{"text":[[{"start":6.9,"text":"Prime Minister Mark Carney has warned Alberta’s push for separation from Canada is a “dangerous bluff” that its supporters would regret, much like the UK’s Brexiters who want to rejoin the EU. "}],[{"start":18.15,"text":"Carney, who was Bank of England governor during Britain’s Brexit campaign, said many proponents who wanted to leave the bloc in 2016 now regret the decision."}],[{"start":28.25,"text":"“I saw first-hand what happened in the United Kingdom when the view was, vote for this, it’ll be soft, and then we’ll negotiate,” Carney said in Ottawa on Monday."}],[{"start":38.45,"text":"“They’re still 10 years later trying to undo what people didn’t think they were voting for but what they ended up having,” he added."}],[{"start":46.650000000000006,"text":"Alberta’s premier Danielle Smith on Thursday announced plans to hold a public vote on October 19 to decide whether to pursue a referendum for the province to separate from Canada. "}],[{"start":59.2,"text":"Since Carney was elected prime minister in April last year, Alberta’s separatist sentiment has gained momentum in the oil-rich western province, which has historical grievances with eastern Canada."}],[{"start":70.8,"text":"While Carney and Smith have improved relations in an effort to harness Alberta’s oil resources, laying the groundwork for a new 1mn barrel-a-day pipeline earlier this month, the premier has made it easier for a referendum on separation."}],[{"start":85.2,"text":"Separation has about 30 per cent support in the province and comes at a time when Canada is facing a trade war with the US, with President Donald Trump regularly threatening to annex the country as America’s 51st state. "}],[{"start":99.2,"text":"Carney said “the premier doesn’t always take my advice”, when asked if he had tried to dissuade Smith from holding a referendum."}],[{"start":106.60000000000001,"text":"Carney was criticised for overstepping his Bank of England role when he warned during Britain’s referendum campaign over EU membership that Brexit could lead to a recession, cost jobs, raise prices and cause a plunge in the value of the pound."}],[{"start":121.30000000000001,"text":"The UK is now debating whether to rejoin the bloc, with Brussels rebuffing its latest efforts to gain access to its single market for goods."}],[{"start":130,"text":"Smith, who has said she supports a “united Canada” has also called separatists “loyal Albertans” who “love our province profoundly”."}],[{"start":139.05,"text":"Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre, who is a local Alberta MP, said all federal Conservative MPs would campaign against separation."}],[{"start":147.65,"text":"Smith has reframed the question to be voted on in October after a court last week ruled a petition with 300,000 signatures supporting an independence referendum was unconstitutional because it had failed to consult members of the province’s First Nations, who are against separatism. "}],[{"start":173.05,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1779767422_3471.mp3"}