Guest Opinion: Albertans need to support rethink on equalization or it will hurt us for ages

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On Monday, Albertans will have their say on the equalization referendum. It is crucial for the future of Alberta that a clear majority of Albertans vote “Yes” to starting the process that may lead to the repeal or the reforming of equalization.

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A “No” vote would damage Alberta for generations. It will limit the ability of any future Alberta premier, of any political stripe, to negotiate with the federal government from a position of strength.

It would allow federal Liberal politicians to deny the feelings and anger of Albertans for years to come. They will say that Alberta’s politicians might talk big but when push comes to shove, Albertans chose the Canadian status quo. Albertans like equalization as it is, they will say.

Sending Canada a message on how Albertans actually feel about the unfairness of equalization is critically important.

In early 2017, as Leader of the Opposition I first called for an equalization referendum. I stated that Alberta should more aggressively “challenge the constitutional status quo” and use a referendum to get constitutional changes which would result in a “better deal for Alberta.”

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I was clear that the referendum was a tool to force negotiations which would lead to changes to the Canadian Constitution. A clear vote on this issue provides cover for Alberta’s government to take a variety of steps which will lead to constitutional negotiations.

Only a few people, mostly university professors, are campaigning for a “No” vote. Rachel Notley, to her credit, is not one of them. Opponents of the referendum say that the federal government and the other provinces will ignore the need to negotiate. That will not happen.

Constitutional negotiations are coming over the next few years. You see, COVID and the changes it will bring to health and senior’s spending risks bankrupting almost every province. Quebec might be the exception since they get so much equalization money that they ran $20 billion in surpluses in the five years before COVID.

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It will take a year or two for the small provinces to realize their fiscal problems after they get through the emergency part of COVID. Then they will be keen to reset the national deal on health care. And, when that time comes, Alberta will make sure that fixing equalization is a big part of the discussion. But that happens best if we get a two-thirds-plus vote for ending equalization in this referendum.

Constitutional discussions are scary for old-style politicians since they might lead to unpredictable changes. Well, Alberta needs to push for lots of big changes in the Constitution.

As I said in 2017: “A clear vote through a referendum would send a clear mandate to not only the provincial government but the federal government on getting Alberta a better deal.” Constitutional discussions, once started, will not be limited to just equalization — which is a good thing because equalization is not even the biggest constitutional problem facing Alberta.

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Alberta needs constitutional changes that will find a way to get our energy to tidewater where we can sell to someone other than the Americans. We need to fix the fundamental imbalances that cause Canada to not recognize Alberta’s contributions. We need to fix our broken democracy where neither of the houses of Parliament treat Alberta fairly. And we need to return Canada to the original spirit of Confederation: that Canada was created so that its parts could use the strength of a combined Canada to trade with the world and to increase the prosperity of Canada and all the pieces that make Canada.

These are the important things that will make Canada work for another century.

Having these constitutional discussions will be a priority for the next premier, be they Jason Kenney, Rachel Notley or someone else.

A strong “Yes” vote in the referendum will help.