Several months ago, the Canada West Foundation set out to examine a difficult question: What would Alberta leaving Canada actually mean?

We assembled some of the country’s leading experts in constitutional law, economics, Indigenous rights, trade, investment, business and public policy. We asked them to examine what separation would mean for pensions, debt, trade, investment and labour mobility, for treaties and Indigenous rights, among other issues.

Our Alberta in Confederation report sought to bring clarity to the questions Albertans are asking and be candid about those that cannot be answered in advance. Its purpose was to help Albertans draw their own conclusions before they cast their ballots on Oct. 19. It also left us with a larger question: What needs to change?

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We would make a mistake if the only lesson Canada takes from the current debate is that separation would be extremely difficult. The status quo isn’t working well either.

Much about our federation is worth preserving. After all, Canada is admired around the world. But there is also plenty that needs addressing, and quickly, for the benefit of all Canadians.

That does not mean Confederation has failed. It means we should stop treating Confederation as though it were a finished product.

Alberta did not arrive at this separation referendum overnight. Years of disputes over equalization, pipelines, energy, climate policy, barriers to internal trade, culture and the West’s influence in national decision-making have fuelled frustrations that have accumulated over decades.

Part of the problem is that Ottawa sometimes forgets the culture of the West, shaped by entrepreneurial pioneer genes, a willingness to take risks and make sacrifices, deep Indigenous roots and a belief in building something new in a difficult and harsh land. Those roots are part of the West’s identity.

When national policies are designed without understanding that history and culture, they can feel less like partnership and more like direction from a distant capital. That is especially true when........

© Calgary Herald