I knew there were 10 questions but I didn't know what they said. This was on Facebook from someone I know. He grew up in Alberta. I loved his comments:
How Alberta voted vs how I would have voted had I opted to cast an illegal ballot which would have been really really really easy to do... but I didn't.
Question 1 - AB Govt getting increased control over immigration
Alberta - Yes
Me - Yes
Why... because Alberta wants and needs top tier new talent and should be able to seek them out and prioritize them. It doesn't limit federal immigration programs, and doesn't limit the constitutional right to move to any province you want to. Alberta wants more doctors - right now Alberta can't say.... put them at the top of the list. I have a friend who tried FOR YEARS to immigrate to Canada as skilled worker - she passed all the tests - she learned french - she had an education and the means to hit the ground running and be a net contributor... the process took so long she aged out and gave up.
Question 2 - AB Govt making it so that only citizens, permanent residents, and other AB approved status holders are eligible for provincialy funded social programs.
Alberta - Yes
Me - Yes
Why... this is normal - social service tourism isnt. When I step off the plane in a new country I don't expect to receive social care services - Albertans complain that government services are stretched too thin as it is. This was spun into taking away services from immigrants - it's not.... if you choose to come here on a tourist visa and then stay.... you're not going about it the right way. if you choose to come in on a student visa and then never go to school and stay.... you're not going about it the right way. If that's the case see above... my friend should have just applied to a fake strip mall "college" and then never attended. PR's, Refugees, are all recognized and statuses and receive and will continue to receive access as they should. But if you come in on a 4 year student visa in 2003 and never went home.... sorry fella.
Question 3 - Require non permanent residents to reside in Alberta for 12 months before accessing public services.
Alberta - Yes
Me - Yes
Why... Again those with status (refugees etc) continue to receive services as it's funded federally so the vulnerable new arrivals continue to be covered. I don't expect to step off a plane somewhere and qualify for government social suppoort. Is 12 months a bit long - yeah I think so. Do I think that social services are currently stretched beyond their means - yup.
Question 4 - A fee for those without permanent status to access healthcare and education.
Alberta - Yes
Me - Yes
This isn't a foreign concept. My brother moved to the UK on a student visa.... his passport was stamped "no recourse to public funds". he was restricted to how many hours he could work. he had to pay a fee to access a healthcare system he'd never paid into. I went to a hospital in Turkey once.... got a bill. My sister ended up in a hospital in the USA... got a bill. The fee for new arrivals to access healthcare in the UK. The current fee is $1,941 per year of your visa.
Question 5 - Proof of citizenship to vote
Alberta - Yes
Me - Yes
Why... This should be a no-brainer. Heck at the federal level I once voted with an expired pill bottle from a pharmacy outside of my riding, and a property tax estimate (not an actual bill) for bare land issued before my house was even built. Just to prove a point of how dumb some of the acceptable voter ID items are.... I voted with actual garbage. Also.... there was literally nothing stopping me from voting in this referrendum other than my own willingness to abide by the rules. I have a canadian passport. I have an Alberta Drivers Licence. I could have requested a ballot and voted. I could have simply lied about my residence status. Given that actual ID is easy to obtain - and services exist for completely free ID for those who have difficulty - this is just some administrative cleanup in my opinion.
Question 6 - Allow the province to appoint judges to the Court of Kings Bench and Appeal Court
Alberta - Yes
Me - Yes
Why... Simple - we have had a federal government who for a dozen years rarely bothered to fill vacancies while at the same time we have a Supreme Court ruling which has forced the dismissal of charges if cases arent heard fast enough. Alberta when I last looked into it had 4 federal vacancies still.... Carney appointed one a few weeks ago (we had 5 at the time). On average federal judge vacancies sit empty for 14 months. On one trudeau let the vacancy sit open for 22 months. So you read about very serious cases where the whole case is tossed out because it didnt go to trial fast enough.... well.... fill the seats. And if you won't... we should. Alberta and all provinces should join together to push for this change.
Question 7 - Abolish the senate
Alberta - Yes
Me - No
Why...... we should abolish the unelected part of the process only - not the senate. So the wording of this one I disagreed with. Had they asked do I support making senators an elected position - yes I support that.
Question 8 - Allow Alberta to opt out of new federal programs that are provincial jurrisdictional areas and opt to take the money instead.
Alberta - No
Me - Yes
Why.... Simple.... Quebec has had this veto over federal programs for decades. What's fair is fair. When the $10 / day daycare program was rolled out Quebec said - no thank you, we'll take the cash and apply it to our provincial daycare program. Trudeua said... OK sounds good. A few weeks later when Alberta's terms were being negotiated (first of all why is each province negotiating different terms) Kenney said to Trudeau... we will take the exact same deal Quebec signed - copy and paste - we'll take *points at Quebec* that... Trudeau.... nope you're not allowed. And it's not limited to that one program - for decades Quebec has been granted the ability to say no to federal programs and take the cash equivilant instead. It's a matter of national fairness.
Question 9 - Allow Alberta to force provincial laws to override federal laws when both laws touch on the same jurrisdictional area.
Alberta - No
Me - No
Why.... There ultimately needs to be a top dog in a federalist system. When there are areas of SHARED jurrisdiction and there is conflict - there ultimately needs to be a top national interest. In areas of provincial jurrisdiction the feds should stay in their lane - when there's a shared lane, the province should be expected to yeild to the national interest.
Question 10 - that good ol separation should we have a referrendum to leave Canada
Alberta - Remain
Me - Remain
Why... Every single promise made by the separatists is based on some pretty wild fantasy assumptions. No more taxes.... Billions paid from the federal treasury... Immediate access to export oil and gas... The faxt that the half dozen seperatist groups can't even get along tells me I want nothing to do with that clusterfvck. Has Alberta been screwed by successive federal governments with one in particular for a decade - yes. Is becoming a landlocked country without access to tidewater (oh but the seperatists will tell you the UN guarantees you right to tidewater... it doenst) a smart idea... absolutely not. Should Alberta roll over and let the federation continue to take advantage of it - nope. Which is why on the other items above I would have voted the way I did while also promoting really... the Quebec approach - refuse and demand and sue... challenge everything. But leave.... no.... I just look at who the seperatists want to join down south and know that's not what I want. It's also.... a big part of why I left.
I'm a Canadian living in Scotland. I own more Canadian flag hoodies than Scottish. Outisde of my home is a decorative Canadian Flag at the door. My car has a maple leaf on it's bumper. There's a whole lot wrong with Canada that needs fixed - hopefully this whole exercise begins the process to do so. Right now I am not convinced that the federal liberals are genuinely interested in long term cooperation vs short term "elbows up" or something because of what's happened with the US. Had it not been for the trade war I don't believe for a second they'd be putting on the sudden pro-alberta oil song and dance they've been performing the past few months. Time will tell. In the meantime... I'm over here and you're over there and my vote doesnt matter anyway.
