The Critical Compass

In our full interview with @miss_tanyac, Tanya explains how she finds herself at the forefront of a grassroots citizen advocacy campaign, how her rural upbringing shaped and informed her thoughts on independence, and how one-on-one conversations, engaging the "middle third", and overcoming fear through education is what will ultimately win the day for Alberta independence. youtube.com/watch?v=wPcX8u…

@JimmyBianchi No it literally cannot. Albertans have been trying for half a century.

@thecritcomp You realize that BC, Sask and Manitoba all have very similar concerns. Eastern Canada also has issues. The current constitution is older than I am, getting it changed and modernized could be done without a damaging referendum.

1. Albertastan already HAS access to the West Coast, Canada is under Zero obligation to give Albertastan MORE access to the West Coast. 2. Please ask Ukraine, Rwanda, Sudan, Iraq, Iran, Syria or Palestine how effective the UN is.

Never forget what the federalists truly think of us Albertans fighting for a better and more prosperous future for our families.

@eldritchsolar @jkenney Mmm yes keep demonstrating that famous liberal empathy and tolerance!

@thecritcomp @jkenney We could carpet bomb the separatists and still be in good standing with the international community. No one gives a fuck about you

One of my all time favourite separatist arguments. 👌 The UN will come to Alberta’s defence! UN blue helmets will be dispatched to BC to force the construction of pipelines! And this comes from folks who believe the UN is irredeemably corrupt, and see a “globalist” plot hiding behind every tree. 🤯

@JimmyBianchi Oh yeah well just lobby the provinces to happily vote away their meal ticket! Why didn’t we think of that!🥴

We don't, and we could have addressed that. Premier Smith could have lobbied the other Provinces to open the constitution and make changes, but Rath and Co wanted to put a gun to everyone's head and force his performative horse shit down the provinces' throat. Not only will it fail, it will set Alberta's bargaining position back 40 years.

@2ndTierFan @jkenney We’ll see!

@thecritcomp @jkenney I live in Alberta and my determinations are just as valid as yours if you live here also. And separation talks absolutely scare away investment. You’d be deluded to think it doesn’t. And the upcoming vote is just to decide if it’s even worth having a 2nd vote. Entirely useless.

Of course it would not be in the commercial interests of the federal government to suspend shipments on Trans Mountain (TM.) But that’s not the point. The point is that in a worse case scenario, such as an Alberta unilateral declaration of independence (UDI,) Canada would have enormous leverage, including the ability to block Alberta energy exports. This is most obviously the case re: federally-owned TM. Apart from their ability to reduce or stop shipments, do you really think the federal or BC governments would continue to advance Trans Mountain optimization, which is currently the best bet that we have for increased egress? Do you really think the federal government would maintain its MOU commitment to support the construction of a de novo West Coast pipeline? Even if it wanted to, federal paramountcy over interprovincial pipelines, grounded in 92(10)(a) would cease to exist following secession, so BC governments could find ways to block operation or construction of pipelines going through their territory, with Alberta having no recourse to Ottawa. Currently all of our pipelines exports to the US pass through other Canadian provinces first. That includes the incomplete KXL route, which passes through Saskatchewan. Since the Republic of Alberta would be starting without an equivalent to the 1977 Canada-U.S. Transit Pipelines Treaty, Ottawa could also suspend the operation of those other pipelines, e.g. the Enbridge Mainline. Canada and BC could also extract further concessions (eg tolls or tariffs) in order to allow Alberta natural gas to feed into the growing number of West Coast LNG terminals. Separatists respond to these realities by saying “don’t worry - we’ll build pipelines to the US and export from there!” First of all, who is “we?” What companies are going to risk tens of $ billions to spend years building a new system of pipelines in the midst of such massive political and legal uncertainty, including the risk of a Biden style abrogation of pipeline permits by the US? Secondly, the separatists seem completely unaware that the left wing US West Coast governments have effectively blocked the export of carbon intensive fuels from their ports. That’s why US produced thermal coal is exported from the Port of Vancouver, BC. Strange but true: Canada’s West Coast ports are far friendlier to hydro carbon exports than West Coast US ports! All of this (and much more) effectively gives Ottawa the clear upper hand in prospective negotiations over everything, e.g.: -debt allocation; - valuation & sale of federal assets (such as military bases, RCMP facilities, federal lands, including airports, etc.;) - allocation of CPP assets; - continuation of OAS / GIS benefits; - termination of citizenship; - visa and work permit exemptions for Albertans travelling to Canada; - export access to the Canadian market; - partition of Alberta per the predictable demands of democratic majorities in Edmonton, Calgary, Indian Reserves & elsewhere;) - support for or blockage of Alberta’s accession to critical international bodies & treaties, like CUSMA, or IATA to allow for international flights, etc.; and - countless other issues. I agree that exercising its massive leverage in such a scenario would be damaging to Canada. But it would be far more damaging to Alberta. Whatever grievances Albertans have with Ottawa cannot be remedied by becoming a landlocked statelet. The vast majority of Albertans know this. It is beyond absurd that we are going to spend the next several months, and possibly years to come, arguing endlessly over this.

