Losing animals
January 15, 2019
I highly concur with our former MP Arnold Malone’s thoughts in his guest editorial, The Animals, published on Christmas.
Humans have a unique capacity amongst creation to nurture and to restore, yet also to take and destroy. The Earth is currently going through the sixth largest mass extinction on the planet. This is at a rate a thousand times higher than the previous extinctions (the last one killed the dinosaurs) and this one is being caused by humans.
Collectively, we are to blame. To correct a statistic, the WWF’s Living Planet report has declared that 60 per cent of vertebrates have been wiped out from 1970 to 2014. Sixty per cent. This has dramatically increased from a loss of 50 per cent from 1970 to 2010. In less than half a century, humanity has killed more than half of vertebrate animals on the planet. If this is not a wake-up call then I do not know what is.
I am appalled at this organization called the Century Project to increase Canada’s population to 100 million people by the end of the century. I am disturbed that finance minister Bill Morneau’s chief advisers are pushing this idea. Will a future Canada triple our current population have the same consumption levels? With the same carbon footprint?
Certainly our population will grow, yet to insist on intentionally tripling it is ludicrous. Two key elements of our national identity are: wilderness and a low population density. We do not need to triple our population. We need to conserve our current wild spaces and wildlife. Arnold’s thoughts show how conservation of wildlife and recognition of our interdependence with nature need not be a partisan issue.
Adlai Stevenson made a speech to the UN in 1965: “We travel together, passengers on a little space ship, dependent on its vulnerable reserves of air and soil; all committed for our safety to its security and peace; preserved from annihilation only by the care, the work, and, I will say, the love we give our fragile craft.” On this spaceship we have called Earth we have everything we need to live. And we share it with the rest of creation. And we need them more than they need us.
Geordie Nelson,
Camrose
Change coming
January 15, 2019
It has now changed over to 2019. I am not sure if anyone else seems to really care, but I do as a citizen of this province called Alberta. The United Conservatives have raised over $1.18 million in the third quarter of 2018, which is nearly 75 per cent more than what the NDP government brought in the same time period. This does point to a coming change.
The last time when Albertans booted a party out of power was back in 1935 when the Social Credit came into power. The United Farmers were all shown the door by the voter. In 2015, the voters were a little more kinder by giving the party a few seats and a chance to redeem themselves. They are now called the United Conservatives. Now they are now ahead in the polls.
Now what does this mean? Absolutely nothing. The only poll which counts only happens on election day. In 1971, the one thing the PC Party did right was that they took nothing for granted. The Social Credit did take the voter for granted. In 2015, the NDP did one thing right. They took nothing for granted. The PC Party did take the voter for granted last time.
Am I the only one who sees this repeat of the past? Like I have said before, your one vote alone will not do much, but together it can change the world. The voter has more power than what they know that they have.
Lorne Vanderwoude,
Camrose
Election time
January 1, 2019
There is talk of an early spring election here in Alberta. Time sure has gone so very fast since the Alberta New Democratic Party was elected as our government.
There are many excuses which people give me for not voting. Some say that they do not know enough to pick a party. In the late summer 1935, a lack of knowledge did not stop the 80 plus per cent who showed up to vote the United Farmers out of office. I would say it is a lack of interest, which stop most people from voting.
Others say there is not a lot of choice. We have at least 10 parties which are registered here in Alberta. We have the Alberta Advantage Party, Alberta Liberal Party, Alberta New Democratic Party, Alberta Party, Communist Party-Alberta, Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta, Green Party of Alberta, Pro-Life Alberta Political Association, Reform Party of Alberta and The United Conservative Party. There is no excuse not to vote.
When our next election arrives, take the time to vote for someone in your area. Even if you decide to vote for a party who might not have a chance to get in. You will be surprised how much your vote does count in any election. By yourself, your vote means nothing. Together all your votes can change the world.
Lorne Vanderwoude,
Camrose
Silent majority
December 25, 2018
On Saturday, Dec. 15, I drove past the peaceful crowd on 48th Avenue in Camrose holding placards in support of oil/bitumen pipeline construction and against the debilitating carbon tax.
I honked and raised a thumb to show my support for the issues in their message.
I should have gone home, got my vest on and joined that passionate group who, in my view, represent the silent majority of Albertans.
Good on those who took the time to be there for us and thank you. It is long past time for action.
The political will in our country, however, is not in touch with the reality of the real drivers in the Canadian economy. They’re out of touch and Albertans are out of time.
I recently returned from a vacation in south Texas. Anyone I talked to while there were enthusiastic about their economy and their personal future.
Pump jacks are pumping, pipelines are being built and Texas industry is full out rolling ahead. I come back home and experience the opposite in Alberta.
In regards to Saturday’s 48th Avenue message: nothing will be built and we’ll be in a whole lot more hurt if the current provincial and federal political leadership remain in power in Alberta and Canada any longer than 2019, despite the current leadership rhetoric we are subjected to.
Douglas D. Bullick,
Camrose
Censoring
December 25, 2018
Three Christmases ago, I heard a song for the first time and loved it. Last Christmas I made a point of buying it. I heard rumblings of it being a “rape song.”
Now this year I heard a radio station is banning it because of the “Me Too” movement.
The song is sung by Dean Martin, “Baby It’s Cold Outside”.
Two adults bantering back and forth. I just played it again and will play it all Christmas.
I guess you can take anything and twist it. What a world.
If you want to censor songs on the radio or anywhere else take a listen to any rap song. Some people are going too far. If you don’t like a song don’t listen to it.
I am sick of the Prime Minister demonizing men. Of course there are always men and women who are out to get what they can. But to lump all men into a group is disgusting.
How dare he speak for “all Canadians.”
Sheila Faulkner,
Donalda
Populism
December 25, 2018
The two letters published on Dec. 4 present a pair of poisonous political falsehoods.
The first, Rob Hill, sings the praises of proportional representation. Proportional representation inevitably leads to minority governments and gives undue influence to ‘marginal’ or ‘fringe’ parties. Marginal, or fringe parties are, by definition, ‘extremist’ parties. The outcome is perpetual minority governments with the extremist parties holding the balance of power.
The other letter, by Harry Gaede, is a screed against so-called ‘populism’. For the edification of Mr. Gaede, I will point out an obvious truth. Democracy is ‘popular’ government, i.e. ‘populism.’ “Them what gets the most votes (is most popular) wins.”
