Today's tonic: "Let’s drop the phoney Alberta versus Canada nonsense. The province has met the enemy — and it is them"...

Today's tonic: "Let’s drop the phoney Alberta versus Canada nonsense. The province has met the enemy — and it is them" by Jim Stanford, director of the Centre for Future Work in Vancouver.

 

"In 2014 the industry hired 128 workers for every million barrels of oil produced. Last year, thanks to self-driving trucks, automated facilities, and downsizing, that number halved to just 61.

 

 "So it’s no surprise residents of my home province are cranky.

 

 "Their economy produces more GDP per worker than any other. The economic pie they bake is bigger than ever. But the average Albertan’s standard of living is lower than a decade ago.

 

 "It wasn’t Ottawa that laid them off, cut their pay, froze the minimum wage, drove up electricity and insurance costs, and put their health care at risk. It was the enemy within.

 

 "Alberta’s oligarchs aren’t speaking for the province, they are speaking for themselves.

 

 "And the sooner the rest of the population can get past the phoney Alberta versus Canada narrative, the sooner they’ll start toward a genuine solution to their woes: namely, winning a fairer share of the abundant wealth they already produce."