CALGARY — Recent reports showing that leaders of the Alberta independence movement met with Republican officials in Washington, DC, in the hopes of receiving US support have led to widespread criticism from the federalist side of the debate, with Jason Kenney being the latest to let loose on the issue.The former Alberta premier took independence leaders such as Alberta Prosperity Project co-founder Dr. Dennis Modry to task, saying the idea of offering up Alberta’s natural resources to the US in exchange for assistance with independence is “bananas” and would help undermine investor confidence in the province.“It’s having a dampening effect,” Kenney told reporters in Calgary on Tuesday.“I have not talked to any investors who have decided not to come to Alberta because of the separatist noise, but rather, they’re watching it to see if it gets real, to see what happens in this vote.”The Globe and Mail recently reported that Republican Party operatives had been on the ground in Alberta this year to assist the independence campaign and that when leaders of the movement went to Washington, they met with the State Department and offered up key provincial assets such as access to fresh water and oil royalties in exchange for helping with the transition to independence.Kenney described the reported trip as “part of the unhelpful noise” surrounding the independence campaign as it goes into its final weeks before the October 19 referendum..Kenney urges Albertans to reject independence after Parti Québécois victory.“It’s just bananas that you would have a private citizen who’s never been elected dog catcher going down to the superpower’s capital and telling the US State Department that the putative future government of the Republic of Alberta is going to give them our water and our oil resources in exchange for currency and debt forgiveness,” Kenney said.“This is Monty Python-esque. It’s so absurd.”However, Modry disputed Kenney’s characterization of what took place during the meetings, telling the Western Standard that the discussions involving Alberta had been taken out of context.“That’s not what happened at all,” Modry said.“I was at every meeting, and nothing of the sort was stated.”According to the Globe, Modry — a former heart surgeon — said independence representatives brought a document to the Washington meetings outlining potential benefits of Alberta sovereignty for both Alberta and the US, which included potential American access to Alberta’s agriculture, fresh water, forestry, mining, and precious metals.“We just brought up water as a possible issue,” Modry told the Globe, adding that the document put into writing “the potential benefits of Alberta sovereignty to the United States of America and to Alberta.”“Does the US need more water? Can Alberta provide some more water to them?”.Alberta Prosperity Project unveils independent Alberta constitution draft .Modry confirmed to the Western Standard that he drafted a framework document before the first meeting to help guide the discussions.However, he maintained that the discussions did not amount to offering Alberta’s resources to Washington in exchange for US assistance.Asked who the independence delegation met with in Washington, Modry declined to identify the officials, saying those involved had agreed to keep their identities confidential.“We were sworn to confidentiality on that,” he said.He also said he was not aware of anyone in the Alberta government knowing about the delegation’s trip beforehand.Kenney stated that the reports about the US meetings should give Albertans considering voting for independence on October 19 as a protest against Ottawa a reason to reconsider who is representing the movement.“I just hope the folks in the send-a-message camp, these frustrated federalists, skip a beat and say, ‘Are these really the people I want representing me?’” he said.“It underscores how bananas this whole thing is that somebody would have the temerity to do that.”
