Wayne’s Word

This month’s “Wayne’s Word” is coming to you after the results of the recent election are essentially all in. It is really no surprise that we have another Liberal minority government, teetering on the edge of majority. And, while we do have a new Prime Minister, he is not unconnected with our former Prime Minister. Prime Minister Carney was one of Prime Minister Trudeau’s principal advisors with respect to Liberal policies, and responsible therefore for things like the "Zero Emissions targets" and the "no pipeline" policies. 

Most of us know Prime Minister Carney’s background in the Financial world. But do we know that in 2023, at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Conference in Davos, he referred to himself as a “European” as opposed to a “Canadian”? He was also the founder of a financial investment company which had as its major policy, ‘no investments in companies that were involved in fossil fuels in any manner’. This company, by the way, was moved out of Canada to an offshore location. Also, as recently as 2024, he stated that “The no Pipeline Law stays.” Given all of this, what can we expect from our new government? Initially, we are led to believe that our Prime Minister sees the light and will now change many policies to better address new realities in the world of energy and the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta. A good start would have been to appoint a cabinet minister from these provinces; there is not one. How about ministers in the core senior cabinet positions; basically, the same Trudeau people. The former minister of the Environment and Climate Change has been moved however, which is good. Unfortunately, his first statement was about fossil fuels and Canadian pipelines. This is not a good start for change. I have a friend who is politically left who keeps admonishing me to give Carney a chance. He believes that Carney will change Canada’s direction in many areas and that certain dysfunctions will be corrected. If people in his party don’t follow Carney, “they will be gone”.

I hate to be a pessimist, but over 150 years of Canadian history leaves me little choice but pessimism. From the time of its inception as a country in 1867, there have been several major policies implemented which were fixed to benefit central Canada at the expense of the West. There was John A Macdonald’s National Policy. While couched in favourable language, it was essentially put in place to benefit central Canada (Ontario and Quebec) on the backs of the West. One of the best descriptions of this policy came from Clifford Sifton, Federal Liberal Interior Minister under Laurier in 1905, when he said – “We desire, in fact every patriotic Canadian desires, that the great trade of the Prairies shall go to enrich our own people of the east, to build up our factories and our workshops of eastern Canada, and contribute in every legitimate way to its prosperity.” To summarize, the interests of the East would be paramount to those of the West. There was one mechanism put in place to offset the inequity of population, east over west. This was the Senate. The west was to have ¼ of the Senate positions to protect its interests. There is nothing left of the Senate now which enables it to offset the east’s dominance of the west. It has no power, little credibility, and is only a tool of the east given that Liberal governments have appointed most of the Senators.

How about the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC), any help there? No. Of the 9 justices, Quebec (population 9 million) gets 3, Ontario (population 14 million) gets 3, The West (population 13 million) gets 2, and the Maritimes, 1. Remember the National Energy Policy (NEP). Our former Prime Minister’s father put this in place during his reign. The NEP provided that Western oil would be sold to the rest of Canada at below market prices. While the NEP is now behind us, most of our oil continues to be sold at below world market prices. Why? Our pipeline structure which would facilitate the sale of oil to world markets, even to markets in Canada, is severely inadequate to allow this to transpire.

Then there are equalization payments among provinces. Quebec has been the major benefactor of these, currently receiving 13 billion dollars a year from Alberta using a formula completely favourable to Quebec. The other major contributor is Ontario. Ontario’s ability, of course, was built on the back of the West via the National Policy and NEP. Where has this inequity brought us today? While there has been talk of Western or Alberta separation in the past, now, after the last election, the talk has teeth. Personally, I have been a long-time faithful Canadian. I support Canada and Canadians in everything. I cheer for Canada in sports and for Canadian athletes wherever they are. I do the same with Canadian writers, artists, and musicians. I proudly display the Canadian flag and celebrate Canada’s successes, whatever they are, and I am prepared to do all I can to preserve our country.

Within this context then, if we, in the West, really do want to be treated equally and with respect by the rest of Canada, we may have little choice but to go our own way. Enough is enough. If things do not change, we need to explore our options, one of which is going our own way. There are variations of what this might look like, but these need to be laid out, analyzed and the best one implemented. Of course, doing nothing is an option as well. 

Let me conclude by asking you what you think some of the West’s options are. Write to me and let me know. Next month I will put some of these in my blog. Thank you for this.

Wayne Bernakevitch, husband, father, grandfather, retired business lawyer.

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of RCAAN.

Some Other News – May

• The United Kingdom’s top court has recently brought down a very encouraging determination. It has concluded that a trans woman is not a woman. The implications of this would include no trans women in women’s bathrooms or women’s sports.
   Donald Trump is attempting to implement changes in old policies and bring in new policies at breakneck speed. While I don’t agree with some of these, and don’t appreciate his attitude and methodologies, many changes are quite excellent. One thought Mr. President; maybe focus on the most important things rather than trying to change everything all at once.

• Speaking of the President’s attitude and methodology, which includes putting down and insulting America’s best friend Canada, some of what he says is deserved. We need to start carrying our weight in areas like defence, illegal immigration, and illegal drug enforcement.

• An April 25th poll in Canada shows that Canadians favourable to USA is 15%, to Russia, 16%, and to China, 30%. There is something wrong with this. The USA would go to war for us and be on our side with us in most everything. If we were at war, Russia and China would never do this, but they, even now, are at war with us in many ways.

• John Carpay, founder of Justice Centre For Constitutional Freedoms, has authored a book titled Corrupted By Fear. In it, he describes how the Charter was betrayed by the Federal and Provincial governments and by many in Canada’s judiciary. It is a very worthwhile read.After a brief break, I am back with my blog. I actually delayed this until the election call which we all knew would come soon after the Liberal Party chose its new leader, and we were right. Initially, and as I have said before, there are bad things and good things about the aging process.

What you think some of the West’s options are?

Write to me and let me know: wbernak14@gmail.com. Next month I will put some of these in my blog.

Thank you for this.

* On May 22nd, RCAAN hosted a banquet featuring former Canadian powerlifting champion April Hutchinson as its speaker. April’s message was, keep biological males out of female sports and private spaces. Her speech was emotional, truthful, sensible and compelling. Please visit her website, aprilhutchinson.com to see how you can support April and her messaging.