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Money paid into equalization doesn’t belong to Alberta

Re: “Election result signals it’s time for vote on separation,” Letter to the editor, Oct. 29.
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Re: “Election result signals it’s time for vote on separation,” Letter to the editor, Oct. 29.

I wonder if Dale Stuart realizes how foolish he sounds to those of us from the world of finance?

The Alberta government has never paid a penny into the equalization process, yet Jason Kenney has him believing it’s $10 billion annually. Before he thinks separation is a smart idea, he should think about what he would be giving up. Could he survive without his Old Age Security funds, Canada Pension Plan funds, or his health-care benefits?

The fact is Albertans created this mess we are in, and it’s a well-known fact that if the Klein, Stelmach and Redford governments continued to collect royalties and taxes at the Lougheed rates, Albertans would have at least $400 billion in their Heritage Trust Fund.

Instead, we allowed them to give it all away and we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Alan Spiller, Edmonton