The rise of ‘populism’ might worry those who have buried our country under excessive levels of taxation, regulation, immigration and globalization, but most of us are just looking for relief. The catastrophe is not in the environment, or in industry, it is in the legislatures, classrooms and courtrooms that have systematically dismantled our country and its economy.
Yes, Mr. Gaede, ‘truth’ is under attack. It is under attack from the very institution we trusted to maintain peace, order and good government. Populism–a return to responsible government–might be the only solution.
Dave Gosse,
Camrose
No funding
December 25, 2018
David Eggen…that name may go down in Alberta infamy.
How presumptuous do you have to be to think you can impose your belief system(s) on other Canadians, just because you are in a position of power that should never have happened.
Threatening to take away funding from Christian schools (or any type of school for that matter) because they have a different belief system than yours is tantamount to just that (abuse of power). I don’t care if you’re operating under the “political correctness” idiom or any other such nonsensical pretense, you just don’t do that kind of thing...period.
It will be very interesting to see what our judicial system is like when it comes to this injustice (the schools involved are banding together and taking the matter to court). You can’t have it both ways. You either rule against crime or, you “aid and abet” it. Plain and simple.
Actually, the plain and simple of this situation is Eggen and his crew decide to back off such insanity before they get “egg on their faces.”
Bobbie Norman,
Camrose
Not happy
December 25, 2018
Kevin Sorenson, your latest report is just more complaints about the Liberals without a positive thought in sight. Your constituents deserve better.
Again, you referenced the journalist Andrew Coyne as he criticized the Liberals. But as you know, Coyne’s criticism of the Conservatives would fill a book. He said, “Harper is faithless and friendless in politics. Loyalty is meaningless to him.” Coyne said Andrew Scheer is “kindly but dumb.” Coyne goes both ways. By picking and choosing Coyne quotes you can make the Liberals look really bad. They are, but any examination shows your Conservatives to be worse.
You go on and on about Liberal spending and taxes. Yes, Canadians are paying more on average in taxes. That is because of inflation, and because under the Liberals, unemployment is lower and wages are higher. If you make more money Kevin, you pay more tax.
The tax rate under the Liberals is just about the same as it was under the Conservatives, and the debt and deficit as a percentage of GDP are about the same. The Liberals and the Conservatives are about equal; equally bad. Our politicians must do better. Canadians deserve better.
I suggest, Kevin that for next year you resolve to try to make a positive contribution. There are opportunities galore. If you really care about the money in our pockets, work to get us a national pharmacare program. As you know Canadian medication prices are the second highest in the world. Medication costs in Canada are growing faster than inflation and Canada now spends more on drugs than on doctors’ salaries. You know that every developed country except Canada and the U.S. has pharmacare and it is proven to save people money. You could really do something useful Kevin.
Canadians are tired of politicians’ bickering and dishonesty. What would really help, is if you worked to get us a proportional representation electoral system, like most of the developed world has, so that political parties could only be successful if they worked cooperatively with other parties. It would be so nice to see our politicians working together for Canada rather than just squabbling against each other. Work to get us proportional representation and I will be the first to sing your praises Kevin.
You are an experienced politician and an intelligent man. You have the ability to really make positive change. Kevin, you can do better than just complain.
Rob Hill,
Camrose
Common sense
December 18, 2018
Thank you, Tony Hladun, for your refreshing dose of reality in your recent letter on carbon taxes.
Your observation that the only predictable result of heavily taxing fossil fuels is to put more of the world in poverty, is very astute and completely on the mark.
The recent riots in France should be a wake-up call to the elitist leaders in other countries as well, including Canada, that people are not prepared to sacrifice what little they have just so their wealthy politicians can preach on the world stage that they are somehow “saving the planet.” The theory (and it is nothing more than a theory) that increasing amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will eventually cause a slight rise in temperatures, does not seem very important to the average person.
It is also interesting when governments talk about their “carbon taxes” (i.e. carbon dioxide taxes) as being “revenue neutral.” If their objective is to reduce CO2 emissions by affecting behaviours, how exactly are behaviours affected if the punishing costs of those behaviours are returned? Either they are lying about the neutrality, or it is just another wealth redistribution scheme.
The major difference between the preachings and prophesies of doom from the climate alarmists, and the great Y2K scam is that the latter had a defined end date. This one is likely to carry on for many more years, unless more and more of the world’s population call the bluff, and turn off the funding from our tax dollars.
Larry Lewsaw,
Camrose
Respect workers
December 18, 2018
My goodness. How wonderful to read that a younger person has respect and heartfelt admiration for oilfield workers in this province. I must say that some of the older citizenry here do not feel the same way (although, it may be temporary, given some circumstances from time to time) and it is sad.
Sarah Michel, you should be immensely proud of what you have written, and what you stand for. I am in awe. You are a “warrior” woman and the workers out there in the oilfields should feel grateful that you stand by them. One hardly ever reads or hears about how hard these workers do work. Hard work is a “blessing” (whether in disguise or not) and is sorely misinterpreted by some. There are many people who feel greatly rewarded for “hard work” no matter what life direction they take. Without these workers times would be bad indeed. Oil is oil and it needs handling and “dirty hands” will accomplish so much. Good on you. Keep on applauding.
Emily Cooper,
Camrose
Stats Canada
December 11, 2018
We are totally against the government (Stats Canada) getting any more information on 500,000 plus Canadians; if you say households that means a lot more than 500,000 people, since most are married, etc.
Watching television, the Stats Canada guy says “It’s what Canadians want.” Who are they and why?
Are they (Stats Canada) trying to find out how much Internet buying and selling. Well then the companies buying and selling should be already giving them that information with income and company records.
Next will be the whole of Canadians having to give up all their information–it won’t stop at the 500,000.
It’s just a stepping stone to a cashless society and then you can track our every penny.
What an invasion of privacy. We say No.
Sheila and Barry Faulkner, Donalda
Defining stories
December 11, 2018
Harry Gaede, in the Nov. 27 issue, tells of his “Defining stories.” Fresh from leftist claptrap at our local university, he suggests: “our genius lies in the human global brain.” And that, “All the great works of humanity come from the collective work of us all.”
The simple truth that everything human is and comes from humans, should not lead us to ignore the movers and shakers (especially writers, e.g. Shakespeare) that lead us unto progress, if there ever is any.
