Jingle Bells B and T with Alan Jackson

Wexit, Wheatland and Saskatchewan Petitions What Are They?

Wexit, Wheatland and Saskatchewan Petitions What Are They?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsOav7VInOk&t=304s

Three motions or petitions. Each has its own angle, but ultimately do they come with the same end goal? This is the question many would like answered, and rightfully so. Without background knowledge these political nuances, can be hard to understand. How do you sign something you don’t comprehend? Today these efforts will be broken down, in an effort to help people understand, so that educated decisions can be made.

Wheatland County MD, Jason Wilson, presented a motion, that if Ottawa decides to reject or ignore, would force a referendum on Alberta’s Independence. Normally I would summarize it myself, but Dave Naylor of the Western Standard does it better than I could, so I will quote his explanation, which makes it pretty clear. “Therefor be it resolved: The Government of Alberta act on the following recommendations in order to insert Alberta’s constitutional rights within confederation.

1.  That the Province of Alberta withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan and create an Alberta Pension Plan offering the same benefits at lower cost while giving Alberta control over the investment fund. Pensions are a provincial responsibility under section 94A of the Constitution Act. 1867.

2.  That the Province of Alberta collects its own revenue from personal income tax, as the province already does for corporate income tax. There is no reason to have Ottawa collect Alberta’s revenue. Any incremental cost of collecting our own personal income tax would be far outweighed by the policy flexibility that Alberta would gain.

3.  That the Province of Alberta use Section 88 of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Quebec Secession Reference to REMOVE EQUALIZATION from the Canadian Constitution. The federal government and other provinces must seriously consider a proposal for constitutional reform endorsed by “a clear majority on a clear question” in a provincial referendum.

4.  That the Province of Alberta again uses Section 88 of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Quebec Secession Reference to demand Senate reform. Alberta has acted decisively in holding Senate elections. Now is the time to drive the issue further.

5.  That the Province of Alberta start preparing options to replace the RCMP as the province’s police force.  Alberta is a unique province and needs a police force operated, owned, and directed by the people they serve. Like the other major provinces of Ontario and Quebec, we should have our own provincial police force that answers to the Government of Alberta and understands the regional needs throughout the province. We have no doubt that Alberta can run a more efficient and effective police force than Ottawa can.

6.  That the Province of Alberta enter into an agreement with the federal government, similar to the Canada-Quebec Accord, allowing Alberta to oversee its own immigration that depicts the regional, cultural and economic needs of the Province.

Further be it resolved: If the federal government does not deal with these demands in good faith; if they block, hinder, or otherwise prevent Alberta from exercising its rights as outlined above, that the Government of Alberta will hold a Referendum with a “clear question”, as defined by The Clarity Act, on the secession of Alberta from the Canadian Confederation on October 18th 2021.” This motion covers the majority of what westerners, Albertans especially, have been demanding change on. Provincial police force, CPP removal to replace with APP, Equalization removal, senate reform, no federal GST, instead replace with Alberta’s own tax, and control just like what Quebec has already. These are all things that Westerners in general wish for, so glad that Jason Wilson and our team have been able to get more and more counties on board with this, including Medicine Hat. Keep writing your MDs and MLAs to get these things pushed through.

As for the Saskatchewan petition that our group has also put forth, it has the same end goal, just a bit of a different angle that is being taken. This petition asks for a plebiscite for separation from Canada. A plebiscite is, “The direct vote of all members of an electorate on an important public question such as a change in the constitution,” according to the Oxford Dictionary. The change being referred to in this petition separation, though this is not actually it’s end goal. The preferred result of this petition is exactly what the Wheatland county motion is desiring. Wording it this way simply provides another option, should these demands not be met. It gives our political leaders an idea of how important these things are to their constituents. They want to know how people feel and are thinking about the forced government action. Right now, it takes the form of an online petition, which in and of itself, actually means very little, it just acts like a pre-polling before a written petition comes out, which IS significant, as a written petition will hold up in court. The group working on these motions, in part, is the Unify The West Discord group. Once the desired signatures are collected it will become a clear signal to both the federal government, but more importantly the provincial government, as they are the ones with the power in this. Provincial governments hold these referendums, not federal governments, so getting a federal party in place is not necessary, and in fact is a waste of effort, when attention, money and time, could be spent at the provincial level where it really matters. Saskatchewan wants meaningful changes, as does Alberta, and this petition makes that known. It is important for Saskatchewan and Albertan residents to stand up for themselves. Stand up for their rights, demand that they be given a fair shake in the Eastern run country of Canada, or I guess you could call it Eastanada. Have western voices be heard, make Ottawa and our apparently deaf and blind Prime Minister Trudeau, who also seems entirely clueless about country leadership, listen.

The Wexit movement no-doubt has some vested interest behind it coming from the Alberta public. However, upon further investigation the Wexit movement inherently lacks substance, mostly bolstered by empty rhetoric stemming from the concerns and frustrations almost every Albertan and many western Canadians have now in Canada’s history. Let’s start with the leader, Peter Downing, who himself has said that he is easily replaceable, is a former RCMP and Canadian military veteran who has become the face of the trendy western separatist movement[1]. Adopting the popular catchphrase Brexit, which stands for the separation of the British Isles from the EU, Wexit, represents the intended separation of the 4 westernmost provinces of the Canadian confederation into its own sovereign state. [more about Peter Downing] Peter Downing’s goal as a party is mainly and for the most part solely devoted to becoming provincial and federal parties, I encourage you to find out more of the intended platform other than cutting taxes and ending the equalization transfer. In the meantime, Peter Downing and his future party are campaigning across the western provinces hoping to gather enough signatures to be recognized as a political party, approximately 8 thousand are needed in Alberta[2].

Backed by the evidence of pollsters asking Albertans if they would support a separatist movement, a hesitant 60% would vote in favor of separation, hesitant because voluntary polling has its many flaws and biases meaning that those numbers are inaccurate, despite the inaccuracy of volunteer bias the sentiment to separate is present in the west[3].

In respect to this article, this is where the Wexit rhetoric appears unsubstantiated. In comparison to the Saskatchewan Plebiscite petition, which calls for “Alberta firewall” like action yet in relation to Saskatchewan, there are clearly laid out points and objectives that the plebiscite wants to accomplish when bargaining with provincial authorities, however the Wexit petition cries out with the grievance of one issue, how Saskatchewanians are tired of the unfair equalization transfer payment deal the province is locked into[4]. That’s it. In contrast the Sask. Plebiscite which names out the grievances that are had towards the carbon tax, the mishandling of foreign relations by the misguided Trudeau leadership which is negatively affecting the trade of provincial goods internationally, and the poor representation that is had in Western Canada because of the unfair distribution of voter influence in Canada’s legislative assembly, on top of stating how equalization transfers are an unfair agreement for the province in tangible clearly stated terms, not baseless rhetoric relaying the complaints of western Canadians without figures to back up those claims much like is found in the Wexit petition. In the end both efforts seek to accomplish the same end, begin a referendum in Saskatchewan that represents the desire for Western Canadians to be heard in our federal assembly by first separating from it to gain their own voice, so why not adopt the stronger politically minded leadership and forget Peter Downing. Unify the West advocates don’t even want to be affiliated with him anymore, him and his pose’s provincial townhalls are getting tired, spewing the same old empty rhetoric that may have the right conviction but isn’t backed up with the fact minded initiative the western separation movement needs.

Written in collaboration between Tony Peters and Spencer Mathews

https://discord.gg/rBKxjD3 Unify The West Server

https://www.facebook.com/groups/443787693008469/ Unify The West Facebook

[1] https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/is-a-wexit-in-albertas-future,

[2] https://www.narcity.com/news/ca/ab/wexit-alberta-founder-peter-downing-is-touring-alberta-this-month-to-gain-support-for-his-movement

[3] https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/is-a-wexit-in-albertas-future,

[4] https://www.change.org/p/scott-moe-make-a-plebiscite-concerning-saskatchewan-separation?recruiter=934444302&recruited_by_id=b7d5fb10-292a-11e9-8e4c-319e5eb75b77&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=petition_dashboard

& https://www.change.org/p/province-of-saskatchewan-saskatchewan-wexit

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Duet

Family Chipmunk Jingle Bells

Minister of Middle Class Prosperity, Say What?

