November 23, 2021
Mr. Schmidt: Now, I certainly remember as a child that Alberta was the place that people in other parts of Canada wanted to move to. My friend from Edmonton-Mill Woods gives me a hard time about how old a man I am, and I’ll age myself here. I remember distinctly Ian Tyson singing about moving out to Alberta. He had a friend that he could go working for out here, apparently. Well, nobody has friends that they can come working for in Alberta. Now, Neil Young, I understand, also recorded that song. He’s probably not the most popular artist among government backbenchers, but he also recorded that song. Gordon Lightfoot sung about being Alberta bound.
Mr. Neudorf: Hear, hear.
Mr. Schmidt: I hear the Member for Lethbridge-East saying hear, hear. Well, people aren’t Alberta bound anymore. In fact, they’re packing up their bags and leaving. Now, I will apologize to my friends from Edmonton-South and Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood. I don’t have a more contemporary example for them. The best that I can come up with is a song that Big Sugar recorded in the early ’90s.
Mr. Dang: The early ’90s?
Member Irwin: Thomas was not with us.
Mr. Schmidt: Yeah. Exactly. They talked about how they’ve heard about a heaven in Alberta, where they’ve got all hell for a basement. Well, this government has done everything in its power to leave nothing but the basement of Alberta exposed, Mr. Speaker, and I fear that the damage that the government has done has been so bad that my friends from Edmonton-South and Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood may never know a time when Canadian singers sing about the wonders of moving to Alberta.