His fear-mongering, “if we don’t take steps to avoid the descent into fascism very soon,” and “when we focus on our differences we ignorantly sink into depravity,” are rather ridiculous. Mostly ways to smear and dismiss anything of conservative sanity and especially to attack the current American administration. Differences, whether of thinking or of people, are real; and sorting out truth from falsity the most noble of pursuits.
Consider his, “Every one of us is important and contributes.” That every one of us consumes something of the world’s substance I suppose makes that true. Otherwise it is blatantly false. Such an admonition can be stimulating toward actions that make one notorious (“important”) yet are very destructive (e.g. terrorism), and if or when that is the case, it is thereby worse than false.
A basic claim is that, “the current story we are told is that we need to fear and hate the other. We must destroy them before they destroy us. We must not let them into our country.” I hear and/or read little or nothing like that, certainly not from our dominant media nor any of our politicians. His story. His fear-mongering.
Additionally he claims, “Have we forgotten that a few short years ago those others were our parents and grandparents?” Thus, evoking the “we are a nation of immigrants” lie; when most of us were born here and never migrated anywhere.
What should be noticed is how devastating to decent peaceful living the wholesale import of people, especially with the Koran fascist ideology, have been to European life. Any refugees should be maintained in the first country of refuge until they are able to return home, not allowed to invade or even get close to our border. They are what is truly destabilizing our world today, not some colonial civilizing rule of exhausted overrun societies that existed a 100 years ago.
Douglas M. Hendrickson,
Bittern Lake
Huge impact
December 11, 2018
I am a 26-year-old waitress who worked in one of the biggest oilfield hubs in Alberta, Grande Prairie. I worked in a pub during the evenings. We were open seven days a week. Pretty much every night we were packed with these construction and oilfield workers. You want to know what kind of social impact they had on me?
I am a female in this social setting you are referring to after all. Because of these men, I was able to go grocery shopping and get everything on my list. I didn’t have to stand at the checkout line and figure out what to put back. I was able to fill up my tank at the gas station, not just $20 to get by. I was able to live comfortably in an apartment knowing my bills were paid on time and I wouldn’t have to worry about choosing between my water or electric bill.
I was one of the waitresses, cooks, drivers, hotels, grocery stores, local business owners etc. who are impacted by these men. Everyday. When these men leave, we have to cut staff. We have to tell someone that can’t help support their families, they have to tell their kids they can’t afford extra curricular activities such as hockey, soccer, etc. Local business owners are then forced to close their doors. Shame on you (Prime Minister Trudeau) for demonizing these men and women who take time away from their families to provide for them.
For working 12 or more hour days only to go to a hotel room at night hoping to catch their kids before bedtime for a little Facetime. We are not all cut out for white collar office jobs. They love what they do. They love getting their hands dirty, the job satisfaction is bar none. These men do this so that their families are taken care of and, in turn, waitresses like me can do the same.
I do hope you read this so you know firsthand what kind of social impact these construction workers have on us women in rural areas.
Oh, and by the way, those construction workers were also some of the most polite and well mannered customers I have served.
Sarah Michel,
Grande Prairie
Third thoughts
December 11, 2018
Booster readers must know 26 schools currently fight Bill 24. Education Minister Eggen identified 61 schools as “running afoul” of his Bill, making this total much higher than Wilton’s (under-stated) “few.”
Bill 24 is unneeded. Principals/teachers already had the discretion to withhold information from parents if disclosure created risk for a student. Moreover, Eggen’s own 2016 Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey indicated 90 to 99 per cent of Albertans (parents, students, public, teachers, boards, principals, and superintendents) already agree students are safe and treated fairly...”
The Eggen/Wells experimental gay-straight alliances (GSA) have no legitimate data to support them and are not part of Alberta’s school curricula. For student minors, consent documents require parents/guardians to fill out, sign and date consent forms prior to GSA involvement...Minister Eggen failed to get these. The Canada’s Parent/Guardian Consent Form for Participants Under 16 Years of Age, (Appendix F) must be signed prior to minors’ participation. Parents/guardians must receive signed copies, indicating names/organizations of all involved.
“The following [form] statements must be included: participation in...is voluntary. If you choose on behalf of your child, to participate...you can withdraw your child...” It goes on to state: “I understand that I may refuse to have my child participate, without consequences.”
During an appeal (Dec. 3), the attorney representing Alberta Education provided several pieces of inaccurate information about the rules governing GSAs.
Crown Attorney McLeod informed the court, “parents are allowed to find out about which activities their GSAs are engaging in and there needs to be parental notification about any off-school activities.”
Cameron (lawyer with the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms) reported students have on occasion been taken off school grounds, without parental knowledge/consent, to a GSA facilitator’s home. In another case, a 13-year-old, along with GSA companions, attended a conference off school grounds, where he was given 153 condoms, materials and a 50-page flip book with graphic instructions on how to have sex.
The court also heard of a field services manager helping a school achieve compliance, who indicated teachers/principals who defy Bill 24 “can have their certification to teach stripped.” This is in addition to ministerial threats to defund or decertify noncompliant schools.
Wilton’s closing paragraph’s usage of healthy, diverse and safe, in regards to intercourse for young students, is indicative of how society has run amuck! Not only do we offer our students a flawed education, they subsequently suffer a hefty health-related cost.
M.R. Leithead,
Bawlf
Malone response
December 4, 2018
I welcomed Arnold Malone’s discussion of the Proportional Representation (PR) electoral system until I realized he doesn’t know what he is talking about. He stated that, “Australia and New Zealand hate their new system.” Well, Australia doesn’t have PR Mr. Malone, although it does have ranked voting, which your Conservative Party uses for selecting its leader? New Zealand is a better example. It used the same first-past-the-post system that we use and did switch to PR in 1993 after being frustrated with their elections in the 1980s. Malone is just plain wrong when he states that NZ hates PR. Former NZ Prime Minister Helen Clark, who campaigned against the change to PR at the time, later said that PR has resulted in a “more collaborative, more consultative, more transparent political system.” In 2011, New Zealanders voted strongly in a referendum to keep PR. New Zealanders like their PR Malone, and there are no Nazis in the New Zealand parliament.
Malone says that Canada ranks in the top few countries in the UN’s human development index. He’s about 25 years out of date. We’ve been stuck at 12th for some time; all but one of the countries ahead of us have PR. When Germany and Italy came out of fascism after the Second World War, they chose PR. When Japan and Korea became democratic after the war, they chose PR. When the modern country of Israel formed in 1948, it chose PR. When Portugal, Spain and Greece threw out military dictatorship in the 1970s, they chose PR. When the countries of Eastern Europe broke free of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, they all chose PR. Over 90 countries in the world now use some form of proportional representation. That should tell you something Malone.