Minister of Middle Class Prosperity, Say What?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRei0sxRSAk&t=2s

Mona Fortier, a name most people did not know until November 20^th of this year, when she was given two minister titles in cabinet, Minister of Middle Class Prosperity, whatever that means, and Associate Finance Minister. Mona Fortier was first elected in 2017, when she became the first female Member of Parliament for the Ottawa-Vanier region, according to the Government of Canada website. She claims that she has always thought that the best way to help her community, is to get involved and take action. The Government of Canada lists her areas of expertise as “health care, education, job creation, and francophone affairs”. Job creation, ironic, since Prime Minister Trudeau created a cabinet position just for her, a move many seem to suspect is simply to make Trudeau look like he is encouraging gender parity (according to The Star). She has, however, received a number of awards for her community involvement mentioned earlier, including a medal from the Queen in 2012, Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

With a little background on her political career, it is easier to see why she was given a position that one would think would involve job creation and helping people in the middle-class to make more money, or “prosper”. The position has caused a lot of confusion though, as no one, including Fortier, can properly explain what this new, made up position, really is. Minister of Middle Class Prosperity seems like a loaded position. Who determines what middle-class is? Who actually knows what middle-class is? From speaking to various Canadians, they all seem to have differing opinions on what middle-class is. Hence the confusion. Middle-class, really is a very ambiguous term, since there is no clear line of where poverty turns to middle-class. The National Post has stated that the Liberals claim that poverty rates are at an all-time low, yet wonder at how their official party line narrows its focus on the middle class, who, by Liberal claims, are not actually largely at risk of falling into poverty. Why the focus on “Middle-Class Prosperity” then? A really good question. The reason for this, as I see it, would be due to the fact that the East is prospering and have a growing middle-class, yet the west has been decreasing in the number of middle-class citizens, with more and more becoming impoverished daily. As long as the Liberals can bolster middle-class numbers and use this new position to appear to give a crap, they can keep attracting new eastern voters, winning further elections. The same strategy Trudeau has in increasing our immigration numbers.

This can come with consequences though. An example of which is how Canada appears on a global scale and at the country level. Canada has been scoring lower and lower on rankings surrounding equality, due to the battle of food insecurity (National Post). Looking at this though, shows that the real problem is not for middle-class citizens to further prosper, it appears as if the true problem lies in bringing our impoverished citizens out of their poverty. By helping this “class” to prosper, we then do in fact grow our middle-class. Helping our impoverished saves lives, and drives up the morale of the country, something more advantageous than what Fortier’s new cabinet position is designed to do.

Mona Fortier sees her position as fitting into her own personal goals. She claims, on the Government of Canada website, to be focused on environment, business prosperity, and “making life more affordable for Canadians”. Sounds like a line right out of Trudeau’s playbook, no wonder he chose her, cut from the same mold. She also claims that Canada needs “an ambitious plan to build stronger and better communities while growing the middle class”. What this plan is supposed to be, is yet to be determined. Which fits in with the confusion surrounding this position. A Conservative, Melissa Lantsman, states that this is a, “Politically-driven minister with an unclear set of responsibilities.” She suspects that this made up position is an attempt by the Liberal Party to do what they failed to do in their last term, which is to be the party for the middle-class as Trudeau has claimed. With the majority of Canadians visualizing themselves as being part of this class, it really is murky, some stats would place up to %60 of Canadians in this category. Stats Canada defines middle-class as making $25,000-$66,000. In 2017, Stats Canada placed 9.5% or 3.4 million Canadians in the poverty category, which is awfully convenient, since this is the year with the lowest stats in history. Here in 2019 these stats will be higher, since Alberta, Saskatchewan and Northern British Columbia have all been hit hard economically. The Liberals seem to want this to appear to be their way of presenting the issues of the middle class and show off the ways that they are supporting them, even if it is just that, the appearance of helping. Their whole election campaign, once again, was focused mainly on this exact appearance which seemed to work for them, even though their past successes in this was limited.

 Mona Fortier was interviewed by CBC in trying to help people understand what this position means to Canadians. In the interview, Mona even seems to be confused as to what the position actually involves. The hope would be that she will focus her attention on affordable housing, to help those below the poverty line, and bring them into the middle-class category, but this isn’t the feel that is given by her interview. She does claim that her focus will be on making life more affordable for Canadians and to develop the economy. She was asked to put her own definition on middle-class. Which she seemed to give a Trudeau answer by really avoiding the question, since defining it is such a difficult task. Eventually she did come up with an answer. Fortier defines middle-class as, “where people feel that they can afford their way of life. They have quality of life…It’s having the cost of living where you can do what you want with your family.” Which led her to then to re-affirm that the Liberals intend to have a strong economy, which is hard to believe with how they have destroyed and mis-managed the western economy. Prime Minister Trudeau did promise Canadians that the Liberals would make a middle-class tax cut, and Fortier follows this same path, stating that the Liberals will be making cuts for sure. This cut though comes with doubts though, as David MacDonald, of Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, says that the only ones to really find the cuts advantageous is the higher middle-class citizens. Fortier counters this with saying that will have different methods of helping the differing levels of middle-class, including helping people with children’s bills. She states that the upper-class Canadians need to give more money, so they will support those that drive the economy through the middle-class. No real direction or answer came on the question of how they are going to do this, making one wonder if they even have any clue.

The real focus, to which I agree, should be the impoverished portion of our population, and the lower middle-class. The Star has done great research on this, and in a previous article of my own, I also did a lot of research. People are finding it hard to get by, building up more debt than they are bringing in through job income, and this has been on the rise over the last decade especially, but it really goes further back than that. Trudeau and the Liberal Party seem like they are confused as to how to handle this, which explains their disjointed methods of tackling the poverty issue, and explains why Trudeau focuses on middle-class, not impoverished Canadians. Liberals have tried and succeeded in bringing 825,000 people out of poverty. They have made cuts to the taxes that businesses are hit with, and provided more in the form of the Canada Child Tax Benefit. In 2016, they set up the Affordable Housing Innovation Fund, which was supposed to help people get financing for “affordable rental housing projects”. According to the Star the wide variety of projects funded by this, shows a “lack of cohesion”. The fund right now is not taking in applications. In 2017, the government followed this effort up by setting up the National Housing Strategy. As I mentioned in my previous article, this will cost $55 million over the course of 11 years. It is designed to reduce homelessness rates by %50, through building 125,000 homes, renovating 300,000 homes, as well as other means of accomplishing this. In other words, they are aiming, and promising, to “strengthen the middle-class” and create “social housing stability” for those who are in need the most. Whether this strategy works or not remains to be seen, but from the aforementioned lack of focus, doubts remain.

As an attempt is being made here to explain a little about what could potentially be behind the new cabinet position, the views of Canadian citizens must be explored. When the position was announced, people began asking why the Liberal Party would put in a position just for the middle-class, when they are not the group of people in need of financial help most. Kathy Wells tweeted, “How about a Minister of Poverty, Unaffordable Housing and Rising Consumer Debt, Mr. Trudeau?” Another tweet by Gillian Kolla scoffs, “Looking forward to the announcement of the Minister of Thousands of People Homeless Every Night Across Canada.” Rabble.ca had more people commenting in regards to Fortier’s position. Lagatta4 jokingly refers to the position as the “Ministry of Silly Walks”, in reference to Monty Python, then furthers it with saying that, “it is strange to have a Ministry based only on classist bullshit.” More comments continue on talking about the middle-class being thrown some bones, but that this seems like an effort to pit the impoverished against those in the middle-class. An effort to separate them. One person points out the terrible poverty rates in Fortier’s own riding, and how little the Liberal Party has done to resolve the problem. The poster leaves it off saying that it is, “Too bad there isn’t a Minister of Child Poverty.”

