6 - Prairie Post West - Friday, February 26, 2021


6 - Prairie Post West - Friday, February 26, 2021


Equalization referendum is crucial step in Alberta's fight for fairness


BY FRANCO TERRAZZANO Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has


made one thing clear: he’s not going to hand Alberta a fair deal on a silver platter. There’s only one way for Alber- tans to get a fair deal: fight for it. The next step in our fight for fairness is this year’s equalization referendum. The equalization referendum on Oct.


18 is our chance to send Trudeau and the rest of Canada a clear message that the status quo must go. We’ve paid more than $600 billion


more to the feds, and by extension the other provinces, than we have received back since 1961. Even during the downturn that ravaged Alberta families and businesses over the last few years, we punched above our weight. Despite our oversized contributions,


politicians in other provinces are still making it harder to get our neighbours back to work and put food on the table. In British Columbia, politicians


pledged to “employ every tool available” to block our pipelines. In Quebec, Pre- mier François Legault called our oil “dirty energy,” said there’s “no social acceptability” for another pipeline and acknowledged that cashing in on our equalization dollars is a key reason Quebec should remain in Canada. The feds have also kicked us while


we’re down by imposing the No More Pipelines Law (Bill C-69) and a dis- criminatory tanker ban (Bill C-48), re- jecting Northern Gateway, moving the regulatory goalposts on Energy East, lying to us about increasing the carbon tax and setting the stage for a second carbon tax. Equalization is a fundamental part


of Alberta’s raw deal. Former Alberta finance minister Ted Morton estimates that equalization cost Alberta tax- payers about $3 billion in 2018 alone, which is a cost of more than $600 per Albertan. Since the equalization scheme was first established in 1957, Albertans have only received 0.02 per cent of the total spending and the last payment we received was back in 1964-65. But the worst aspect of equalization


isn’t its direct costs. It’s the fact that it forces Alberta taxpayers to direct- ly subsidize politicians like Legault who seem intent on roadblocking our development. Through equalization, politicians can rely more on our tax dollars to fund their programs and less on growing their own economies. Even politicians receiving equalization, such as New Brunswick’s Blaine Higgs and Legault, have acknowledged this per- verse reality. Here’s why an equalization referen- dum is so important: a provincial refer-


Gap with poverty is ugly Letters to the Editor


EDITOR: During these days in lockdown we


often come to appreciate how this pan- demic has created provincial, national and global unity. Sure, we have coun- tries working to create vaccines, people valuing being stuck with their families, and in general everyone (or mostly ev- eryone) coming together to stop this pandemic. Although, people are greatly dismissing the very, very fine line that has been created between unity and division. At the surface, something that optimistically unites us also divides us. Divisions as an outcome of this pan- demic includes the division of front line


endum that results in a clear majority on a clear Constitutional question would push the feds and provinces to negotiate on equalization, according to Morton and Alberta’s Fair Deal Panel. Rainer Knopff, a professor of political


science at the University of Calgary, has also argued that the equalization referendum is needed to bring the rest of Canada to the table. A referendum with a large majori-


ty opposing equalization would give Premier Jason Kenney the moral au- thority to push for change and could also encourage other provinces, such as Saskatchewan, to hold their own refer- endum. Changes to equal-


ization are needed, but the referendum is about much more than reforming an unfair federal program. Many Al- bertans feel that Trudeau and the rest of Canada aren’t listening to our griev- ances, don’t under- stand our hardships or just don’t care. The equalization ref- erendum may be our


workers who risk their lives every to the people who work from their heated houses. The world seems to be coming to-


gether to understand Covid and aid various Nations, yet this also includes dangerous divisible factors. For ex- amples; the incredible science behind the vaccine that is being distributed across the globe. Yet Pfizer chooses to patent their formula to make better profit while hundreds of labs world- wide could produce necessary vaccines within months. I am writing to talk about one of the


most concerning yet subtle divisions today. Between Canada and developing countries. The United Nations Develop-


COVID kills children through creating poverty


EDITOR: For the first time in 20 years, we


are losing progress on ending extreme poverty. The devastating secondary ef- fects of COVID are widening the gaps of inequality, or the divide between those who have and those who don’t have ade- quate money and healthcare. More than 150 million people are pre-


dicted to be pushed into extreme poverty by the end of 2021. 10,000 more chil- dren will die from hunger every month. Canada has an opportunity to become a leader in global health.


ment Program states that 2019 – 2020 predicted a decrease of 2.7% poverty rate of women. Projections have now increased by 9.1% since the pandemic. This means 47 million women and girls will be pushed beneath the poverty line. Poverty in developing countries is wors- ening due to the disarray of campaigns that have been present to fight malaria, polio, AIDS and famine. The fallouts are endless and includes many social issues such as about 13 million more girls into child marriages (United Nations) and 72 million children being pushed to illitera- cy (The World Bank). It’s not news to us that Canada is one


of the wealthiest countries in the world right now. Therefore, their responsibil- ity to help these neglected divisions is at an all-time high right now. In 2015 Canada has invested $290 million to the


Global Financing Facility (GGF). Can- ada must take similar action again by investing $250 million through 3 years. This will enable further evidence driven investments to aid poverty and lessen the gap. The GGF’s action plan consists of leadership and ownership, equity and inclusion, efficiency and scale, results for impact and complement and catalyze. Canada currently plays a crucial part in GGF’s agenda to stop the deadly divide and to strengthen vulnerable people and systems. As International Development Week


comes to a close, the awareness of this global division must gain more consistent attention as we are far from done with Covid – 19, which means we are far from done with closing this gap of poverty. Ellie Tripp, Alberta She/Her


The Global Financing Facility for


Women, Children and Adolescents (GFF) is a country driven fund housed at the World Bank that supports countries to deliver high-impact health and nutrition interventions that generate results.


It is


an instrument that is about delivery of primary healthcare, and ensures that resources go where they need to go. The GFF is in need of funding now.


Canada should contribute $250 million over 3 years. We must aim at closing the divide and


not let it keep widening! Nora Hagen MD, Generalist in Mental


Health Cochrane, Alta


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Elderly deserve better than current seniors care centres


EDITOR: What I really admire about some


non-Western cultures is their general belief in and practice of not placing their aged family members in seniors care homes. As a result, family caregivers don’t have


to worry over those loved-ones being left vulnerable by cost-cutting measures tak- en by some care-home business owners tomaximize profits. As for care-home neglect, it was present


here in Canada before Covid-19; however, we didn’t fully comprehend the degree until the pandemic really hit, as we hor- rifically discovered with the CHSLD Rés-


refuse any advertisement or insertion. The advertiser agrees that the liability of the Post or its employees for damages or costs arising out of error in printing or insertion of advertisements or any other material is limited to the actual amount paid for the space used by that portion of the advertisement containing


idence Herron in Dorval, Quebec, about 10 months ago. Business mentality and, by extension,


collective society, allowed the well-being of our oldest family members to be decided by corporate profit-margin measures. And our governments mostly dared not intervene, perhaps because they feared being labelled as anti-business in our avidly capitalist culture. But, as clearly evidenced by the many


needless care-home resident Covid-19 deaths, big business does not always know or practice what’s best for its consumers, including the most vulnerable with little or no voice. Frank Sterle Jr. White Rock, B.C.


the error or the actual cost paid to have the advertisement or any other material inserted in the Post. Notice of error is required before the second insertion. The Post will not be liable for any other claims of damages from not printing or non-insertion of any advertisement of other material.


not going to get a fair deal by yelling from outside of the ring. We need to be in the fight. Kenney’s equalization ref- erendum will finally put us in the fight for fairness. Franco Terrazzano is the Alberta Di-


rector of the Canadian Taxpayers Fed- eration


best bet to put Alberta’s grievances di- rectly on the kitchen tables in Victoria, Trois-Rivières and St. John’s, and send a clear message to Trudeau about how feel about the status quo. It should be clear by now that we are


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