The university experts overwhelmingly agree that PR is better than our system. UBC political scientist Maxwell Cameron said that in PR, “party leaders would have to learn to work together, as competition among parties would be tempered by the recognition of the need for cooperation between elections.” Without a doubt, cooperation is better than our politicians’ constant bickering. So why are the Liberals and Malone’s Conservatives so against PR? The German business organization Transparency International ranks countries in terms of how corrupt their governments are. They find that the least corrupt governments are those that have PR. Transparency’s least corrupt government in the world? New Zealand.
Rob Hill,
Camrose
Sustainable earth
December 4, 2018
I suggest we are running out of time to build a just and sustainable earth. We recently were told that the next 12 years are critical. It is time we faced reality. Current world economic conditions are the result of failed political policies worldwide. Expecting the old guard or the new populists to fix things is fantasy or perhaps insanity.
We live in an age where “truth” is under attack, especially when it comes to political discourse. I would suggest that to better discern what is truth, we remember a few basic ideas: There are no simple answers to complex questions; we must solve our problems with the tools presently available; the response must be global in nature but we can only act locally; our current world problems, such as climate change and the extreme gap between rich and poor happened, in large part, over the last 50 years or more and cannot be solved overnight; action to solve these problems that threaten our very existence will take cooperative action; those responsible for this situation, and/or their clones, seek to retain power or in the alternative, populist leaders world-wide pretend to have magic solutions to instantly fix the problem or deny that the problems exist; history has shown, over and over, that where populists take power, they do not or cannot keep their promises; many studies show that many of those who support populists, act against their own best interests; democracy is a fragile institution, and can be lost easier than it can be regained; current election campaign trends often make us believe we must choose between “the lesser of two evils” or that we have no choice to vote for something we believe in; the populist danger is very evident in the world today and Canada is not immune; not voting is abstaining from your responsibility to keep alive the idea of democracy, even if it is flawed.
We are facing elections in Canada and the province soon. Get involved. Our interests have much more in common than many believe. Consider those interests carefully and think before you vote.
Harry Gaede,
Camrose
Carbon reduction
December 4, 2018
Only 20 per cent of the world’s 7.5 billion people are rich enough to live above the global average income of about $10,000 per family per year. Today, the poor six billion want and deserve more, but their improved standard of living is directly proportional to increased energy use.
About 80 per cent of global energy is generated from carbon-based fuels and this will not change overnight. Carbon use is growing and will continue to grow.
To get Canadians to use significantly less carbon would require painful and punishing levels of taxation. Economic studies show that carbon taxes in Canada would need to be about 10 times higher than today to force the targeted reductions. Alberta’s carbon tax is going to $30 per tonne while Sweden’s tax works at $180 per tonne, but that would translate to more than $2 per litre gas prices in Canada. No government today has the grit and determination to force such measures, and if they tried, they wouldn’t be in power long. Provinces are already trying to opt out by electing governments that are against carbon taxes.
Finland, which is a cold northern country, has CO2 emissions about half of Canada’s levels so it can be done, but their average family income is about $39,000 per year versus $70,000 in Canada. Are you ready to take a big cut in your family income?
Today’s low-level carbon taxes and refunds are a red herring, using fear to make us (but mainly governments) look and feel better while nothing happens and money and time are wasted. The real danger is that they mislead us into thinking that we’re doing something when we’re not. These taxes and refunds show a lack of understanding on the part of governments while giving them and their supporters a false sense of righteous superiority.
If it’s going to happen, climate change will happen. And then the world will deal with it. A 2C global temperature rise will mean problems, but not the end of the world as environmentalists would want us to believe. The best way to face the future is from a position of strength with a debt-free, competitive economy that utilizes Canada’s strengths in resources. In other words, the exact opposite of what our governments are doing today.
As individuals we should share and exercise restraint and decency in our own consumption. About half our energy consumption comes from transportation and the other half from heating. So use less of both.
Tony Hladun,
Camrose
Deal locally
December 4, 2018
As a follow-up to the Booster ad in the Nov. 27 edition, to which I give an empathetic “thumbs up”, I would like to enlighten the citizens of Camrose about what has been happening on the bottle drive scene.
For the past couple of years many of the sports and community groups have been solicited by an out-of-town bottle depot to take and process their bottles and cans. That depot then positions their trailer at the Recreation Centre parking lot or other city locations (on which they pay no taxes, no insurance no up-keep, no maintenance) and proceed to have the young groups fill it. Then they go out of town for processing and profit. The product going into that trailer has been, for the most part, purchased in Camrose by our citizens and yet is drained out of our economy.
Our bottle depot has been locally owned and operated in Camrose for over 32 years and we take great pride in shopping locally. The bottle drives we handle are coordinated so as not to have bookings too close together, thus making it fair for each group. Now with the outside interference there are often two or three drives back-to-back which makes it very discouraging for the young people who are making the effort to knock on the doors only to find that some other group has just been there.
In all fairness to the unsuspecting Camrosians, many I am sure are not even aware that an outside bottle depot is operating here. The depot industry is territorial by distance and population and if all the depots had the business scruples and ethics to conduct themselves according to the rules, these conflicts would not arise.
I am confident that with this information in mind, you may be able to encourage the respective groups to deal locally. It would be very interesting to know what percentage of the parents of the sports teams and other groups own or work for a Camrose business to make their own livelihood and yet continue to funnel an average of $1,000 per drive out of town. I would also like to sincerely thank groups who have stuck with us over all the years. Our new facility now allows for inside sorting or “drop-off” drives and we continue to have dozens of charitable groups on file for any customers who wish to have their empties donated.
Grace Torpe,
Camrose
Defining stories
November 27, 2018
At the Spirit of the Land conference at the Augustana Campus, we learned how our stories define us.
Unfortunately, the current story we are told is that we need to fear and hate the “other”. We must destroy them before they destroy us. We must not let them into our country. Have we forgotten that a few short years ago those others were our parents and grandparents?
When we focus on our differences we ignorantly sink into depravity and savagery. We are born ignorant, but it takes hard work to remain ignorant given the wealth of knowledge gained over the history of mankind and now available to almost everyone. We constantly repeat the errors of the past and ignore the solutions our ancestors came up with because we don’t know our history. What is happening now has happened before. If we don’t take the steps to avoid the descent into Fascism very soon, then God help our children and grandchildren. You may think I am overstating the case, but it is eerily like the ‘30s in Europe.
