Yes and No AgendaThe economic crisis in Alberta and the response to it has been much in the news of late. A provincial election is expected to take place soon, in April or May of this year. The crisis and what to do about it, along with the program of the Notley government loom large in what goes for news coverage and analysis, the main thrust of which is a yes and no agenda. The rich and those who serve them in government, along with the media, have set this yes and no agenda: yes and no to pipelines, yes and no to oil to tidewater, yes and no to oil tankers, yes and no to carbon-based fuel, yes and no to carbon taxes, yes and no to shipping oil by rail; Alberta loves oil, others hate oil; consultation with Indigenous nations but no veto and no full participation in planning and developing their territories using the resources that are there or infrastructure that passes through. Nonetheless, Alberta is part of a region which
possesses vast
human and natural resources. Alberta alone has a population of
4.3 million people and there are another million next door in
Saskatchewan and another million in Manitoba, all interconnected
with the Prairie and the northern territories. It has vast
agriculture, oil, natural gas, coking coal for steel, uranium,
timber, diamonds, potash, wind and sun galore and more, replete
with an experienced working class. Why the recurring crises? Who
or what is blocking the development of the New and why? The possibilities are endless for the region to develop an independent diverse economy with resource extraction, manufacturing, social programs, public services and modern infrastructure, an economy that has as its motive to guarantee the well-being and security of the people and the humanization of the social and natural environment.
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In all this back and
forth
of yes and no, collective
discussion of an alternative direction and agenda for an
all-sided pro-social economy independent of the demands of the
U.S. imperialists, their war machine and the global oil barons is
quashed. A people's agenda disappears or never sees the light of
day because those in a position of authority and in the mass
media use all their power, including the police power, to block
the
development of an alternative and the collective discussion
necessary to get us there.