Charting The Course To Independence - with Cory Morgan (The Western Standard)
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Summary
Corey Morgan of the Western Standard and The Corey Morgan Show joins me to talk about his new book, "The Sovereignty's Handbook". We also talk about the Alberta Independence Rally this weekend at the Alberta legislature, and why he's excited about it.
Transcript
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Hi, it's John and welcome to the channel. Great to have you along today. I've got a special guest
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with me today on the channel. Of course, I do have my big blue mug of coffee, which always
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kind of flashes in and out of the screen whenever I do these interviews. Coffee tasting very sweet
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today for sure. And as you know, we've got a big event coming up this coming weekend at the
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Alberta legislature from 4 to 6 p.m., big independence rally. I am Alberta. Make sure
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you go on your social media and you promote it as much as possible and make sure you're
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there. Our guest today would like to be there, but unfortunately, you know, he's a long way
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away. Generally, when I interview or I'm being interviewed by this man, he's about 26 kilometers
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from where I'm sitting right now. But right now he is a long way away. He's written a book
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on Western independence and Alberta independence called The Sovereignty's Handbook. Link in the
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description. Of course, I'm talking about Corey Morgan of the Western Standard and the Corey
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All right. Well, thanks, John. Always happy to be here.
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Well, you know, I mentioned off the top that you're a little bit away from me right now.
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In fact, I think you're nine time zones, is it? You're nine hours ahead of me right now.
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So I'm talking to you at one o'clock in the afternoon. It's now 10 o'clock. Are you in Tel
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I'm in Tel Aviv right now. Yeah, we're moving up by the Golan Heights tomorrow, but still in Tel
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I want to ask you about that near the end. I don't want to get in too deep. I understand you're
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there with the Western Standard in Israel. But I wanted to talk to you a little bit about
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the independence movement. We've talked about this before. We've got a big event coming up
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this week, and I don't think you're going to be there. Is that correct?
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I'm afraid not. No. And I was supposed to speak at another one, and I still feel terrible
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about that. I canceled that. That's tonight, I believe, in Calgary. But this trip came up
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suddenly, and I couldn't avoid it. But all the same, it looks like a lot of great independent
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stuff happening. So I'll be watching enthusiastically from afar.
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I'll actually be going to the one. It's Act Now. I'll be going to that one. I'm going to
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go to that one tonight as well. And I'm going to be seeing Mitch Sylvester and Dennis Modry
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will be there. I was hoping to meet you. And every time I get a chance to meet you, we
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seem to be going in different directions. I didn't think I'd miss you in Israel. But let
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me ask you about this. You did a quick video on the weekend. And I've been amazed at the way
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things have been going with the independence movement. I thought through the summer, it
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would start lagging. People would lose interest in it. I think you found as well that it's
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got some kind of a momentum going here. And that I'm still feeling really optimistic about
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things. And I get the feeling you're feeling that way as well.
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Exactly. And I'm happily surprised. As you said, I was sort of thinking it was going to
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slow down. I mean, I was always optimistic, but it has its ups and downs. And I figured, okay,
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it's going to have a hard time kind of getting rolling again in fall and filling those rooms.
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But I did a couple of speaking events I was a guest at. And I mean, the rooms were packed. And these
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are small towns, but relative to the size of the town, these are enthusiastic crowds. I don't know
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if I mentioned it on the video, but at the one I did in Okotoks recently, when it packed a room of
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90 people, they expected 30 to 50 for a chapter meeting. And when the host asked how many people were
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at their first meeting ever, I'd say almost half of the room raised their hands. And that really
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got me excited. You know, when we're seeing new faces coming out to these in fall, there hasn't
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been a particular event to inflame people. There's lots and, you know, a cumulative amount of a lot
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of things going on to bring people out. But it's just giving me a feeling of strength and momentum
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that I didn't quite expect. And I'm happy to see. And I'm just really hoping that rally
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really draws people out because it'll make an impression.
