Pardon our disbelief but did NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi really just challenge Premier Danielle Smith to call an independence referendum? Yes he did, saying Smith was 'childish,' 'risking national unity,' and if she felt that strongly about Alberta rights she should call a referendum and quit if it failed. A referendum on Alberta independence you say Mr. Nenshi?Don't threaten us with a good time! (Read about it below.).Nenshi says Smith should call independence referendum after she threatened national unity crisis .What Mr. Nenshi chooses to ignore however, is that if national unity is at risk, the fault lies not in Alberta. Rather, it rests with a gaggle of Liberal politicians — now led by Mark Carney — who for nearly ten years have tried to strangle Alberta's energy industry by all means legal, (and by some means later ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada.)What Smith was doing is what she was elected to do — to stand up for Alberta, when the federal government oversteps its bounds. Unfortunately and through no fault of her own, it has become a full time job. It is possible of course that Mr. Nenshi feels that the federal assault over the last ten years on Alberta and its energy industry is entirely reasonable, and therefore sees no need to caution the federal government: Industrial development and wealth-building are hardly core socialist values. Whatever he thinks, he will not find this is a vote-getter. However Smith has been entirely consistent since elected, in her determination to stand up for Alberta to an assertive Ottawa.And so it was that yesterday, she drew the line for Prime Minister Mark Carney.There needed to be oil and gas corridors, with guaranteed access to them for Alberta. C-69, the so-called 'no pipelines act,' already ruled unconstitutional, needed to go. The ban on tankers in BC waters needed to be lifted; why was it fair to ban tankers in BC, but not in the St. Lawrence? The EV mandate — the goal of outlawing the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035 — needed to be scrapped. There was not enough generating capacity and for the same reason the goal of net zero carbon emissions had to be retired.And as the federal emissions cap is actually a way of capping production, that needed to go too..McTEAGUE: Don't let the Liberals fool you on electric cars.So what about it, Mr. Carney? If you are elected, you have six months.There are people who have never voted anything but Liberal. There are also Canadians who are wilfully blind. Nobody else however, could seriously believe Mark Carney will betray his core beliefs and renounce his green crusade, just to get elected prime minister of Canada.Members of his own cabinet certainly don't believe it. While Mr. Carney was having his conversation with Premier Smith, hinting on Thursday to her that perhaps the emissions cap was negotiable, his environment minister (Terry Duguid) confirmed in Ottawa that a future Liberal government would continue with it.As Premier Smith said today, "Which is it?"The surprising answer is that Mr. Nenshi may actually be right. If the Liberals under Mark Carney did indeed win a fourth term, perhaps it would be time for the Government of Alberta to take the pulse of the people and be guided by it.For it is clear — utterly clear — that Mr. Carney is not about to change. A little adjustment to Liberal messaging pro-tem perhaps... a hint here there, a thoughtful ambiguity there and with surreptitious nods and winks to his supporters, introduce some tactical grey areas for the duration of the campaign... that he can do.But, Mr. Carney has devoted much of his career to his 'war on carbon.' He has tirelessly organized like-minded bankers to restrict finance to oil and gas companies. He has scared investors by peddling the idea that given time, they'd lose their shirt on energy. Since 2019 he has done so in the name of the UN, as its climate ambassador. And since 2020, he has closely advised the former Trudeau government.It's who he is. Now, he is perhaps only six weeks away from the power to do everything he has ever dreamed of.And that would hurt Alberta, deeply.Smith drew the line right where it needed to be drawn. If national unity is the issue, it cannot be built on the institutional disrespect of eastern Canada for Western Canada, and of Alberta in particular.We need to insist upon the powers given us by the Constitution. Should that ever be necessary, it's good to know we have the NDP's support.
