Choose your Canada

When former prime minister Joe Clark announced that he would prefer Paul Martin and his ‘devil we know’ status over Stephen Harper as the next prime minister he just might have been alluding to a letter sent to Alberta premier Ralph Klein that had Harper’s name on it.
The letter, which had several other signatories, has come to be known as the ‘firewall manifesto’ and advocated some dramatic changes to Alberta’s role in confederation.
The letter writers assert the province’sneed to insulate itself from Ottawa’s authority in certain areas.
Amongst the points in the firewall manifesto were the suggestions that Alberta create its own provincial police force, collect its own share of income tax, withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan and make healthcare reforms even if they violated the Canada Health Act.
Some have suggested the plan would pave the way for Alberta to withdraw from confederation while others make the point that Quebec already exercises some of the same policies. What’s clear is that it’s radical thinking and something Harper would rather campaign without.
What’s also apparent is that Martin’s campaign ad slogan ‘Choose Your Canada’, was never so poignant as it is seen in the light of the ‘firewall manifesto’.