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We really need a lot of people out there. I was talking with Darren from the Alberta Prosperity
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Project earlier today. I think you mentioned in your video on the weekend as well, they've got
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buses going. So there's buses from around the province, not a lot of them right now, but a new
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one has been booked from Fort McMurray. So if you want to go from Fort McMurray into Edmonton,
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go to the Alberta Prosperity Project website. I'll put a link in the description and you can book
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from Fort McMurray and go to Edmonton on Saturday this week. I mentioned in the intro here, Corey,
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that you wrote a book on this, The Sovereignty's Handbook, Charting the Course to Western Independence.
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I know that, I think it's doing pretty good for you now, probably since this movement has started
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growing over the last year or so. And in there, and actually, if you actually look on Amazon
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Western separatism described as primitive and confused, groping for a platform and searching
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for a leader. Here we are over 40 years later and the statement is as true as ever. Do you still feel
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that way? I do in the sense, though I'm seeing much more of an organization out of the APP than
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we've ever seen before. They're putting together a fantastic ground game. I've really been impressed
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with them. And I always got to, you know, qualify that, that I'm not a member of the APP. And if they
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screw up, I'm going to hold their feet to the fire just as much as any group. But I really think
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they've been doing an excellent job out there. So that part of it is not quite as accurate as it
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was when I wrote that book two years ago. There wasn't quite an organization doing that.
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There's still not an outstanding figure representing the movement yet. I mean, there's some great people
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speaking for it, Dennis, Mitch, you know, and Jeff doing their work out there. But there's no
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particular person. If somebody's going to point out who's the head of this movement, who's the face of
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this movement, that person hasn't emerged yet. I've talked about that in past videos, too. I think
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it's kind of almost an advantage and a disadvantage. You know, a solitary leader can bring a whole
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movement down. But at the same time, getting more of a singular face, whoever it may be, helps for
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consistency in messaging, assuming the messaging is good, and can help unify the movement. Though it's
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not terribly divided, I think, right now anyways. So it's kind of interesting. It's doing well without a
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particular leader in it. And maybe, you know, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Just see how things
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keep going as they are. Well, if you haven't been out to one of the meetings that Corey was talking
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about, they're happening about four or five every week. So there'll certainly be one coming through
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your area. I've been out to a number of them myself. So I'm wondering what you're thinking of
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right now we're being held up on this. The question that was put out, I'll read it for you here.
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Do we agree that Alberta shall become a sovereign country and cease to be a province of Canada?
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It's kind of being held up right now. Do you think this question will be found constitutional?
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And what do you think happens if it isn't called, isn't considered constitutional?
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Yeah, well, they're both big questions. I mean, I think by its very nature, it's sort of not
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constitutional. It's asking to exit the constitution. There's no part of the constitution that gives a
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mechanism to do that. So I think theoretically on that alone, a judge can say it's not constitutional.
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I think part of what the, you know, rationale for those putting this to the court, though,
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was that this might clash with indigenous rights. I've done videos and a lot of discussions on that
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already. I strongly believe it doesn't. But I also, the courts are going to take into mind how this
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will ripple all the way across the country. If they rule that it's unconstitutional, well,
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they're also telling Quebec that they can't go as well. And no government's had the courage to say
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Quebec's not allowed to choose to go. Are they really going to try to claim that now? And as for
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what would happen if they did say that, I think Alberta would have to emulate Quebec because I
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know exactly what Quebec would say if that ruling came down and say, well, we don't really care what
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you think. When we hold our referendum and we will hold it despite you, we're going to move on as per
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the Clarity Act and, you know, do our thing. So I feel Alberta should respond the same way. I'm not
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talking about perhaps Brigham Smith taking an independent stance, but sort of saying it's
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consistent to her stance of that. This is the sort of thing that if Albertans enough of them want it,
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it should go to a question on a ballot so they can choose for themselves as to what's going to
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happen in the future. So we'll see where that goes. You know, I was thinking before I contacted you,
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or we contacted each other, I guess, just a few minutes ago, I'm thinking this,
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this is a very dangerous thing that the Alberta independence movement is doing here when it comes
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to Canada's perspective, very dangerous. And I'm wondering if we start moving ahead with this,
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what do you think is coming down the road? Should we get the signatures, which I think will happen?
