The war in Ukraine, the trucker convoy and the Alberta Sovereignty Act and Saskatchewan First Act have a single common thread. Each is about democracy..Russia’s horrific invasion has laid bare the cynical tools of autocrats. First, make a deal to pacify the people. The Kremlin provided stability and reasonable economics. In exchange the citizens tacitly supported it. But as one Russian said, ‘no one cares (about Kremlin actions) until the coffin shows up at their door.’.Is Canada that different? The ruling party here pacifies voters at the center of the country and in exchange their government is allowed incredible latitude. Ethics violations mean nothing. Unwarranted invocation of the Emergencies [War Measures] Act doesn’t count. Justifying the action using a secret legal opinion and refusing to share it, is somehow acceptable. Trudeau is given a resounding by-election victory. Attacking the oil and gas industry or the prairie farmers? No one cares, that counts..Second, control public opinion. Own the media. Discredit any dissenters. Choose an enemy (Ukrainians) and call them Nazis. But didn’t our prime minister do more or less the same thing, calling the truckers 'racist,' 'misogynist,' who had inappropriate thoughts? Doesn’t he buy off the media? Hasn’t the Trudeau government pursued Alberta and Saskatchewan so vigorously that they have been forced to pass acts to protect themselves? Are they not chastised and mocked incessantly for doing so?.Russia’s actions ares akin to those of Germany in the 1930s. Germany’s new government legitimized hatred and separation by using the term “Untermensch” for those it defined as lower, unworthy people..Canada is not Russia. But Russia wasn’t always this bad. Five years ago, on a trip to Russia I asked some locals why they put up with Putin’s anti-democratic actions. Their response was, “Don’t blame us. We know that your government (Canadian) does lots of the same things and you do nothing.” Democracy requires constant vigilance, even in Canada..Finally, the enviro-energy model of Trudeau and Germany has collapsed. Based on energy production scarcity and punishing taxes, it was to force conversion to renewables. Instead, renewables didn’t work and it became a source of impoverishment. The energy deficiency was filled by foreign tyrants. The money they made from that they used to suppress their own people and invade other countries. Environmentally, they don’t care. We just off-shored our environmental responsibility and threw innocent people under the bus..The Trudeau government smugly disregards all these lessons. With no structural checks and balances in the federal government, the constitutional sovereignties of the provinces are the sole means for us on the prairies to bring reality back to the country..Therein lays our hope. Prairie voices can’t chastise Trudeau directly. But they can repudiate his actions and coincidentally stand up for global democracy. Elections in Manitoba and Alberta will give us that chance..Further, the three provinces are considering a proposal to build a utility corridor to Hudson Bay, with indigenous support. This is a new enviro-energy model that offers all democratic countries resource security along with environmental responsibility. It would starve tyrants of the funds to conduct their atrocities against people and nature..The coffin arrives at our door in 2023, but it’s an economic coffin. The left-leaning parties have so far indicated their support for Trudeau and his impoverishing enviro-energy model. Supporting right-leaning parties will repudiate both Trudeau’s undemocratic ways and his bankrupt energy model. The indigenous corridor would unite the prairie economy and get it back on track..In one vote we can say no to Trudeau, help our economy, support domestic democracy and stand united for freedom and responsibility across the world..2023 will undoubtedly be a big year for the prairies. It will define our future..Randy Royer is an Albertan entrepreneur, and author of 'Alberta Should Lead, Not Leave.'