Holy shit. No wonder @jkenney is so shit scared of Alberta seceding!

@jacobmulro16819 @jkenney 🤖 👋

@thecritcomp @jkenney Shut up. Just stfu. Stop with this pick me bullshit. Flip flopping narrative where we pull info from any fucking source and tailor it for our own self gain agenda no matter how fucking outrageous the claim is. You people are the most pathetic humans ever. Just sad.

You actually have no idea what the majority supports because we haven’t voted on it yet. That’s why you and people like you are so scared by the prospect of :) And yeah keep going with that one, the prospect of softened regulations and fake environmental policy is really going to scare away heavy industry investment 😂 “No valid reason” bro we’ve got a hundred reasons and it’s not up to you to determine which ones are “valid” or not

@2ndTierFan @jkenney In reality what is going to happen is that Canada is going to do the smart thing and not try to play tough guy with a population that has rejected their authority.

@thecritcomp @jkenney It doesn’t matter if the US recognizes Alberta or not. We already have transit agreements with the US. Even if it was financially worse off, it would still void any attempt at a blockade. Again, the rights to transit are not automatic. Good luck with those negotiations lol.

Incorrect, UN membership of the landlocked state is irrelevant to the obligations of the UN member transit state. You're absolutely dreaming if you think US transit routes are going to be a financially viable option for an obstinate Canada lol. The Americans will recognize Alberta's sovereignty well before they negotiate a surely hideously exploitative transit agreement with this hostile Canadian government.

@thecritcomp @jkenney No it wouldn’t. Alberta would have to be recognized first and the rights for UNCLOS have to be negotiated with the transit countries first. By all means look it up. Alberta has no leverage. Canada can move goods through the US and bypass Alberta.

@yegwave Based

Carter Hart, a professional hockey goalie from Sherwood Park, Alberta, currently playing with the Vegas Golden Knights, was seen wearing a ‘Free Alberta’ shirt.

@CrumpetGoat @JJ_McCullough Keep strawmanning our movement as just a bunch of hateful bigots! Keep that head buried in the sand so you can pretend you don't have to contend with any of our very real and legitimate concerns.

@JJ_McCullough From the same ditchbillies that have passed down the hate and fear from generation to generation. When I was a kid I moved to a small town after living across Canada in different spots, and it was like the residents passed down insecurity and hate to their children. No different.

Billboard advocating Alberta separation... from 1980.

@JJ_McCullough Wow interesting I thought it was just ONE GUY who is interested in Alberta secession, JJ? Looks to me like this is a decades-long discussion that has had no real resolution and Albertans have finally decided we've had enough.

@CanadianModera1 OMG Mike are you spreading the unfounded, baseless, racist conspiracy theory of replacement migration? That liberal Western governments are flooding their countries' urban centres with politically indebted migrants to consolidate and solidify power via manipulable voting blocs?

@kevin_inalberta Quebec are the structurally disadvantaged oppressed marginalized folx while Albertans are privileged colonial beneficiaries of hegemonic systemic inequalities

In DEI terms: Québec is equity-deserving. Alberta is not.

Quebec sovereignty vs. Alberta sovereignty Quebec wants special treatment, and threatens independence, but not a clear independence, a special "Sovereignty Association". National outpouring over how special Quebec is. Loses independence referendum. Gets special treatment. Albertans want equal treatment, and threaten independence - on a clear question, by the people, not the politicians. Grasroots, not politically led. National outpuring of scorn telling us to know our role. Clear petition for referendum on independence gets thwarted by the courts. Our request to ask a question of our population becomes instead asking the population if we're allowed to ask them that question. National outpouring of scorn continues. No suggestion of ever getting equal treatment or addressing the iniquity. Massive campaign of fear, uncertainty and doubt designed to demoralize. You can't leave, we won't let you. Stop whining, you inbred ditchbillies. You're already rich, how dare you complain. So far, this movement toward an independence referendum is nothing like Quebec. Let's hope the outcome is different, too - and Albertans succeed.

So well said!

@kevin_inalberta Extremely well said. The sophisticated literary explanation of this meme