'THIS IS ON PEOPLE'S RISK REGISTER': Liberal MP warns Alberta independence is worrying investors

INNISFAIL — A Liberal MP says a new Calgary Chamber of Commerce survey should serve as a warning about the economic risks surrounding the Alberta independence debate.Corey Hogan (Calgary Confederation) told reporters at an energy announcement in Innisfail on Thursday that even simple talk of the October independence referendum was causing businesses to reconsider investing in Alberta.“In some ways [the survey] quantified something that we were all feeling and all knew,” Hogan said.The Chamber's report released on Wednesday found that of the 137 Chamber members surveyed earlier this month, nearly two-thirds of respondents said talk of independence is already harming their operations, and 74% saw no tangible benefit to leaving Canada.Hogan said the findings reflected concerns he has encountered while meeting with potential investors and political figures in Europe and the United States, where independence is becoming an increasingly hot topic."You talk about the benefit of investing in Alberta and the benefit of investing in Canada, and you're ready to extol all of the great things we have, all of the ingenuity, all of the natural resources, and people say, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, but what about separatism? What's going to happen with Alberta? What currency are we going to use in Alberta? What does it mean to invest in Alberta in this particular environment?'” Hogan said."This is real. This is a conversation that is happening. This is on people's risk register.”.Alberta business leaders back Canada, warn against independence 'lunacy'.The Chamber's survey found that 48% of responding businesses would contemplate leaving Alberta if it took the next step toward holding a referendum on independence.While Hogan acknowledged not every business expressing concern would relocate, he warned that even a fraction doing so could inflict massive damage on Alberta's economy."Are all 48% going to do that? I don't know. I think we all know in life that sometimes people say things they probably don't do,” he said.“But even if it's even half of that, God, that's damaging. It's damaging to our economic prosperity. It's damaging to our social fabric. Imagine the job losses that come with something like that. Imagine what we lose if something like that comes to fruition."Hogan also cautioned Albertans that using independence rhetoric against Ottawa as a bargaining chip may backfire, citing the history of the sovereignty movement in Quebec and warning that prolonged political uncertainty can have significant economic consequences.“It's incredibly important as Albertans we consider that this is not a risk-free conversation. This is not a way to just apply pressure,” Hogan said.“Ask the people of Quebec how just applying pressure has worked. Look at what happened in the 1970s. There is a reason the Bank of Montreal is not headquartered in Montreal. I'll just put it like that.”

'THIS IS ON PEOPLE'S RISK REGISTER': Liberal MP warns Alberta independence is worrying investors

Related Stories

'PROJECT IN THE NATIONAL INTEREST': Corey Hogan says Ottawa awaits Alberta's pipeline proposal

Alberta independence group says Ottawa poses bigger economic threat than separation debate

Calgary Liberal MP calls on Alberta federalists to use their voices in defence of Canada

Kenney & Liberal MP team up against Alberta independence