Why Now Is The Perfect Time to Wave a Friendly Goodbye to Quebec. Lowell Green

      In the past six years the Province of Quebec has sucked more than $50 billion in transfer payments from the rest of Canada (ROC). We’ll pump close to another $9 billion into the pockets of the separatist (and I believe racist) government this year.

      All that “welfare” money while the Province refuses to tap into the 46 billion barrels of oil and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas that have been discovered just beneath the earth’s crust along the St. Lawrence. A recent announcement that they would allow some exploratory drilling on Anticosti Island is nothing but a stall tactic.

      While Quebec pretends this heel dragging exercise is out of environmental concerns I suspect the real reason is much more devious and totally self-serving. By holding off drilling or fracking for oil and gas until they achieve independence, the separatist government avoids having to share any of the revenue, royalties or taxes with the rest of Canada.

      While it is true natural resources are owned by the individual provinces, the federal government exercises control over inter-provincial and international trade and shares jurisdiction of many environmental matters with the provinces. The federal government would also, of course, collect billions in various forms of taxes.

      To give you some idea of the kind of money we’re talking about, consider this.

      The Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI) estimates that the oil sands of Alberta will create $444 billion in tax revenue across Canada in the next 25 years. More than 70 per cent of that—$322 billion will go the federal government. These figures do not include any revenues or taxes from the sale of natural gas or oil from sources in the province other than the oil sands.

      Obviously, as an independent nation, Quebec would not have to fork over a single cent of royalties or taxes to the rest of Canada. They would own and control it all, lock, stock and barrel!

      It is doubtful that Quebec would be able to extract oil at a volume comparable to that of Alberta, but no matter which way you look at it, tens of billions of dollars are at stake.

      It boils down to this. As part of Canada, any revenue, royalties or taxes from the development of Quebec oil and gas would have to be shared at least in part with the federal government and thus the rest of Canada. In addition, the federal government would be able to exercise considerable control over the industry, in particular many matters relating to environmental concerns as well as inter-provincial and international trade.

      But, as an independent nation, Quebec would have full control over the industry and retain the income in all its forms!

      Machiavellian? Yes it is. But then what in Quebec these days is not?

      At the very least we can stop or slow down the flow of money from the rest of Canada (ROC) into Quebec in 2014 when the Harper Government must renew, amend or cancel the equalization program which very clearly is a flagrant abuse of ROC taxpayers.

      Depriving Quebec of its yearly “please stay with us bribe” or greatly reducing it, would probably provide the Province with a final gentle nudge out the Canadian door and force them to follow Alberta’s lead, tap into their vast storehouse of oil and gas and become not only self sufficient—but one of the most prosperous countries in the world, perhaps even rivalling Saudi Arabia!

      This incredible oil and gas bonanza they thus far refuse to exploit, completely refutes the long held belief that Quebec will never separate because it cannot afford to. As Yogi Berra (or someone) once said, “this really changes the old ball game don’t it?”

      There’s something else that must change as well, because while the assumption has always been that the decision whether to stay or leave will always be that of Quebec, I am suggesting