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And a referendum question is finally, that referendum question, if it's considered constitutional,
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ends up on a ballot, what do you think is coming down the road and how should the independence
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movement be prepared? You wrote a book on kind of charting this course. Did you ever get this far
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when it came to? Yeah. Yeah. My book sort of stopped at the point of saying, we've got to get
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the mechanism for a referendum. Yeah. Maybe I'm due to get an updated copy. Yeah. Yes. Another chapter
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or two, Corey, for sure. Yeah. And we've hit that point. So it's much more uncharted now and getting
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beyond it. Canada and federalists within Alberta and outside will, of course, fight against this
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tooth and nail any way they possibly can. How they fight it, they're going to have to be really,
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really careful. I've said repeatedly too, I don't think Alberta is at the level of a vote were held
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tomorrow that they would go. But I think the momentum is moving towards it. And if things don't
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change, it will reach that level and pass it. If it's a belligerent anti-independence campaign,
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if it's insulting to Albertans, if it's derogatory, they will increase the probability of a yes vote
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actually beginning to happen. You know, going down a speculative road, and it's purely guessing,
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but I think Premier Smith really wants to see a referendum. I don't think she wants to see a
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yes vote necessarily. But politically, if Alberta held a referendum, we had independence discussion for
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months and months, a campaign on it, and then we came out of it with 40, 45%. Boy, as a Premier,
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she's sure going to have a heck of a lot more leverage when she's dealing with Ottawa after that
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point. If a 51% vote comes in, well, we're all in for a pretty wild ride as a nation.
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And I would guess if, you know, it doesn't come at 50%, 50% plus one, she can put this in the
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rear view mirror and move on to an election, which I think is, what, two years away now,
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would finally kind of put all of this separatist talk behind her. Let me ask you about this,
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because do you hold out any hope that there may be some major projects that the Kearney government
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will okay, that we'll finally see the government, which could make a decision on a pipeline that goes
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across borders into, say, British Columbia, even though Premier David Eby has said he doesn't want
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that to happen. I think the federal government has the constitutional right to do that. It's the
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provinces that control the natural resources within their borders, but the government controls,
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I think, what crosses the borders, if I remember correctly.
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Yeah. In fact, the government has the constitutional obligation to facilitate that sort of
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infrastructure, just as much as they would with a railroad track or a highway. And they've
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abdicated it. They've made it pretty clear. They will not exercise their constitutional responsibilities.
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If they're already saying they're not going to do that, I don't see it changing. Even if they realize
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this is the sort of thing that's pushing Alberta more towards an independent stance, they're
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ideologically driven. Kearney is just as insanely net zero obsessed as Trudeau was. This is, again,
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a religious ideology for those people. They will not back down from this. They think they're saving
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the world. And so I can't see a project is particularly happening fast enough, even if he
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started leaning towards it and offered more weasel words and brought us a little closer.
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Until people see ground moving, nobody's believing anything out of this government. And I don't see
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any indication he's going to get into a scrap with Eby and with some of those indigenous bands and step
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into the mire. At best, he's just going to keep doing what he's doing, which is pretending he somewhat
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supports it while not actually supporting it in reality, which is just going to frustrate more and
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more people. And that's part of the driver, I think, that this didn't calm down with time. People
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didn't start to say over summer, you know, well, we'll see if maybe he's going to change some things.
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Maybe he's going to embrace the conservative things. He's going to be pragmatic. He's going to
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move away from the old Trudeau status quo. It's pretty clear he isn't. And people don't think he is.
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They don't think he's going to. And that's why that independence movement is not sagging. It's
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What do you say to the people who are kind of sitting on the fence right now? You would like to see
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an independent Alberta. And they're just sitting there wondering, maybe looking for that one
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tipping point. What would you suggest that be the thing that would kind of push them over the edge?
