CALGARY — Western Standard President, Publisher and CEO Derek Fildebrandt and political science professor Duane Bratt stood toe-to-toe Thursday for a debate on the question hovering over Alberta's political scene: "Should Alberta remain in Canada or become an independent country?"The pro-independence crowd, mixed with a smattering of individuals who oppose independence, that attended the event were treated to a passionate debate, with Fildebrandt outlining why Alberta's independence is about preserving itself from a failing Canada. "I fight for independence not because I dislike Canada," Fildebrandt said. "On the contrary, I love Canada.""I grew up in small army and air force towns across Canada, and had dreams of being a captain in the Royal Canadian Navy. But our Canada is gone. It has been replaced by a post-national economic redistribution zone." .Fildebrandt told the crowd that mass immigration, judicial decisions, and poor federal policies have eroded Canada from what it used to be. He added that the country has grown increasingly farther away from the principles important to Albertans, and bad policies have restricted Alberta's economy. According to Fildebrandt, Albertans have long had grievances about their relationship within the confederation, and the only realistic way to resolve them is to become independent, because Canada will never make the meaningful changes needed."We had a referendum on equalization in the Constitution in 2021; anyone remember what happened there? Nothing," Fildebrandt told the crowd."That is why I reluctantly support the independent side, because whenever we try to change something in good faith and good natured, you know what happens? Nothing. There is unfortunately only two choices: it is the status quo, or it is independence." .Bratt argued that Canada is making changes under Prime Minister Mark Carney, including Ottawa's MOU to construct a pipeline to the west coast, which would not have happened under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. "Now you may laugh at that, and you're probably thinking there's no way in hell that pipeline will ever be built," said Bratt. "That was the same comment that people made about Trans Mountain.""Now, Trans Mountain went over budget, but Trans Mountain is now making money, serious money, for both Ottawa and the Alberta government." Bratt's main argument throughout the debate was that the real question should not be "Why Alberta should remain in Canada?" but rather "Why should it leave?”To him, Alberta has grievances, but they are not worth tearing Canada apart, especially regarding underrepresentation in the federal government. "Having an unequal, weak Senate is not good, but it's not worth breaking up the country," Bratt said. "It is not worth breaking up the country for an additional three House of Commons seats.".A key question throughout the evening was, "What would an independent Alberta look like?" Both Fildebrandt and Bratt agreed that there is uncertainty about an independent Alberta, and questions will need to be answered along the way, but they disagreed on what the end result would be. For Fildebrandt, the specifics of governance and other key issues will need to be figured out in a constitutional convention, but the end result will certainly be a better Alberta than one in Canada. "It would not be easy," Fildebrandt said. "There's ways to address it, but I do not believe we could not do without the rest of Canada. We have learned from Canada's great history how to govern ourselves as a province. We've had a prime minister even." "...We know these things. We're ready to take the training wheels off. We're ready to run. We know how to do this." Bratt says there are too many unknowns, though, and that is one of the dangers behind Alberta's independence referendum because there is no option to undo it if the wrong decision is made. .The question was raised about whether Carney could do anything to change the minds of independence supporters, and Fildebrandt said Senate reform or calling a constitutional convention could sway him, but he does not believe those changes will ever happen, even if Carney supported them. "Quebec holds a veto over any reforms and will never agree to receiving less money, and would come with a grab bag of its own demands for special treatment," Fildebrandt said. "The Atlantic provinces likewise will never agree to end equalization, or their overrepresentation in both houses of parliament." "...Do we continue down the path of national destruction? Albertans, Albertans, we're not going to vote our way out from this under the federal system. That is why we have but two options left: we accept going down with the ship, or we take our destiny into our own hands and we declare independence."
