Trying to explain separation

There are many who just cannot comprehend why Alberta would want to leave the greatest country in the world.

Maybe this analogy might help explain why. Of course this is only hypothetical and in no circumstances is meant to demean our current provincial government. It is for illustration purposes only.

Let’s say 10 years ago the government in Victoria decided the Okanagan just didn’t fit with the ideology of the ruling party and typically didn’t vote for the party in power. It decided to impose a variety of new rules.

Tourism is very important to the Okanagan so a new rule was implemented that imposed a 25% tax on every accommodation which went directly into the government’s revenue to spend in other parts of B.C. No other jurisdiction had this rule imposed. Of course that benefited Victoria’s tourism which was the Okanagan’s competition.

Fruit production is another economic driver, so it imposed a rule that Okanagan fruit could only be sold in the Okanagan or to the United States at a 40% discount. The Americans loved that rule.

The Okanagan is famous for its wines. So Victoria put in place a rule that Okanagan wines could not be transported to Vancouver Island. Instead, the island was to buy Chinese wine or wine from other lessor-quality countries with dubious quality controls. A secondary rule was imposed that limited the amount of Okanagan wine that could be produced, regardless of market conditions.

Finally it ruled that because the Okanagan was able to continue even under such terrible conditions and because the Lower Mainland refused to try to develop wineries, a $5 levy on every bottle of wine sold must be submitted to the coffers of the cities there to equalize their finances.

No matter how disruptive the weather was for the grapes, the levy based on not actual sales would be enforced.

After 10 years of having Victoria try its best to destroy the economy of the land-locked Okanagan, some (residents) thought what about separating from B.C.

I hope my analogy helps explain the current situation in Alberta and to some extent Saskatchewan.

I have never lived in Alberta but I was born in Saskatchewan.

Robert Hepting, Kelowna