Through the article I was hoping to discover for myself what the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity actually means. However, it would appear that everyone, from regular citizens, reporters, up to Fortier herself, who seems confused by the position. I guess time will reveal what the position will entail and what it will hope to accomplish, or if it will even accomplish anything. It may very well be what some suspect, a filler position to make Trudeau look like he has more women on his Cabinet.

Join Our Server: https://discord.gg/rBKxjD3
Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/443787693008469/

Trudeau Considering Supplying Vancouver With Drug Money

Trudeau Considering Supplying Vancouver With Drug Money

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2mQwYeoNOk&t=6s

On Thursday, November 21, 2019, Prime Minister Trudeau had an in-person meeting with the Mayor of Vancouver, Kennedy Stewart. At this meeting, the drug overdose problem was discussed and Mayor Stewart presented a request for $6 million of federal tax dollars to purchase clean and safe drugs for drug-users in Vancouver. Vancouver Coastal Health is the organization applying for the federal funding from Health Canada. They claim that having the safe and clean supply of drugs to provide will prevent, or at least minimize, the fatal overdoses caused by drugs being laced with fentanyl or carfentanyl, according to the Global News article. It should come as no surprise that Trudeau has not refused this request, in fact the mayor has stated that he was “open” and “encouraging”. After the meeting, Mayor Kennedy Stewart had the following to say, “(Trudeau) is open to having conversations and looking to us to lead, with health care professionals, to try and figure out the best solutions.” Which is actually kind of sad and amusing. Our Liberal government is open to using tax payer dollars to fund and enable Vancouver’s drug problem, but they are not willing to help the rest of the West with their economic struggles, nor even listen to Premier Scott Moe about changes that needed to be made. I am sure glad we have a federal party in place that is willing to stand up for Canadians, so long as they are druggies, or Eastern sheep, that way no one has time to think about the bribes and scandals we see from Prime Minister Trudeau, who should be in jail for his crimes.

Stewart also stated earlier that he hates the idea of “western alienation”, blaming it for hindering the drug overdose crisis and the housing crisis from getting the attention he feels it needs. He states, “I feel like we’re being a little bit hijacked by Alberta’s agenda.” As a portion of the west being alienated, we must thank the mayor of Vancouver for continuously thinking only of Vancouver and themselves, rather than thinking of the west as a whole. We in the rest of Western Canada, love the thought of being used and abused, then cast aside when detrimental government policies are implemented. People are starving, committing suicide, dying, and going homeless due to poverty, including our veterans, and yet the federal government and mayor of Vancouver think that drug overdosing in Vancouver is a more serious problem. Yet our Prime Minister talks of speaking and working for the middle-class. What about the fact that the middle-class segment is declining as more people fall into the impoverished categories, including our Indigenous/Inuit populations?

The Mayor has stated that Vancouver still has an overdose death every day, which shows how deep the drug problem goes. Vancouver’s Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. Patricia Daly, also supports having a clean drug supply for Vancouver. City Council has already approved these requests to the federal government, based upon the recommendations of Daly and BC’s Centre for Disease Control. Trudeau had previously stated not being willing to provide this, but now seems “open” to the idea. This year he had stated a focus on treatment, programming funding, safe consumption sites, and methods of preventing harm. Trudeau must feel that providing clean drugs is a form of harm prevention, which it is in theory, except for the fact that it also enables them to stay on drugs longer, since there really is less risk to drug use. Vancouver already has one of the few safe injection sites in world. This has been controversial since it was founded. Opposition states that these sites encourage drug use and bring crime to the surrounding area, which is logical with making it easier and “safer” for addicts to get a fix. The pro side states that it saves lives and helps an addict reconnect to society, enabling them to get health services. Again, they probably do save lives and saves the spread of HIV/AIDS, but a better way to reconnect to society would be to make it harder to get drugs in the first place, not promoting drug use, or providing funds for clean drugs.

At these safe injection sites, addicts are provided with clean injection supplies, to avoid disease spread, health care, in case of overdose, which comes in the form of staff providing breathing masks, naloxone (antidote for overdose), information on safe injection, and drug addiction information, as well as several other health services. These sites do prevent deaths, proof in the fact that no death has ever been reported at the Vancouver facility. Keith Humphreys does research in addictions and teaches psychiatry at Stanford University. According to NPR Health News, Humphreys supports finding better tools to combat the drug crisis, but he also states that although supervised injection sites don’t appear to be harmful, they have not actually shown a decrease in deaths due to overdose, likely due to the users of these facilities not solely using the facility. The Vancouver facility has enabled 3.6 million injections, and has saved more than 6,000 overdoses, having no deaths since opening in 2003. The facility, Insite, claims that their presence has not increased or encouraged drug use, but the question for them is, how do you know how much a user is actually using outside the facility? And how do they know how much the addict used before they located the facility? Insite has claimed that overdose rates around the site decreased, yet the city still claims that the overall Vancouver rates are remaining steady. They also claim that people using the facility are less likely to utilize actions that could lead to HIV, and are more likely to use drug detoxification, using treatments like methadone, yet still we have not seen a decrease in drug use. Insite prides itself in being a “non-judgemental place that accepts them for who they are”, according to NPR Health News. Is this really a good thing though? Yes, judging addicts is not the way to implement healing, but enabling the drug addiction, encourages and makes it easier for them to continue using illegal drugs. Vancouver has actually seen a reduction in drug overdoses this year compared to last year. Suspected OD deaths were 7/week in 2018, according to Vancouver.ca, yet the last couple weeks of October this year only saw 2 and 4 suspected deaths. The year 2018 saw 387 confirmed OD deaths, compared to this year’s 182 up to the end of August. A dramatic decrease in deaths, without the funding Vancouver is requesting.

If Vancouver is the focus of drug prevention, what about the rest of Canada? According to CCFA, Canadian Centre for Addictions, drug abuse has been growing in Canada and to fight the problem is quite costly, costing taxpayers $22.8 billion per year through treatment, policing, and equipment. Over the last decade Canada has seen an increase in drug production exponentially, especially in the categories of producing ecstasy and methamphetamine. This has also led to increased crime, gang influence, and violence. These drugs have been making their way around the world, particularly Australia, the US, and Japan. The supplies used to make these illegal drugs come in through our Toronto and Vancouver airports, through countries like Mexico and India, although they are originating from China. With Canada’s large borders and coastlines, it is difficult to prevent these drugs and their supplies, from making it in and out of the country. Canada also has fairly lax drug laws and the enforcement of these laws are laughable, being exploited by drug traffickers. The problem continues in the form of new and unique drugs making it into the country, drugs our addicts are not used to having access to, which results in more overdoses caused from these new forms of drugs. Canadian citizens will now be forced to deal with the consequences of a federal government that has allowed an easy path for increased illegal drug industry activity. Crimes related to this industry will continue to rise, until something is done. Crimes like gang violence, drug seizures, and general crimes to supplement the cash of addicts to purchase increasingly expensive drugs. Dealers start users off at a cheap rate, increasing it slowly as the addict needs more to meet their body’s demand.

