HANNAFORD: Can independence solve Alberta's 'Ottawa problem?'

“Be careful what you wish for.” If you are one of those Albertans who say, “Let's vote for independence and then see what sort of a better deal we can get out of Ottawa,” you’re playing a dangerous game, says Erika Barootes, tonight’s guest on Hannaford.."It could be very detrimental. I mean, we look at Quebec and we have someone that's gone through it and been very, very close, and there was no real roadmap of how you would do that. So you're going through uncharted territory, and that comes with a lot of unanticipated consequences. And we might just be told by all of our colleagues, to get out of here, and then we're on a landlocked Island, you know, with with very little to do. So this is where I think it's very important to be proactive, to explain the "How" to Albertans, and maybe don't always just vote with your sentiment. Look at look at the path." In Edmonton last night, Premier Danielle Smith told a 450-strong Edmonton crowd at an Alberta Next panel, that Alberta has an ”Ottawa problem.”.‘ALBERTA HAS AN OTTAWA PROBLEM ’: Smith, panel hear from the public in Edmonton.The problem was most acutely felt during the almost-ten-years of Justin Trudeau's ministry, as under his leadership the Government of Canada introduced legislation, much of it later determined to be unconstitutional, to limit Alberta's biggest industry, energy development.Ms. Barootes, founding president of the United Conservative Party and now an applied politics expert at Makami College, suggests that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s approach might be more favourable to Alberta than that of his predecessor..However, she emphasized the complexity of Alberta’s relationship with the federal government, defined as it is through consultations with indigenous peoples and interprovincial agreements.“We must understand the challenges and have a clear roadmap if we choose independence, starting with the Clarity Act. What does it look like for decisions of constitutional change? What does it look like for infrastructure? You need a police force, a banking system, a pension.”.Alberta Next panel’s tax collection plan: Here's what you need to know.What about joining the U.S.?“That’s where a lot of people look and they think it’s easier because those things are already established. And like Texas, you can negotiate exemptions from the Constitution."Really?!"I don't get the sentiment that people want to join the US, however. I think that the message is more that we're really frustrated. We feel like we're not respected in confederation. And that regardless of Carney being in office, which is you know, a parting of the clouds after Trudeau, we can't just all of a sudden lean in with false hope or with optimism guiding us, while there are still people that are frustrated and want to see our premier and our province push for more equality in confederation.”.Why are Albertans frustrated?"I think the biggest thing that frustrates Alberta is Ottawa needs to get the hell out of our lane and stick to what their constitutional jurisdiction is. Don't try and jump over the province to deal with the municipalities, like just stay in your darn lane and do what you're supposed to do as a federal government well, and let provinces do what provinces were designed to do. And I think that that would be a big sentiment shift from what we currently are frustrated with. Money's annoying and a grievance, because we see it in dollars and figures, but the true sentiment to feel valued and appreciated would be get the heck out of my house."Hannaford airs at seven o'clock, every Thursday.