Quote:
Originally Posted by 14Roman14
There are definitely a few of you very passionate about signing and getting signatures to stay in Canada.
What are some of the major reasons you would not support Western independence and some of the major advantages you see for Albertans if we stay?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 14Roman14
There are definitely a few of you very passionate about signing and getting signatures to stay in Canada.
What are some of the major reasons you would not support Western independence and some of the major advantages you see for Albertans if we stay?
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All of the proposed benefits of separation are economic and political. I don’t doubt that there could be some economic advantage - though there’s also risk - and no doubt many here would be happy being in 100% control politically. But we’d be a small landlocked country with no profile or clout on the international scene, whose only raison d’être is that we have oil. Would there be any talk of separation except for the fact that we want to make more money from oil? That’s no rational for independence.
Canada is a G7 country that has presence internationally. We are the best hockey nation in earth and do well at the olympics and other major events. We have our own music, tv and (a few) movies. Canada has a very positive international reputation. Alberta is a few smallish cities and a heap of small towns. No one knows or cares about Alberta, unless you mention Banff. We have kind and decent people all across the country that still share common values and decency and are noticeably different from our friends to the south. Travel the country and see how similar the every day people are.
Maybe these things don’t matter to you but they matter. They define us as a nation and a people, as does our common history. It’s an identity. What is Alberta’s identity beyond ‘hard-working folk’ (as if no one else works hard) and rodeos? Culture and identity are what defines a country not money and politics.
There are definitely things that should change in regard to Alberta’s relationship with Ottawa but national borders in not one of them.