Hundreds of years ago, William Shakespeare wrote the phrase “what's past is prologue,” meaning the past sets the stage for current events..This is important to keep in mind when considering Alberta’s options in its conflict with Ottawa..Many Albertans still believe Canada’s political system can be reformed so the province’s voice could be heard in the national government. Indeed, some are working towards this goal even now. Let’s get more representation for the West in Ottawa, they say..This is a noble goal for sure, but one that will never be achieved. There is a long history of Albertans trying unsuccessfully to reform the system. In this context, then, “what's past is prologue” means that current efforts will be just as fruitless as before.. Stan WatersSenator Stan Waters from Alberta, Canada's first elected senator. .Consider the campaign for a Triple-E Senate described by Preston Manning in his 1992 book, The New Canada..As he explains, during the conflict between Alberta and Pierre Trudeau over oil pricing in the mid-1970s, Premier Peter Lougheed created a Citizens’ Advisory Committee on the Constitution to make recommendations to the provincial government..Gene Dais, a University of Calgary professor of constitutional law, was on the committee..Dais convinced other committee members the representation of regional interests in the national government could be improved if the Senate became an elected body with an equal number of senators from each province. As a result, 'Senate reform' became a priority for the Alberta government..In 1981, the Canada West Foundation published a significant proposal for a Triple-E Senate entitled, Regional Representation: The Canadian Partnership. It was written by Dr. Peter McCormick of the University of Lethbridge, Gordon Gibson, a former executive assistant to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, and Senator Ernest Manning, a former premier of Alberta..Subsequently, an Alberta Committee for an Elected Senate was created to promote the idea in 1983..As Preston Manning writes, “Bert Brown, a farmer and political activist from the town of Kathyrn, was elected as chairman. Ted Byfield coined the shorthand phrase ‘Triple-E’ to summarize the committee’s Senate reform proposals. When interest in the committee’s work spread to Saskatchewan and British Columbia, its name was changed to the Canadian Committee for a Triple-E Senate.”.The Alberta Progressive Conservative Party endorsed the Triple-E Senate proposal at a 1984 convention and in March, 1985, the Alberta government’s Special Select Committee on Senate Reform called for the government to officially embrace the Triple-E Senate concept.. Senate seats by provinceSenate seats by province (source: WikiCommons) .After Don Getty became premier in 1985, he committed his government to support the Triple-E Senate. Indeed, in 1988 he appointed a Senate Reform Task Force to promote the Triple-E Senate concept to the other provinces..Getty’s support for Senate reform led to Alberta holding Canada’s first Senate candidate election in October 1989, which was won by Stan Waters of the Reform Party. Prime Minister Brian Mulroney reluctantly appointed Waters to the Senate..Then, in 1993, the Reform Party — with a slogan of “the West wants in” and a commitment to the Triple-E Senate — won 52 seats in the federal election. From a Western perspective, it looked like the Triple-E Senate idea was on a roll..But it was not to be..Why not?.Because the federal government does not care what reforms Alberta wants for the political system..Federal elections are won by parties that get a majority of votes in central Canada. Therefore, all federal governments in Canada prioritize the concerns of Ontario and Quebec. This is how Canada works..Alberta is a bit player on constitutional matters and its proposals can safely be ignored by Ottawa. This is what history demonstrates.. GUEST COLUMN, ROB ANDERSON: Independence if necessaryEarly days... Preston Manning and Stephen Harper in the Reform Party .University of Calgary political scientist, Roger Gibbins, accurately describes the situation in his 1992 article, Alberta and the National Community..As he writes, “From the early institutional radicalism of the United Farmers of Alberta and the economic radicalism of Social Credit through the Senate reformers of the last decade and the Reform Party of Canada, Albertans have again and again challenged the constitutional and institutional organization of Canadian political life."."What is striking, however, is that the Alberta challenge has had little if any impact on the national scene. The national preoccupation with Quebec has been so pervasive and so complete that Alberta initiatives for institutional reform have gone all but unnoticed.”.Consider the historical lesson carefully: Alberta’s initiatives to reform Canada’s political system go 'unnoticed.' Alberta has no political leverage to create the change it wants..That was true with the Alberta PCs in the 1980s, the Reform Party in the 1990s and it’s still true today. The lesson of history is that Alberta’s campaigns for institutional reform have always failed..There’s a popular saying that “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Think about that when you hear people advocate for Albertans to support constitutional change as the answer to the province’s problems with Ottawa..Instead of once again pursuing fruitless constitutional reform efforts, Alberta should hold a referendum on independence..This option would finally put Alberta on a path towards solving its problems within Canada.
