What would Canada have to do before you finally said: enough? This is my full conversation with a group of “Forever Canadians” at the Alberta independence rally outside the Alberta Legislature on August 29. Earlier I posted some of the most heated moments from this exchange. This is the complete conversation, and I think the most important part is actually a much deeper question: Is there a line that Canada could cross that would make you stop supporting it? One woman accused me of being a “traitor” who had turned against my homeland. So I tried to explain why. You can genuinely love something and still reach a point where you can no longer support it. I use the deliberately extreme example of discovering that your spouse was a serial killer. You might love that person, but eventually some actions cross a line that love cannot excuse. That is how I feel about Canada. One of my biggest concerns is freedom of expression. Canada’s Charter protects freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, but those freedoms are subject to limits that governments can attempt to justify under Section 1. Canada also has newly introduced criminal hate-speech laws (bill C9). That has crossed a line. So I turned the question around on myself: what could Canada do that might convince me to become a federalist again? A constitutional guarantee of inalienable free-speech protections would go a long way. If Canadians had rights that governments could not easily limit when political circumstances changed, I would seriously reconsider my position. And I also explain something independence supporters sometimes fail to emphasize: There are still things I love about Canada. One example is our safety culture and the value we place on protecting workers. Having worked and travelled to places where those standards are bad, I know that Canada has built many institutions worth preserving. Alberta independence does not require pretending everything Canada created was bad. My argument is that lines have been crossed and because of that I have given up on Canada. The nation is falling apart and is on a path to dystopia. Watch the entire conversation and answer the question for yourself: Is there anything Canada could do that would make you give up on it? And if you support Alberta independence, what could Canada realistically offer that might convince you to stay?