PREVIEW: Canadian National Unity: Alberta's Grievance Over Equalization Payments and Pipeline Prevention

Guest: Conrad Black

Conrad Black discusses the state of Canada's national unity, highlighting that Alberta feels unfairly treated by the federal government. Alberta sends substantial wealth to Ottawa through equalization payments, a system where money from prosperous provinces is transferred to ensure less prosperous provinces can provide equivalent service levels. Alberta has traditionally been relatively uncomplaining about its role in these payments but now feels it receives little back in return. More significantly, Alberta believes its energy resources are being undermined by federal policy. The province's primary complaint is that it has been prevented for the past decade from building pipelines, both east and west, to utilize its oil and gas reserves, for which there is strong global demand. Black concludes that apart from this critical issue, national unity is relatively stable, and provinces are waiting to see what changes, if any, the new prime minister will implement regarding this contentious policy.

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