I suggest that the current immigrant and refugee problem can be placed at the feet of the American government and its allies, including Canada, when our leaders carved up the middle east and interfered with central America, destabilizing the world order, resulting in the chaos we see today.
I suggest the story we need to tell is that our genius lies in the human global brain. All the great works of humanity come from the collective work of us all. Every one of us is important and contributes. The garbage collector and the artist each were participants with the scientists in putting a man on the moon. It is that specialization, which now is so complex that a destruction of our culture by a new dark age may doom us all. If there is no food in the grocery store, we will starve! Almost none of us could survive if we are forced revert to the culture of the past.
I suggest that problems like the climate change issue and refugees can only be solved by the coordinated behavior of humans world-wide. Our leaders seem bent on preventing this. Together we are brilliant and can solve our problems, but time is running out. If we see each other as enemies, then we are fools bent on self-destruction. God help us all.
Harry Gaede,
Camrose
Dam Busters
November 27, 2018
What defines a real leader? RAF’s legendary bombing mission to destroy Nazi Germany’s three heavily-defended, massive Ruhr Dams in May 1943 was a long way from Camrose and a long time ago.
Depriving German industry of hydroelectric power for their war machine, military historians have estimated this successful mission by 617 Squadron shortened the Second World War by three or four months. At a time with up to a million civilian and military deaths monthly, the sacrifice of these hand-picked, highly experienced and decorated crews cannot be overstated.
Of the mission’s 19 Lancaster four-engined bombers, eight failed to return. “M” for Mother was piloted by Ft. Lt. John “Hoppy” Hopgood (DFC and Bar), a close and trusted friend of mission Commander Guy Gibson (VC, DFC and Bar, DSO and Bar). It was the second attack aircraft for the first and largest dam, the Mohne. The navigator was Ken Earnshaw from Ohaton.
When our Edmonton or Ottawa Leaders claim to stand up for Albertans, their words ring hollow and lack conviction and logic–pipelines and carbon tax come to mind.
Earnshaw proved his conviction with his life. In the 2015 book “M” for Mother by Jenny Elmes (relative of Hopgood), Ken Earnshaw is quoted on the night of the mission as admitting “given the risks, we’ll lose eight aircraft tonight”. They did and “M” for Mother was one.
Surely in this city of 18,000, we can assemble the financial resources and creative expertise to proudly honour Earnshaw with commemorative signs at Ohaton—the least we can do for a real Alberta leader and hero.
Earnshaw is featured on a wall at the Bashaw Legion, well worth the visit for the thrill of sensing the awe of the moment.
Neil Leeson,
Camrose
Correction
November 27, 2018
In the Nov. 20 edition of the Camrose Booster in the letter to the editor entitled Climate Change the first paragraph should read.
“All forms of military since the First World War including the atomic bomb for over 50 years. Where did all the radiation go?”
Celebrate doctors
November 20, 2018
Join us in celebrating family physicians across our Camrose Primary Care Network. As you may know, each year the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) proudly acknowledges the outstanding contributions of Canadian family doctors and the highly valued relationships they have with their patients and the communities they serve.
This year Family Doctor Week in Canada was celebrated from Nov. 12 to 17.
For the past 10 years I have had the privilege of working with a number of family physicians throughout the Camrose Primary Care Network (PCN) catchment area (Bashaw, Camrose, Daysland, Forestburg and Hardisty). Therefore, on behalf of Camrose PCN administration and our healthcare professionals.
I would also like to thank the Camrose PCN board of directors including physician lead, Dr. Chris Nichol and directors, Dr. Bredesen, Dr. Pasha, Dr. Smith and Dr. Minders for their leadership and efforts in overseeing the day to day operations of the Camrose PCN. I truly believe the quality programs and services we develop and offer our patients originates from the dyad governance model we have in place with our physicians.
This year, I am proud to focus on our family physicians’ desire to enhance patient care through quality improvement.
To date much work has been done to enhance patient care through quality improvement activities involving family physicians, associate clinic staff and Camrose PCN administration and healthcare professionals identifying areas in a family doctor’s practice that can be improved and then working as a team to make incremental changes over time. These changes may include improved access to care, patient safety, and efficiency as well as more positive experiences for patients in their health home and health neighborhood.
Lastly, on behalf of the Camrose and Area Physician Attraction and Retention Committee I wish to express to our family physicians that we sincerely value your contributions to our communities, that you do good work and that we want to continue to help you to be successful. The importance of recognition and reward is often undervalued and understated within the medical profession however appropriate acknowledgement and appreciation is a common denominator for all individuals regardless of how one defines their workplace. So in recognition of Family Doctor Week, we say thank you.
Stacey Strilchuk, Camrose
Climate change
November 20, 2018
All forms of military since the First World War including 50 years. Where did all the radiation go?
Space program. Every time something is sent to space, what does that cause? All forms of planes including jet planes. Someone has to study the pollution from just one plane trip. The throwaway society. For example, when an appliance would last 20 years, now a couple of years and the computers go and it is cheaper to throw it away than fix it.
Global trade across oceans. Every time we have another trade agreement, more ships are crossing the oceans. More pollution–larger ships larger ports. Where will it all end? We should trade on our own continent and save whales.
Cruise ships. Where does all the waste and garbage going in and out of port? They just keep getting bigger.
For all the talk about climate change, re: Calgary’s 100-year flood, I’d like to see a map of Calgary and area 100 years ago and see what’s changed. If you build near a river, maybe in 100 years, you should expect a flood now and then.
For all the people who want to get off fossil fuels, you have a giant windmill in your front yard or in the ocean to screw up your view. As for wind mills, what is there true cost? Where do you get all the products to build one and where are they built? What’s the cost of maintenance? There should have been solar on every rooftop years ago. There has to be common sense. Ask the right questions. Get off your “smart devices” and use your own brain.
Sheila Faulkner,
Donalda
USMC agreement
November 13, 2018
MP Sorenson, in his column in the Nov. 6 issue (Camrose Booster) criticizes the USMC Agreement. He neglects that this is the result of negotiation. Negotiation means that neither party will get everything it desires. When dealing with the United States it must be realized that the U.S. has (almost 10) times as many people as does Canada and its economy is at least ten times the size of Canada’s; hence it has great bargaining power. President Trump opposes trade agreements. The U.S. began the negotiations with a series of demands which would have seriously undermined the existing agreement. His demands included ending the independent review procedure so that any dispute would go before American courts and we know how fair Republican appointed judges are, ending supply management of dairy and poultry products, ending free trade in automobiles, ending protection of cultural industries and much else.