With these facts in mind, a conclusion can be formed. Canada’s federal government should NOT be using tax payer dollars to fund the purchase of “clean” drugs. Enabling an addiction does not help an addict heal and reform. It will encourage problems with addicts demanding more and more. Last I checked, these drugs were still “illegal”, though so is indecent exposure, but that law is ignored in Toronto rallies. Here is an idea, instead of blowing millions of tax payer dollars on “safe” injection sites, and considering giving clean drugs to Vancouver, our government could invest that money in drug prevention, and enforcement of our drug laws. One can argue about the money saving overdosing lives, but isn’t prevention a way to save lives as well? Canada needs to strengthen our border security measures, make laws surrounding illegal drug use and supplying have harsher punishments. Focus hard on seizing drugs and tracking down those making them. Put more funding into drug rehab programs, and research programs or methods of helping people stay clean. Don’t use my tax dollars to supply drugs for an industry that is illegal. To allow this funding of clean drugs, would be just another criminal act by Prime Minister Trudeau, but he already knows that there is no one who is able to hold him accountable. Since when has our Prime Minister ever cared about what the law states?

Join Unify The West Server

https://discord.gg/rBKxjD3

Join Unify The West on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/443787693008469/

Keep Foreign Aid Money in Canada?

Keep Foreign Aid Money in Canada?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDVZr7z2KVo&t=12s

In North America we have a tendency to want to help out the world. This in and of itself is a great and wonderful thing, as there are many less-well-off countries. The question presented then, is one I have heard a lot lately, since the economic downturn in Western Canada. Is Canada helping other countries at the cost of our own citizens? This is what will be looked into more fully in this article. It is a complicated and tough subject, let us see what the facts tell us and then you can let me know in the comments what you think. First, we can take a look at the Foreign Aid facts and stats, then a couple of places where the funds could go if they were kept at home. After looking at both options you can then decide which option you think is best.

In the 1950’s Canada started to realize that foreign aid was a necessary part of being a cog in the global neighbourhood. Thus, began the foreign aid funding and helping out many developing countries over the years. The percentage of the federal budget spent on foreign aid each year varies, somewhat based upon tragic events across the globe. According to Canada’s Foreign Aid Facts, in 2012 the budget for foreign aid was $5.67 billion, which worked out to 2.5% of the overall budget. Then in 2014 it was $4.9 billion, but if we fast forward to 2018, we see a budget of $6.1 billion, which is an increase of 8.9% from the $5.6 billion in 2017 (according to Canadian International Development Platform). The amount of money spent each year seems to be climbing, but where is this money actually going to? If we take the stats from 2018 and break it down we find that 33.8% went to some of the world’s most impoverished countries, 1.8% was provided to low-income countries, 18.2% can be accounted for lower mid-income places, and the rest has gone to sources that were not based upon the countries income status. If a closer look is given, certain countries consistently receive aid, sadly some of which ends up confiscated by corrupt groups or leaders, when this happens it is often terrorist groups stealing the shipments. The region that received the most money in 2018 was Africa with 38.7%, then Asia with 31%, South/North America 11.6%, and Europe 2.6%. Afghanistan is the country receiving the largest share of foreign aid, with $254 million received last year. If you want to check out these facts/stats and more, just check out the CIDP site as mentioned above.

Now that the numbers are clear, how are these dollars being spent? Foreign Aid money goes to a wide variety of areas. Humanitarian Aid to assist in times when disaster strikes, then governance and infrastructure, an example of which would be helping countries rebound, rebuild, and form proper governments after war. Refugees and debt relief take a big chunk of foreign aid budgets. Transportation, energy sectors and the environment fall into another portion of the budget. Education, health services, sanitation, and the general populations are an essential part of foreign aid efforts. Then setting up economic stability through supporting agriculture, finance, forestry, fishing, trade, and industry building, help countries fix their financial issues. All of these areas are important around the world with so many countries struggling to scrape by and recover from disasters and war times. The question then becomes are we ignoring our own citizens who are in need of these exact same services?

Foreign Aid money is important, but we do have many areas in our own country that fall into these exact same categories, yet we send the money overseas instead. I would also question why we are sending money overseas in a time of deficit and economic struggle in more than half of the country. One area that could benefit from added resources/financing, is the Canadian health care system, which I won’t spend a lot of time, as much of health care spending/funding comes from the province itself. According to CIHI-Canadian Institute for Health Information, the 2017 health spending was around $242 billion, which makes the foreign aid budget, seem like a drop in the bucket. One could still point out that the extra billions could mean a lot of extra equipment or research funding for hospitals, research centers, and universities. Which could ultimately save more Canadian lives, or at least extend life spans over the years of funding adding up. The issue comes when one looks at the huge increase in health care spending over the years, some can be credited to inflation, but certainly not the majority of it. The year 2000 saw a total of around $100 billion spent, while a jump to 2011 sees $200 billion spent, a fairly significant increase in spending. Much of this can be attributed to the baby boomer generation starting to become our elderly population, as well as an increase in those being affected by diseases and illnesses. The increase in spending, makes it seem like this may be a good place to be placing the foreign aid money, if it were to be kept at home, here in Canada.

The other area that could use the extra funding is our housing and homelessness. It needs to be understood that there is no one clear solution for homelessness, it takes a wide variety of approaches, not all government funded. This is a subject that is growing in importance for the country as a whole, but especially Western Canada, with the sabotage of their economy. Homelessness strikes many various demographics of Canadians. Let us look at some of the numbers according to The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness. 35,000 Canadians are homeless on average per night. More than 235,000 Canadians will experience homelessness each year. Of these groups 27.3% will be women and 18.7% will be youth. Veterans tend to be hit hard by this due to lack of government support programs, and the mental/physical trauma they experience. In total approximately 2,950 veterans will experience homelessness per year. The elderly is another group hit hard. The number seems to be growing each year. Approximately 24.4% of people coming to shelters will be 50 and over. Families tend to stay in shelters almost twice as long as other shelter users, likely due to trying to keep their children safe. Although our country is made up of only 4.3% Indigenous People, they are over-proportionately represented in shelters, 28-34%, a sad and startling number.

Poverty tends to cost Canadians billions of dollars each year. Raising the Roof paints a picture of some of these costs in 2017. Homelessness Partnering Strategy expansion cost $2.1 billion, $241 million was used by CMHC to better their data collection and analytics program, and $11.2 billion over an 11-year period went, and currently goes to, the new National Housing Strategy. The National Housing Strategy funds research/initiatives that prevent homelessness, and they support the construction and renovations to affordable housing in Canada. Starting 2017 $39.9 million over 5 years and after that $6.6 million per year afterwards, will go to Statistics Canada for new Housing Statistics Frameworks. Next there is the $3.2 billion that is being invested in helping provinces/territories build and maintain affordable housing and rent programming. Extra federal land and buildings are now being made available to housing providers in the form of a $202 million investment. Another way that these budget funding are decided by, is looking at the populations that are the most vulnerable. Northern and Inuit communities struggle with housing, as it is so expensive for everything, a $300 million investment was made towards this. Indigenous people living off-reserve often face challenges with housing, so a $225 million investment was made to help housing providers who serve these people.

Since the start of the attacks on Western economics, poverty is a growing trend in Western Canada, according to Canada Without Poverty. 1 in 7 people in Canada live in poverty, but in Edmonton this stat is 1 in 8. Job fears and job loss has increased by more than 50% over the past few years. Who is most likely to fall victim to poverty? Those with disabilities are more than twice as likely. Nearly 45% of the homeless population consists of those who have mental illness or a disability. Children are also twice as likely to land in this category, living in homes that have social assistance. Canada has 1.3 million children currently living in poverty, 1 in 5, or 1 in 2 if they are a Status First Nations. More than one third of our people who show up at food banks in Canada, will be children, and 1 in 7 shelter-users will be children. With single mothers, 21% will live in poverty, compared to 7% of single fathers. As mentioned before Inuit and Indigenous groups fall into this category, and according to people who live on reserves, this has a lot to do with Tribal Leaders and Chiefs misappropriating funds to line their own pockets instead of helping their people that they are set in place to lead. Also as mentioned above, our elderly, are more likely to fall into poverty, 15% of single elders live in poverty. UNICEF has given Canada a rating of 17^th out of the 29 wealthiest countries with children living in poverty and Canada was ranked 26^th out of 35 for child inequality.