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I guess, you know, take a day and meditate on it. You know, look at things and ask yourself
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what scenario you could see that's going to change the status quo. Because I think the people sitting
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on the edge are frustrated and upset. But somewhere in the back of their mind, they think something
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might change this direction, might change this balance of power in Canada. And if you just take
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some time, contemplate, think of it, look at the political system, look at the political trends.
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And you come to that realization that most of us who are independent supporters already have come to
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and that we've either got to accept that we're always going to be a colony of Canada,
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or we've got to move to independence. There is no third option.
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What do you say? I don't know that I asked you this question the last time we spoke here on my
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channel. You know, I've talked to Mitch Sylvester a couple of times, Dennis Modry, Jeff Rath, and
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others. And I'm sure that I asked you this one, but how do you get around the patriotism thing?
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That's the thing I think that can get in the way of people saying yes to independence in Alberta.
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It's a tough thing to fight, Canadian patriotism.
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Absolutely. And it's real. And that's something, you know, that as advocates, we've always got to be
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cognizant of. Those of us who have gotten over that aspect must remember, if somebody still has that
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strong patriotic feeling and you get in their face, they're going to dig their heels in more.
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You've got to work carefully with people. And again, they've got to let their cold rationality
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overcome their feeling of patriotism. And that takes some time. It takes careful discussions.
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That's why I was talking about, you know, with people, they should take a day and really dwell
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on it and really think on it. And they should be encouraged to do that. And just as cold as it
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might sound, try to remember that Canada will still be there the day after. We're just talking
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about changing the contract. We're talking about changing the agreement. You know, your, your aunt
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Margaret's still going to be over in Toronto and uncle Eddie's still going to be in Newfoundland and,
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and, and everybody's still going to be there. Uh, and we're all, we'll all still be friends.
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Sure. I mean, one of the analogies that you did another, uh, uh, meeting, you know,
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as some truth to it is, is it, uh, with my, my, my ex-wife, I get along much better with her now
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that we're divorced than I did while we were together. So, uh, sometimes the relationship can
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actually be better, uh, later on, but it's a tough nut to crack because, you know, emotion trumps
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rationality. And we, we just got to be patient yet constantly working on people, I guess,
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and moving, moving them towards that. Corey, the big event coming up on Saturday,
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as I've mentioned at the legislature four to six in Edmonton, I'm going to be, I am seeing the event.
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I'm excited. So that's great. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's another one. I'm so sorry. I'm going to be
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missing, you know, I'm going to be just getting back into Calgary through Amsterdam. I think if I tried
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hard enough, I might make it up there at the last minute, but I'd be exhausted and sort of a waste
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of, uh, of, uh, space I'm afraid on that day. So just missing it. You have a safe trip back here.
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Just before you go, don't want to get too deep into this. I know you've had a long day, pretty busy
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where you are right now in Tel Aviv, but what, what has you in Israel right now? Well, it is a media
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group that that's out here. And as I kind of said earlier, no, I'm not sponsored by Netanyahu or the
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Israeli government or anything like that, but we are going out and seeing directly, uh, some of the
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sites, some of the things that happened. It's been a tough one today. I was at the Nova festival site
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where, where the, the slaughter of all those kids happened. Uh, I was also at some kibbutzes where more
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of that happened. You can still see that the bullet holes and the, and that the, the waste that was done.
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Uh, I'm going to be going up to, to Golan Heights. I watched that horrific 47 minute video.
