For some time, the Alberta government has noted its support for high-speed rail between Calgary and Edmonton, with a stop in Red Deer, joining the north and south most populous regions in the province. Since many of us feel like we live on the highway, for work and play, often rerouted due to incidents on said highway, this option has appeal.
Now, the Federal government has hopped on this train, so to speak, and approved a consortium to develop a high-speed rail plan from Toronto to Quebec City, some of the most populous regions in the country.
It seems like everyone in power these days has a touch of musk, Elon Musk, that is, not the musk which is emitted from the musk deer whose glands are a source of the strong odour used for a perfume base. Elon Musk is, arguably, completely delusional, but very successful at it (does that cancel the delusional aspect?). We don’t even question the Mars settlement plans and SpaceX, or if we do, that won’t let our friends to the south stop him from reorganizing one of the biggest governments, in one of the most powerful countries.
Musk would no doubt scoff at Canada’s simple high-speed rail plans as not being delusional at all, not even inspirational.
I can imagine our outgoing Prime Minister thinking, “High-speed rail from Calgary to Edmonton you say? No more high-speed rail for you Alberta, the east has to do it first”. Meanwhile, down south, President Trump says, “Musk, you can have Mars, but I am taking Canada, a precious untapped resource much nearer, at my age I can not count on Mars”.
The guy in the south wants our untapped resources, the guy in the east wants our resources untapped. While we try to settle things like land claims, and debate what we can produce, “someone” might strip that land out from under “us” (we don’t even agree who “we” are, we have so many identities to debate).
During one global crisis a world leader decided a good distraction was to put a man on the moon. People still debate if that actually happened. We could use artificial intelligence to flawlessly fake a Mars landing now so Musk, get Trump on your delusion, and make him forget about us.
Some politicians, likely seen as delusional at the time, decided to build a railway across the new Dominion of Canada founded in 1867. From 1881 to 1886, the railway was forged with the vision to create a country stretched from continent to continent.
Before that rail, there was the War of 1812, where the US invaded Canada. The accounts I read indicate we won. The fact that we are still a country suggests that is not fake news, although, these days, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear I was mistaken.
I always state our most vital resources are above ground being our people, not the land we occupy. Without lifeforms, there would be nobody to be concerned about the status of this planet. Persons without the freedom to choose, undermines core essence of humanity. Might I delusionally suggest a high-speed rail across Canada, with a stop in Red Deer (and branches to Edmonton and Calgary), to reinforce our current vision of a united Canada, and improving the east/west economic trade? There might be something more sane to do in terms of reducing interprovincial tariffs, but hey, if we need delusional too, happy to oblige.
Donna Purcell, KC, (aka Lady Justice) is an Alberta lawyer and Chief Innovation Officer with Donna Purcell QC Law. If you have legal questions, contact [email protected].
This article was originally published inside the February 22nd edition of the Red Deer Advocate.
