Who is kidding who?

I'm posting this out of my normal cycle, because we go to the polls to elect our next crop of municipal leaders Monday and Alberta has a couple of things for us to vote on while we're at it.

So, in case you didn't know, the government of Alberta believes that Alberta is getting a crappy deal from the equalization plan that currently exists. You know, the one where the have provinces help out the have-not provinces, managed by the federal government.

One thing Kenney keeps forgetting to mention is that the equalization system was reformed to its current state by the government of.... wait for it..... Stephen Harper! Who else was a member of that government? Jason Kenney. You think I'm kidding. Look it up.

But OK, I'm willing to ignore that fact for a moment. According to Kenney, "This is about whether Alberta should push hard to get a fair deal." His words. Sounds simple enough.

So the question on the ballot reads "Should Alberta push hard to get a fair deal on equalization?", right? Ummm, no. It reads, "Should Section 36(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982 — Parliament and the Government of Canada’s commitment to the principle of making equalization payments — be removed from the Constitution?"

How does the average citizen even answer that question? For what it's worth, a Yes vote on that is supposed to mean 'Yes we should push hard' and a No vote is supposed to mean 'No, leave everything as it is.' There should have been a follow-up question. "Isn't that the most messed up referendum question in the history of Canadian referendums?" The Quebec referendum was clearer.

The table at right shows the figures of transfers to every province in 2019/2020 versus 2007/2008, with the percentage change in the last column. Who got the biggest increase? That's right, Alberta.

If you're going to vote on this, do yourself a favour and read up on how the system works first. The facts might surprise you. If you think Kenney's full of hot air, vote NO on Monday to that very unclear question.