Covid Journal, June 13, 2020
Introducing ‘The Duchy of Alberta’
Covid seems to have advanced the speed of dumb ideas from Alberta.
They continue to blame Trudeau for sagging oil prices (which means even less for tar that no one wants) and now Jason Kenney et al in Alberta want to create a new separate state from Canada.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Quebec went the same route after taking an absurd rallying cry from DeGaulle too seriously.
‘Vive le Quebec Libre’.
A phrase that cost the province billions in revenue, jobs and opportunity and forever fractured the state of affairs in Canada.
In the decades and indecision that followed, millions of people left Quebec, filling tiny little towns like Toronto and Ottawa with young, educated and talented young people.
Generally speaking, smart money hates risk.
Today, Montreal has almost recovered. No one really speaks about separation with any heart or passion any more.
This is a good thing.
They continue to complain about the state of their dirty industry, without making effort to monetize it or clean up after international companies that take us for granted. The only time they had excess money in their coffers was when Canada had a stake in the game.
Stephen Harper put an end to that, ending any certainty associated with the industry.
Money hates risk.
Albertans want to blame soaring vacancy rates on Trudeau and not the security brought about by public faith in their industry. They are coming short with revenue sources and deficits are exploding, but this has nothing to do with the absence of a provincial value-added tax or royalties on extraction.
Good luck Alberta. For my friends that live there, I miss you and would gladly welcome you to Ontario where we will continue to talk about electric cars, charging stations and renewable energy … once Dough Ford is elected out.
Donald Trump: Denying Calls For Racial Reforms
Yesterday, I touched on racial inequality and how Covid-19 is clearly affecting unique communities in different ways. Black people are clearly at a disadvantage, mostly because institutional issues persist and keep them at a disadvantage.
One such example of institutional bias is the ‘heroes’ that we keep alive in the form of naming schools, airports and even by keeping statues and other reminders of their dominance over the lives of others.
This isn’t revisionist history. It’s probably more appropriate to call it ‘respectful history’.
Way to meet people in the middle.
Donald Trump: Seems Willing to Provoke Racial Unrest
‘Juneteenth’ is a day celebrated by African-Americans as the day on which they gained emancipation and freedom from slvery following the US Civil War. The date was June 19, 1865.
Donald Trump was scheduled to host a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 19, 2020.
As a reminder, Tulsa was the site of the bombing of blacks in America in 1921.
The overlap seemed just a little too coincidental and after an uproar from the public, Trump has rescheduled his date for a rally the next day, June 20.
How about this? Why not consider a memorial service on June 19th across the country? Or declare it a national holiday?