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Bell: Alberta separatists are on the move and they're aiming to win in October

Buckle up. The Alberta independence crowd are ready to rock.

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Keith Wilson is one smart cookie and he’s fighting for Alberta’s independence.

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In the weeks ahead Wilson is the guy who will hit the debate stage and tangle with former Alberta premier Jason Kenney who is fighting against Alberta’s independence.

Wilson says the separatist fight is “an uphill battle.”

He says those wanting to split from Canada would not win a clear majority today but they are aiming to win in October, if and when Albertans vote on independence.

The battles will rage through the spring, the summer and the fall.

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Wilson says the province is divided in thirds. One third wants out of Canada. One third wants to stay in Canada. One third is undecided or not yet tuned into the question.

The Alberta independence movement is looking to get the final third to turn out and vote Oct. 19, now that those wanting to split from Canada claim they have gathered enough signatures to have that vote.

Wilson says the focus will be on what they see as the advantages of Alberta independence compared with “the very dark path we are on economically and socially with the direction of perpetual Liberal governments in Ottawa.”

Wilson points out those elitist bozos who write off the Alberta independence movement as a bunch of rednecks and yahoos have it so wrong, so very, very off base.

“Well, I hope they keep doing it because it’s a strategic error. It is not accurate,” says the defender of Alberta independence.

“What’s different about the independence push this time is it the office tower class too.”

“Executives say to me whenever they’re out in the open, in a business meeting or whatever, nobody will talk about it but as soon as they go behind closed doors they say they’re voting Yes to independence.”

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Joseph Schow is the legislature quarterback for Premier Danielle Smith and the UCP government and he acknowledges a lot of people are fed up.

On this day, Schow recalls how when he was growing up every time he walked into his grandfather’s house he would see a well-worn cartoon from bygone days.

It is the cartoon of a cow where the West feeds the cow and the East milks it.

Not much has changed.

“People in Alberta are rightfully upset by the way they’ve been treated by the federal government for decades.

“After 10 years of Justin Trudeau it’s come to a head. People are angry and they want to be heard. They are sick and tired of how Ottawa has treated us.

“They are ticked off and they want a say.”

As for independence, Schow says most folks in his neck of the woods are keeping the decision of where they stand “closer to the chest.”

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“But they like the fact there’s a process in place where they get to feel heard through direct democracy. They have not had that for a very long time.”

There will be the inevitable writing off of the discontent by the chattering classes, the know-it-alls, the look-down-their-noses self-styled smart set.

Schow is not impressed.

“I’m trying to find a word stronger than disrespectful but it is so disrespectful,” says Schow.

“This isn’t one small ideological group that feels alienated by Ottawa.

“These are doctors, these are dentists, these are pharmacy owners, these are farmers, these are teachers and they all feel very strongly about the way they’ve been treated by Ottawa.

“There are very level-headed smart people I know who have strong opinions about this.

“For journalists in Ottawa or politicians in Ottawa to write op-eds about this group of people they think are uneducated or lack any couth, they fail to understand just because you’re in Ottawa and part of the Laurentian elite doesn’t mean you know everything.”

“It couldn’t be more offensive.”

Wilson, the Alberta independence advocate, sounds very much ready to take up the fight.

He says Albertans will “continue to experience the failed policies of Ottawa” and the “decline of Canada both economically and socially” and they will look at what Alberta away from Canada can offer and this will motivate the one third on the fence or busy with life right now to cast a ballot.

Buckle up, folks. It’s going to be quite the ride.

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