Intriguing choice of team chosen by Danielle Smith! I totally expected her as a federalist to stack it with federalist sycophants who would compile a worst case scenario for AB independence (to justify her laughably lopsided $400B claim), but it doesn't necessarily look that way:
-Ted Morton, signer of the famous Firewall Letter who I voted for during the 2006 PC leadership race.
-Jack Mintz, who was a board director for Morneau Shepell--I know, bad connotations with that name--but this was the firm (Lifeworks) which calculated the large estimate of CPP assets owed to Alberta--which federalists always attack now. He's also repeatedly been a guest on
@NadineWellwood's show, and while he isn't a separatist, he hasn't seemed entirely opposed to it, and has said Alberta has a better case than Brexit did.
-Janice MacKinnon, who chaired Kenney's Blue Ribbon Panel on AB finances which was fiscally conservative.
-Alex Pourbaix, Cenovus CEO who has publicly excoriated Canada's disastrous current investment climate.
I don't want to get my hopes up though.
There are other federalists who I've had respect for--like Travis Toews--yet who seem entirely misguided when it comes to AB remaining subservient to Ottawa, myopically focused on maintaining the broken status quo regardless the cost.
NEW: The Government of Alberta has selected UCalgary’s School of Public Policy to do an independent analysis of the potential economic impacts of separation.
An expert advisory panel has also been appointed:
Jack Mintz
Ted Morton
Adam Legge
Alex Pourbaix
Janice MacKinnon