a well-known cabinet Minister.

First, Ontario M.P. Wajid Khan came to realize that: "The best leader for Canada is the man who now has the job, Mr. Harper." Khan, who has been acting as a special advisor to the Prime Minister on Afghanistan and other Middle East issues for months and knew firsthand the realities and consequences of the War on Terror. Given the Liberals milquetoast position on our involvement overseas and the firm, committed direction to face our enemy shown by Harper, Khan made the decision to follow his head if not his heart.

Now comes word that veteran Quebec M.P. Jean Lapierre has decided to call it quits on a relatively successful career. This hit to the Liberals is made more painful by the fact that Lapierre represents one of the few Quebec seats the party managed to hold on to in the aftermath of the Adscam fiasco. A bi-election in any Quebec riding right now couldn't honestly be called until the final vote is tallied. It could be anyone's to win.

The losses come right when Dion is trying to create a nationwide image as the strong leader of a reborn Party. Instead, the public face of the Liberal Party of Canada is that of a floundering dis-organization with a weak-kneed leader who doesn't even appeal to his own M.P.s. It's not the most positive baggage to carry going into a rumoured spring election.

Our Finest

The New Iraq Quagmire

California Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D - CA) has taken her position as the first female Speaker of the House, and has officially ushered in a new Democratic era in American politics. The days of top-to-bottom Republican control is now over, and the change brings with it the possibility of some interesting battles between the governing Dems and President Bush. Never mind the obvious impeding duels on internal social issues where the Democrats and the Republicans are at the greatest of odds, the real attention-grabber is going to be on the Democrat's position on Iraq. Interesting primarily because they don't seem to have a position.

Many of the more leftist in the Party That Bill Built want to see a quick end to the American involvement in the war-torn nation. These are the party members who believed, as many voters did, that a Democrat victory would result in a quick Vietnam-style pull out. These 'cut and runners' are at odds with the more centrist elements of the party who are a little more realistic and would rather see a new comprehensive strategy of rebuilding then withdrawal. Although seemingly more open to the Bush doctrine, these Dems have no desire to side with the President.

Mixed into this is the fact that a new money bill, in which the President is going to essentially ask for more money and possibly more troops for Iraq, is on the agenda for the spring. By then, Pelosi must present a complete and concrete Democrat position on the issue or risk a public relations nightmare. Will the Democrat's cause history to repeat and deny the President his request, just as they did in 1975 when then-President Gerald Ford made the same request for Vietnam? Or will they give Bush the money and the troops Iraq needs to help stabilize their country, and in doing so, alienate and disappoint the Americans who voted Democrat under the mistaken belief that it would mean the Iraq story would end? And how will their decision, no matter which way they go, impact their chances at the White House in 2008?

My real fear is that the Iraq War is about to become even more politicized than it already has. The worst thing that could happen is for Iraq to slip deeper and deeper into violence while the American government's focus is fixed on unproductive partisan battles. That, not the so-called insurgence, would be the greatest threat to victory.

Take Your Time...

We're Still Around

The Alberta separatist movement - yes, there is one - has been around since before Alberta was a province. There have always been folks who have believed in the idea of an independent state apart from the rest of Canada, and aren't afraid to let themselves be heard. Those moments in our province's history where Ottawa and Alberta have clashed highlighted our independent spirit and our willingness to consider going it alone. Political parties and organizations appeared during these times, such as the Western Canada Concept party (and others) whose platform intended to take Alberta out of confederation.

The undercurrent of independence and the feeling that we are, as suggested by former Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien (in one of the few sentences I could actually understand), '...different...', is a part of who we are. Even many federalist Albertans have stated that, if the situation was bad enough, they would consider the separation route.

The current crop of Alberta separatists haven't wavered too much in their views, even with a Conservative federal government in power. Having to endure years of the scandalous Chretien/Martin regime, and with the memory of the Pierre Trudeau years never to be forgotten around these parts, the pro-independence crowd knows that things could change at any moment and we could find ourselves with the radical environmentalist Stephane Dion as P.M. The chief champion of the poisonous Kyoto accord, Dion's tunnel vision on the environment issue would no doubt result in policies that would all but destroy Alberta's carbon-based economy. With the assured support and admiration he would receive in the East for committing Canada to the ill-conceived international agreement, it is feasible that he would remain in power for some time. Successive Dion governments, and the damage they would inflict on Alberta, would be the driving force for Alberta separatists.

The nagging issue for pro-independence Albertans is: Who will lead the way? Provincial parties with the separatist agenda implode on a seemingly regular basis, and with them goes the credibility of the movement as far as the public is concerned. After all, if we can't get our own act together, how can we expect Albertans to trust us in leading our nation towards independence?