Is that Alberta’s crude oil, which is found in and under Canadian lands, or is it Canada’s crude oil that is on and under the soil of the Province of Alberta? Does ownership transfer to the companies that dig it up, process it into a pumpable liquid form, and market it to whomever will pay the asking price?
Does paying taxes to Alberta and Canada enhance that ownership, or does that have anything to do with the oil, just the consent to do business in Canada? And in Alberta. Who sets the market price for this liquid gold found, in this case, in Alberta, Canada? Well, the customer does, and in this case, the United States is our largest customer. Sorry, I have not yet established that it is ‘ours’ or ‘Alberta’s Danielle Smith’s’ oil.
We won’t even get started on who owns the wheat and canola. Just because farmers grow it on Saskatchewan/Canadian soil, ship it on public roads, rails, and boats to countries like China, does that mean the Federal government can diddle with tariffs on canola when China stops buying our rapeseed because we put a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese EVs when Don and Elon asked us to?
Ownership aside for a moment, there is of course some arrangement involving the money that covers the costs of the right-of-way for pipelines to the borders or tidewater. Since some of said pipelines cross other provinces, we will assume that this is a Federal jurisdiction, so we do have some skin in the game. But do we, as a whole country, have the right to set tariffs or taxes on products, once natural resources in their native form, when the provinces and private companies also have skin in the game?
Did Duggy have the right to set his temporary one-day export tax on his electricity; does Danielle have the right to not set a tax/tariff on her oil; does Scott have the right say nay on potash retaliatory tariffs; does Premier Ebby have the right to say yea or nay to diverting BC rivers to California and American transport trucks using his roads to Alaska?
One can appreciate that the premiers are trying to protect their constituents and businesses within their borders, but is this not exactly what has happened in the past with our inter-provincial trade barriers that are costing the nation billions of dollars in lost revenue? Where are the inter-provincial trade barriers, the very reason we are now struggling as a nation to present one consistent, cooperative, united face against the US tariffs? Isn’t this why some premiers and people do not trust the Federal government to handle tariff relief programs?
And isn’t this exactly what Donald Trump, the current President of the United States, wants us to do? He is as crafty as a rabid fox. Wait. He is as rabid a fox. Sorry foxes, I apologize. His grade 3 bully tactics are working. Diplomacy will never work with a person like him. All he wants is to get us in front of a TV camera, and being flexible, not being confused, change the subject, the item under discussion, and play to his MAGA audience who drank his Kool-Aid.
One hopes that our new, albeit possibly temporary, Prime Minister does not go to Washington until we get this annexation thing off the table. Maybe the next meeting should be in Ottawa – without TV cameras so the President can use his colourful, beautiful, adjective-filled language. We could give the felon a temporary one-day pardon to visit the true north strong and free. Kudos for Carney’s plan to visit France and Britain in his first week – not going to Washington until Donny stops his annexation threats.
We should get one thing straightened out here at home: who has the constitutional authority to apply tariffs on items coming into our country; and who has the authority to apply counter-vailing measures to protect our businesses and workers? If Duggy and Danielle are going to make their own rules that affect the rest of the country, they, especially Alberta, will become targets for people like Donald.
Maybe the Prez will be satisfied with annexing Alberta and Saskatchewan? Or does the Dominion of Canada have to haul them back into the Confederation? United we might be able to hold onto our sovereignty, but squabbling amongst ourselves is making us all vulnerable.
And for those who have not been keeping up, Donald says we can keep our flag as the State flag. The song, however, has got to go. It seems odd to me that he has not said if we could keep our own Canadian State money. You know, loonies, toonies, colourful bills, pretty coins. Probably not. We will have to go back to counting pennies again. Pennies, because we will likely only get 50 cents American for our beautiful Canadian dollar.
Another fine mess you have got us in, Justin! Or was that John Diefenbaker and all those PMs who followed him? Just asking.