A lot of information, and a lot of numbers to mull over. If the foreign aid money was to be used on our own Canadians, it could make a difference in the country’s homelessness and poverty problem. It could provide additional funding for our veterans, indigenous communities, our homeless shelters, food banks, soup kitchens, poverty support, Inuit communities, and health initiatives. However, this would come at the cost of communities around the world not receiving help that they need. I only caution that if we are to use foreign aid, then more thought is needed. Aid should not be going to countries where terrorists will benefit from the assistance being given. I will let you make the call as to what you think should be done with foreign aid, now that you have the information you need. Remember to let me know in the comments section.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/443787693008469/
https://discord.gg/rBKxjD3

Saskatchewan Online Petition Demands Change

Saskatchewan Online Petition Demands Change

Today Saskatchewan has made their voice heard. They want change. Yes, this has been the rally for a while now, but today is different. Action was put behind words. An online petition surfaced this morning asking Saskatchewan Residents to sign. What is this petition? The petition asks for a plebiscite on separation. For those wondering what a plebiscite is let’s explain. According to the Oxford Dictionary, a plebiscite is, “the direct vote of all the members of an electorate on an important public question such as a change in the constitution”. In this matter the change surrounds that of remaining in Canada. Although this is the subject surrounding the petition, it is not necessarily the goal of the petition. Let’s come back to that in a bit.

Is an online petition significant? In and of itself, no. However, it is generally used to test the waters, so to speak, to see how people react to the idea put forth. An online petition usually precedes a written paper petition, which IS significant. An online petition does not stand up in court, but a written version does. In the case of the petition spoken about earlier, this is exactly the case. A written petition has been promised from the group responsible for this, Wexit Discord Administration, who claims to have no part of the main Wexit movement, simply because they claim Peter Downing does not play well with others. This is the very same group who has worked in Alberta with Wheatland County MD Jason, to accomplish the motion to replace CPP with a provincial pension plan program. The printed petition is going to roll out after the lawyers have reviewed the petition. Keep your eyes open for it! Once the petitions have reached the desired number of signatures, it then leads to a plebiscite after it goes through the Chief Electoral Officer and the Lieutenant Governor. According to the Wexit Discord Administration member responsible, in part, for this petition, “The plebiscite would bring the question of separation to a vote, and either start the process of separation or put it to rest. Ottawa is not involved with our laws concerning this.”

At this point it remains to be seen how successful this route will be, but it will give a feeling of how the sentiment and solidarity is in Saskatchewan over the separation issue. The purpose then becomes, a signal sent to Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Prime Minister Trudeau, about just how serious Saskatchewan is about a desire for meaningful change. No more empty promises, the people of Saskatchewan want action, they want results. Premier Scott Moe came back from Ottawa after a final, disappointing visit with Trudeau. Prime Minister Trudeau promised to listen to the voice of Western Canada, and that he would take actions to fix what has happened. A false statement and promise given by a Prime Minister who can’t even accomplish a balanced budget, promising more debt to come. Premier Moe, confirmed everyone’s suspicions when he came back after Trudeau refused to give on even one request from a frustrated Premier Scott Moe, whose party has stated that they will be exploring all options. Which is clearly an attempt to figure out what to do next, how to go about bringing positive change for the people of Saskatchewan. Which assures the people of Saskatchewan that we have not heard the last from our Premier, a man of action. A man who in his action plan put forth today, promises to have meaningful meetings with several countries, that Ottawa will have no part of, Saskatchewan has to make these moves themselves, since we have a Prime Minister who simply embarrasses us overseas, and accomplishes nothing but division.

After this it is important that Saskatchewan stand up for themselves, stand up for their rights, demand that they be given a fair shake in this East-run country. The best way to do this seems to be signing this petition, online first, then more importantly, the written petition. Have Saskatchewan voices be heard, make Ottawa and our Prime Minister, who seems completely clueless as to how to keep a country united, listen. Make them take notice. The cash-cow called Western Canada, ends now. Rally to the Flag of Saskatchewan, the flags of the West, and stand up for yourselves! Western Canada has been trampled long enough!

Take the time to sign the online petition and when the written one is out, sign it. You have the right to be heard and respected, don’t let Trudeau abuse you.

https://youtu.be/NEolQMknTS

Petition: https://www.change.org/p/scott-moe-make-a-plebiscite-concerning-saskatchewan-separation?recruiter=934444302&recruited_by_id=b7d5fb10-292a-11e9-8e4c-319e5eb75b77&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=petition_dashboard

Canada: Censorship Scandals

Canada: Censorship Scandals

Censorship has been a hot topic since the federal election in October. The Wexit movement has complained about and accused Prime Minister Trudeau of using censorship to silence the movement. Silencing has been utilized through the mainstream media bailouts, which has resulted in further biased-media reporting, which paints the movement in a negative connotation. Another tactic used has been paying Facebook to become pickier about posts and use post minimization, to keep anything the Federal Government does not like down low in results. Peter Downing and the main Wexit group have, rightfully objected to this tactic. Censorship goes against everything that Canadians celebrate as freedoms. In Canada, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, and Freedom of Belief, are all held dear, without these rights, the country falls to dictatorship. A sad example of this would be Justin Trudeau and the Liberals taking the Rebel News team to court, in a shameful attempt to prevent them from reporting on political debates. Thankfully, the judge saw through this tactic and scolded the Liberal Party. The Federal government continues to attempt to fool Canadians about the truth of issues, by using media-biased arm-twisting.

Censorship is wrong, despicable, and goes against our constitutional rights. Why would our government be using these tactics? Simple. The Liberal government has shown time and time again, that they believe they are above the law. No punishment, and hardly any attention given to these scandals and acts of fraud that would place any regular citizen in jail, but not so for our Prime Minister. Canada rewards his dishonesty with another term in power, or at least half of our country did. A deplorable moment in our Canadian history. A government so wrought with shady deals, lack of action, favoritism, prejudice, and theft, is an embarrassment to our Nation. This is the reason why they need to utilize censorship. It is also the reason why we see separatism and sovereignty movements growing in popularity in Western Canada.

If this is a tactic that Peter Downing and Wexit hate so much, and have every right to, then they can be trusted to not use these techniques themselves, correct? One would think, but one would also be wrong. Censorship seems to be a favorite tactic of the Peter Downing team. Any questions not liked get silenced and banned, any comments not supportive of his leadership, gets silenced and banned, any suggestion besides exactly what they wish, gets silenced and banned. Get the picture? Well this kicked up a notch when Wexit threw down the gauntlet to any and all groups not Wexit. How was this done? It has been done in a few various techniques. First, they refuse to work with, pair with, or even take suggestions or offers for help, from any other groups working on separation and sovereignty outside of the scope of their rule. Second, through hateful and spiteful videos of groups they disagree with. In their video for the Wexit Discord Administration group, they not only got the ages incorrect for the 2 members they were cyber-bullying/defaming (which an age is basic, takes 2 seconds to look up the real ages), which in and of itself discredits them, but they also just spread lies. In the video, which was posted by Kelly Elizabeth of the Wexit leadership team, they took small voice clips and pieced them together to give a prejudicial and bitter tone to their words. These clips were all taken out of context and not even well-done at that, it was so sloppy and choppy that it could not have been more obvious. This attempt was shameful, spiteful, illegal, and low. Lawsuits for defamation of character may very well follow, and would be warranted. Last checked, cyber-bullying and defamation of character are both illegal.

