🇨🇦 Canada Citizens Forum News Recap May 17, 2025
🔍 Main Focus: What’s Really Driving Alberta Separation?
Etkin: “It’s a distraction. And the media’s in on it.”
Key Points:
Alberta separation resurfaces post-election, but Jack Etkin believes this issue is being pushed by corporate interests to divert attention from economic exploitation by Canada’s wealthiest.
Two main grievances—equalization payments and oil—are portrayed misleadingly by corporate media, including CBC.
Expert Duane Bratt notes Albertans often misunderstand equalization; secession would result in Alberta covering costs the federal government currently absorbs.
Crude oil production has hit record highs for four straight years, challenging the narrative that Alberta is being "ripped off."
🗳️ Democracy Under Siege: Is Electoral Reform Just a Show?
Ryder & Jury: “Parties are run by business interests, not voters.”
Electoral Reform Highlights:
BC’s Democratic and Electoral Reform Committee is holding public consultations.
Norm Ryder criticizes the effort as being politician-led, not citizen-driven, suggesting it lacks legitimacy.
Medina Jury claims all major parties (except maybe Greens) are influenced by corporate powers, preferring majority governments to push their agendas with minimal resistance.
The 2018 NDP reform process was described as designed to fail.
Jury warns: “44% of the vote equals 100% of the power? That’s dictatorship.”
🌍 Global Affairs: Ukraine, Syria, and the Manufactured Chaos
Jury: “Western powers fuel the conflict — and media hides the truth.”
Ukraine Analysis:
Putin proposed peace talks, but Western media framed Russia as unserious.
Jury claims Western training of neo-Nazi battalions (e.g., Azov) in Ukraine since 2015 undermines any peace efforts.
Zelensky, once elected on a peace platform, instead banned Russian language/churches and empowered military conflict.
Syria Breakdown:
Claims Western powers (US, UK, Israel) created terrorist groups to destabilize Syria after Assad rejected Western influence.
ISIS and Al-Qaeda were allegedly trained and armed via American bases and supported logistically by Gulf allies.
Jury cites Israel’s covert cooperation with rebel forces and notes regime change enabled Israeli territorial gain.
🇵🇸 Gaza & Arab Governments’ Complicity
Jury: “It’s not just Western guilt — Arab regimes are helping, too.”
Gaza has been under total blockade since March 2, with starvation widespread.
Jury accuses Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Jordan of facilitating Israeli supply chains despite public pro-Palestine rhetoric.
Supplies like Azeri oil allegedly reach Israel via tankers owned by Erdogan’s son.
🇨🇦 Canadian Allegiance: Are We Subjects or Citizens?
Ryder: “Oaths to monarchy ignore Canada’s Constitution and the people.”
Concerns Raised:
MPs and MLAs swear allegiance to the British monarch, not the Canadian Constitution or its citizens.
Ryder advocates public oaths that affirm service to the people.
Etkin: “The media never shows us the oath—because they don’t want us to hear it.”
🏭 The New Canada: Tariffs, Resource Exploitation, and Climate Hypocrisy
Etkin: “Tariffs became the excuse to abandon all environmental oversight.”
Post-Tariff Policy Shift:
Following Trump-era tariffs, Canada accelerated fracking, mining, oil expansion, and military investment without public consent.
Environmental regulations were waived; nuclear reactor construction now underway in 4 provinces.
Etkin: “They say nukes will save the climate—but nuclear radiation is worse.”
Pipeline Irony:
Trans Mountain expansion tripled capacity—but it’s only one-third utilized.
Alberta crude is hard to refine; most buyers are in the U.S., raising questions about the necessity and cost of the expansion.
🧠 Final Thought: Division as a Strategy
Ryder: “If we’re all fighting, the rulers stay safe.”
Ongoing internal and international conflicts serve one purpose: keep the people distracted while corporate interests profit.
Etkin: “And we’re never asked. We’re just told.”
🗣️ Closing Words
From Canada Citizens Forum continues to challenge mainstream narratives, offering a platform for dissenting views on democracy, foreign policy, and economic justice. As Jack Etkin put it:
“We Canadians weren’t asked about nuclear, oil, or fracking. They just tell us—and we pay the price.”
