Letters to the editor: Were I an Albertan, here's the questions I'd be asking

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‘Would this be about the lost pioneering spirit of Canadians?’

Re: Were I an Albertan, I’d be asking: What’s the point? Rex Murphy, Jan. 22; and Upset over the Keystone XL cancellation? Here’s how we could screw over the Americans, Tristin Hopper, Jan. 26

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Letters to the editor: Were I an Albertan, here's the questions I'd be asking Back to video

As an Albertan, I would like Rex Murphy to write a column about what it is that keeps Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba from putting money and resources together, rolling up their collective sleeves and building a railway from Fort Mac to Churchill in Manitoba, refurbishing that ideal, deep water port, and loading tankers there.

Would he be writing about the lost pioneering spirit of Canadians, and nonexistent friendship between provinces in the federation?

Zdenek Kindl, Calgary

So the environmentalists think pipelines are dangerous? More dangerous than shipping oil by rail? Tell that to the 47 people who died in Lac-Mégantic a few years ago because an oil train exploded in the middle of the night.

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Politics in the U.S. and Canada is being driven by radical left environmentalists who have taken over somehow. It’s up to the rest of us to push back. We need to develop our resources, but how do we do that when a handful of mayors in Quebec can dictate to the prime minister that there will be no pipeline going through Quebec? Never mind all of the gasoline diesel being transported to Quebec by tanker and pipelines from the Irving refinery in Saint John, N.B.

No problem with tankers going into New Brunswick daily from such eco-friendly places as Algeria, Nigeria, Libya, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia. We even have oil being shipped from Alberta to Vancouver then down the West Coast through the Panama Canal and up to New Brunswick. How on Earth does that make any sense rather than going through Canada by pipeline?

Our prime minister puts a moratorium on tanker shipments on the West Coast but it’s open season on the East Coast? You have to wonder where the logic is.

Bill Stemp, Calgary

In the 2019 election, Justin Trudeau promised to introduce a Just Transition Act, “ensuring that workers have access to the training and support they need to succeed in the new clean economy.” But, he’s barely mentioned it since.

Now that U.S. President Joe Biden has cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline, one thing is clear: the fossil fuel era is ending. Workers can’t keep waiting for help with the transition. They need action now. It’s time for Trudeau to keep his promise to workers and legislate the Just Transition Act.

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A Just Transition Act would mean finally creating retraining programs for workers in the oil industry and generating thousands of good jobs that are in line with the needs of a green economy.

It’s clear that workers, our communities, and the planet need action now. Let’s hope the federal government can make it happen.

Jason Milligan, Toronto

Tristin Hopper suggests six ways Canada could “screw over” the Americans. I call it Canada shooting itself in the foot, six times.

Reiner Jaakson, Oakville, Ont.

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Liberals have yet to pay price for reign of error

Re: Why do Canadians keep supporting this error-prone government?, Kelly McParland, Jan. 25

Kelly McParland asks: “How is it that Canadians remain so blithely tolerant of such an error-prone, stumble-footed government?” According to G.K. Chesterton: “Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.”

Ricardo DiCecca, Burlington, Ont.

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Some certainties about taxes, death and politics

Re: The pandemic is already changing the future of Canadian politics, Tasha Kheiriddin, Jan. 26

It is great to have Tasha Kheiriddin back in the pages of the National Post. In her Wednesday article, she concluded that “One thing is certain: after this pandemic year, politics, like all our lives, will not be the same.” I have to respectfully disagree. The only thing certain, besides death and taxes, is that politics will be the same. The landscape changes over time but politics doesn’t. Politicians will continue to be primarily motivated by their self-interest of obtaining or staying in power and driven by their ideology shaped by the culture war of the day. This will continue to trump pragmatic clear-thinking reason that addresses today’s problems and purposefully works to position our society for success down the road.

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It is certain (another certainty!) that we and our children and their children will have to bear the consequences of our elected politician’s actions or inactions. The only thing uncertain is the degree of incompetence and corruption from the political class of the day. Unfortunately, in Canada and particularly at the federal level starting with Justin Trudeau, we are seeing record highs for both.

Marc Friedman, Thornhill, Ont.

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Time for Canada to come out from mother Elizabeth’s basement?

Re:?GG Julie Payette and Rideau Hall’s top bureaucrat resign in wake of damning workplace review, Jan. 22

With the departure of Julie Payette from her role as governor general, maybe it’s time for Canada to take a long hard look at itself in the mirror. Canada needs to ask itself why, in our perpetual quest to be taken seriously on the global stage, we always seems to fall short. Why is it that at every global banquet, in the midst of other nations of arguably lesser accomplishment, we always seem to be relegated to take a seat at the kids’ table? The year is 2021 and it’s about time that Canada sees in that reflection a country that has fully and completely grown up. A nation that seriously needs to understand and realize that the time has arrived to finally move out of mother Elizabeth’s basement and stake its place in the world among the adults.

Joel L. Goldman, Toronto

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This is the essence of free markets

Re: The murky rise of Klaus Schwab’s stakeholder ‘capitalism’ and the WEF’s Davos corporate plan, Terence Corcoran, Jan. 22

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As usual, Terence Corcoran’s column was so on point that one hesitates to comment lest that be taken as criticism. But let me make the point that the function of the capital markets in our political economy is to facilitate the efficient allocation of capital. And when governments (or NGOs or others) interfere with this process, capital is misallocated to the detriment of the economy and society.

It is unfortunate that everyone fixates on Friedman’s quotation about the job of corporate management being to make profits, since these days profit is seen as evil and simply greed. What is lost (since it is not taught in our schools) is that profit — meaning return on investment — is how the system keeps score, so that those with the best returns on capital (profits) receive more capital to invest to do more of what they are doing. That makes sense because profit only is achieved by virtue of giving consumers what they want in terms of goods and services. That is the other part of Friedman — “Free to Choose.” Every day consumers vote with their dollars when they purchase something. That is the essence of free markets. Once government and other parties of “influence” begin to interfere in our free market system, capital gets misallocated and the economy suffers. Alas, so does freedom.

Terry Fisher, Niagara-on-the-lake, Ont.

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The Democrats’ gift to the Republicans

Re: Senator Leahy to preside over Trump’s impeachment trial, Jan. 25

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The Republicans have a problem. They narrowly lost the recent election because too many voters dislike Donald Trump even though they like his policies. The problem is that Trump and his policies are very difficult to separate, particularly as his ego will make it difficult for him and many of his supporters to accept a background role with someone else taking the lead role.

However, the Democrats seem to be rushing to the rescue. If they are able to bar Trump from running again, the Republicans will have no choice but to nominate a new leader who will be able to essentially follow the Trump initiatives without the bluster and offensive remarks.

This combination should be able to overturn the Democrat majorities, thanks to their haste to wreak revenge on Trump.

Dave Griffiths, Oakville, Ont.

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