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Or sign-in if you have an account.Jim Dinning is a proud Canadian, campaigning for his home province to remain part of the federation.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorBut Alberta’s former finance minister is not contemptuous of those who want to create a separate country.He told National Post’s John Ivison that he is sympathetic to Premier Danielle Smith’s push to give separatists the chance to express their strongly held sentiments in a referendum in October.“Some people want to dismiss these people as, to use a Hillary Clinton phrase, a basket full of deplorables. They are not. They are our neighbours, some of them are our friends, they’re fellow Albertans. I’ll bet you a bag of doughnuts that they were once proud and patriotic Canadians, but they have come to the end of their tether and we cannot be dismissive of their concerns,” he said.Ralph Klein’s former treasurer said Ottawa will have to work hard, if the Remain side triumphs, to make sure it tends to the underlying grievances or the push for independence will go in cycles.“Ottawa needs to wake up and realize that not all parts of the country are the same and they shouldn’t expect (provinces) to be conforming and uniform because that’s not the nature of this country,” he said.Dinning said he thinks the premier and the prime minister are on the right track when it comes to developing Alberta’s resources.“But the sooner we see shovels in the ground, men and women at the end of shovels or driving a D9 Cat (bulldozer) and moving dirt, (the better). (We need) projects approved in this abhorrent regulatory process that we have in this country. When those boxes get ticked and dirt starts moving, then I think that alienation, that sense that nothing can get done in this country, will begin to melt away. Action is what we need because we’ve had more soothing words of nonsense over the last 11 years under the Liberal regime that has just sickened the people of Alberta. That’s where this alienation and anger has risen from,” he said.The larger problem, he said, stems from a lack of understanding of the Albertan mindset.“That’s why (Ottawa) expects conformity and uniformity, and when they don’t get it they sort of refer to those (separatist) guys as a bunch of knuckle-dragging grease monkeys. That we’re part of the hinterland … (But) the fact is that Alberta and Albertans are major contributors to the economic engine of Canada.”Dinning saw firsthand his province’s outsized contribution to the federation when he led an engagement panel looking at the prospect of Alberta leaving the Canada Pension Plan. A provincially commissioned report suggested that Alberta was entitled to more than CPP’s assets, despite having just 12 per cent of the country’s population. Dinning said even he found that calculation hard to swallow, but the age and earning profile of the province suggests if not half, the province would be entitled to far in excess of 12 per cent of the assets.“Natural resource development is what has built our country and given us the lifestyle that we now enjoy. For somebody to say: ‘No, just keep it in the ground, it’s dirty, and if we need it, we’ll just import it from Nigeria,’ to Albertans, those guys just don’t understand this country. And that’s what fuels the anger, which fuels the separatist instinct.“This virtue-signalling nonsense can get me riled up and bloody angry. And I’m considered a moderate compared to many of those who are who are pushing the separatist line.” Get the latest from John Ivison straight to your inbox Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.