The final attempt used was in a video posted November 14,2019. In this video, Wexit calls for people to report anyone who is not fully on board with the movement, people who make comments they may not agree with, comments that question their motives, their leadership, or just suggest a different route. The video words it as reporting “questionable content and comments”. Who then determines what is questionable? The Wexit leadership group, that’s who. Well if they get to determine what is questionable, is that really any different than what Trudeau is utilizing? One resident in the West has this to say about the video, "Ok so now I’m super confused. Do you want us to be trying read your posts or look for things for them to get rid of? Sounds so cultish. They don’t want anyone to have an opinion that’s different." Last checked Canada was not run by the Scientology cult. In this cult members are expected to write up a report on any member who says something “questionable”, talks to someone deemed to be toxic to Scientology, and they are monitored closely through Dianetics sessions. In such a session the person shares their shameful sins, and they are used against them later, when they cross the line and are reported, or to force them into remaining, they use it to destroy people’s lives when they leave. I bring Scientology up, because this overly dramatic video put out, is far too alike to the way Scientology controls it’s members. By demanding that members report other members every time something remotely “questionable” comes up, they are trying to manipulate and control the people they want support from. Reporting certain comments is not the problem, it is this request, and the way it is ambiguously worded, combined with past actions, that really brings up questions of motive and control. If the Wexit group wants to keep itself with a better view to westerners than Trudeau, then they had best not model strategies after the likes of Scientology and the Liberal government.

One thing that needs addressing here, and although not on the same topic, is very important. People have been questioning my loyalty. I am in fact a very loyal person. I am loyal to my faith, loyal to my family, loyal to my friends, and loyal to truth and honesty. I am loyal to the West and making changes in the West that will improve the economy, the lives of western Canadians, and the future of our western provinces. I believe in open honesty, trust, and following something I believe in. I fight and work to bring about a brighter future for my children. I am NOT loyal to people who lie, censor, deceive, and who are egotistical. I do believe that we need a leader in this movement, someone who will step forward to guide the movement in the direction it needs. A leader who will listen to the people, who will show more than just a desire to go federal, and can communicate clearly, without spouting hate. A leader who does not make us look foolish through little-thought-filled actions. When we find someone like that, I will be loyal to that person, until then I am loyal the West as a whole, loyal to figuring out a direction that best suits our needs. With that I thank you for reading! Stay safe, stay warm, stay true to your beliefs, stay vocal, don’t let yourself be silenced through censorship at any level. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lscmiUXWq4&t=3s

https://www.facebook.com/groups/443787693008469/

https://discord.gg/rBKxjD3

Downing Tries Censorship

Downing Tries Censorship

 https://youtu.be/D9wQipUDKaM 

Yesterday, an article was published called “Downing Makes Bold Statement”. Here is a link to this article, https://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/2019/11/downing-makes-bold-statement.html. In this article Peter’s statement during the Edmonton Rally is reviewed, to discuss using caution when speaking, as words are powerful. The article also cautions against presenting an image that is unprofessional and can be seen as detrimental to the cause being put forth.

Apparently, my message/article made it all the way to Peter/Eric, in #VoteWexit, mission accomplished. As a result of this I have been banned from the Votewexit Facebook Group. No surprise, only surprise is that it did not happen earlier. No skin off my nose. I ask real questions, that people want real answers to. I do not cow-tow to those who want me to keep silent. I do not hold back speaking/sharing what I feel is important for people to know. Peter and his Wexit group are supposed to be leading us in the West, fighting for a better future, but they do not practise what they preach. If by removing me, you were hoping to silence, here is a little tip, the more you try to silence people, the more power you give that voice. People detect your anxiety and fear of it, then they simply wonder what is behind it, then they do their own digging, their own thinking, and this results in the opposite of what you intended. You will find that the voice is gaining momentum, something detrimental to anyone trying to from their own dictatorship.

Peter Downing himself posted in his #VoteWexit Facebook group, about how Canada needs to boycott Rogers/Sportsnet for the silencing of Don Cherry. Peter believes, as I do, Don Cherry’s comments were not racist, bigoted, nor prejudiced, just simply a truth that our Veterans deserve to be respected by poppy wearing, and some people assumed or knew that they were “You People”, so they took offense where they had to search hard to find it. Well how can someone like Peter Downing preach on something like this, which is the right thing to do, and then proceed to silence other westerners who do not share his view, his ideas, his vision, nor appreciate his lack of leadership? Attempting to silence someone who has helped the movement out with his background work, his articles preaching for a positive change in the West, campaigning for an equal voice in the West, and someone who has always been willing to share ideas. A volunteer, who asks for nothing, except that his voice be given consideration, working to assist in gaining control of our own Pension Funds. All this work, effort, and time spent on a cause he strongly believes in. Yet when he questions the wisdom of Peter’s words and actions, he is cast aside, thrown out for voicing his opinion. Hypocritical? YES! VERY HYPOCRITICAL.

Practice what you preach. If Wexit wants people to follow them, and to follow their example, then they need to set an example by their actions, and through their words. If Peter says he wants people to act one way and that people should be treated one way, he needs to should show them how to do just that. By talking about Don Cherry’s freedom of speech being impeded, and wanting people to take action to fight for his right to speak the truth, then perhaps they should not shut down the voice of others. When a person questions someone else’s leadership skills, and questions the actions and words spoken by this person, shutting them out is not how to handle it. The proper way to handle this situation, is to simply apologize for any irresponsible actions and the hateful words that were uttered, be humble and admit a mistake happened. In the article Peter was given this very opportunity, and he was offered forgiveness for his comments. Peter, instead of an apology or acknowledging his mistakes, simply chose to shut out the person asking. Sound familiar? Sorry, have to pause for a second to think about why that sounds so familiar… Oh right! Trudeau does this very same thing! Peter Downing has accused Trudeau of using biased media to attack #VoteWexit, which IS accurate. CTV, CITY TV, and CBC are among the many news outlets in Canada to be bought off by Trudeau. Why are Peter’s actions any different? They aren’t, simple as that. He is using the little bit of power he has, to shut up anyone who asks or speaks what he does not like. This is not the first time for Peter either. He did not like that his old right-hand man, Pat King, did not agree with him in on the Federal Politics route, and he told him as much. Pat King presented the option of working on a constitution, Downing responded after the disagreement of banishing Pat from the movement. Pat was not silenced, instead he became more outspoken, he could be heard during the rally shouting for a constitution, in which Peter had to respond by adding in that they would look at a constitution. Nice save. Maybe uninformed people will assume that this was in fact Peter’s idea, but readers/viewers, let me tell you this, it wasn’t. Downing will not ever hesitate to steal credit for someone else’s idea or efforts. He did this with the group Wexit Discord Administration as well, with their efforts to assist Alberta in leaving the CPP program to start their own provincially run Alberta Pension Plan, the same group that is working on this in Saskatchewan, as well as many other behind the scenes efforts, which includes discussions with our Native population.

Among many other smaller groups working to implement change in the West, give more power and strength to the West, Wexit Discord Administration group, had been trying to work with Wexit, but has been shot down many times. Instead, Peter Downing and Eric Wall have chosen to take the low road. They refuse to work with other groups, wanting to maintain the full control for themselves, but gladly take the ideas of these groups to claim as their own.

Peter’s perceived power, is far less than he thinks, but with an egotistical person, this is normally the case. They envision themselves as being the only one who can do something, to admit otherwise, would be to admit that they are not the only person who can accomplish things. A true leader knows how to delegate, work with others, and how to give credit where credit is due. When interviewed by Ezra of Rebel News, he was asked about whether he would hold a leadership convention to find a leader to take over the federal party, he seemed flabbergasted by this question. Confused that someone feels that he should not assume leadership without vote. Canada is not a dictatorship, but a democracy. Canada may need to do a lot of work to fix the flawed democratic system that it uses, but it is a democracy nonetheless.

