In a lot of ways it is, but this:
when you have segments of this country which based on their culture or where they live that get permanent special treatment ie: govt. grants, bribes, transfer payments, education, taxes, special rights and the list goes on then that is racism. To put this in perspective what if it was only english speaking white people from B.C. that were entitled to this, Naa that's not racism is it ?
is a load of horse manure.
The Maritimes is a good example, As long as they are dependant on permanent assistance from the tranfer payments they will have a depressed economy because there no need to try to change things. Last year when Harper mentioned this ....man did he get roasted, he even had to make an apology !
Every attempt to change things in have-not provinces has been met with massive resistance from the west, especially Alberta.
How about health care and the evils of "for profit health care"
gee...did anybody stop to think that almost all of the doctors in this country have their own private medical practices which are a form of limited company complete with leases, property, employees, writeoffs, income, expenses and yes.....profits
That is such a misconstruation of the facts that I don't even know where to begin. No one disputes that doctors have their own private practices. That's the way it has been since medicare was introduced. That is far different than introducing a frigging mess like they have in the US where insurance companies determine whether people are entitled to adequate treatment depending on how much they can afford to pay.
I could go on and on about the hypocracy we have in this country, the corruption, incompetence and arrogance in Ottawa. People from B.C. and Alberta have been trying to change things in this country for over 20 years now and it is clear that voters from other parts of the country will never accept a prime minister from out west.
Hmmm...Kim Campbell, Joe Clark, John Diefenbaker. All Conservatives from out west. All Prime Ministers. Campbell suffered greatly from the misdeeds of Mulroney and the advent of Preston Manning and the Reform Party, but the other two fell because of their own political ineptitude. At least they managed to get elected though. Since the Reform/Alliance/Conservatives have come along, the right has adopted an extremist stance that just doesn't sell in Canada. Don't blame the fct that the majority of Canadians do not agree with your proposed policies on anything but those policies, Gary.
More and more British Columbian's and especially Albertan's are getting tired of financing and putting up with all of this.
Depending on where you go anywhere between 30% and 45% of them would vote yes to seperate from Canada and I'm one of them, that number is rising quickly.
That's pretty sad considering some of the most generous and loyal people to this great country come from there but can no longer accept what is happening and are frustrated because there is nothing we can do to change it .
There's plenty you can do to change it. The first is to recognise that you aren't being picked on because of where you live. A lot of us live in places where we are even less represented than you are. You know why? Because our populations are even lower than yours. That's democracy, Gary baby.
The second is to stop looking south for examples of what Canada should be. France doesn't look to Germany as a model and England doesn't look to France, after all. They stand alone and cooperate in ways that suit them. Their answer to disputes is not sycophancy or threats, but respect for dispute mechanisms and real diplomacy.
Wanting to change our political system so that it looks like the USA's, our healthcare system so it looks like the USA's, and out gun laws so they look like the very worst of the USA's really doesn't wash. Wanting to integrate our military and our economy with the USA's scares the crap out people. Saying that our leaders should just go along with whatever the US says makes real Canadians cringe.
Want to start a real separatist movement out west, Gary? Go ahead. You'll never hit 50% +1%. You'll be lucky to hit 30% if you include the three western provinces outside of Alberta. Meanwhile, keep on yelling and screaming and stamping your feet.
