Thread by @LilyPolenchuk

I'm at Heritage Park, a petition signing location in Stony Plain for Alberta Independence. Folks are lined up waiting to sign, with speakers set to begin at 7:00 pm. Will live tweet below 🧵

#abpoli #AlbertaIndependence

There's a long line for the petition, and people are continuing to join it. Dr. Dennis Modry, former CEO of the Alberta Prosperity Project (which has been holding separation town halls across the province this past year) is in attendance.

A song with the lyrics "This is Alberta," and "faith family freedom," plays as folks wait for the speakers.

The first speaker, Nicholas Casper, is the emcee for tonight. He says there will be a Q&A after the speakers tonight.

Casper says this area has been known as the Bible Belt, and this is the Glory Hills Valley. He leads the crowd in the Lord's prayer, first saying, "Creator...We bow our heads before you, and we acknowledge our desperate need of you."

Casper says he's been hearing "intestinal rumbles out of Ottawa," and "they're staying to feel some things differently." He encourages people to talk to their friends about separation, and says there will be efforts to educate the youth and get them involved.

Derek Smith, host of Unacceptable Fringe, is next. He says this is the only opportunity "we have to vote our way out of this mess." He thanks Modry, Jeff Rath, and Mitch Sylvestre, and the other staff at Stay Free Alberta for their efforts.

Smith says "opportunity used to mean something" to hard-working Albertans. "We work tirelessly, we pay more than we get back...the powers that be in Ottawa" look down on Alberta, as well as the other provinces.

"Albertans are going into business for themselves, we're no longer going to be the country's credit card. We're not going to send billions of dollars to Ottawa any longer, so that they can sit around the world and tell us how dirty our oil" is, Smith says.

Smith says, "what we're dealing with here is not Liberal, NDP, or Conservative...it's about your lifestyle." He says more hospitals and schools would be built, and there'd be "no more gender politics." The room cheers in response.

Smith references Carney's "New World Order announcement" and new deal with China. If Alberta were independent, "would you vote to join Canada tomorrow?" he asks. He implores people to ask questions to friends and family that are unconvinced, and to not make it about politics.

"One way or another, we're getting a referendum this year on independence," Smith says. They "cannot stop a free and fair Alberta," Smith ends. Carson goes up and discusses the ways in which people can donate to Stay Free Alberta.

The next speaker is, Jason Lavigne, host of The Lavigne Show. Lavigne says people describe separatists as traitors to shame and shut down conversations before they begin. "When people are labeled instead of listened to...it becomes about who gets to speak and who doesn't."

Lavigne says tonight is "about truth. It is about informed participation in the democratic process. We are Albertans, we are patriots, and we are fighting for the future generations."

Lavigne says narrative is one of the most powerful forces in modern politics, and refers to a CTV report that said 500 people lined up to sign a petition in Edmonton recently, when video footage shows thousands. He implores people to question reporting, the sources, and ask what's missing from the story.

Lavigne says people come to events to intimidate attendees, and venues are pressured to cancel events. "That's not debate...that's not democracy," he says. "In a democratic society, people have the right to show up, to listen, to speak and to participate without being harassed or intimidated."

Lavigne adds that real public opinion is shaped in communities and at events like this, and a "diverse media diet" is one of the healthiest habits to develop. "Infighting drains momentum," he adds, and says the movement has to remember the bigger picture.

On being landlocked, Lavigne says "being landlocked does not mean being locked out of the world." On the point that Ottawa won't allow separation, especially with the 7/50 rule, Lavigne says "the path forward in any major constitutional question is rooted in law, negotiation and democratic legitimacy."

He adds that the "constitutional amendment formula is one process. The legal framework around secession and negotiation is another," and this needs to be kept in mind in the independence conversation. He ends, and donation buckets are being passed around.

Carson, the emcee, says "we want independent Albertans and critical thinking Albertans to help us and join the fight." He encourages people to ask neighbours the following: "has the government violated you yet?"

Carson refers to the Freedom Convoy, saying the government talks "about democracy and then at the same breath, trample you with horses, freeze your bank account, force you under mandate to do this or that." "Do you think they'll ever try any of that again?" People respond yes.

Former APP CEO Dr. Dennis Modry is next. He says this is his 400th presentation on the last four years, and says he helped found the Alberta Prosperity Society-which governs APP-because educating the public on independence can help Albertans, and be an example to the rest of the world.

"Isn't it interesting to see the attention we have, not only from the international media, but the support that we're getting from other regions in the world that want sovereignty as well," Modry says. He says Alberta, Sask, and central and northern BC vote different federally because we have a different culture.

Sovereignty, "in its highest form of expression, is ultimate power and control," Modry says. "But sovereignty, actually, if you think about it, is really self governance. It's freedom from external interference...I mean, what can be more noble than the pursuit of self determination?"

Modry says the goal is over a million signatures, in order to make a statement about independence that shows this isn't a fringe group. "This is the majority of people in Alberta who understand what has happened to them, and they want a better future for themselves, their kids, and to plan for their retirement."

Modry discuss taxation under the federal government, and says taxes would be lower in an independent Alberta with enhanced purchasing power. He adds that polls can be "notoriously inaccurate," citing cancel culture as making people not respond truthfully.

Modry adds that the problem of democracy is that it's a "tyranny of the majority over the minority," citing COVID as an example. "If you protect individual rights, you will protect all of societal rights, but the reverse doesn't occur."

Modry says the petition phase is phase 1. After May 2, there will be a massive campaign, and documents addressing borders, Indigenous peoples, the pension plan, etc. will be released. "And remember, at this point, it's the provincial government that will be responsible for managing the process."

Modry says an Alberta constitution will be "loosely based off the US Constitution" with "a little bit of the Swiss model" where there's more referenda. A new oversight branch would ensure that "the executive, Legislative Assembly, the Senate, and judiciary absolutely do not veer from the Constitution."

Modry adds that in an independent Alberta, every government department will be audited continuously, "and that audit report has to be released to the public every three months." The room cheers in response.

Modry says they've met with the US administration three times, and if the referendum passes but negotiations fail, Premier Smith could "declare sovereignty unilaterally," which other countries would acknowledge.

Next is the Q&A portion. Someone says they were unsure about independence first but saw that Canada is a sinking ship, and asks what electoral format the speakers would like to have. Lavigne says first-past-the-post doesn't work, Smith says he felt nostalgia for an older Canada during the Freedom Convoy.

Smith continues that the government's job is solely to pass policy. The room cheers in response. Modry agrees with Lavigne that First-Past-the-Post doesn't work.

In response to a question about messaging, Modry says, from the meetings with US administration, "they are solidly in favor of Alberta sovereignty and solidly not in favor of Alberta becoming the 51st state."