Rex Murphy plumbs an interesting subject in his column this weekend. Harking back to the National Energy Program, he postulates that if the eco-folk manage to derail the development of the Alberta oil sands, the resulting backlash could tear Canada apart.
He is, of course, absolutely correct.
Albertans will be justifiably outraged if central Canada's intelligensia manages to kibosh the province's last, best chance at securing a piece of economic, political and social power. This is, after all, Alberta's hour. Albertans have waited a long time for it, with many false starts on the way. At last, the political and social centre is subtly shifting west and, as a result, the country is finally balancing out. It could be seen as a sign of maturity and growth, a step toward the future and a welcome development for everyone but the long-entrenched elite.
It really is time for new blood. And it is well passed time for a counterweight to the sterile, derivitive thinking that dominates much of what comes out of the minds of central Canadian political commentators.
Rex misses the mark, however, by suggesting that this is a battle of provinces. It is not. Rather it is a fight, perhaps to the death, between working Canada -- the Canada of farms and mines and sawmills and factories -- and the old Family Compact, their children, their friends and the hangers-on.
The hangers-on are in the driver's seat now, but that won't last. Lament it as we might, the olde Empire is dead, and we must move on. If we don't, we are, of course, toast. Which we have been for most of the last century and a half anyway, so no harm done, eh?
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