A Wexit Saskatchewan table set up inside Melfort Mall with volunteers searching for signatures. (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff).

By Aaron Schulze

Wexit Enters Melfort

Wexit Saskatchewan searches for signatures in Melfort

Dec 9, 2019 | 6:08 PM

Wexit Saskatchewan has set up in northern Saskatchewan, as members handed out pamphlets and encouraged signatures from a table at the Melfort Mall last week.

The leadership of the western separatist movement are seeking 2,500 valid signatures on Form E-510 to become a political party in Saskatchewan.

Dale Manastyrski, who resides in Melfort, is a volunteer for Wexit Saskatchewan. He told northeastNOW there were no similar issues setting up in Melfort Mall as some Wexit members had at Confederation Mall in Saskatoon in mid-November. The members there were not permitted on the property.

“[Operations Manager Bob Jung] said it will open people’s eyes and get them to realize what’s going on. That’s mostly what it is, just to see what’s going on,” Manastyrski said. “Not saying they agree with it, but they’re not against it. What happened [in Saskatoon] was misfortune because I believe in having to ask for permission to do something. If I came in here and set up whether they like it or not, well of course they’re going to kick me out.”

Jung referred to Section 2(b) of the Canadian Chart of Rights and Freedoms – “freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication” – when northeastNOW asked him about the Wexit Saskatchewan stand in Melfort Mall.

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The group gained more attention following the federal election on Oct. 21, 2019 when the Liberal Party won 157 seats to form a minority government. They won 79 of 121 ridings in Ontario, 35 of 78 in Quebec, and 26 of 32 in Atlantic provinces.

The opposing Conservative Party of Canada won 121 seats in the federal election, including all 14 ridings in Saskatchewan, 33 of 34 in Alberta, seven of 14 in Manitoba, and 17 of 42 in B.C.

Manastyrski said he took it upon himself to start promoting Wexit in the northeast.

“It’s not necessarily we want to separate, but we just want a voice in the West, which we don’t have because of Parliamentary seating in Canada,” he said. “We would like to see our seating arrangement in Parliament changed a lot. We’re looking at that and the government shouldn’t have so much control of our every day lives. Like gun control, how much taxes we’re paying on, how much we’re paying on everything, gas, the carbon tax.

“Our very last option is the separation end. It is our very last to no resort where we have no other choice.”

Seat representation across Canada

Canada’s seats in the House of Commons grew from 308 across the country in 2011 to 338 in 2015.

According to Statistics Canada, the country’s population in 2011 was 33,476,688 for an average of 108,690 residents per seat. Ranking provinces with a population of 1,000,000 or over from highest to lowest, Alberta had more residents per seat than anyone for representation.

2011 POPULATION V. SEATING

Alberta – avg. 130,188 per seat (3,645,257 for 28 seats)

B.C. – avg. 122,224 per seat (4,400,057 for 36 seats)

Ontario – avg. 121,243 per seat (12,851,821 for 106 seats)

Canada – avg. 108,690 per seat (33,476,688 for 308 seats)

Quebec – avg. 105,373 per seat (7,903,001 for 75 seats)

Manitoba – avg. 86,305 per seat (1,208,268 for 14 seats)

Saskatchewan – avg. 73,813 per seat (1,033,381 for 14 seats)

The third quarter in 2019 from Statistics Canada’s quarterly population estimates showed the country’s population at 37,589,262 for 338 seats. Ontario added 15 more seats to go along with its near 2,000,000 in population growth. B.C. and Alberta each added six seats, while Quebec took the final three.

Alberta, B.C., and Ontario’s average residents per seat slightly decreased from 2011 to 2019 but are still nearly 10,000 or more above the national average. Quebec is now the closest to the national average while Manitoba and Saskatchewan are still well below.

2019 POPULATION V. SEATING

Alberta – avg. 128,568 per seat (4,371,316 for 34 seats)

B.C. – avg. 120,746 per seat (5,071,336 for 42 seats)

Ontario – avg. 120,385 per seat (14,566,547 for 121 seats)

Canada – avg. 111,211 per seat (37,589,262 for 338 seats)

Quebec – avg. 108,782 per seat (8,484,965 for 78 seats)

Manitoba – avg. 97,819 per seat (1,369,465 for 14 seats)

Saskatchewan – avg. 83,890 per seat (1,174,462 for 14 seats)

Premier Scott Moe (left) with Melfort MLA Todd Goudy (right). (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)

Provincial government’s view

Premier Scott Moe responded to a question regarding western separation at Canadian Western Agribition in late-November:

“We have a prime minister that has said he’s heard the frustrations of the people of this province. I’ve had a meeting with him since then, I’m meeting with the deputy prime minister this afternoon. They are listening but we want them to take action,” he said. “The last four years is the source of that frustration, the policy decisions coming from the Prime Minister’s Office. They have an opportunity to engage. They are doing that. They have an opportunity to listen. They’re doing that. Now they have a requirement to act.”

