麻豆传媒AV

Alberta and Saskatchewan must take immediate action to prioritize local jobs and obtain greater autonomy within confederation.

A global pandemic has, inconceivably, led to even greater attacks on our people and industries.

We were already facing an international energy strategy designed to bring us to our knees. Our farmers are facing greater trade barriers. To top it off, we are enduring federal policies hamstringing our ability to grow our traditional and emerging industries and welcome the world to our borders. 聽

Vigorous efforts of four generations towards a fairer federation have yielded nothing. The federal government continues to favour central Canadian provinces in policy decisions because it is to their political advantage.

The cumulative result is economic and social challenges fanning the flames of separation like nothing in our history. It is your duty to start taking steps towards a fair confederation immediately.

Here is what we recommend as the most important initial steps:

A Fair Formula for National Transfers: No longer being subject to confusing, unfair and unresponsive transfer programs like equalization and fiscal stabilization. We will no longer disproportionally support the rest of Canada.

Instead we will reinvest more of our own dollars in our provinces for better health care, education, green technology, social supports and economic diversification.

Possible Timeline: Referendum on Equalization by the end of 2020.

An Alberta Pension Plan: Modelled after the Quebec Pension Plan, an Alberta plan to keep payroll taxes low, since our workers are younger than the rest of Canada. Lower payroll taxes will help us attract more businesses and jobs here as well.

Saskatchewan should also consider joining to create a shared Buffalo Pension Plan.

Possible Timeline: Mid 2021.

Provincial Tax Collection Plans: Creating high-paying jobs that otherwise would be in Ottawa while starting to assert control over the distribution of taxes generated in our provinces.

Possible Timeline: By the end of 2020.

A Review of Trade and Immigration Policies: To attract new people and investment to our borders, we need to determine how Alberta and Saskatchewan could unilaterally negotiate our own international trade deals and immigration policies apart from Ottawa鈥檚 control.

Possible Timeline: By the end of 2020.

The Buffalo Corridor: Create unobstructed port access for landlocked Alberta and Saskatchewan with fibre optics, transmission lines, roads and pipelines.

Hostile government policy has restricted our constitutional right to tidewater markets and threatened our way of life.

Possible Timeline: Investigate unilateral options to establish the corridor and present a plan for use of federal commerce power by spring 2021. 聽

That鈥檚 why we鈥檙e asking all leaders from municipal, provincial, Indigenous, non-profit, union, community, business, media and more to get on board and release a public statement supporting urgent actions for a stronger and more independent Alberta and Saskatchewan.

In summary, our identity and way of life is under attack in Canada. Our heritage as traders, innovators and keepers of the land is slowly being destroyed.

Together, we can curb the risk of separation and ensure a solid economic and social foundation for our 5.5 million people and those across our nation. Alberta and Saskatchewan are the envy of the world. We need to act decisively now to keep it that way.