Letters: Actions of Edmonton’s next council must be grounded in reality

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GOVERN WITH PRAGMATISM

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With the civic election fast approaching, many candidates have taken to social media to share their views, especially around Truth and Reconciliation Day. Rajah Maggay, a candidate running in Nakota Isga (Ward 1), stated that city council must be guided by an Indigenous framework in every decision it makes. Suggesting that council decisions should be guided by any single cultural framework is concerning. Edmonton is a diverse city — home to many cultures, communities, and perspectives. City council’s role is to serve all Edmontonians, not to govern through the lens of one group. To shape policy based on a singular world view represents the ideological approach we saw under the Iveson era — one that many feel led to unbalanced priorities and to the decline of Edmonton. The next council must be grounded in pragmatism and reality. Our city needs leaders who consider all communities equally and make decisions that serve Edmonton as a whole.

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GREG ZAWASKI

(An effective council listens to all voices.)

NO REPLACEMENT

There are lots of Albertans who are anti-fossil fuel at any cost. The oil and gas industry brings in about $35 billion into the revenue stream of the Alberta government. A one per cent sales tax would bring in approximately $2 billion. So if we eliminated all oil and gas production and instituted a 17 per cent Alberta sales tax, we could balance our budget. Then the tax would just increase each time government contracts are settled. Add on the GST and in a couple years we’ll be at 25 per cent.

BRENT LEWIS

(You’re right, a sales tax can’t make up for lost resource revenue. And in a couple of years, half the population would have fled the province.)

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WHAT NEXT?

Mark Carney became prime minister March 14 and as you stated, Premier Smith, his six months are up. To date he has not met any of your conditions, not one. You have just finished the Alberta Next town halls and I assume your team is on its way to Ottawa in the very near future. I wish you luck as Alberta has been talking to federal governments about Alberta’s rights, including Conservative ones, for 50 years since Pierre Trudeau’s National Energy Program. I don’t expect more discussion on this will bear any fruit, but I wish you luck. Now that massive layoffs are happening in the oil and gas sector, what are you prepared to do when talks go nowhere?

BILL GRANT

(Building the groundwork for a new pipeline is a start.)

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