The Canadian government and its negotiations stood up for Canadian interest and refused to be pushed around much to the displeasure of the Americans.
The result is the USMC Agreement. Yes, Canada made some concessions, but the independent review system remains, cultural industries remain protected, the quota for duty free automobiles from Canada is raised. We did agree to allow a slight increase in duty free American dairy products allowed into Canada; raising to three per cent after 10 years, hardly an industry destroying increase.
This agreement is superior to an ending of the existing agreement, which was a possibility. Even non-liberals, if they maintain open minds will realize this is the best deal that could be obtained.
Remember who the president of the United States is.
Ron Williams,
Camrose
Important vote
November 13, 2018
Harry Gaede’s thoughtful letter regarding the importance of voting in the upcoming elections especially as it pertains to environmental issues is timely. His assertion that we are running out of time to reverse environmental degradation is also timely; however, I’m not sure that I share his optimism that homo sapiens has the innate ability to develop and implement policies that will solve our environmental dilemmas before the tipping point is reached. To date, in the minds of politicians and voters, the battle of economy versus environment has been a lopsided one.
Please consider that it has been 48 years since Dr. Dennis Meadows and his team of scientists at MIT first raised the alarm about climate change, renewable and non-renewable resource depletion, population growth and curbing pollution in their report entitled Limits to Growth. During that time, Canadian politics at the federal and provincial level has been permeated by an anti-science bias mainly supported by the political and religious right. This bias has covered the range from climate change denial, to discrediting eminent scientists like Dr. David Schindler to outright muzzling of scientists in government departments of health, fisheries and agriculture.
I would suggest that Canadian voters should look to political party platforms that emulate governmental policies currently in place in Europe, Asia and Africa as important steps. For example, in Norway, Holland and Denmark plus select Asian countries the role of pure and applied research and science and technology has been foundation of the economy not only to develop alternative energy, but to diversify economies, manage their resources in a fiscally responsible manner while sustaining the environment and providing high tech jobs for young postsecondary graduates.
By contrast, Canadian policies during the past 60 years have reduced spending on applied research and development and relied upon the expedient business as usual approach. In short, Canada exports raw resources rather cheaply and buys back high-tech consumer goods in return…not an especially sensible approach to international trade balances especially as it suppresses economic diversification with the resultant loss of good jobs for youth.
As you contemplate your voting options, look past the divisive, populist rhetoric and review the importance of science and technology and the role of education and training in every party’s policy platform coupled with their historical track record.
Lynn Clark,
Camrose
History repeats
November 6, 2018
Having recently re-read an accounting of the rise and fall of Nazi Germany, I was reminded of the old adage that “history repeats itself.”
Several characteristics of Adolf Hitler struck me as eerily familiar. He convinced himself and his followers that he was a “saviour.” He would not take advice from anyone. He did not trust anyone. He immediately disposed of anyone perceived to be a threat to his position.
He convinced his followers that any critics were lying and part of some malicious conspiracy to undermine his authority. He was so successful with his tactics that he was able to undermine a democratic system of government.
I have also recently read Bob Woodward’s book Fear. Trump in the Whitehouse.
I cannot help feeling concerned.
Larry Lewsaw,
Camrose
Courtesy driver
November 6, 2018
I drive an electric cart because of age and disability. On this occasion, I received a Halloween treat early.
My route takes me past the east entrance/exit of Superstore and I stopped before the intersection and a red SUV stopped at the same time back from the stop sign and the young lady driving waved me on. Partway across, I lost an article from my conveyance. I heard a voice behind me advise me of the situation. I turned and picked it up. She wished me a nice day and a happy Halloween.
This story is prompted by two factors. One, something like this does not happen very often in Camrose and secondly, my thanks go forth to the driver for her courtesy and observance of the law.
I wish her many happy days.
Lew Goddard,
Camrose
Conservative misinformed
October 30, 2018
First of all, I would like to commend Rob Hill on his well written article about Canada’s carbon tax. It’s refreshing to read a letter based on facts, rather than on anecdotes or emotional opinion.
I, too, would like to discuss the carbon tax issue, but my comments will address the vicious, anti-carbon tax misinformation campaign being waged by Conservative politicians. They state that “the average Albertan will pay hundreds of dollars annually in carbon taxes,” but the facts do not support them. Assuming the average Albertan comes from the low to middle income group, they (the wage earners) actually get rebated more than they pay in direct carbon taxes.
Are the Conservative politicians being dishonest, intellectually challenged, or perhaps both?
Perhaps they could enlighten us as to where they get these “alternative facts” they’ve been spouting. As Hill indicated in his letter, the carbon tax has been well supported by groups who deal in economic reality. Conservative politicians should be more concerned about science and sound economics, rather than political expediency. We can only hope they are held accountable for their campaign aimed at misleading voters.
Reg Ernst,
Camrose
Time is now
October 30, 2018
I suggest we are running out of time to build a just and sustainable earth. We recently were told that the next 12 years are critical. It is time we faced reality. Current world economic conditions are the result of failed political policies worldwide. Expecting the old guard or the new populists to fix things is fantasy or perhaps insanity.
We live in an age where “truth” is under attack, especially when it comes to political discourse. I would suggest that to better discern what is truth we remember a few basic ideas: There are no simple answers to complex questions; we must solve our problems with the tools presently available; the response must be global in nature, but we can only act locally; our current world problems, such as climate change and the extreme gap between rich and poor happened, in large part, over the last 50 years or more and cannot be solved overnight; action to solve these problems that threaten our very existence will take cooperative action; those responsible for this situation, and/or their clones, seek to retain power or in the alternative, populist leaders world-wide pretend to have magic solutions to instantly fix the problem or deny that the problems exist; history has shown, over and over, that where populists take power, they do not or cannot keep their promises; many studies show that many of those who support populists, act against their own best interests; democracy is a fragile institution, and can be lost easier than it can be regained; current election campaign trends often make us believe we must choose between “ the lesser of two evils” or that we have no choice to vote for something we believe in. For example, to try to ensure a situation where one party does not control all the levers of government, as is the situation facing many Americans on Nov. 6, a Republican voter in the USA may choose to vote Democrat to keep one arm of the US government in the hands of its opponent to lessen the likelihood of fascism.
