Jason Kerr
Daily Herald
Sunlight, they say, is the best disinfectant.
While there’s not much evidence for the literal truth of that statement (the man responsible for the quote was an legal expert and not a medical doctor) the metaphorical truth remains rock solid.
The quote comes from a column written by American judge Louis Brandeis that appeared in the Dec. 20, 1913 issue of Harper’s Weekly. It was later included in a book Brandeis published called ‘Other People’s Money and How the Bankers Use It’. The judge was writing about the importance of publicity (something newspapers know a lot about) and how bringing attention to a cause can actually be a remedy for social and economic problems.
That’s a far cry from where Canada operates these days. Our country, like much of the Western world, values acceptance and politeness, even if it comes at the expense of sincerity and candour. Too many people prefer pretty lies to honesty, even when those honestly held opinions are stated in the kindest, least obnoxious way possible.
With that in mind I write the following not to troll or bait but because I really believe sunlight is the best disinfectant: Saskatchewan should hold a referendum on separating from Canada.
Stats are hard to come by, but an online poll conducted by the Angus Reid Institute (ARI) in March found 20 per cent of 125 Saskatchewan residents surveyed supported Saskatchewan becoming its own country. That number increased to 33 per cent when ARI asked whether Saskatchewan should become its own country if the Liberals form the next government.
Residents concerned about the small sample size should note ARI’s findings actually show a decrease in separatist sentiment compared to six years ago, so if there is a polling error I’m betting it underestimates the public’s support.
Even if you are a proud Canadian, holding a referendum offers a number of benefits. For one, it gives the pro-Canada voices a platform to advance a positive vision for Saskatchewan’s place in confederation. Bonus points if they can do it without dumping on the US. It’s clear the current vision isn’t appealing to a significant minority of the population, and the alternatives have been, to put it politely, underwhelming.
Comparing separatists to babies crying for their parents’ attention, as UBC-Okanagan associate economics professor Ross Hickey did in a recent interview with the CBC, may be cathartic, but doesn’t little to decrease separatist sentiment. While I sincerely appreciate Hickey’s honest appraisal, I can’t think of a single separatist who will change their mind because an academic compared them to children on our country’s public broadcaster. If anything, it will only reinforce their resolve.
While I don’t doubt some separatists have seriously underestimated the effort needed to get a new country off the ground—Hickey highlights a few of the bigger challenges in the CBC article—I don’t get the sense people want to separate because it’s easy.
One of Angus Reid’s findings was that many separatists felt disrespected by the rest of Canada. Advancing a vision where the rest of the country is able to respectfully disagree with our province’s grievances would deflate separatist sentiment, but that’s a job political leaders can’t do by themselves. Canadians who live their lives in the public realm—media commentators, entertainers, athletes, and social media influencers—would all need to be on board.
But sunlight is by far a referendum’s biggest benefit. Canadians will have an easier time fending off separatist sentiment if it’s been squashed at the ballot box, and those who want to leave Canada won’t be able to argue they didn’t have the chance.
That’s not to say there aren’t negatives to a referendum, the biggest being the chance separatists might turn the tables and win in a rout. Personally, I’m extremely skeptical the movement can convince 50+1 per cent of the population to leave Canada. They would need to either run a bipartisan campaign to get NDP support, or lock up 90+ per cent of the voters who cast a ballot for Scott Moe and the Saskatchewan Party last election. I don’t think either are likely, but if the pro-Canada side screws up badly enough I suppose they could pull defeat from the jaws of victory.
Even if the separatists lose, there could be negative repercussions. At a moment when the two largest superpowers in the world are hammering Canada with tariffs it’s understandable if the rest of the country views Saskatchewan’s threat to leave as a little disrespectful too. It’s clear some Canadians view a referendum as the political version of a husband polling his friends on whether or not to leave his wife. Even if the Leave side loses, your wife is going to be ticked you even asked the question in the first place.
Hate Eastern Canadians all you want, but the Chinese and Americans aren’t interested in such distinctions. Donald Trump and Xi Jinping don’t care if you’re from the most down-to-earth and welcoming farming communities in Saskatchewan and Alberta, or the most pretentious parts of Toronto and Montreal. To them, we are all Canadians.
I truly believe there is a positive vision for Saskatchewan’s place in Canada, and I truly believe it can win in a romp at the ballot box. That’s why we should throw open the windows, and let the sunlight in.
Jason Kerr is the editor of the Prince Albert Daily Herald.