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Um, that I've heard about it. Yeah. It's going to scar me, but the, the goal of this, I guess,
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is just to get media members. They're not, we're not being told what to say or what to conclude,
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but to see firsthand, here's what's happening. Here's what's on the ground. Here's people you can
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interact with, you know, you're not some controlled environment. And certainly the, the intent of,
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of this is to try and get more of a favorable view as a, as to where Israel standing within
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this, but you know, we're, we're left to make our own conclusions. So it's, it's a six day sort
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of junket around the country in a few different spots and a meeting with a number of different
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people to, uh, learn more about this very, and it is a very, very complicated situation. So,
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so the more I can learn here, I can learn far more here than in a thousand books, uh, you know,
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on the issue. You got there right after this ceasefire was signed. What's the feeling there? Are
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they optimistic or the Israelis optimistic this, that this will hold? I, I'm, I'm never optimistic
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when it comes to a group like Hamas, but how are they feeling about this now?
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Well, on the immediate term, actually people are, have been jubilant. Uh, we, we, we went out,
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it's different out here. You know, Jane and I, we eat supper at five o'clock and start, uh, you know,
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winding down by seven or eight. Supper's just starting out here at eight and you're not even getting back to
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your hotel until 10. Uh, and then in this part of town, it's just got a very vibrant nightlife.
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So the streets were just packed and there's young people and, and people were, uh, hitting the bars,
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hitting pizza places, just hanging out. And in talking to them, it really is people, I don't
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think necessarily understand just how deeply it hurt this nation to have their citizens held hostage
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like that and the bodies, which is very sacred to juice. They, they, they must have those remains
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back. The families can't mourn until the remains are back everywhere. You go everywhere. There are
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signs saying, bring them home. There's posters with the missing and killed hostages. There's,
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so it's just with a, a great relief and celebration that the, the, the last, at least of the living
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hostages are back. It really, really hurt them deeply. I don't think any are under the illusion
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that it's over, but this phase of it is over and they're, they're happy for that. And they really do,
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despite what some people think they want peace. Uh, I I'm speaking to IDF soldiers as well,
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guys who have been dealing with things in Gaza, they're young folks, you know, they're conscripted
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essentially into the army. They, they felt true in their cause in being there, but they'd be more
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than happy to be just doing their patrols on the streets within Israel rather than going into Gaza,
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uh, and dealing with all that. So they're, they're hoping that some form of lasting peace comes
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about, but the, the religious differences, the, the, the Islamist ideology, even if Hamas is gone,
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they do understand, you know, another head of this ugly monster is, is going to rise up and it just
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seems to be a cycle of battles. Uh, hopefully in the long, long run, somehow somebody can figure out
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how everybody can kind of try to live together in this tight space with so many shared holy sites.
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Uh, but for the immediate term, actually people are really happy and, uh, they, they were just
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thrilled with Trump. They, they, and because I mean, that's all, that's all they wanted. And it
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really does drive home what people have been saying for the last two years. If you want Israel to stop
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bombing Gaza, release the frigging hostages, release the hostages, release the hostage. You can't say it
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enough times. And sure enough, the hostage is released. And guess what? IDF backed right up.
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They don't want to be there. They just wanted their people back. Well, so, uh, yeah, well,
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that's good to hear an update like that. Certainly sound that's, that certainly is, um, very positive.
00:20:08.920
That's good to hear from somebody who's been on the ground there talking to these people.
00:20:13.000
Yeah. Yeah. Cause there's, there's been a lot of sadness and harsh things to see out here as well.
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Well, it's kind of been around the world. There's been a lot of sadness about this, um, for the last
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couple of years. So it's good to see that this is hopefully coming to an end. Corey, I won't keep you much
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longer. Um, thanks so much for your time here. Wish you could see you this weekend. When you come back
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into town, let's go for like a coffee or something. So I can finally meet you in person. Okay.
00:20:34.180
Absolutely. We're going to cross paths and burst in one of these days. It has to happen.
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Yeah. Well, people will know that you wanted to be, uh, be there tonight as well at this event.
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I'm saying tonight, because this is going to go up tomorrow morning, so it'll be passed already.
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Uh, but, um, of course this weekend coming up on Saturday at the legislature, I know people
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know you want to be there. We wish you could be there as well. Be safe coming back. Okay.
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Okay. Corey Morgan, uh, from the Western standard and the Corey Morgan show. If you liked this video,
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