Peter has been asked many times for comment and has always simply ignored, not even refused comment, just ignored the real questions. What he seems to want is sheep to follow him. People who don’t want to think for themselves, just be told the way things are going to be. People who never question. The question, “sound familiar?” bears asking again. The answer remains the same. It sounds familiar as it is, Trudeau likes these kinds of followers as well. Thankfully, though banned, I still have many friends still in his group, so I can continue to call him to task. No one is allowed to ask serious questions. Keep your head down and follow Peter without question. Yes sir, of course sir, as you wish sir. Sheesh, thinking people are not robots. The truth is, however, that free thinking is not acceptable. If it was, then people who ask serious questions and want serious answers, would not be banned. A leader should be encouraging questions, as that means that people are engaged and are thinking. A leader will use these questions to promote growth and to educate the people who are following, and to learn what people are needing. Which is important to anyone who has a desire to help his people.

Peter Downing and Eric Wall, need to take a look at the way they are operating. Listen to the people. Drop ego. The West needs a united strong front, all these groups need to work together, when olive branches are offered, take them. Allow the groups to interact and assist you, or get out of the way, so that these groups can make a real difference in the lives of Westerners.

Tip: Silenced Voices, Grow In Volume

Downing Makes Bold Statement

Downing Makes Bold Statement

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOKPSoOjTdY&t=1s

On November 2nd, 2019, Peter Downing, founder of the Wexit Movement, held a Wexit rally in Edmonton. Many people have expressed concerns brought to light by this rally. Leadership seems to be a concern, as well as direction. These concerns came about by the lack of focus the rally held and how the speakers did not seem to be on point and were somewhat scattered in their approaches. Peter Downing himself had been drinking beer before, during, and after his speech, which raised more than a few eyebrows, according to some of the people in attendance. It drew comments like, “Makes us look like drunk rednecks.” An indication at how it solidifies the view many Easterners already have. A professional representation is important for a movement to be successful and to be taken seriously. Especially when said movement has their sights on a federal party. If a federal party is formed, then they will need a strong leader, who is able to show responsibility, be taken seriously, and command respect from the voting population.

This part of the article is meant to be as balanced as possible, not meant to stir up anger, but to show that the impact of your words needs to be thought out before speaking. Now take a look at Peter Downing’s statement that also raised the eyebrows of those in attendance, those who were watching, and of course the already-biased media. The statement being referred to is, “Someone called us the Bloc Rednecois and that’s okay. That’s our term for ourselves. If you’re not from here, you’re just an Alberta-phobic racist anti-western bigot. That’s all you are.” A statement like the one referred to ruffled feathers, as it was intended to. The question is, did it ruffle more feathers than was intended? Although the statement may have been intended for those in the East, it is logical that it would be taken as offensive to people in Western Provinces who are not in Alberta. Logic aside, what were the reactions of fellow Westerners?

One person who was born in Saskatchewan, and worked across many Western provinces over the years, but has been an Alberta resident most of their life, had the following to say about Peter Downing’s statement, “The fact that he wants to create a federal party, with a system that federally already fails. We tried with the reform party and the response we get from the east is always the same. As for his anti-other provinces about Alberta statement, its representative of a feeling in Alberta. Although I think that most Albertans see Saskatchewanians on our side today, in the past this hasn't been the case. When rural Albertans look at the other western provinces, often people see out of province workers who only want our money and don't give 2 shits about Alberta. That if the money runs out, they leave and go back to the province they came from. Although I think it mostly comes from the eastern provinces, it does splash on BC and Saskatchewan as well. I think that most Albertans who want freedom from Ottawa, see this as a fight Alberta will have to win by itself and expects the other provinces to sit on the sidelines until the hard work is done, then will probably join once it looks good.”

An Albertan living in BC had a bit of a different take on it. “My initial thoughts about Peter Downing’s comment during his Edmonton rally was, “Oh well that’s great. The other western provinces come together to show support and solidarity to Alberta, and Downing shits on us for it”. This comment shows the public that Alberta is narrow minded, and doesn’t give a second thought to the other provinces who are not only hurting in their own way, but standing with Alberta through it. Which if you talk to Albertans, is untrue. Albertans love the support they have been getting from the neighbouring provinces and it’s with this support that has helped build Alberta up and helped Alberta share it’s voice. It seems to me that the head of this movement is trying to eat the body of this movement. The Bloc hates on the rest of Canada and still gets seats in Quebec, this being said, hating on the rest of Canada will never get the Bloc a PM. If Downing ever has dreams of becoming PM, calling people (especially your allies) names is NOT the way to do it. While we are on the topic of running for PM, this is NOT what Alberta or any of the west want. We do not want to fight for Wexit party to become the ruling government in Canada, the west wants action or the west wants out. Personally, as an Albertan living in BC, I want a unified west. A unified whole west. Alberta can’t and doesn’t want to do this alone. Downing might want to be all alone in his Alberta, but the rest of us don’t think that BC, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba are “Alberta-phobic racist anti-Western bigot(s).”

A Saskatchewan resident had this to say, “That’s a little extreme and I don’t appreciate that someone had the audacity to say something like that. This tells me that they don’t actual care about my opinions and are only thinking of themselves.  Something that right now is not what we need in an already divided country.  It definitely makes me lose respect for that person and also if he’s supposed to be representing Alberta or the WEXIT movement than I have lost some of my respect and agreement in what they stand for.”

A statement like Peter Downing’s needs to be considered carefully. How can it be taken or construed? Questions like this one need to be asked before making any speech. Did he have his speech written or did he just “wing it”? Writing a speech down and having someone review the content is vitally important, to avoid statements like this from slipping out. It is felt that the speech was not written down. If it had been written down a comment like this one, that reveals a person’s true feelings in this regard, would not squeeze their way in, even though they may not have wanted it revealed. If the speech was written down, did Peter go off-script? When having ambitions for politics, off-script is not a wise way to go. Or was this line written down, and he fully intended to use it? No matter what, the intent behind the comment itself must be looked at.

When garnering support to make a run at a federal party position, the power of words is something that needs to be taken into serious consideration. These words are a political career-killer. No thought went into this statement of Peter’s, if he had thought about his words, they never would have been uttered. Speaking out against the very provinces you are looking to gain the support of, calling them “Alberta-phobic” and “racist” will only work to shove them farther away. These statements of hate only work to further widen the gap, not unite. The power of these words is that of division.

The term racist is over-used in today’s society, and used in this particular manner is not accurate. Racism, is acts/words of hate against a race of people, whereas discrimination is the word he is actually wanting to use, as it is acts/words of hate against someone based upon location, religion, lifestyle choice, etc. Even if this actually applied to the way the other western provinces felt towards Alberta, correct terms are important. The truth though is, other western provinces do not hate Alberta, they want to see Alberta succeed. They want to help Alberta in their battle against an Eastern government that actually does hate the province of Alberta, but also hates the rest of the west. The only western portion that this claim could apply to is the Vancouver-Victoria region. The rest of the western provinces deserve to be treated with respect, especially when the support of those provinces, means a united West, instead of being trapped on an island all alone. Alberta is not alone in this fight, at times it may feel that way, but at some point, in everyone’s life, they will feel alone, even if it is just something the human brain tricks itself into believing.

The purpose then, becomes choose words carefully. Think about them. Words have the power to divide, the power to encourage, the power to destroy, but they also have the power to heal, the power to show love, the power to reach out an olive branch. A branch of forgiveness. Western Canada may have had their differences over the years, but none that should make Alberta doubt how much the rest of the West wishes them to succeed and become prosperous again. Put aside angry words. Put away divisive words. Family forgives, family moves beyond problems, and family works together. Though Peter’s words are not appropriate and do not show the foresight of a true leader, that does not mean that provinces need to let this wedge grow. Put it aside, join in the battle for a better tomorrow. Work together to make changes, save our Nation. Find a leader who has the skills to guide, the foresight to think about their words, their actions, and their reactions. Most importantly think, always think. Think before you speak, think before you type, think before you act. Educate yourself, so as to make informed decisions. Learning, and an open mind while learning, are what will lead to positive change. Change the West fights for together, as one. By working together, these provinces can fix what Trudeau and his Liberal Party, with the support of much of the East, the UN, and clandestine American organizations, has set out to destroy. Stick together, just use caution when choosing whom to follow. Pay attention to the words chosen, the actions taken, and how much respect they show for those around them.

