The new West Coast pipeline: A nation-building project or a government-created boondoggle?
The project is estimated to cost between $35.2 billion and $43.7 billion, with governments expected to own most of it and private industry holding just a 10 percent stake during construction.
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What do a $44-billion government-backed pipeline, a handful of billboards in Taber and a new edition of The Sovereigntist's Handbook have in common? They all point to the same question: Why is Alberta increasingly looking for a different path?
On this week's episode of The Gunn Show, I sit down with Western Standard columnist and author Cory Morgan for a wide-ranging conversation about the growing independence movement and the policies driving it.
First up is Ottawa and Alberta's proposal for a new West Coast pipeline along the existing Trans Mountain corridor. The project is estimated to cost between $35.2 billion and $43.7 billion, with governments expected to own most of it and private industry holding just a 10 percent stake during construction.
For Morgan, that's an indictment of Canada's regulatory environment.
After years of carbon taxes, emissions caps and anti-pipeline policies, governments are now talking about borrowing billions to build infrastructure that energy companies once financed themselves. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation notes that the money being discussed could build more than 80,000 homes in Alberta and argues that politicians should remove the barriers preventing private investment instead of asking taxpayers to underwrite another megaproject.
Then there is the uproar over pro-independence billboards in Taber. Why have a few signs promoting Alberta's right to choose generated such a fierce reaction? And does the backlash reveal just how uncomfortable Canada's political establishment has become with the idea that many Albertans are questioning the status quo?
Finally, there is the updated edition of Cory's book, The Sovereigntist's Handbook, a practical guide for Albertans who want to understand the independence movement, the constitutional questions surrounding separation and what an independent Alberta could realistically look like.
As frustration with Ottawa continues to grow, Morgan argues that the conversation around Alberta's future is no longer a fringe idea. It's becoming one of the defining political debates in the province.
Tune in to hear why one of Alberta's leading sovereigntist voices believes the old political assumptions are breaking down — and why more Albertans than ever are asking whether there's a better way forward.
GUEST: Author and independence advocate Cory Morgan.