The populist danger is very evident in the world today and Canada is not immune. Not voting is abstaining from your responsibility to keep alive the idea of democracy, even if it is flawed.
We are facing elections in Canada and the province soon. Please get involved. Our interests have much more in common than many believe. Consider those interests carefully and think before you vote.
Harry Gaede,
Camrose
Dumpster diving
October 23, 2018
It has been brought to my attention about people here in this city that dumpster dive for a hobby. I do often wonder if this sort of activity is even legal?
There has been several sightings of a gentleman who likes to rip open private garbages in private dumpsters looking for items of value.
Identity theft is on the rise here in Canada. What would stop this gentleman from stealing private security numbers in order to commit fraud against these people?
I do urge every person here in Camrose to keep an eye on who is making themselves at home in their dumpster. When you put garbage into your dumpster, make sure there is nothing of value which a thief can steal.
That is one way someone can find out all about you. It is through the data which you have left in your garbage.
This is just something for you to think about.
Lorne W.P. Vanderwoude,
Camrose
Great volunteers
October 16, 2018
I like the Bailey Theatre. And, I like the Bailey volunteers. I know the Camrose community is incredibly lucky to have both. As an ‘out-of-towner’ opportunities to attend Bailey events are less than I would like but, that said, I have always been totally impressed with the entertainment and the people who enable the production to happen.
And that brings me back to the volunteers. Fortunate enough to have met several of them and equally fortunate enough to have attended three of the past annual Bailey Fundraisers, I recognize the incredible amount of work required to get such an event off the ground let alone achieve success.
A fundraising event is planned this year on Friday, Nov. 16 and I’ll be there. Why not join me? Support a fabulous local theatre and recognize the value of the individuals who spend so much time and effort to keep the show happening. From a Bailey Theatre fan in Vegreville.
Melanie Thibault,
Vegreville
Political shortcomings
October 16, 2018
I, like most Canadians, am often frustrated with politics and politicians. An Insights West poll found that Canadians respect politicians least of a very long list of professions. The problem is that politicians work for the good of their party while trying to convince us that they are working for us.
A good example is the carbon tax. We hear a lot about it. Ontario premier Doug Ford came to Calgary and claimed that the carbon tax is “the worst tax ever.” He knows that is not true. Ford knows that The Canadian Chamber of Commerce concluded that for future Canadian prosperity, we must take strong action against climate change and must have a carbon tax. Ford knows that the banks, oil companies and the insurance industry agree that we need a carbon tax. Ford knows that Mark Cameron, former policy advisor to Stephen Harper who is now working to promote economic prosperity, has concluded that a carbon tax like the federal government is introducing will be good for the Canadian economy, will actually put money into the hands of low and middle income Canadians and is essential if Canada is to meet its international obligations. Paul Romer was just awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for proving that countries can prosper economically by tackling climate change, but they must have a carbon tax.
Ford knows all this and so does Jason Kenney. Mr. Kenney never tires of ranting against the carbon tax but is pretty quiet about his carbon tax. That’s right-his. In the spring he said that he will replace the NDP carbon tax with a “large emitter carbon levy” meaning a carbon tax on producers. Since the producers will pass the expense on to consumers, it may not make much difference to us but it will be hidden so Kenney may feel that Albertans won’t know they are being taxed. Unfortunately, whereas economists generally agree that the NDP type carbon tax is good for our economy; economists would agree that the Kenney carbon tax would be bad because it actually rewards the heaviest polluters. Our current carbon tax gives farmers an exemption and low and middle income Albertans a rebate but there is no word about these from Kenney. We must ask Mr. Kenney for details about his carbon tax and not let him duck the questions.
Rob Hill,
Camrose
Gratitude from fire
October 16, 2018
Hello all, hopefully a group email is all right to thank each of you for the excellent coverage we’ve received in the last couple Booster issues. I’ve received a lot of positive feedback from members and the public on how effective and well organized it turned out. I really appreciate your willingness to promote our messages and emergency service. I know that I interact with some of you directly but there are others who also assisted with making this promotion such a success. Please share our gratitude and thanks to all of your team members involved.
Thank you!
Jeff Knopf, Camrose
Fire Department
Cannabis cover
October 16, 2018
While I find the choice of photo to be a bit unflattering—surely something with more gravitas and recognizable sincerity could have been chosen so as to better portray the significance of the issue at hand—I applaud Cathie for her bravery in speaking out and providing her view on such a polarizing topic. I feel it can better help those not as well aware of, or invested in, see a different representation of cannabis users than is typically available to us. My sincere thanks, Cathie, for always doing what you believe in, and being true to who you are in all facets of your life.
Thank you.
Emelean Murphy,
Camrose
Remove dead trees
October 9, 2018
Coming back from 100 Mile (it was smoky to see anything going west), but on return we were horrified to see all the dead trees in the park. Even along the highway.
Why are the dead trees still standing? I’m sure the tourists don’t want to see all the dead trees any more than we do. The dead trees are all the way up to the treeline.
The minister of parks is responsible for that park. If you don’t clean the trees out of there: the fires around 100 Mile last year will be nothing compared to Jasper, if you don’t clear cut and log them off.
It’s going to happen and then the minister will be to blame, for any people and all the animals that get killed (there won’t be any elk or sheep or moose for the tourists to take pictures of.
You need to act now and I’m sure if you put up posters to tell the travelling public why, they will understand. Even in a park there has to be management. I suppose you’ll say it’s climate change or blame it on the conservatives when it burns down...when its really bad management that did nothing when they still had a chance. The forest does grow back, They have been managing B.C. and Alberta forests forever (I’m sure there are lots of logging companies that could be put to work).
Another thing. Every year we hear about flooding in Manitoba and drought in the prairies. You know where these happen why not build a pipeline to the prairies to take the overflow and help both sides.
Sheila Faulkner,
Donalda
Crime numbers
October 9, 2018
After listening to the radio and television, one is led to believe rural crime is decreasing, but when I read the police reports in the Camrose Booster, I have to wonder if this is true.
In the article “Bashaw RCMP arrest a male” there is a long list of the charges laid, but no name of the criminal. Maybe it is time to publish the names of those charged. These names are available on the court docket.
Rosemary Snider,
New Norway
Editor’s note: The Camrose Booster doesn’t publish names for two reasons. Firstly, we often have several people in the area with the same name. Secondly, we let the justice system determine who is guilty and innocent.
