YORKTON, Sask. — Separation from the rest of Canada is again striking a chord among some in the West.
A Feb. 16 meeting on the issue held in Yorkton, Sask., attracted 300 people from across the province and Manitoba to listen to a discussion about the prospect of the West distancing itself from Ottawa.
It was not an easy decision for speaker Allan Kerpan to attend the meeting, but the former Reform MP from Kenaston, Sask., made the trip to Yorkton.
“I had a lot of questions myself about coming here today,” he said, adding, “when it came down to making a decision about what I should do, I started talking to people.”
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From these talks he drew a conclusion. “Everybody should be here today,” he said to applause from the crowd.
Kerpan questioned why federal government representatives were not in attendance.
“By not being here today, they’re further fueling western alienation.”
Kerpan pointed to numerous federal decisions, from the recent firearms law to the disinterest in an elected Senate to the Goods and Services Tax, as examples of a government not listening to what the West wants.
For David Sawkiw, the impact of federal policy was one reason he helped organize the Yorkton meeting.
“Each and every one of us has been burned by the federal government,” said the Preeceville, Sask., farmer.
“They force me to sell my wheat to them …, to pay into a pension plan I’m not likely to see anything out of… . They force me to register my guns.
“The prime minister spends more time in China than he does out West.”
The Reform party rose out of western dissatisfaction with federal politics, but Kerpan said the party reduced its ability to speak for the West when it changed into the Canadian Alliance.
Kerpan no longer believes a West-leaning federal party is the answer because “Central Canada will never allow a western-based party to be government.
“I want independence. I want independence from Ottawa,” he said, eliciting loud applause.
Kerpan said he doesn’t have all the answers about separation, but added “I put my faith in you. I put my faith in this province.”
Jamie Gates of Saskatoon edits an internet-based publication on western independence. He pointed to past western-born parties, including the Progressives, the CCF and the Reform party, as failed attempts to change federalism.
“I ask you, what is left of any of them?” he said.
The alternative, Gates said, is “a disengagement from Central Canada.” Gates said the West has the population and the economy to support independence.
“I propose you stop wasting your time federally … and elect to power in Regina an independence-minded government … to begin the process of disengagement from Ottawa.”
Sawkiw said the process appears to have begun. He said it is now up to the audience to take it the next step by “going home and starting a little fire” in their own area.
