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Alberta is just weeks away from the Oct. 19 referendum and the 10 questions have been a hot topic of debate all over the province — including on the University of Alberta campus.
Melanie Osuzan says she’s worried and angry about the upcoming referendum and the questions about separation and immigration.
“The question is based on whether permanent residents should receive the same services as all of us, and yet they contribute taxes every single day. And they are people. They’re human beings,” said the U of A student.
Osuzan’s parents immigrated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo when they were teenagers.
“They were not born here but they matured here, developed here, grew up here. This is their home as much as any full blooded Canadian,” said Osuzan.
CBC is partnering with the University of Alberta Students’ Union (UASU) to livestream a student-focused discussion about what happens after the vote.
WATCH | What do U of A students care about when it comes to the referendum:
What matters most? Alberta students get ready for referendum
We asked students at the University of Alberta which of the referendum ballot topics feels the most personal to their experience. Here’s what they told us ahead of the What Happens Next panel discussion at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 2. Catch the conversation, featuring Jason Kenney, Keith Wilson and Marie Gordon, live on our YouTube and TikTok channels.
Osuzan, 21, said she will be voting to stay a part of Canada but she struggles when she hears her father, who is a welder, talk about the way his co-workers, his buddies describe immigrants.
“Not realizing that he is the immigrant they’re talking about. He is the person ‘stealing all of our jobs, taking all of our tax money.’ ”
The questions on immigration and the question regarding a separation referendum are all reasons she wants to turn up tonight to a forum at the University of Alberta to hear a range of opinions.
“Whether or not you’re separatists or federalists, we both need to be heard and both groups need to come together for solutions,” said Osuzan. “Division is a powerful technique used by people who don’t want us to be successful.
University of Alberta student Melanie Osuzan plans on attending the ‘What Happens Next?’ panel discussion on the referendum. (Adrienne Lamb/CBC)
The University of Alberta Student Union has secured three panelists with a mix of opinions: Jason Kenney, Keith Wilson and Marie Gordon. The session will be moderated by CBC Edmonton AM host Tara McCarthy.
Marie Gordon is an award-winning family lawyer and educator who has earned the Alberta Order of Excellence, and advocates for remaining in Canada to preserve constitutional order and protect individual rights.
Keith Wilson is an Edmonton-area lawyer, businessman and the leader of the pro-independence group Let Alberta Decide.
Jason Kenney, a former Alberta premier and former Conservative federal minister, is urging Albertans to vote to stay in Canada.
It’s a closed campus event but they have invited CBC Edmonton to livestream the panel, from 5:30 to 6:30, on TikTok, YouTube and online to the public.
Mixed views on campus
Second-year mechanical engineering student Naomi Metz sees the political division said she is “really scared for that mood especially in Alberta.”
“I kind of wish that it wasn’t really happening,” the 19-year-old said.
University of Alberta student Naomi Metz is concerned about the divisions being created as the October 19 referendum looms. (Adrienne Lamb/CBC)
She’ll be voting to stay in Canada but she’s worried about the long-term consequences of the referendum.
“It gets a little sketchy when you start messing with the Constitution,” says Metz.
For computer science student Nicolas Nava Martinez the referendum comes down to economics.
“Alberta gives away a lot of its money to the other provinces,” said Nava Martinez. “I’m voting that we separate from the rest of Canada.”
Nava Martinez said when his parents came to Canada from Mexico decades ago “they almost got zero support and they still made it. So I think that there has to be stricter regulations on the money given to immigrants when they come here.”
He said his biggest worry heading towards October 19 is voter turnout. He hopes Albertans vote in record numbers.
University of Alberta student Nicolas Nava Martinez hopes others eligible to vote do so in the upcoming referendum. (Adrienne Lamb/CBC)