Forgiveness is here. Move forward. Make tomorrow a better future for the next generations.

East VS West: Ignorance Stops Now

East VS West: Ignorance Stops Now

The divide that we see in Canada today has been growing for decades. We see the West being taken advantage of, used and abused, and treated like second class citizens in a country the West has supported financially far too often, only to have no voice in Parliament. This has been building up distrust, frustration, and hatred between the two halves of a country that should be united. Part of the reason for this is that Canada has very different thoughts, lifestyles, and understanding in many parts. We have the Vancouver-Victoria area, then the Territories, then the rest of the West, Winnipeg-Eastern Manitoba, Urban Ontario, Rural Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes. These areas seem to butt heads far too often, causing a huge feeling of division across our Nation. Each of these areas seems to be ignorant to the ideas and ideologies of the other areas. Ontario, Quebec, and part of the Maritimes, seem to be closer in thought and band together to control the rest of Canada. Which is a major cause of anger to the rest of the country. They minimize and remove the voice of most of the West, yet they seem quite willing to accept money, in the form of equalization payments, from the West.

https://youtu.be/x8Ie2ckUpoQ

Ignorance. Something all parts of Canada are guilty of. In way too many areas there is no attempt made to understand or see the views of the other parts of Canada. It needs to stop. We are a country, a country that is looking to fracture. The country needs to ensure ALL areas have a voice, ALL areas are represented equally, ALL areas are given the chance to implement their ideologies into our Nation, and ALL areas are shown respect. Right now, what Canada has is a mesh of too many groups that want nothing to do with the other, which is not just a present issue, it has been an issue since Confederation. Quebec immediately grabbed special rights and privileges, and uses them to twist the arm of the country into doing their bidding, something that Urban Ontario is far too willing to allow and get behind. The Eastern mentality has all but destroyed everything the West has worked hard to develop and build. A shattered economy with what seems like no hope for a future in Canada. Fueling a fire smoldering and growing in intensity, spreading vehement flames throughout our Nation, threatening the very existence of Canada. If Ignorance is not stopped, Canada may very well become a part of history, a story told about to future generations, a folklore. Below is a couple of examples of the ignorance mentioned, and responses issued by myself.

“Please stop posting this Eastern propaganda....it might sway the dumbasses. The clown has disabled commenting on the vid. Says it all. The blowback to this bullshit was fierce. This is between Western citizens and the criminal Federal authority. We are not fighting for Eastern Canada, a faraway land we have never seen. If they want to remain enslaved to a retarded Fed that is their business. THIS is our home and Eastern Canadians need to stay the fuck out of the conversation.”

Response:

“Clown? Commenting is still on the vid, I just checked. Check your facts before commenting please. Besides it isn't Eastern Propaganda, it's balanced reporting. Showing all sides of a discussion. If you want one-sided, biased reporting, look at CTV, City TV, and CBC, that is biased Eastern propaganda. What in there offends you? The fact that I mention that it will be a slow process to complete a separation or make change? It takes time, sorry but it does not happen over night. The fact that I mention that not every single person in the West is sold on separating? Sorry but it's a FACT. We both may not agree with these people on the subject, but they are entitled to their opinions, as we are to ours. I agree that I want to be away from Eastern control and have our voices heard again, but that does not mean everyone is forced to agree with us. Forcing people to have your opinion is a dictatorship. Just stop and think about that please. Not wanting to argue, just trying to educate and have people make informed decisions. Thank you”

Comment on a Toronto Sun article. 

Robert Mullins commented that someone was a liar and a sore loser.

Response:

“You would be a sore loser too if the decisions of Eastern City-Dwellers, with no knowledge of how the world works in rural areas, made decisions for the whole country. Try losing your job, home, car, belongings, forced to go on welfare or take a low paying jobs. Try watching friends commit suicide, as they feel trapped, stuck, due to circumstances beyond their control. Try watching your neighbours move away with nothing, simply because the government that they rejected came into power and destroyed their livelihoods. Livelihoods that lies are spread about, villainized for providing a source of energy that the vast majority of our products are made from. Energy that people who live in large urban areas, deem to be dirty and shame them for making it available, despite living in their cozy homes, with cozy jobs, with cozy cars. Going about their lives like they haven’t destroyed other people’s lives with their uneducated decisions, and brainwashed by a media that is so biased, that truth is far from their goal. All the while, they use the items and belongings that were all made by the source of energy that they deem to be evil. People in large Eastern urban centers, that have no clue about the energy industry they attack. Brainwashed into believing solar and wind energy is the answer, despite these taking more energy to make than they actually provide in their lifetime, particularly wind turbines. These two energy sources use the same energy source to make them, the same energy produced in the oilsands, and pulled from the ground in much of the west. If you want to call the reality behind these facts being sore losers, then I guess we are all sore losers, and you will be as well when this government you Eastern Urban Dwellers voted in, destroys the half of the country that provides the vast majority of equalization payments. Maybe, just maybe try educating yourself on the facts before throwing stones that may break your own glass house. Try using empathy, try looking at other people’s lives outside your own little world, at least attempt to shed your ignorance before it makes you look even more foolish. This government’s foolish policies have already cost us thousands of jobs in the short time since getting re-elected. Don’t let this government take your ability to think, to show compassion, and to ultimately keep your family safe.”

 The hatred seems to run deep between these halves, East and West, but civility can be used. Comments about “F Trudeau” and Quebec MLA’s/MPs commenting complete disrespect for the West, are just not necessary. Comments like these simply work to spread the divide, and simply show how ignorant people can be. The question put forth then becomes, how do we find a resolution? A question I have seen put forth many times, I have seen great ideas come from fellow Westerners, also seen foolishness presented. The best way to combat this is with empathy and understanding. Try to see the other person’s perspective, this goes for both the East and West. Show respect even when frustrated and angry, as Pat King states, “Everyone has a voice, if you can’t talk responsibly and speak respectfully, then don’t talk. All people are entitled to have their say.” He goes on to state that we should “beat with words not fists”, and cautions, “Don’t engage if you can’t be respectful.” Good advice. A loud voice does not normally get what you want. A soft tone garners more understanding and willingness to listen. Do I believe that Parliament will listen? No, but attacking those who oppose you accomplishes nothing.

A slower paced approach that has a desire for change, for the betterment of the West is what is needed. Educate yourselves on the issues, and not just from one source but many sources. By educating yourself, you can then propose strong arguments, win debates, show that the West is not just “dumb hicks”, or “stupid rednecks”, or “white supremacists”. Show that the West does know what we are talking about, use facts to disprove, facts to convince, facts to open eyes. The East is fed a lot of misinformation, or very little about the West, they focus on themselves. The West cannot be this way, don’t be ignorant. Yes, the West will need to fight for their rights, but it needs to be done in the proper manner. By educating yourself, you can then educate those in the East. The East may turn a blind eye to these attempts, but at least you have been the bigger person. A lot is happening behind the scenes in the West to bring about this change, let us do our best to implement these plans, support our efforts, find a way to help. Shouting angry rhetoric full of hate, will only close ears and eyes, and turn the rest of the West away from the movement for change. Anger, bitterness, and hate only hinder the efforts of these people who are working to bring about change.

Angry rhetoric did not bring about the efforts we are seeing success in trying to pull out of CPP and gaining our own sovereignty. Support is best provided through peace. Anger is understood, but use a healthy form of release, not hiding behind a keyboard attacking anyone who says something you don’t like. Learn to control your mind, use it for good. Assist us in bringing about change, show Canada that ignorance is not tolerated, is not needed, and is not helpful. Bring about change by showing knowledge through words and actions. Help us help you. Educate yourselves. Stop ignorance in its tracks.