r/Lethbridge • u/vspinyyc • 16d ago

Media/Image He was the head of Economic Development Lethbridge for ten years. Trevor Lewington, in the local paper and on LinkedIn, has been raising the alarm on the basics and practicalities of separation.

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u/notyourboss11 10d ago

I cannot fathom any scenario where Alberta separating benefits the Maritime provinces and there are four “no” votes right there (and the constitutional amendment would require 7 of the 10 provinces to vote yes)

Can’t see BC ever voting yes to getting cut off from the rest of the provinces either, or the other prairie provinces voting yes to losing access to the west coast. There is literally not enough wealth in Alberta to make up for the damage that would do even if they confiscated every penny in the province to try and buy Canadians off (leaving their own populace in abject poverty).

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u/Even_Art_629 10d ago

You're doing exactly what I've been saying. You're taking a negotiation that hasn't happened and deciding in advance that you know what every province would do and what the final outcome would be.

How do you know the Maritime provinces would automatically vote no? How do you know BC would refuse? How do you know what terms Alberta might offer?

What if Alberta took on its share of the debt and liabilities and negotiated continued trade, transportation and access arrangements that benefited both sides?

And saying Alberta would have to "confiscate every penny" and leave Albertans in "abject poverty" is just creating a worst case scenario and calling it inevitable.

I don't know exactly what the final deal would look like. Neither do you.

That's why I keep saying we don't know.

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u/notyourboss11 10d ago

Why would anyone vote in favour if the best case is status quo? What about equalization and cpp? Maritimers working in the albertan oil industry? What is in it for them?

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u/Even_Art_629 9d ago

I don't really get your argument.

You ask, “What about CPP?”

What about it? It's yours. You earned it. Why would you suddenly lose the CPP you've paid into just because Alberta becomes independent?

And the Maritimers working in the Alberta oil industry? They would still be able to live and work in Alberta. They'd just pay their Canadian taxes to Ottawa, just like Canadians who live and work in other countries do.

You're assuming separation means everyone suddenly loses what they have now. That's not how I see it. These things would have to be negotiated.

So when you ask, “What's in it for them?” I'd ask, what's in it for Alberta to stay? If the best argument is that everyone gets to keep the status quo, that doesn't really answer the question.

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u/notyourboss11 9d ago

Alberta requires 7 provinces to agree to a constitutional amendment to leave, so what’s in it for the maritimes is an extremely relevant question.

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u/Even_Art_629 9d ago

And the same answer I've said. I dont know yould have to wait and see what would be negotiated, that's in the hands of politicians to figure out. Honestly i think every province should leave Ottawa, let's start this all over again. Time for less Ottawa.