I try not to do that hackneyed “slow news day?” thing, however I am forced to question the editorial judgment at Global’s Calgary bureau after they reported on a supposed new “separatist” group meeting in Alberta, who are shaking their fist at clouds – err, I mean throwing a temper tantrum about some perceived slights. The apparent “newsworthiness” of this event is the fact that there was a bullshit poll out last week that said that as many as a quarter of Albertans could support separation, and Jay Hill, one-time Alberta separatist, says that Justin Trudeau being re-elected could make that fifty percent.

That sound was my eyes rolling so hard. And then again when John Ivison tweeted this gem.

Separatism is a slow burn but it is kindled when enough people feel their interests are being ignored by a distant central government. It has taken nearly 50 years in Scotland but there is now a majority in favour of independence. https://t.co/evUxmjivnc

— John Ivison (@IvisonJ) August 11, 2019

What could possibly different about Scotland than Alberta? Could it be that Scotland once used to be its own country? Could it be that they have a distinct language and culture? That they already field their own sports teams in international competitions? That they’re not landlocked? Colby Cosh wrote about this not two weeks ago – there is no coherence in the argument for Alberta separatism, and they can’t even take their own argument seriously.

Let’s call this what it is – extortion, blackmail, and a campaign of lies fomented by the likes of Jason Kenney who is stoking it to keep his base angry, because the moment they realize that they’ve run out of external enemies to blame their problems on, the moment they’ll turn on him because he hasn’t been able to deliver on any of his snake oil promises. And Kenney is using these swivel-eyed loons as a straw man – the whole “I’m not a separatist, but Justin Trudeau is stoking the sentiment” defence. It’s just more lies, and We The Media don’t have to keep giving them oxygen. We don’t have to pay attention to these loons – especially if they’re going to call themselves moronic things like “Wexit Alberta.”

Good reads:

• Another book about Justin Trudeau, this one by Aaron Wherry, details some of the lessons learned regarding not being able to trust Donald Trump.
• The government says the plan is to have 20 police trainers in Mali by the end of the year as promised. (There are currently ten in the country).
• CBSA says they need more resources for the irregular border crossers, as the latest group are less likely to have documentation, and need to be held longer.
• The first wave of Syrian refugees that came to Canada in 2015 now have their citizenship and will be eligible to vote in this upcoming election.
• The government stripped the name of the Harry Stevens building in Vancouver, as he was one of the politicians responsible for the Komagata Maru being turned back.
• A recent academic paper delves into why companies support carbon pricing, even if they’re in carbon-intensive industries.

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