Should a referendum on separation from Canada occur in Alberta, it should not be put forward without costs assessed.
Do you want to leave Canada knowing the new sovereign state of Alberta will have to set up all the things the federal government does? Alberta would need a new mint and currency, a pension plan, employment insurance, a Bank of Alberta, social security numbering, military, police force, passport and immigration office, food inspection agency, transportation and air traffic control, diplomatic corps, and a host of other agencies now controlled federally.
Make no mistake here: Canada will be telling Alberta what they may retain. There will be severe costs to starting up these new departments. We won’t receive the fairy tale amount of the Canada Pension Plan our current government claimed in the past. We would have to ship our oil by a pipeline owned by Canada—unless 100 per cent of our product is shipped to the U.S. If the U.S. becomes our sole customer, they will dictate the price.
I could see a situation where our newly formed Alberta government would say the cost of setting up an entirely new government is not sustainable, so let’s just become the 51st state. Kiss healthcare goodbye! Private healthcare in the U.S. costs an average of $25,000 a year (USD) for a family of four, with a deductible of $10,000 (also USD). Not to mention the host of other baggage that will be included as being part of the USA. You might not even get statehood—maybe the U.S. would require Alberta to be a protectorate, like Puerto Rico or Guam. Or we could move to the top of the list, replacing Greenland or Panama.
We may have problems with our place in Canada, but the best way to solve them is in Canada. Dissolving our union will only increase our problems—or bring worse ones. It is all too easy to just say leave, and by doing so, believe we will have all our problems solved. Leaving Canada is a complicated thing. It can’t be addressed without forethought and planning. An assessment of the costs, with a lot of thought about the impacts, will be in order. “Do you want to leave Canada?” is much too small a question. Anyone who guarantees a quick fix with no problems is lying to you—or hasn’t thought it through.
Mark Graunke, St. Albert
