EDMONTON — Some Albertans believe Alberta independence means starting over and building a new country from scratch, but Renew Alberta wants individuals to understand there is another option. "We were just frustrated by what we saw going on, and we recognize that this is the one shot that we have to make a change," said Renew Alberta's President Matthew Rowley in an interview with the Western Standard. "So, Renew Alberta, we looked at it, and we said, 'You know what, I don't hear enough voices that are saying the messages I think are important.'"Rowley and Renew Alberta joined the Alberta independence fight to help Albertans realize that independence does not have to mean creating a whole new system of government within Alberta; it can mean a return to what has been dismantled. "I have a deep love and a value for many aspects of what Canada was, and especially how our structure is," said Rowley, who holds a PhD in Political Theology. "I don't think that everything is broken permanently. I think much like when your car breaks down, you repair it, but it doesn't mean you throw away the car and get a horse.".Canada was founded on the principles of Peace, Order, and Good Government, under the British Westminster Parliamentary system."We do believe, or did believe, in Canada, in good government," Rowley said. "A government that is fundamentally good, where the question isn't just, 'Is this constitutional?' but 'Are they making good laws and governing well for the benefit of normal Canadians?'"However, Renew Alberta believes Pierre Trudeau and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms have diminished those values and turned Canada into a shell of what it was founded to be."Since Pierre Elliot Trudeau and his constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Canada has been twisted and broken, and it is at this point irreparable," Rowley said."The damage has been so great that it can't be brought back without bringing Alberta out of it and showing the way to be the true Canada that used to be present all across the country.".Early Canadian leaders recognized that every human has inalienable rights, but Rowley said the Charter changed the mindset, making it seem as though the government granted individuals rights and had the power to interpret what they meant.He points to Supreme Court rulings, such as the 2018 decision to allow law societies not to accredit Trinity Western University because of their policy requiring students to abstain from sexual intimacy outside of a heterosexual marriage, as examples of how the Charter is stripping away inalienable rights."Or you go back to the old rulings on things like abortion, euthanasia, the right that every single government employee must be unionized," Rowley said. "All of these things, they use the Charter of Rights to say that up is down and down is up, and you have to do it."This structure aligns with a power shift away from the Westminster system, where democratically elected officials governed and had the final say, and instead gives courts the power to make decisions and laws."We see over and over again that the charter has been used as a weapon to force a very progressive and, frankly, a destructive agenda upon Canada," Rowley said."And it has broken down the old beliefs that we had of peace, order and good government, and replaced it with a situation where we cannot even rely upon the courts to adjudicate fairly.".Renew Alberta is advocating for Alberta's independence to preserve Canada's foundation before it is too late.They want an independent Alberta functioning under a traditional Westminster Parliamentary system, built on Peace, Order, and Good Government, on which Canada was founded."We're not advocating for the destruction of all that Canada is, or the way our system was, Rowley said. "We're saying that we need to go back to a previous time before that drastic change was made in Alberta and across Canada."They are not running against existing Alberta independence campaigns, nor will Rowley or his group run for office; in fact, Rowley said he believes the UCP is capable of leading Alberta.Renew Alberta wants to educate Albertans about the opportunities associated with independence and reach out to individuals who are clinging to the idea of Canada."We just need to encourage people not to fear and not to let nostalgia for a Canada that no longer exists distract them from the future that can be possible for Alberta," Rowley said.He believes Canada's founders and those who fought to defend the country would be sick to see what Canada has become."I think our ancestors who died would be shocked and appalled to find that in their name, people are waving a flag and saying that we have to support the things that are going on in Canada today or we're disloyal," Rowley said."I think they would call us to a loyalty to the principles that they believed in, and not merely a certain flag or a certain government."
