25 Comments
User's avatar
cyberwyrd🇨🇦's avatar

Alberta needs an election, not a referendum.

Fred Ferguson (GeezerWise)'s avatar

100% agreed... she's lost all credibility

cyberwyrd🇨🇦's avatar

Replying to myself. I live in B.C. It’s up to Albertans to make it happen.

Elbows Up's avatar

If Canada had a vice-Prime Minister position, I would want Wab Kinew in it.

cyberwyrd🇨🇦's avatar

Leader of the Opposition. Avi Lewis out, Wab Kinew in.

Carol-Ann Lamothe's avatar

Wab Kinew is a great leader. I say that every chance I get.

Jerry's avatar

Another spot on article, Fred. Born in Winnipeg, but now living in Ontario. Wab Kinew certainly deserves the distinction of being Canada's favourite Premier, and his calm, but forceful response to Danielle Smith was timely and brilliant. When Smith says that she prefers that Alberta remain in Canada while simultaneously supporting this referendum nonsense, she must think that people are stupid and don't see through her duplicity. As I've said before, she's a closet Maple MAGA supporter, who would feel at home in Mar-a-Lago.

Fred Ferguson (GeezerWise)'s avatar

Jerry, I think a lot of people saw the same thing...

calm, firm, and no political gymnastics.

Whether people agree with Wab or not, he came prepared and spoke plainly.

And yes… supporting “Canada first” while keeping referendum fuel in the trunk is where people start squinting at the story.

Audrey Cook's avatar

WTG Wab

Patsy Rideout's avatar

Another great post Fred! You certainly make us think & stir lots of comments :) I enjoy reading the ideas from others.

Fred Ferguson (GeezerWise)'s avatar

Thanks Patsy 😊

That’s honestly one of my favourite parts too...

seeing people bring thoughtful ideas into the conversation and challenge each other respectfully.

We’re all trying to make sense of a pretty noisy world right now.

Patsy Rideout's avatar

Amen to that Fred! :)

Scott Carter's avatar

I can’t top the comments from above for your article, George. Wab Kinew presents the best ideals of Canadian politicians; honesty, transparency and an informal speaking style appropriate for most conversations.

Fred Ferguson (GeezerWise)'s avatar

Thanks Scott... and I’ll quietly forgive being promoted to George for the day 😄

I think a lot of Canadians are responding to plain talk right now.

People don’t expect perfection from politicians, but they do appreciate honesty, clarity, and someone willing to speak like a human being.

Scott Carter's avatar

Oops, sorry about that. I read both the fine articles concurrently.

Penny Frost's avatar

I would have thought that the indigenous people would have the first right to say what happens in Alberta. After all they were there first, and let’s be honest the original settlers from Britain and Europe didn’t treat them well.

Fred Ferguson (GeezerWise)'s avatar

Penny, there’s a strong argument that Indigenous voices have to be part of any conversation that could affect treaty land, borders, or constitutional rights.

That’s exactly why consultation exists in the first place.

History matters... and so do the legal agreements that came from it.

No matter where people land politically, those conversations can’t just be skipped over.

Debbie Ross's avatar

The referendum will fail just as the last 2 Quebec ones did. I knew once the Indigenous Peoples got involved the jug was up.

Fred Ferguson (GeezerWise)'s avatar

Debbie, history suggests referendums like this are a steep climb.

But I think the bigger shift here is exactly what you pointed to... once treaty rights and constitutional obligations entered the conversation,

this stopped being just politics and became a legal conversation too.

That changes the board pretty quickly.

Sandi J Horton's avatar

I agree with you Debbie. But if the Forever Canada petition had been handled properly, the seppies would not have had a leg to stand on! IMO! Danielle Smith has f***d up just about everything in Alberta since she came into power!

Fred Ferguson (GeezerWise)'s avatar

Sandi, I think a lot of people feel the Forever Canada side deserved a cleaner runway.

But regardless of where people land politically, once courts and treaty rights entered the picture, this moved into a very different lane.

Alberta’s had enough turbulence already without adding constitutional drama to the dashboard.

Debbie Ross's avatar

Yes, she's not too bright. I don't know how she ever got that position.

Fred Ferguson (GeezerWise)'s avatar

Debbie, politics can surprise us sometimes 😄

I think what frustrates a lot of people is when decisions feel disconnected from consequences.

Either way, Alberta’s heading into a pretty intense few months... and voters will have their say on all of it eventually.

Debbie Ross's avatar

Good morning Fred! The Indigenous peoples I am sure will fight this to the bitter end and who can blame them. They have historically lost so much. They don't deserve this.