March 29 was the anniversary of the death of Ralph Klein. 

Boy Howdy how I miss him.  The most amazing and surprising Premier Alberta has ever had. 

Our Prime Minister needs the Serenity Prayer.

God, grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Our current Prime Minister is leading a country in tatters.  We are broken as a direct result of the previous administration.  He, and we, are in no position to lecture or lead anything on the world stage.  We have no military, declining economic performance metrics, social unrest manifested in antisemitic traffic snarling parades, weak health and wellness indicators and falling education metrics.

He and his Laurentian friends need to understand what they must accept and what they can change.  And for this, they need the wisdom to know the difference.  They cannot change the world order, lead middle powers or even serve as an example to follow.  They can start an overhaul of our tax code, cut regulations, get out of the way of Canadians and generally follow the prescriptions that Pierre Poilievre has been preaching for several years.

Mr. Carney, the Serenity Prayer is yours for the taking.  There is no copyright on it, use it freely.

Perhaps we should aspire to a new Alberta Pension Plan that I could opt into. This change would allow me to request that all the capital I am entitled to under the Canada Pension Plan be transferred to the Alberta Pension Plan, and that all future contributions be made to my APP account. All benefits would come from the APP, not CPP.

This would allow a person-by-person migration.

That opt in process would create pension plan competition, and competition is never a bad thing. And it would allow an APP to develop and grow organically over time.

Plus, Albertans who opt in would realize the demographic savings we are entitled to receive. We might even increase benefits to seniors, again capitalizing on our Alberta demographic advantage.

Some might argue that it would involve duplicating costs. There might be a partial duplication, but it would be worth it. Choice and comparability would bring the virtues of competition: lower risk, higher returns and capturing the Alberta demographic advantage.

Alberta Pension Plan

Why is this such a hard question?

This is the anniversary of the Firewall letter.

Of all the ideas in the 2001 Firewall Letter, the Alberta Pension Plan is the biggest and best. And it is the easiest to complete.

When we met with Ralph Klein to discuss the idea of an Alberta Pension Plan, Finance had one objection presented against an Alberta Pension, they said, “The benefits to Albertan businesses and taxpayers over other provinces would be so great that companies and people would demand to move to Alberta and the number of new Albertans would strain our infrastructure.”

Two thoughts occurred to me. First, I had underestimated the immediate financial value of imitating Quebec and running our own pension plan. The Finance experts thought it would be much more advantageous.

Second, what the Department of Finance officials feared sounded like a great problem to have. We would attract more people, industry and business.

Alberta demographics are so different from the rest of Canada that what we get as a payout from our contributions is much less important than what we have to pay in the future. If we got a fraction of what we are entitled to and held pension contributions at the same level, we could payout much more in benefits.

So it all seemed to make sense, but the people would not support it, for reasons none of us understood, and still don’t understand.

Carney went from elbows up to knees down, not once but twice. For Trump and Xi. Same reversal of course that would give anyone but a Liberal hospital level whiplash.

Carney’s policy reversals rival that of Trudeau, the Pierre, who, when elected on a platform promising no wage and price controls, launched price and wage controls within weeks of winning.

In this crowd, the only consistency is inconsistency.

Calgary is having water problems, the legacy of Nenshi.

But we finally have a Mayor who is treating Calgarians like adults.  No snitch lines, no enforcement police. 

But I see so many clean cars going through the car wash, the owners oblivious to the obvious.  Come on, folks, you are being treated like an adult, behave like one.

The dirty cars are a mark of maturity.  The clean ones, not so much.

In Alberta, in a year-end interview, the Purple Prince claimed credit as a tax fighter who won the battle against high taxes.

When he was mayor, residential taxes rose 83% and commercial taxes by 200%.  

I am not sure we can survive another victory like that.  Let’s hope we never have to count on him again.

Small wonder that many in Western Canada don’t feel the love and respect from the rest of the country. In my opinion, the current representation of Western Canada in our misrepresentative democracy is not sustainable. And when things cannot go on forever, they don’t.

It is true, a picture is worth a thousand words. So that is all I have to say about that, today.

This email/letter was addressed to Assistant Crown Attorney Siobhain Wetscher and responds to the Crown’s sentencing submissions in the trial of Tamara Lich and Chris Barber — two prominent organizers of the 2022 “Freedom Convoy” protest in Ottawa. Lich and Barber were found guilty of mischief in April 2025. During sentencing hearings the Crown asked for prison terms of roughly seven years for Lich and eight years for Barber, a recommendation that many observers described as unusually severe given the non-violent nature of the offences and the broader political context (the 2022 protests also prompted the federal government to invoke the Emergencies Act).

Siobhain.wetscher@ontario.ca

Your sentencing submissions for Tamara Lich and Chris Barber were excessive and unnecessary.

The email reflects my sentiments and thoughts on her sentencing request in that trial.  This sentencing request was within her purview and discretion.

Her demand for years of jail time for what Lich and Barber did was unconscionable.

I hope many of us will send similar emails and handwritten notes to her and that they will have a salutary effect.

FAQ

Q: Who are Tamara Lich and Chris Barber?
A: They were organizers of the February 2022 “Freedom Convoy” protests that occupied downtown Ottawa for weeks; both were convicted of mischief in April 2025.

Q: What did the Crown ask for at sentencing?
A: The Crown sought long custodial terms during sentencing — media reports noted recommendations of roughly seven years for Tamara Lich and eight years for Chris Barber.

Q: What is the role of a Crown prosecutor in sentencing?
A: Crown counsel represent the public interest and make sentencing submissions to the court. They have discretion to recommend a sentence but are expected to act as ministers of justice — pursuing fair outcomes consistent with law and precedent rather than simply seeking maximum penalties.

In this engaging interview with Dr. Shawn Whatley, Andy Crooks—lawyer, author, and community organizer—shares his insights on the heart of conservatism and what’s at stake for Canada’s future. From moral courage and cultural identity to freedom, responsibility, and leadership, Andy reflects on the challenges of our time and the values needed to face them with hope and resilience.

You can watch it here:

YouTube https://youtu.be/SOwNkOJyOak?feature=shared

Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/concepts-with-shawn-whatley/id1800484374?i=1000722606168

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/1u9XpddIGbd7pruN4wuMoI?si=Jh83zw48SkSEIeS9UrM-LA