While I absolutely support Paul St-Pierre Plamondon's call for Quebec independence, I would love to see the sentiment carried across the other provinces. Plamondon is the leader of the Parti Québécois. And, while minions in Finance Canada were polishing up yesterday's federal budget with its ongoing (and under-appreciated) cultural support for la belle province, he was calling for a third referendum on independence. The Government of Quebec is no stranger to deficit budgets of course, having itself dropped an $11 billion clanger just last month. However, paying the freight is a cause for another day.For now says Plamondon, it's the ultimate chance for Quebecers to “secure their language and culture” amid the “existential threat from Ottawa." That's interesting. While the call for independence is challenging for some, we forget that independent states have greater freedom to form alliances and trade agreements with each other than they do as “fellow-provinces.” The healthy competition is good for everyone. As an example, while the European Union (of independent nations) seems to have fallen under the hand of unelected bureaucrats in Brussels, there was a time when simple trade arrangements and freedom of travel between European countries worked incredibly well. And, as we watch African countries step away from their colonial past and take ownership of their natural resources and responsibility to develop their local economies, we can expect these young nations to thrive. Unfortunately, here in Canada, the Western Provinces continue to be treated as a colony of the East, plundered for our resources with not much in return. While the various independence movements have been filled with a lot of bluster and frustration from separatists bashing the federal overlords in Ottawa, I think it's time we gear-up and start painting a picture of what sovereign, independent states could look like across Canada. It’s time that we start painting a beautiful picture of what sovereignty could look like. There is, after all, limited appeal to a “protest movement” and only the brave and absolutely determined take the risk and stand up for what matters. These heroes will go down in history for sure, but now is the time for the silent majority to get involved and start shaping what a sovereign province or state could look like. This will mean getting behind leaders who are advancing policy and legislation that moves us in that direction and then having early adopters in business and local governments building on that new legislation and policy. Many of us witnessed the re-forming of previous provinces into their own independent states in our time. The Soviet Union, for example, was a large country that spanned eastern Europe and northern Asia. It was made up of 15 republics, each with its own ethnic group and language. But, in the late 1980s and early 1990s several of these republics began to push for independence, leading to the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Czechoslovakia was a country in central Europe that was created after the First World War. It was made up of two main ethnic groups, the Czechs and the Slovaks. In 1993, the country split peacefully into two separate countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Yugoslavia was a country in southeastern Europe that was created after the First World War. It was made up of several republics, each with its own ethnic group and language. In the 1990s, several of these republics began to push for independence, leading to the eventual breakup of the country into several smaller countries, including Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo. The statement by Paul St-Pierre Plamondon on his pledge for a third referendum on independence has sparked an important conversation about the future of Canada. It is time for Canadians to consider the potential benefits of independent states having greater freedom to form alliances and trade agreements with each other. In our lifetime we have seen the re-forming of many countries and it could be argued that none of them had the economic opportunities, strong governance and natural resources that we have in Alberta. Jonathan Baynes is the newly-appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Alberta Prosperity Project
While I absolutely support Paul St-Pierre Plamondon's call for Quebec independence, I would love to see the sentiment carried across the other provinces. Plamondon is the leader of the Parti Québécois. And, while minions in Finance Canada were polishing up yesterday's federal budget with its ongoing (and under-appreciated) cultural support for la belle province, he was calling for a third referendum on independence. The Government of Quebec is no stranger to deficit budgets of course, having itself dropped an $11 billion clanger just last month. However, paying the freight is a cause for another day.For now says Plamondon, it's the ultimate chance for Quebecers to “secure their language and culture” amid the “existential threat from Ottawa." That's interesting. While the call for independence is challenging for some, we forget that independent states have greater freedom to form alliances and trade agreements with each other than they do as “fellow-provinces.” The healthy competition is good for everyone. As an example, while the European Union (of independent nations) seems to have fallen under the hand of unelected bureaucrats in Brussels, there was a time when simple trade arrangements and freedom of travel between European countries worked incredibly well. And, as we watch African countries step away from their colonial past and take ownership of their natural resources and responsibility to develop their local economies, we can expect these young nations to thrive. Unfortunately, here in Canada, the Western Provinces continue to be treated as a colony of the East, plundered for our resources with not much in return. While the various independence movements have been filled with a lot of bluster and frustration from separatists bashing the federal overlords in Ottawa, I think it's time we gear-up and start painting a picture of what sovereign, independent states could look like across Canada. It’s time that we start painting a beautiful picture of what sovereignty could look like. There is, after all, limited appeal to a “protest movement” and only the brave and absolutely determined take the risk and stand up for what matters. These heroes will go down in history for sure, but now is the time for the silent majority to get involved and start shaping what a sovereign province or state could look like. This will mean getting behind leaders who are advancing policy and legislation that moves us in that direction and then having early adopters in business and local governments building on that new legislation and policy. Many of us witnessed the re-forming of previous provinces into their own independent states in our time. The Soviet Union, for example, was a large country that spanned eastern Europe and northern Asia. It was made up of 15 republics, each with its own ethnic group and language. But, in the late 1980s and early 1990s several of these republics began to push for independence, leading to the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Czechoslovakia was a country in central Europe that was created after the First World War. It was made up of two main ethnic groups, the Czechs and the Slovaks. In 1993, the country split peacefully into two separate countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Yugoslavia was a country in southeastern Europe that was created after the First World War. It was made up of several republics, each with its own ethnic group and language. In the 1990s, several of these republics began to push for independence, leading to the eventual breakup of the country into several smaller countries, including Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo. The statement by Paul St-Pierre Plamondon on his pledge for a third referendum on independence has sparked an important conversation about the future of Canada. It is time for Canadians to consider the potential benefits of independent states having greater freedom to form alliances and trade agreements with each other. In our lifetime we have seen the re-forming of many countries and it could be argued that none of them had the economic opportunities, strong governance and natural resources that we have in Alberta. Jonathan Baynes is the newly-appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Alberta Prosperity Project
