Lukaszuk and panellists attempt to help Toronto audience understand the human side of Alberta's independence movement

EDMONTON — Forever Canadian leader Thomas Lukaszuk and a panel tried to help a Toronto audience understand the Alberta independence movement on Thursday, highlighting the emotions of the grassroots people behind it."I'm glad our economists are actually putting out the numbers of what it would cost, but it is not quantitative," said Lukaszuk about Alberta independence. "It is qualitative in nature. It's deeply rooted, and it has to do with personal dignity."Lukaszuk made the comments at an Economic Club of Canada event while on a panel with Director and Chair of the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy Martha Hall Findlay and economics professor Andrew Leach, moderated by former Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty..The discussion aimed to help the Central Canadian audience better understand what is driving Alberta's independence movement.Lukaszuk said the Alberta independence movement has existed for more than a century, but support tends to fluctuate with economic success and oil prices."When Albertans truly struggle, when they are laid off, that's when this becomes a prominent subject because there is a feeling that the rest of Canada, who is actually a larger financial beneficiary than Alberta alone in royalties, the federal government garners more than the Government of Alberta, that there is no sympathy for the plight of workers," Lukaszuk said.He said these predominantly young male workers from the oil and gas industry are the individuals standing on highways waving Alberta flags and doing the groundwork for the Alberta independence movement."You know, we think of ourselves in terms of our profession, and so do they," Lukaszuk said."They're very proud to be working in the oil and gas industry. But when they sense that the rest of the country is not supporting that industry, when we speak about the industry in derogatory terms, as a 'dirty oil tar sands,' they feel personally insulted.".The trio discussed the federal government's attempts to shut down Alberta's oil and gas industry and the impact these attempts have had on many Albertans who make their living in the industry. They said Albertans felt Ottawa made these legislative decisions without consulting the people most affected.McGuinty asked Findlay, who previously lived in Ontario, to help individuals understand Albertans' perceptions of Central Canada. Findlay said a significant number of individuals in Alberta and other Western provinces think Central Canadians are "ignorant to how things work in Alberta" and "how much the industry in Alberta contributes to the whole country."She pointed to the example of individuals who say, "We gave you a pipeline." She said the "we gave" sounds "incredibly arrogant," and "you a pipeline" reflects a lack of understanding of its large economic impact on the national GDP."If you haven't lived boom time Alberta and the decisions that people are confronted with, you don't really understand it," said Leach..Leach shared an experience from speaking at a school in Leduc during an oil crash, when the building was overcrowded with students who had returned to finish high school after pursuing well-paying jobs in the oil industry.He also mentioned individuals who pursued post-secondary education tailored to jobs in the industry."Think of it as people that are just like all of us, or just like your kids, or whatever, following that same path, and then I think we build that empathy," Leach said.Lukaszuk emphasized the need not only to build a new pipeline, but also to have a robust, constructive conversation between the federal government and other provinces."The message that we have to send to Alberta from across Canada is not platitudes, but the message has to be: 'We heard you, and we acknowledge that some of your concerns—not all, but some of your concerns—are valid, and together we need to find an answer to those problems,'" Lukaszuk said."It is a human problem. It is not an economic problem. It is not a political problem. It is a human problem."

Lukaszuk and panellists attempt to help Toronto audience understand the human side of Alberta's independence movement

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