Illustration by Dan Baril · Click to enlargeYesterday, the ever-eloquent and former colleague, Bruce Anderson, penned an insightful piece on the “maybe” question currently facing Albertans. It is a concept deserving of expansion.
When someone asks, “Can I ask you a question?” the correct response is, “You didn’t really give me a choice, did you?” More apropos, “Can I ask you a second question?” Such as Premier Danille Smith proposes. Either way, the “maybe” moniker fits.
As a society, we generally love deferring today’s difficult decisions until tomorrow. Why? A) Intellectual Inertia: Many are simply lazy thinkers. B) Fear of Missing Out: People don’t want to commit for fear of losing out on undefined and uncertain benefits they don’t understand.
The broader issue is that no matter how correctly we are oriented, there is never a shortage of detractors. Is the direction actually flawed, or are we witnessing an incessant need for contrarianism? I believe it’s the latter. We see it not just in the ill-advised push for an Alberta referendum, but in other arenas as well.
Speaking of idiocy; at a time when Canada appears to have broken the mold in dealing with a certain brand of populist volatility—embarking instead on a collaborative path of independence—we still have people who seemingly can’t see the forest for the trees. Now is not the time for reckless and damaging dissent. While constructive criticism is vital, we cannot risk rupturing a fragile national balance that is only just finding its footing.
Consider further the band of 14 Liberal MPs who recently publicly announced privately sending Mark Carney a letter bemoaning pipeline initiatives and his engagement with Alberta. On one level, this should be a clear signal to Alberta separatists who have spent years complaining about Ottawa pandering to a Quebec establishment that drains the nation of its resources and common sense.
Ironically, no prior Prime Minister—not even Stephen Harper—has extended this level of strategic respect to the Western provinces.
Regarding the “hallowed cry” that Carney is deviating from Canada’s environmental obligations: I won’t argue right versus wrong. That isn’t the issue. The environment is, and should be, humanity’s greatest concern over the next 50 to 100 years. However, to borrow from the script of Apollo 13, ‘we are on step 34 out of 400 in order to safely land the lunar module back on earth. If we don’t get Item 34 right, then item 127 will never matter.’
If the 14 get their way, then failure will have been the chosen option after all.
Carney has been adeptly managing our course amidst seismic, unpredictable shifts caused by an unhinged global actor whose only objective is to blow things up both literally and figuratively. Yet, according to 14 ambitiously misguided disciples, those immediate realities take a backseat to an uncertain environmental future. I think not.
Just as we finally have a ship steered in the right direction, now is not the time to sabotage the unity Canada has been trying to achieve for decades. What’s next? Is “State 51” suddenly a good idea?
C’mon, folks. Let’s not be the best team on paper to never win a championship. We already have Leaf Nation for that.