Articles of the Month

Government vs. Alberta

This article may be biased in some aspects for this reporter is an Albertan and the Kyoto accord, if passed, will greatly affect my family. In the long run, perhaps the Kyoto accord would have great benefits for our country as well as the earth; we may even save the planet from pollution. But it all comes down to the economy. Alberta is the Canadian province that would be affected the most. It may be the Federal Government's way of proving how much they dislike Alberta. While discussing and setting up the Kyoto accord, Alberta wasn't contacted and our well-being wasn't taken into consideration. Sure Alberta may be the richest province, but we make our money through what the Kyoto accord is trying to demolish such as the oil in Alberta. If the Federal Government cared about keeping their country united then perhaps they might have considered creating an environmental accord, one that benefited all in this country by not sacrificing thousands of jobs and still meeting the actual goal of preventing global warming.

This is not the first time the government has played with the economy in Alberta. Who has not heard of when Pierre Elliot Trudeau introduced the National Energy Program, stripping Alberta of their wealth, causing oil mines and factories to dry up? Alberta was robbed of useful money, money that would help with healthcare and education today.

Quebec has tried to separate for years and if the federal Government doesn't start taking into consideration the value of Alberta, then perhaps Alberta will join in the fight for freedom. And in the case of Alberta, the abandoned province would be more than capable to support itself. Alberta is considered to be the 51st state of the United States of America. We are the most Americanized. Any talk of Alberta separation will most likely be held off until the verdict on the Kyoto accord comes to pass. It is then that we shall see if Canada will remain 10 provinces and 3 territories, or if Canada will lose a very valuable part of this country.