This morning CBC radio aired an excerpt from a biased blogpost on the "notorious NEP".
Let's look at the other side of the argument:
The federal government has right to tax exports. The oil was taxed by the provincial government but at low rate and the proceeds hosed away. One would hope the federal government would have taken more careful and long-term view and spent the money more frugally. Either way it would have reaped more tax revenue from our dwindling production of oil. Now we are pushed to exploit the more expensive tarsands as our conventional oil has now peaked without us getting good value for the resource.
Most of Alberta's oil and gas was and is owned and exploited by U.S. corporations
The creation of Petro-Canada was not slap in face of Canadian votes but slap in the face of U.S. corporations.
The bumper sticker "let the Eastern Bastards freeze in the dark"
was brought to Canada by U.S. oilmen who wanted the Canadian government to stay out of their business
2. did not lead to the East freezing anywhere, they merely turned to buying their oil from foreign sources. If Alberta (the U.S. oil companies operating in Alberta) were charging Canadian customers world price for oil , then why not buy overseas for the same price? Now Alberta is asking why won't the East buy Alberta oil? And asking why are Alberta energy producers so dependent on the U.S. as our sole customer?
A document in which the federal government is warned of feeling of western alienation is not proof of the government ignoring western feelings, but instead proof that they considered it. And note that it warned of feelings of western alienation. There may not have been cause for those feelings but the feelings were a potentiality. Trudeau was apparently thinking Albertans would see through the mesh of propaganda spread by the U.S. corporations and their friends in the legislature and pull with the national interest. Alberta though was too far gone. And Trudeau backed down.
Because Trudeau backed down in the face of Alberta's opposition, Canada is now only major country without a national energy plan.
What is the use of rehashing this old argument? to ignite western alienation.
And why? Is it just CBC pandering to its perceived listener ship? But CBC is beyond the pale to most WEXIT-ers. Meanwhile CBC could be losing its established listenership if it pursues this biased reportage/near-propaganda, which could help lead to the break-up of Canada itself.
Thanks for reading.
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