CORY MORGAN： Alberta's referendum is very real
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Summary
On October 19th, Albertans will vote on a non-binding referendum question on whether or not they want to leave the Canadian federation. The question will be placed on the ballot by a Liberal-appointed judge, and is a question seeking a mandate to ask another question.
Transcript
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So I know, trust me, I know, the referendum question being posed to Albertans on October
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19th is a weak dump of word salad. Independent supporters were led down a garden path with what
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was thought to be a legitimate form of invoking a referendum through a petition, only to have the
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fruits of all that work stolen from them by a Liberal appointed judge. The question now being
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placed on the ballot is a non-binding and it's only a question seeking a mandate to ask another
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question. Premier Smith has gone on a federalist campaign as versiferous as the one Jason Kenney
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has been on and as laden with misinformation as she claims the transition costs would peak or would
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cost about 400 billion dollars. It feels like all the cards are against the independence movement
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because it's true. The system and those within it are pulling out all the stops to keep Albertans
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with the campaign in the face of such opposition?
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Well, why should a campaign for this false flaccid question
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and they're pulling out all the stops to fight it.
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to speak in opposition to Alberta's independence
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while Pierre Polyev has decided to spend the summer
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in Alberta trying to convince Albertans why the status quo is fine. Columnists and premiers are
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fighting along with each other for the microphone to deride independent supporters in Alberta and
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to campaign against choice. That's because the establishment knows the referendum presents a
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threat to its comfortable position. Laurentian elites might be arrogant and parasitic, but many
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of them aren't stupid. They saw what happened with Brexit and know that when the electorate is given
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a choice in the matter, they will often choose to oppose existing institutions. Some independence
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groups and individuals have taken their foot off the gas, and they're tired and dejected after
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having four months of petitioning effort trampled on by the courts. It's understandable, but they
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got to dust themselves off and get back up now. A strong vote for option two on the question 10 in
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the election keeps the movement alive. A strong vote for option one on the question will put the
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debate on the shelf for another decade. Albertans can't allow federalists to put this issue to bed.
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The months of petitioning and blizzards and holding meetings in town halls and winter nights
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were not wasted, guys. It doesn't matter if the 301,000 signatures weren't formally counted
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by Elections Alberta. People with sense know they were genuine and they represent a groundswell of
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support for a real referendum on independence. The months of petitioning helped solidify the
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movement. Thousands of volunteers networked, bonded, and reached hundreds of thousands of Albertans.
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They built the foundation of what will be the campaign to win the referendum this fall.
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The petitioning phase was just a warm-up and a trial run for the bigger campaign.
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The independent movement also has to be a little honest with itself.
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While the core of dedicated independent supporters within Alberta has never measured so consistently strong as it has,
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the number hasn't grown really over the last six months.
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The mushy middle of undecided voters has remained the same, and those fiercely opposed to the concept will never budge.
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but that's because the campaign to date has been focused on getting signatures rather than selling
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the concept. Now the path of the campaign becomes clearer. People must be convinced to choose option
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two, and to be frank, it'll be easier to sell than the binding yes or no question that petitioners
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had tried to get on the ballot. With a non-binding option, the independent side could pivot a little
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and gather those who want to send Ottawa a message rather than start the full process of independence.
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If those people can be moved, a strong option two victory can be won. With that extra time having
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can continue to work towards a true independence referendum
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That discussion is going to be raging until October 19th.
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The path to independence is never going to be a simple one
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or a straight one, but giving up is not an option.
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The changing of the question for the referendum
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So the independence movement must navigate that curve and keep moving towards the goal.
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Quitting isn't an option and it isn't the Alberta way.
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I want to throw one more thing into because some of the prime campaigners are still obsessed
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with trying to take Premier Smith out of power, guys.
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If you split your movement like that, not only will you not get rid of Premier Smith,