Colin MacLeod of the Western Standard news has penned an article of interest to all of us. Here’s how that article begins:
If you still believe Alberta’s October 19 referendum is being fought on a level playing field, you have not been paying attention. One side has governments, taxpayer-funded advertising, federal and provincial politicians, former premiers, unions, universities, and national organizations.
The other side is largely financed and organized by ordinary Albertans spending their own money, while the referee watches them far more closely. This is not a balanced democratic contest. It is the political establishment using every advantage it has to protect the status quo.
The democratic process surrounding this referendum has become so tilted that any reasonable sceptic must examine every issue surrounding this ballot: the rules, the money, the public advertising, the political power, and, most importantly, the remarkably different standards being applied to each side.