Local 793 Business Manager Mike Gallagher has celebrated the outcome of Monday’s referendum in Alberta, noting that our country – like our union – is always stronger together.
CBC is projecting that 76% of Albertans rejected the proposal to begin the separation process.
Brother Gallagher said, “A united Canada is a strong Canada. With this referendum behind us, it’s now time for the country to get on with job of improving the lives of everyone who calls Canada home.
“With the U.S. president threatening to make Canada the “51st state” and then imposing sanctions that harm all of us, now was not the time for separatists to drag us down this dead-end road. In current circumstances, the separatist leaders’ secret meetings in Washington with American officials can be viewed as at best selfish and at worst treasonous.
“This result clearly shows that the push for a referendum was always more about United Conservative Party internal politics than any real desire by Albertans to split from Canada.”
The Business Manager, visiting Washington this week in his role as International Vice President, also bemoaned the high cost of the exercise, which some estimates have placed at $134 million.
He said, “It has been a colossal waste of money, not just in direct costs but in lost investment. If that money and had instead been applied to issues that really matter, such as tackling homelessness, we would be a stronger country with far fewer Canadians suffering.
“We must now turn our attention to cross-country cooperation on things such as pipelines, infrastructure and workforce development so we can build up the economy, tackle real societal problems and make our great country even better.”
