'SHARED VALUES': Keith Wilson says Alberta closer to US than Ottawa ‘climate cartel’

CALGARY — Lawyer and independence advocate Keith Wilson appeared on US conservative political commentator Glenn Beck’s show on Tuesday, arguing that Alberta has both the legal pathway and growing public support to break away from Canada.The St. Albert-based lawyer is one of the most vocal supporters of Alberta independence and told Beck that western Canadians are increasingly concerned about Ottawa’s policies and the direction of the country.“We've lost our freedom of expression up here, at least the freedom of the media to have these serious discussions,” Wilson told Beck.“But people are alive to what's happening and increasingly concerned, at least in the western provinces for sure.”.The appearance comes as Wilson is preparing for a pair of high-profile debates with former Alberta premier Jason Kenney on the question of independence , set to take place in both Calgary and Edmonton next month.Wilson argued that Canada is unique among Western nations in having a defined legal framework for a province or region breaking away from a country, citing a 1998 Supreme Court of Canada ruling — the Reference re Secession of Quebec — which addressed whether the province of Quebec could unilaterally secede from Canada under constitutional or international law.According to the independence advocate, a clear majority vote on a clear referendum question would trigger negotiations between Alberta and Ottawa, including discussions over assets such as national parks, military bases, and pension obligations.“Alberta needs to go into a meeting room with the federal government and the other provinces and say, ‘All right, we've got national parks... We've got military bases... We'll pay you, the federal government, a certain amount of money for those bases and national parks and you owe us this much money for our pension plans and other things,’” Wilson said.He did, however, add that independence advocates such as himself were “very concerned” about whether “the parties didn’t enter into good faith negotiations,” adding there is also the possibility of a “unilateral declaration of independence” which would depend heavily on international recognition.Wilson also suggested recent foreign policy decisions by Prime Minister Mark Carney could bolster the possibility of international recognition for breakaway regions and states going forward..'FREE ALBERTA': Rob Schneider voices support for independence movement online.“Carney came out without consulting with our House of Commons and announced that the government of Canada would unilaterally recognize the independence of the State of Palestine, even though it doesn't have any borders or anything else,” Wilson stated.“We sat here in Alberta watching this, and said, ‘Wait a minute. Our prime minister just renewed and refreshed this international concept and international law regarding other nation states giving recognition to breakaway states,’ and we're on a path to follow that route.”When pressed by Beck if independence was realistic and if the level of support for it was there, Wilson responded by highlighting Alberta’s role in supplying a massive share of US oil imports and other critical resources such as fertilizer and helium, adding “Your neighbour to the north, Alberta, wants to become your best friend” and that Albertans are fed up with Ottawa’s “harmful policies.”“We have the third largest reserves of oil and gas in the world. The world needs our products, but these guys in Ottawa, they're all part of the climate cartel crew,” Wilson said, reiterating that Alberta and the US are “culturally aligned.”“We have shared values,” Wilson said.“[Alberta has] far more shared values with the United States and Americans than we do with these leftists in Ottawa.”

'SHARED VALUES': Keith Wilson says Alberta closer to US than Ottawa ‘climate cartel’

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