@AndrewTumilty @lisakinsella 1/ Hey guys - I say this with my partisan hat off, and with a legit desire to dialogue on this. Mocking the separatist sentiment is wrong. It is real, it is rooted in legitimate concerns, and is widespread. It's not the same as it was 30 years ago.
@AndrewTumilty @lisakinsella 2/ The people who feel like Canada is hanging them out to dry are from every demographic - new Canadians, young and old, straight and gay. The feeling is much more widespread than what is being depicted in a few rallies held by a few people.
@AndrewTumilty @lisakinsella 3/ The threat to national unity is real, and it is driven by policies against the energy sector. There's a sense that those who tell Albertans that they can't work in their industry are hypocrites; taking equalization payments and not taking personal ownership for climate.
@AndrewTumilty @lisakinsella 4/ "Basket of deplorables" type statements from the RoC are only making the situation worse. That's because it's easy to mock, and much harder to acknowledge the concerns as legitimate and change course / do something about it.
@AndrewTumilty @lisakinsella 5/ It's not "Elmer Fudd". It's the Punjabi chemical engineer who's been out of work for 3 years. It's the lesbian restaurant owner who just had to close the doors to her shop and lay off staff.
@AndrewTumilty @lisakinsella 6/ Take time to understand the consequences of a national unity crisis at this time in our history, because we have one. There's a lot of policy to discuss, of which we won't agree on everything. But mocking it & the people of Alberta writ large is not the way to go. Much love.
