Hon. Jay Hill is a former Conservative MP and cabinet ministerA few days ago, I had a discussion with a widely respected western businessman, and good friend, about the current independence movement in Alberta and Saskatchewan. I was intrigued by his thoughts about how we might advance the goal of greater western autonomy at this time in our history.We agreed that, despite the gallant efforts of many, for far too many years, the flame for fairness has been repeatedly ignored and snuffed out, again and again. The harsh reality is, if an insufficient number of westerners don’t take the issue of independence seriously, why should eastern Canadians?Unsurprisingly my savvy friend raised a couple of points during our conversation that I have been gnawing on since. The first was nothing new, although for at least two reasons it has become more time sensitive.First is the disastrous state of Canada and the fact that the federal Liberal government continues to chart a continuous course towards nationwide ruin. Unsustainable levels of debt and immigration, exorbitant taxation, plus insufficient and unaffordable housing to name but four of the disastrous Liberal policies destroying our future. Not to mention their ideological, and nonsensical restrictions of our oil and gas industry …Canada’s economic golden goose that funds their outrageous so-called equalization!Despite Mark Carney replacing Justin Trudeau as our nation’s leader, it is clear he intends to maintain the worst of Trudeau’s devastating legacy. Western Canadians holding out hope that Carney meant what he said during the election when he professed an epiphany, copied much of Poilievre’s Conservative platform and completely reversed his long-held positions on several key issues, primarily as it pertained to energy and the environment, are slowly coming to realize that nothing has changed.In fact, during a speech two weeks ago at the 20th EU–Canada Summit in Brussels, Belgium, he reverted to his long-held beliefs to talk about the things he refused to talk about to Canadians during the election. "Carney explained to his EU friends what he has planned for Canada. He outlined his priorities for climate action, committing Canadian taxpayers to a 'new world order' of carbon taxes, decarbonization goals, and net zero policies (the same policies that have endangered Europe’s energy security).”So, if the West is going to actually “do something” …time is of the essence. We must move swiftly before Canada collapses on multiple fronts.The second reason for urgency is fueled by the fact that the American president has clearly shown he has his own timeline and objectives when it comes to dealing with Canada. We do not need to look any further than his recent showdown with Carney over the ill-conceived Liberal Digital Service Tax (DST) to understand that he plays bilateral hardball. Nobody should be surprised if he again threatens to suspend all trade negotiations until Carney abandons supply management protectionism. Especially now that he knows how quickly Carney capitulates.The first point then is to remind, educate and urge westerners to become engaged and motivated to face the reality that change will not come without some risk. Remember, the East is not interested in offering a long-term agreement with the West to establish fairness and equity. We also must face that our reality is truly a choice between the status quo and independence. Those advocating for change, no matter what form it takes, must not allow the timid to win.The second idea was new to me and is also dictated by timeliness. While we agreed that Premiers’ Danille Smith and Scott Moe should be commended and supported for presenting their checklists of demands to PM Carney and his retread administration, more must be done.Serious or not, the US President has been continuously talking about Canada becoming the 51st State for months. We know and agree that is a non-starter for the majority of Canadians, westerners included.However, what about an arrangement short of becoming Americans? What about some form of “sovereignty association” with the United States rather than the ROC (Rest of Canada)? Could there be an opportunity to negotiate a unique formal relationship with the USA, similar, but distinct from, their territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands?My friend’s idea is, wouldn’t it make sense for our two premiers to also be engaging with Washington as well as Ottawa? A serious proposal for a workable bilateral alignment from the Americans would at a minimum cause the ROC to seriously consider our premier’s submitted lists and perhaps even have a genuine discussion about constitutional reform.Anyone who has ever been involved in agriculture knows the power of an auction. There’s nothing like a competitive bid to quickly determine the fair market value of livestock, equipment, product, or land. Or the net worth of Alberta and Saskatchewan. At the very least two competing offers from the Canadian and US governments could be presented to our western citizens to choose from.Now wouldn’t THAT make for an interesting debate, and referendum question?Hon. Jay Hill is a former Conservative MP and cabinet minister
