Friday’s letters: Carney needs to build a pipeline

Re. “Carney must listen to Canada’s West in ways his predecessors have not,” Keith Gerein, May 1

Keith Gerein has it wrong, again. The Liberals don’t need to rely on the Bloc or the NDP if instead they do what the majority of Canadians want them to do: Achieve energy independence (build a pipeline that allows Canada to use its own oil and gas instead of importing it), eliminate the discount we have to sell our oil assets at, prevent a hostile neighbour from stopping domestic oil and gas transmission and increase our ability to export cleaner natural gas to countries that burn coal to generate electricity.

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All of these things will increase jobs and wealth in Canada, reduce global emissions and simultaneously blunt the impact of Trump’s whims. If our prime minister does this, he will find an overwhelming majority of MPs vote in favour, and in so doing, would earn my vote too.

Chris Rudnisky, Edmonton

UCP hypocritical on openness

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Re. “Why is province hiding renewables survey?” Opinion, April 30

It was certainly perfect timing that we see Stephen Legault’s piece the day after the pages were full of the premier’s sales pitch about the importance of openness, transparency and the collective voice of Albertans (Bill 54).

It’s extremely difficult to believe anything our current government puts forward. Action and reality seldom, if ever, live up to the rhetoric. Whether it’s health care, orphan wells, an Alberta replacement for CPP, or the provincial police force that nobody asked for but is now being funded, the government seems to have adopted the advice of George Costanza: “Remember, it’s not a lie, if you believe it.”

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David Verbicky, Edmonton

Alberta separation a dead horse

Re. “Effects of liberal victory could upend Alberta politics,” David Staples, April 30

We shouldn’t be surprised that David Staples would have an apocalyptic slant to the election results. A Bob Dylan lyric comes to mind “… a pulse and vibration and a rumbling force. Somebody is out there beating on a dead horse.”

The Alberta separatist talk has got to stop. It’s a huge country and Alberta fared no worse under Trudeau than Stephen Harper. How many pipelines did Harper get built? As for Pierre Poilievre, he lost his seat to the folks who knew him the best and the longest. That should tell us something.

Bob Jahrig, St Albert

Happy for responsible government

Re. “Focus on Trump threat will backfire,” Letters, April 30

We can always count on whinging, infantile sour grapes to continue to divide and promote hate and fear after the election. For those of us who have concerns beyond the end of our own noses, we are happy to have seen a responsible Liberal government spend money to help those in need and protect our environment.

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I trust Carney to continue along that line with the best economical smarts we could possibly hope for. Bob Thompson claims to know what Trump thinks. I, frankly, don’t believe him.

Dave Hill, Edmonton

Letters welcome

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