Dear Editor,
On Jan. 27, 2019, I wrote a letter to the Mountain View Gazette concerning the comments Jason Nixon made on Jan. 22, 2021 where he said, “The reality is we are not going to accept a fake consultation process that is rush and not done adequately with the community” (re: Bighorn development).
In my second paragraph, I asked Mr. Nixon who he “really” represented. Real estate developers? Natural resource industries? Bank and mortgage companies?
Little did I know that Jason Kenny’s UCP government would secretly undertake to sell coal mining operations in the most sensitive areas of the eastern slopes of the Alberta Rockies without any consultation with Albertans.
Remember that Mr. Kenny did the same thing with the closing of 167 public parks, and with the sale of some of them to private development.
Where was the public consultation?
Mr. Kenny MO (Methods of Operations) are strangely similar to ex-President Donald Trump (decisions made without consultations with the public) and all were made for the benefit of private businesses, for the benefit of his family, or for the benefit of his friends.
Mr. Kenny didn’t consult with the doctors, the nurses and the teachers, municipal governments, emergency medical services, parent councils, et cetera when decisions were made to axe or curtail funding for them.
He even usurped the teachers’ pension fund without consultation with the teachers.
No consultation with the public concerning funding of private schools either, or with the creation of private clinics using public funds.
However, like Trump, he used diversions to distract Albertans from criticizing him or his government.
For example, he has attacked Dr. Tam, the chief federal government medical officer, Prime Minister Trudeau, and anyone else he believes will score political points for him and his supporters. Play the “tough guy role”.
He even blames Trudeau for the lack of vaccines in Alberta. Hmm?
The lack of vaccines is a problem elsewhere (in Canada, in the US, in Great Britain, and in the EU (European Union).
Does that mean that Prime Minister Trudeau is that powerful? What does that mean?
Now, he is going after Trudeau and President Joe Biden for the cancellation of Keystone even though Mr. Biden said quite some time ago that he would block that pipeline.
However, Mr. Kenny, as usual, fails to mention that many US farmers, ranchers, indigenous peoples and environmental groups had been fighting that proposed pipeline for years.
He also fails to mention that Canada has two other pipelines being built (both going to B.C.).
By the way, if his government was short on cash, how come he spent $1.5 billion on that project, but had to cut funding to public schools, to public doctors, to public school boards, to parent-school councils, to municipal governments, et cetera, but has money for private schools, private businesses and for the “War Room”?
His latest piece of distraction is the ‘anti-energy commission’ headed by Steve Allan. So far, this little project has cost $3.5 million, and the purpose of this project was to expose those “nasty” people and organizations who were out to destroy Alberta’s energy sector. Hmm?
Lets’ see. Did Premier Kenny mention there are several rich people in America who have business interests in the oil patch in Alberta, and who also have vested interests in attacking anyone who they perceive as attacking the Canadian energy sector.
For example, Charles Koch (personal wealth of $45 billion) and Mark Mills (Manhattan Institute; Cato Institute).
Oh, and they’re supporters of Donald Trump, the Tea Party, and the Republican Party.
Mr. Trump was influenced to roll back more than 100 pieces of environmental legislation, such as opening-up sensitive environmental areas in Alaska to oil and gas development (deja vu, eh?).
Bottom line, Mr. Kenny: We want to see open consultations with Albertans (not closed one with your friends and associates) on the very topics that I have mentioned. Let’s be “transparent”, eh?
George Thatcher
Trochu, Alta.
