CONVERSATIONS THAT MATTER
The Prairie provinces have been hammered like everyone else by the shutdown of their economy by the coronavirus.
It is another blow to an already beleaguered region. Oil and gas revenues tanked over the past few years as the price of a barrel of oil plunged. Add in a chorus of voices both domestically and internationally calling for the demise of the Canadian energy sector and the federal government’s mixed messages about development of resources in Alberta.
In the midst of the pandemic that’s affecting the entire country, former Green leader Elizabeth May warned the prime minister to not put money into supporting the oil and gas sector because as she put it, the industry is dead. Yet the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a statistics agency, says demand for oil will remain strong for decades. The combination of hits has fuelled feelings of alienation and growing support for separation. Alberta Premier Jason Kenny, reading the mood of Albertans, set up his “Fair Deal Panel” to get ideas to provide Alberta with greater control of its destiny.
We invited Mark Milke to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the western provinces’ contributions to Canada and how to get back to a calmer relationship. This is the first in a series focusing on alienation and a push toward separation by Alberta by Conversations That Matter. See the video at vancouversun.com/ tag/conversations-that-matter. Conversations That Matter is a partner program for the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University. The production of this program is made possible thanks to the support of viewers like you. Please become a Patreon subscriber and support the production of this program, with a $1 pledge at goo.gl/ ypxyds