Danielle Smith believes that the Federal Government should be -- in Pierre Trudeau's words -- the "headwaiter to the provinces" She claims that:
“The way our country works is that we are a federation of sovereign, independent jurisdictions. They are one of those signatories to the Constitution and the rest of us, as signatories to the Constitution, have a right to exercise our sovereign powers in our own areas of jurisdiction.”
Smith is either ignorant of -- or she is misreading -- Canadian history. Graham Thomson writes:
Smith may have been confusing Canada with the European Union or perhaps the United States of 200 years ago. This is not how Canada works.
In fact, our country was deliberately drawn up with a strong federal government as an inoculation against the kind of division that led to the American Civil War.
But that doesn’t matter to Smith or her supporters who appreciate the freeman-on-the-land vibe when it comes to dealing with the much-hated Justin Trudeau.
Smith has set a trap and she assumes that others will take the bait:
The act is indeed part of a political game, one Smith is trying to play against the rest of Canada through the federal government, and against Alberta’s NDP ahead of the province’s general election May 29.
In a year-end interview, Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley said she’s afraid Smith’s act could lead to copycat legislation from other populist premiers, harming Alberta and the entire country.
“We are a landlocked province whose economic frame is very much based on exporting out of our province and these guys are completely oblivious to the fact that should Danielle Smith actually be remotely successful with some of the things she claims she’s seeking to achieve through this opportunity, it could easily be used by other provinces. Then we risk further fragmenting our nation, further gumming up big ideas and big efforts to grow.
It will hurt the country.”
Smith's legislation will work its way through the courts. And Albertans will have their say in an election in May of next year. We'll see what happens.
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