RED DEER, AB: Nearly 400 people are gathering in Red Deer, Alberta for a two-day conference discussing potential Western independence. The Freedom Talks Conference marks a change in tone from early Wexit rallies towards laying an intellectual and political foundation for the movement..The conference’s speakers include John Robson and Lorne Gunter, Leon Craig, Barry Cooper, Prem Singh, Marco Navarro-Genie amoung others, while Stockwell Day and Maxime Bernier are expected to made the case for reformed federalism..The thrust of the conference is to analyze the case for independence, and to lay out a course as to how it could be achieved..University of Calgary professor Barry Cooper said even if Western provinces voted for independence, Ottawa would likely refuse to recognize it, necessitating a unilateral declaration of independence..“Either we’re serious, or we’re whining,” said Cooper..Edmonton Sun columnist Lorne Gunter told the conference that a successful independence movement will require a credible leader and its own political party..Alberta Can’t Wait leader Prem Singh – who organized to merge the PC and Wildrose parties – criticized Premier Jason Kenney’s plan for a Fair Deal Panel as “out of touch,” and “too-little, too late.” Singh said there’s no point in Alberta following Quebec’s path without threat of an independence vote, which she said should be scheduled in mid-to-late 2020..More to come….Due to a high level of spam content being posted in our comment section below, all comments undergo manual approval by a staff member during regular business hours (Monday - Friday). Your patience is appreciated.
