The song remains the same…
June 13, 2005 · By Jon Koch
If you are still wondering what is coming down the pipe politically for the West after reading this recent column by Charles Adler, and light of this breaking news on bourque , look no further than this offering from Macleans.
Be afraid Alberta. Be very, very afraid.
Having read the Macleans article, I find it very reminiscent of pieces that were churned out pre-NEP by this same magazine in the late ’70s. Why Alberta becoming “wildly rich” and “powerful” warrants a feature piece in the first place is puzzling. Ontario has been similarly rich and powerful for decades, but apparently they have not posed enough of a threat to the Canadian way lately to warrant a feature piece in Macleans.
As an aside, even the magazine’s accompanying artwork takes one back to the late ’70s- early ’80s when Ontario politicans would wax on about the price of crude and how it threatened the national interest, all the while portraying westerners as a collection of rubes, hayseeds and “Blue-eyed Shiekhs.”
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was Gordon Kesler himself, come back from obscurity to wish a heart-attack upon Paul Martin and les boys.
Thanks, JF. Here’s how Adler’s piece ends:
“Is there an advantage to westerners becoming a block party? You bet your sweet bippy! Paul Martin is willing to yield on policy to any party that is not threatening to replace him. If you want Paul Martin to give you stuff, just ask for it. Just don’t tell him you will defeat him in the next election. When Paul Martin and Jack Layton shared the same hotel key at the Royal York, Jack never threatened to eat Paul’s lunch. He just asked the prime minister to give him part of yours.”
Don’t know how to take the Maclean’s piece. Their new editor, Ken Whyte, is one of the good guys, but he’s gotta sell product out East, so you never know.
I agree with Adler’s sentiments as well.
However, while national parties accomplish nothing for the West, I’m not sure a regional one is the answer either.
Having a coalition of provincial movements, free to work with whomever they want to get what they can for their province is the future of federal politics.
The Liberals made the rules, we might as well play by them.
As for Macleans, I thought the tone of the article was ok, but it was certainly setting the scene for a scenario that will leave Alberta in the depths of an early ’80s like depression faster than you can say Allan MacEachern.
Max: Meanwhile, Goodale says productivity is down, which means Ontario’s productivity is down, because it sure as hell isn’t down in Alberta. Since he’s already committed himself to the NDP, he’ll likely savor an NEP equivalent.