[Thunderball]

Here's a few questions... did any other province cut their programs like Alberta had to in order to make ends meet?

I can't think of a single province that hasn't made huge cut-backs to spending over the last 10-15 years.

Not like Alberta did the mid 90s... without electing a government that swiftly returned it to status quo at the expense of what the cuts were supposed to accomplish... fiscal responsibility, debt loss, etc.

Did any other province have no control over its resources until it was a province for 25 years (aside from Sask)?

Some provinces don't even have control over their resources now: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/fishing/cod.html

Thats because of two things... oceans aren't provincial jurisdictions. however, territory is. Yet, Alberta and Saskatchewan weren't even allowed to run their own lands until the 30s. Secondly, I do believe aside from Federal ownership of the ocean areas, they also sponsor the industry. Something the Oilpatch definitely doesn't get.

Do any other provinces have as many average hours per week of work?

Are you suggesting other provinces aren't as well-off as Alberta because their citiznes are lazy and don't as hard? Just so we're clear...

I'm saying Albertans make more money cause they have more access to good jobs and the atmosphere is incredibly pro business, compared to the ROC. Some who choose to live on welfare cheques rather than move to Ontario or the West where jobs are may be lazy, yes. My family had to leave cities to find work twice. Its something that has to be done sometimes.

Or even better... do any other provinces have legitimate pro-business governments (aside from BC?)

I'm not sure about other provinces, but New Brunswick -- at least while they were governed by Frank McKenna's Liberals -- was very pro-business.

Had... not have. You'll notice that, well, every province but Alberta swaps out their fiscally responsible government for the easy way out, more social spending, no cuts, rely on transfers to make ends meet. Yes, Mckenna's liberals weren't bad. Were they like Campbell Liberals, Klein Tories or Harris Tories? Nope.

BC and Saskatchewan also have substantial oil and gas... why aren't they booming like Alberta??

As I mentioned above, Saskatchewan was a "have" province in 2004-2005, thanks largely to the surge in oil prices.

Well, you can thank the pressure from the Sask party to match taxation and royalties in the oilpatch to that of Alberta's for that. Even so, its a beginning, not a boom like here. Same with BC, why no boom? why just a sputter? Answer... ol' Swervin' Gordon Campbell has a lot of NDP mess to clean up. He might not even get a chance to see it through... I hope he does for BC's sake.

present (Sask) inept governments are making that difficult.

I'll be the very first to accuse past NDP governments in BC and Ontario of being inept, but the Saskatchewan NDP certainly isn't. They run a balanced budget and Saskatchewan has been an economic success lately.

Well, Lorne Calvert is starting to get it. Yet, half the Oilsands are in Saskatchewan, and why aren't they being exploited? Its still cost prohibitive due to provincial taxation and royalties on oilsands. Is he inept? borderline, I guess, cause he's starting to get it. The Sask party almost winning helped that too.

I should add, I'm not opposed to the Western Energy Accord idea. Share it with the West, help all those provinces thrive... perhaps a preamble to a Republic of Western Canada?

Why are you willing to share Alberta's wealth with the West but not other provinces? What have Atlantic Canadians done to deserve your scorn?

Why? Cause its not giving money away to people who refuse to change. This is money given to advance all provinces at the same time. Its good for Alberta to have prosperous neighbors and their governments to act accordingly. Its also important to have the say on where things go, to whom, and why. Its power over our money. This also works the other way, the second Alberta stumbles, the other two or three are there to immediately to support us. We've seen twice since 1961 that Alberta is ignored from equalization despite recessions.

Has anyone said anything?? not exactly. Ontario has been chirping off about wanting some more of the pie, Martin "guaranteeing supply for Canadians" today, as well as our old buddy Lalonde (of the Lalonde National Energy Policy fame) reappearing doesn't speak well for fair play. Plus, March, you're a smart guy, if you're gonna do something a lot of people are gonna hate, do you proudly announce it before you are ready, or quickly slam it down their throats and hope they don't gag too loudly before they supposedly swallow it. The Liberals know that if they don't scheme it right, Alberta will have a referendum on separation over it... where that goes is anyone's guess. They also know if they don't create an aura that they'll interfere, other provinces will lose faith in confederation and hold their own referendums, rightly or wrongly.

Confederation is sick right now, and frankly, its been terminal since 1867. They slammed two countries together, added some maritime provinces who are arguably different, and now another Anglo/American nation may be emerging in Western Canada.