OPINION

JOHN’S RANT

We quite often hear the phrase “Is Canada Broken?” bandied about these days.

Many on the Conservative side of the fence say this is the case… and many provincial governments agree this is the case… yet our illustrious Prime Minister and his cabal of cabinet minions - and the NDP sycophants - who keep this bad government in power, state emphatically it is not broken.

Well, if it’s not, it’s pretty close.

And part of the blame has to lie at the feet of Trudeau cabinet ministers who let their tongues out for a romp without thinking about the consequences, or just not giving a damn because they think they are the total power in this country and therefore they can say what they want.

Or, in a more Machiavellian stream, they know exactly what they are doing, namely throwing gasoline on to a smouldering fire. Yet since the Federal government loathes anything to do with gasoline or other fossil fuels that just can’t be the case.

Let’s leave it at letting their tongues out for a romp without thinking about the consequences.

Case in point.

Justice Minister David Lametti responded to a question at the Assembly of First Nations conference recently.

When asked what was definitely a loaded question about whether he would rescind provincial constitutional rights to have the natural resources rights of forestry, mining, fishing and of course fossil fuel development, Lametti said he would look into it.

Well right off the bat he should know this can’t happen without modification to the constitution of the country. That would need the approval of seven of 10 provinces with more than 50 per cent of the national population.

The members of the First Assembly must also know they can now negotiate natural resources issues with the provinces on pretty much an even footing. We can see that as more oil and gas companies invite indigenous ownership and share in fossil fuel developments, and the increase hiring of indigenous populations on fossil fuel projects they aren’t being left behind, but rather welcomed to the table on an equal basis.

But Lametti could have just said this wasn’t allowed under the current laws of the constitution. A straight, honest answer.

But he didn’t!

He said he'd look into it.

Well naturally this infuriated the Western premiers who got together and wrote angry letters to the Feds saying Lametti had to walk back his statement.

And Lametti’s boss, Trudeau, showed complete lack of leadership by merely stating the Justice Minister’s remarks had been “misrepresented.”

Now, Lametti is the lame duck that was put in place to fill in for Jody Wilson Raybould when she stood up to Trudeau and said she wouldn’t sweep the SNC Lavalin scandal under the carpet as Trudeau wanted.

That little bulge under the carpet in the corner of Lametti’s office is the scandal, which he quickly swept away while genuflecting in Trudeau’s direction for giving him a cushy job with a huge salary increase.

But no, Trudeau let the Lametti comments put flame to a smouldering fire in western Canada. And Lametti did nothing to walk them back.

If anything it has helped bring Manitoba into alignment with Alberta and Saskatchewan in seeking a more defined role for the provinces in this confederation of ours.

The west wants a balanced approach to redeveloping our economies and slowly weaning away from the production of fossil fuels.

But as the war in Ukraine has shown, there is a vast demand for continued sales of cleanly developed fossil fuels and in this category the western provinces lead the way.

But Trudeau and his gushing green sycophants just look at the densely populated markets within Canada as they impose their green policies.

Sure battery plants in southern Ontario are nice. And they will power electric vehicles which actually work quite well in closely knit densely populated areas.

But not so much when you want to take the kids to their hockey weekends in Lethbridge or Prince Albert when it’s -40.

So when Lametti could have just said no, or it isn’t allowed under the constitution, he instead said he’d look into it.

So instead of thinking, he just casually tossed out a statement that created another fracture in this geographic location that we call Canada.

The Liberals and their brothers-in-arms, the NDP under Jagmeet Singh, may not want to see the break up of Canada, but they are doing an awful lot to promote just that by not thinking before they speak.

JOHN MATHER