Water Pricing Town Hall: Delivered to you!
Author: anne | Date: February 8, 2007 | Please Comment!Thanks to David Hoskyn (owner and operator of Monarch Music) I now have MP3s from last week’s town hall meeting! I’ll post some highlights here for you, but if you would like a CD of the entire evening, contact me at calgary.mountainview@assembly.ab.ca and I can send you a copy.
2:07 pm on December 15th, 2008
Dear David
First of all my congratulations with your election as leader of Alberta’s Liberal Party. I noticed your statement of steering your party towards the center of the political spectrum and that is where my interest lies.
Personally, I don’t like the Stelmach Government or the last days of Ralph Klein. I do think Ralph did the right thing when eliminating the deficit, although maybe not with all of his specific cut backs.
My concerns lie with living in a sustainable world; have an education system that allows more people access to university and continued education. I am not in support of carbon taxes; nor do I believe in the so-called consensus by scientists on human influence on global warming. I think climate change is undeniable, but then this has been so since geological time. Geological history has taught me that we are in an interglacial period and that we are moving, although not in a straight line, to a possibly warmer climate. However, I feel that the general public is driven towards a near religious frenzy about human induced climate change and that when this hysteria ends, a serious negative reaction towards environmentalist movement will result; especially towards groups such as Green Peace.
I like to reduce our carbon footprint as part of an overall reduction of our environmental footprint which includes consumption of numerous natural resources and the associated pollution on a significant scale. My experience is that industry as a whole is interested in functioning more efficiently, after all, cost savings increases profitability so increased efficiency of the wise use of resources fits right in. On the other hand, if the economic and political environments promote an irresponsible attitude towards our resources then don’t be surprised that industry is on the side of profits.
For example, if you can insure your facilities against lost production, loss of life, etc. and if government agencies let corporations get away with such unsafe and environmental unkind behavior, then in the name of profit, industry will. In our province, enforcement of existing laws and regulations is a joke and insurance covers the costs of accidents. This nearly forces industry to act the way they sometimes do because if company A doesn’t, company B will.
We need better enforcement and better policies. The royalty review is a prime example of poor policy. It was supposed to increase our share from oil sands. It kind of did. But it also included forced renegotiations for Suncor and Syncrude regarding existing contracts. I guess, governments don’t need to adhere to contracts. Overall, however, industry did not protest the oil side of the royalty review. But out of nowhere, came the attack on the gas industry, which already was weakened by poor economics. A draconian new system punished the gas industry in producing the most environmental friendly fossil fuel of all and drove it to Saskatchewan, B.C. and Texas. No wonder that Alberta’s CO2 output is shooting up!
Your party’s stand, during the last election, on even more rigorous royalties, left people such as me, who are in the center or possibly small c-conservatives with no political home. That is why you lost the election. I was ready to vote for the Liberal party, being sick of the Conservatives. Then you take those far left turns, you slap us in the face and then you are surprised about having another lost election.
If the Liberal Party of Alberta wishes to win an election, you will have to offer a home for us homeless middle grounders. I used to bike to work too (until I semi-retired as a geologist). I use an energy efficient furnace and live in an old house. My wife is a LEED certified engineer. So make room for us in your party; stop the green shafting and follow a holistic environmental political course – no need to change your name, just be open towards the center and act accordingly. If you’re willing to do that, I’ll even show up at your meetings. Hope this helps.