@IwillwaitGrowing up on a farm in Alberta in the 1960s my Mom got very nervous. Dad had just sold her brother some oats so my uncle could feed his cows. Mom told me that this was illegal. The farmer could only sell his grain to the federal government who then sold it to whomever they chose. Usually to places like the USSR. When I was a young officer in the Canadian Armed Forces my Commanding Officer asked me what benefit did Alberta gain by being part of Canada. This was back in the mid 1970s. I was stumped. Then came the 1980s when the federal government shut down the Alberta economy. Whole neighbourhoods were vacant after the home owners couldn't make the mortgage payments and left town because there was no work to be had. The federal government made it illegal to have any kind of medical care outside of the government run medicare system. Sadly that is very expensive and to make things fair the federal government pays the poorer provinces what is known as equalisation payments. Last year Alberta was the only province paying in and it cost all 4.4 million Albertans 17 Billion dollars. In the mean time a young Albertan father went to the hospital with chest pains. He was dead 8 hours later. The government funded health care did not have enough doctors to look after him. Where did the money go? Well 17 Billion of it went out of Alberta.

@hippyjoe1955 Sounds very rough and corrupt.

@Iwillwait It is. Back in 1885 a fellow wanted to form a province with land rights for the people living in the west. The east said no and sent out the army to quell the 'rebellion'. They were the first army in the world to use the Gatling gun which they used to put down the rebellion. They caught the guy wanting a province and land rights, said he was crazy and hanged him until he was dead.

@BeachGirl47 24°F and falling. Ice starting to hit the house now.