Dear Editor,
When Albertans go to the polls in October for municipal elections there will be three extra boxes on which to register your say.
Besides the issues of daylight savings time and choices for Senate there will be the matter of equalization payments.
Is this wealth transfer all well and good with you or is it not?
Jason Kenny has stated that the results of this vote could maximize our leverage with Ottawa in regard to these transfers.
Of course, maximizing a leverage of zero is still zero and furthermore, I doubt if an Ontario carpet bagger like Kenny would really be all that earnest in pushing it to the limit anyway.
Without wasting ink to deliberate here what that limit could be or where that limit could end, suffice to say he’s simply not the right person for that job.
It’s conceivable that from Jason Kenny’s standpoint the whole thing might be little more than an exercise in helping to solidify his base and distance his party from the NDP. But for Albertan’s it is still an opportunity to speak and I believe it’s worth putting in your two cents at the ballot box. If for nothing else, just to drive home the point to the ROC (rest of Canada) that the colonists are getting restless.
Stop and ask yourself, when was the last time Quebec shared the profits from it’s hydro electric energy industry with us?
Has Ontario ever shared the wealth from it’s auto assembly industry with us?
The answer to both these questions is… Never!
In actual fact the only thing we have gotten in return from Central Canada is Parliamentary legislated road blocks to our industrial and economic advancement.
As well, we have met with the stymied freedom of movement of our commodities by resentful jurisdictions such as British Columbia. Ostensibly under the guise of their concern for the environment, but all the while trampling all over genuine environmental concerns themselves.
How come? Remember that the freedom of movement of goods and services was and remains central to the premise and the promise of the Confederation partnership.
Can you honestly say that Confederation is fair to Alberta and Saskatchewan after 116 years since our territories first agreed to sign on?
No matter the why or the wherefore, do get out and vote on equalization. It’s the only tool we have.
Lee Hudson
Calgary/Brownfield
