Harper's Regional Soapbox
Vancouver - Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - by: Michael Watkins
	Editor's note: A week ago, August 20, 2002 Mr. Watkins pointed out that Stephen Harper and his top advisor, Professor Tom Flanagan had established themselves as Albertan separatists through material they had published and written. The following day Phyllis Hubeli disagreed with this position. He is Mr. Watkins reply to her position.
	Ms. Hubeli takes exception to something I never said.
	While its true that Mr. Harper has made veiled threats of a separatist agenda
	"Separation will become a real issue the day the federal government decides to make it one"
	the concern I spoke to is the divisive manner in which he seeks to achieve his goal of some new deal for Alberta.
	I say for Alberta because its the only province he ever talks about, except when he brands the Maritimes as "defeatist".
	Whether you agree or not with what he wants to achieve, using Alberta's oil economy as a lever while unilaterally threatening to pull out of critical national programs such as the Canada Pension Plan, or twist the Canadian Health Act to his own tune, is in fact very divisive on a national scale. That is what I inferred in my letter and stand by.
	But I am prepared to speculate further as well.
	Last time I looked, Ms. Hubeli lived in British Columbia. It seems unusual for a British Columbian to hitch their future on a Harper-led train. After all, indications are that the Canadian Alliance is merely a stepping stone to a walled-off Alberta with Mr. Harper as its leader-in-chief. As leader of the Canadian Alliance he's been given a large soapbox from which to promulgate his ideas of the region being more important than the nation-state.
	Who knows how far he would like to take that idea.
	I for one do not wish to find out.
	Michael Watkins
	Delegate, Progressive Conservative Convention 2002
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