The Art of the Deal
Notwithstanding …
In Edmonton’s shadows, behind a closed door,
Sits Smith at her desk, making plans for a war.
With a giant ink fountain pen clutched in her hand,
She’s dreaming of seizing Aboriginal land.
With an X through the Treaties and the Charter cast out,
She mutters a thought that is riddled with doubt:
“If we just legally declare that the country is ours,
They’ll have to come bargain with provincial powers…
Behind her leans Rath with a cowboy-hat and a con,
A “Legal Advisor” egging her on to “Step One”.
He points to the “Sovereignty Act” with a permanent smirk,
Convinced his “independence” circus will work.
While Parker looks over, a gleam in his eye,
With a clipboard of strategies built on a lie:
From rallies to astroturf, the message is slick,
To guarantee a “Hundred Percent” voter hat trick.
Above them, the cloud of her daydream takes shape:
Her map of a “New Alberta” gives no escape.
With checkpoints and traffic cones blocking the road,
And oil rigs pumping to boost the load.
A padlock is slammed where protection once stood,
Locking up Treaties 6, 7, and 8 “for Alberta’s good.”
A plan to force nations to sit at her table,
To “negotiate” a map of ink, on a premise unstable.
Under the table, the Constitution’s her footstool,
While the Charter lies broken, like the Golden Rule.
Her trash bin is bursting with “Duty to Consult,”
As the “No Longer Relevant” scrap-heap piles up.
Outside her window, the brick wall is high,
The Supreme Court of Canada blocks out her sky.
With a dead-end ahead and a stack of illusions,
Smith pens her decree to its final conclusions!