Fred Bradshaw has been the MLA for the Carrot River Valley riding under the Saskatchewan Party since 2007. He doesn’t believe separating from Canada would be the right thing.

Carrot River Valley MLA Fred Bradshaw. (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)

“I believe we’re better off with a united Canada,” Bradshaw said. “In saying that, we do have some disagreements with the federal government at the present time. I know there’s some descension out there right now but I’m hoping cooler heads can prevail in the end.”

Bradshaw called the Sask. Party’s recent Growth Plan their way of moving forward if the federal government can’t help them along.

Some subjects the Sask. Party disagrees with the federal Liberal Party on includes the carbon tax and Bill C-69 (which puts the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, formally known as the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, as the authority responsible for impact projects such as pipelines and hydro dams).

On equalization payments, Bradshaw acknowledged Saskatchewan has been on both sides of being a “have” or “have not” but would like to see the federal government’s payment model to address fiscal disparities among provinces be made more fairly.

“When the resource price goes down, it doesn’t kick in as quickly as when it should,” he said. “Our oil and potash have dropped drastically in the past few years in prices, yet we’re still turning around paying equalization and Alberta is caught in the same boat. Consequently, we’d like to see a few things changed within the formula.

“The other thing is… hydro electricity doesn’t count within that. Manitoba has quite a bit of hydro electricity and so does Quebec, yet that doesn’t count on the equalization formula and we believe that should be changed. If we have to pay on oil and uranium and potash, then we believe that hydro should be included.”

A metric ton of potash is valued at around US$265 as of October 2019, compared to US$301.50 in November 2015. The price per barrel for Western Canada Select Oil was valued at US$41.96, which is up from US$27.78 four years prior but down from US$76.54 in October 2011.

Bradshaw expects premier Moe and Prime Minister Trudeau to stay in contact even throughout the holiday season.

Prince Albert MP Randy Hoback (File photo/paNOW Staff).

Conservative MP’s response

Randy Hoback has been the MP for the Prince Albert riding as a Conservative since 2008. He’s now the shadow minister for international trade.

He said he’s never seen a separatist movement such as Wexit during his time in the House of Commons in Ottawa. While some residents in Western Canada are frustrated, he still believes in Canada as a whole.

“People are frustrated, mad, and they’re upset. And I get it. I’m in the same boat,” Hoback said. “If you look at 2015, the Bloc Party out of Quebec was basically down to a small member of MP’s and there were no alienation issues in Western Canada. These things weren’t even on the radar. You get three years of Justin Trudeau and all of a sudden the year before the election, people are talking about separation. This is something that’s come about in the last three or four years, and this is something that’s the result of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s arrogance and ignorant policies towards Saskatchewan and the people across Western Canada.

“He created this problem. Not people in Ontario, Newfoundland, or Nova Scotia. It’s Justin Trudeau. I think it’s important we focus that blame on the appropriate person, and that is our current prime minister, Justin Trudeau.”

On equalization payments, Hoback said he doesn’t mind contributing to the rest of Canada and giving other provinces assistance when the natural resource sector is going well. However, when it’s not thriving as much as previous years and Saskatchewan is required to pay more into the program than it receives, he doesn’t believe it’s fair or right.

“[Equalization] needs to be modernized to reflect the current days and ages,” he said. “When you look at the high-tech sector, these things need to be factored into a new equalization program. To give people a blank cheque isn’t necessarily what it’s meant to do. It’s meant to make sure we’ve got the appropriate education and health care systems across Canada, those levels of services whether you live in British Columbia or Newfoundland, would be equivalent.”

Hoback said if there’s no willpower from the federal government to address equalization, then they must look at situations in Alberta in Saskatchewan and come up with ways to send them support physically and through programs.

“Whether it’s a support payment on canola farmers for a loss of market in China or an increase in the physical stabilization to reflect the downturn in our oil and gas sector, these are some things they should look at,” he said.

Hoback hopes the Liberal Party also reverses some of its legislation such as Bill C-69, Bill C-68, and C-48.

Wexit in the northeast going forward

Manastyrski said there are hopes from Wexit Saskatchewan to open up booths in Tisdale and Hudson Bay before Christmas. While he’s a volunteer and hasn’t talked to any federal or provincial politicians himself, Manastyrski said “higher ups” in Wexit Saskatchewan are in talks with them.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow