Today I think I will write a bit about living in Western Canada, because there are some things about it that are bugging me all the time. Well, it seems incredibly annoying how to the rest of Canada, everyone in our province is a right-wing fundamentalist Conservative, white male over the age of 21 who probably owns a pick-up truck and a couple of rottweilers. So do you guys want to know the truth..?
For one. Men only out number women in this province by a little bit. We also have people of different ethnicities and religions. There are liberals here too!! Although these people are not a majority, they still exist and I'm sure that they have voices worth hearing. The thing is. None of that really gets out to the country of Canada. I'm not sure if I can point fingers at the reason, there probably are a number of them. But whenever there is a representative from Alberta, they seem to fit the category I mentioned earlier. Now, I'm not saying that our "stereotypical Albertans" shouldn't be speaking, because they most definitely have and deserve that right. But I would love to here from someone who represents the Alberta that we don't here about often, the one where people have different opinions. So to all of you who have an opinion, a different opinion, an opinion worth valuing. My head would be turned, and I'm sure the rest of Canada would be interested to here you speak out as an Albertan.
Now. I guess that's not all that's bugging me. What really is Western Alienation?. I know we here about it on the news, in the debates and from our politicians but were our needs really being disregarded by the (previous) federal government? Do we not get enough representation? .. I'm sure every other province has something equally important to whine about, yet they don't constantly complain about seperation. I don't really see what we have to complain about that the rest of the world doesn't. If someone could give me some proof, some simple fact that Junior High Student could understand, I might reconsider re-writing this. But as an Albertan, I don't feel like the political climate in our province or the amount of attention we have received has changed a whole lot since Mr. Harper was elected (Maybe that's a good thing). Well, he's still got some more time to proove me wrong.
2 comments:
Western Alienation is, in short, a feeling by those living in the west who feel that their voice doesn't matter when it comes to politics, particularly the federal government. The way our current political voting system is layed out, to the west, it seems that ontario and quebec tend to decide who gets into power. The fact that the winner is usually announced before the voting polls close in western canada (time differences) doesn't make matters better. A lot of the time, the outcome is decided by the eastern and central canada hours before westerners can even cast a vote, so many don't bother to vote thinking, "What's the point? The government is already chosen."
This is also aided by the fact that alot of the time, those who feel alienated don't agree with the policies of the federal government (a government they feel they didn't get a proper chance to vote for in the first place). For example, British Columbians were resentful that despite now becoming a have-not province in the late 1990's, the province is still expected to pay more than its fair share of money to support the older have-not provinces in the east. And in Alberta, there was that whole national energy program in the 1970's that pissed off tonnes of albertans that were expected to share the energy/oil revenue with the rest of canada with question and without much of a say. I would also say there is a general distaste for the special treatment Quebec has gotten over the years as well. I could go on an on about it, and really, I've gone on too long.
In my mind, I don't believe in western alienation. I just think it's a joke and a waste of time to sit there and complain. What the west doesn't realize is that everyone gets a raw deal one way or another, and you have to deal with it. Separation is not the answer, because that's just ridiculous. We have to work together, and sometimes that means you have to sacrifice a little more than your neighbors, and if that's the case for a united Canada, so be it. Oh, I live in the BC, by the way, and honestly, I'm sick and tired of the whimpering and whining that is involved with western alienation.
Yeah, I agree with you : ). That's why I'm questioning the legitimacy of the term "Western Alienation", although I see why other Albertans and Westerners would believe in that word. I don't really think we have anything to complain about any more than the other provinces.
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