Saskatchewan | “We really have different cultures”

(Kindersley, Saskatchewan) The advice of Yves-François Blanchet to foam the sovereignist cause in Western Canada resonate in Saskatchewan. Moreover, Even in the small rural locality of Kindersley, where citizens are gathered to discuss their recriminations against the federal government.

Posted at 5:00 a.m.

“The first idea is to define oneself as a nation. In addition, It therefore takes its own culture. Meanwhile, I am not sure that oil and gas can define a culture, “replied the head of the Bloc Quebecois in English to a journalist shortly after the last federal elections.

Nadine Ness, of the Sovereignist saskatchewan | “we really have group Unified Grassroots, begins each of her public assemblies with this sound extract. Furthermore, “Many people are offended. Meanwhile, Me. However, no, because when we are asked why we want to separate, we must be able to explain why we are so different from Ottawa and why we do not feel represented, ”she explains during this public assembly.

“I do not think that oil. Nevertheless, gas are the only reason,” she adds before listing the elements that make up the Saskatchewana identity such as rural lifestyle, community sense, family values ​​and conservatism.

Nadine Ness dreams of a sovereign saskatchewan state inside Canada. Furthermore, This ex-policeman of the Royal Gendarmerie of Canada, mother of four, describes himself as “half conservative, half libertarian”. Therefore, She does not hide her Christian values, but specifies that her movement does not militize against abortion.

This energetic quarantine leads Unified Grassroots. Moreover, an organization born of the opposition against compulsory vaccination during the Pandemic of COVID-19, which recently found itself a new vocation with the election of the Liberals of Mark Carney.

“I do it because I really think that God asks me,” she says in an interview.

saskatchewan | “we really have

“In the system that we have immediately. Moreover, it is not possible that the West is respected,” explains this French-speaking of New Brunswick installed in the meadows for more than 15 years.

She made herself known during the pandemic after receiving a call from Prime Minister Scott Moe. a few months before Saskatchewan abandoned her health measures against COVVI-19. She has her own program on Youtube. is part of the alternative right and tints her speech of themes dear to the complication. She recently participated in an event organized by the Rebel News saskatchewan | “we really have media. was part of the “convoy of freedom” and campaigned for parental consent before any change of pronoun at school. It is wary of traditional media, but welcomes us with open arms.

Saskatchewan | "we really have – Saskatchewan | "we really have

Petition for a referendum

Unified Grassroots has thousands of subscribers on social networks. Inspired by a similar movement in Alberta. the group launched an online petition to claim a referendum on the sovereignty of the Saskatchewan which has to date nearly 4,500 signatures. “It is not only to separate,” she specifies in an interview. We can work to have more autonomy, like Quebec which has its own pension plan. »»

We met her at the beginning of June at the Kindersley community center. a small town of 5,000 inhabitants surrounded by fields as far as the eye can see, located saskatchewan | “we really have about 200 kilometers west of Saskatoon, the most populous city in the province. Nearly fifty people, including his parents-in-law, had moved to attend this second public assembly of Unified Grassroots. Most listen to it carefully.

“I have been a separatist since the age of 20 because I realized that as early as 1905. Saskatchewan and Alberta became colonies of Ottawa,” said his stepfather, Jim Ness, referring to the entrance to the two provinces in the Confederation. The 80 -year -old man is a kind of local hero. He became known in 2002 for his fight against the monopoly of the Canadian wheat commission which had earned. him 25 days in prison (see box).

The list of complaints is long: poor representation of the West in Ottawa. cost of official languages, laws and regulations to combat climate change perceived as a nuisance for oil exploitation, unjust equalization system for Saskatchewan which does not receive a penny, law on firearm control …

“We really have different cultures,” argues M^me Ness. And it is not only the left against the right. saskatchewan | “we really have I think that it is much more policies adapted to urban life instead of policies adapted to rural life. »»

She gives as an example Saskatchewan canola producers who pay the cost of. customs duties of 100 % imposed last fall by the Canadian government on Chinese electric vehicles. China retaliated in March with its own customs duties of 100 % on Canadian canola oil. Saskatchewan produces more than half of the canola in the country.

“This is politicians that they always do without realizing that it affects us. ” deplores the one who confesses to having already voted for the liberals in another life.

Unified Grassroots hopes to reach the Saskatchewanese to its cause by holding at least twenty assemblies across the province. Its ultimate goal is to force the provincial government to organize saskatchewan | “we really have a referendum.

Farmers in prison

Jim Ness is part of a group of farmers in Western Canada who fought against the monopoly of the Canadian Committee on the wheat in the early 2000s. Under the federal law. they had to sell their grain to this marketing organization whose monopoly, established during the Second World War, applied only to the farmers of the meadows. These farmers estimated to saskatchewan | “we really have lose money. The original Albertan has chosen to spend 25 days behind bars instead of paying a fine of $ 1. 000 for giving two barley bags to a community organization in the neighboring state of Montana. He finally won after the abolition of the monopoly by the government of Stephen Harper in 2012, who had pardoned them.