Not withstanding
September 25, 2018
I heard the most egregious news ever; that is, Premier Ford’s use of the “Not Withstanding Clause” in the Constitution, to push through legislation that the courts say is illegal. This clause should never have been inserted, but apparently to have Quebec on board it was required.
This defect allows potentially dictatorial politicians to ram through legislation not agreed to by a majority of citizens. This problem is not the only one that is hindering democratic process in Canada. The voting divisions or ridings and the first past the post counting of votes has disenfranchised me and many others, as long as we live in a riding that votes 85 per cent for a particular party forever, I suppose.
I had always believed that because Canada is ruled by law, that an independent judiciary would protect us from the sort of thing that happens in the US were judges are elected. I was shocked to see a Canadian politician going against Canadian law, justifying it by saying judges are left leaning.
The ascendancy of conservative right-wing thinking in the western democracies is becoming a scary problem. In countries with proportional representation, this problem may be kept under control. But in both the US and Canada our voting systems are preventing large minorities from having a say that would ameliorate the situation. The two-choice system in the US means, if you don’t like either, you don’t vote. Similarly in Canada, many people don’t waste time going to the polling stations because their vote means nothing.
Unfortunately, as the world falls into staggering dysfunction, often due to Western power and influence, there are many more people seeking asylum. Also, as the world’s economies reach the limits of growth, there are economic problems. These situations allow unscrupulous politicians to wrest power from reasonable citizens to dictate agendas benefiting fiscal conservatives and at the same time allaying the fear of the social conservatives, that their religious concerns will not be respected. By making impossible promises to those, abused through lack of opportunity and lack of money and also by amplifying the fear of strangers, they then reach their goal of taking power.
Arnold Baker,
Camrose
Supply management
September 18, 2018
I’ve been a dairy farmer in the Camrose area for 10 years now. I’d like to weigh into the debate on supply management as it’s importance in our agricultural community.
Supply management is how we keep our milk local. It simply means that we don’t heavily export milk, so your glass of milk is from local farms like mine. That milk will not be cheaper if we don’t have supply management. In fact, according to A.C. Nelson, milk is cheaper in Canada than the USA.
Under NAFTA, Americans want access to our market because they have a serious milk over-supply problem. However, the state of Wisconsin produces more milk than all of Canada, so it wouldn’t take long before they would just fill up Canada too. I have quota to produce milk, so this over-supply and waste doesn’t happen in Canada. We’re also self-sufficient, so we don’t get a dime in subsidies from the government (unlike every single other dairy market in the world). Why would you want your hard-earned tax dollars going towards our bailout packages when the system we currently have is working excellently. The price in the stores remains the same regardless of the system in place.
Canada also has higher quality milk compared to American milk. Why would we want a lesser quality product? Added hormones are completely illegal in my cows.
Supply management is something we should all be patriotic about and it will affect our community if we get bullied in NAFTA.
Jake Vermeer,
Camrose
Sir John’s statue
September 4, 2018
Concerning the taking down of the statue of Sir John A. MacDonald by the city of Victoria.
A statue is a symbol. In this case it is a symbol of the importance to Canadians of Sir John’s work in cobbling together a group of disparate British colonies to form the Canadian federation. We can be rightly proud of what we aspire to stand for in modern times, but we can not be proud of all of the attitudes and actions taken in the past.
One particularity egregious attitude common at the time resulted in a horrible tragedy for a whole society of people, those who were here when us English settlers arrived in the land, we now call Canada. What could be more horrible and tragic for a child, than to be taken from its family to a strange and hostile place to be treated as no better than vermin and beaten into submission to a strange and unfriendly society? Think about what the parents felt at the loss of their children.
This was the tragic result of thinking that the culture and society one has grown up in is the only proper way to be human. Others who are different are less than human and must be extirpated or changed as they will always be an unsatisfactory burden to the proper society.
This is the tragedy of conservative thinking. All cultures would like to preserve their own thinking and way of life. This results in a scourge to humanity when a more powerful society is able to tramples on a weaker one.
In their minds the only solution to the problem of having in their midst a bunch of dirty savage humans was not to kill them, which was a solution taken by some at the time, but instead, take the children, train them in our ways and the elders will soon enough die natural deaths and the problem will be solved.
Enough people in Canada are now recognizing the horror that results from this kind of thinking, that our country has become a refuge for those who have been trampled and abused. We are embarrassed by what happened in Sir John’s time, we wish to apologize to the survivors of that horror and we wish to make amends to them. So we provide what is needed and encourage them to gather the pieces of their broken culture and to think proudly of their heritage.
An important example is their desire to protect nature. We must stop building pipelines through the parts of our country that was promised to be theirs.
Unfortunately, there is still a portion of our people in Canada, who think as in Sir John’s time and use their power and influence to preserve their privilege and culture, dominating those in a weaker position.
Arnold Baker, Camrose
Gas prices
August 28, 2018
Readers may have noticed the recent bright blue color and decor changeover at a west end gas bar. What may have been missed was the prompt increase (tariff) from seven cents/litre to nine cents/litre, a price spread between regular to mid-grade, and from 14 cents to 18 cents price spread between regular to premium. Unfortunately my old (but dependable) Acura must use premium–so I noticed.
A city-wide survey and a comparison to other provinces is painful (remember 2008 International Banking crises; World Oil Price hit $139 per barrel and Calgary Gas Price peaked at $1.379/litre).
We see the Camrose price spread varies from 14 cents to 19 cents per litre, so it pays to have the option of shopping around (check actual pump prices as only the lowest regular grade price is posted).
Curious is the price spread in the Maritimes varying from eight cents to 10.5 cents per litre, not to mention overall cheaper prices. Also Saskatchewan overall has cheaper prices!
Mind you, Eastern Canada Imports about 750,000 barrels/day of Foreign Crude Oil, shipped halfway around the globe, at world price (currently $65/barrel West Texas Intermediate).
Confused–so am I.
Note the Maritimes and Saskatchewan do not have carbon taxes that our government seems so proud to levy and justify.
To my knowledge incremental refinery processing costs to upgrade regular gasoline to mid or premium grade are much lower than one is led to believe and certainly suspect in high Camrose pump price spreads.
Perhaps we Albertans are punished for being blessed with most of Canada’s oil and gas reserves and selling them too cheaply (since we fail to get export pipelines built) to our only buyer–the USA!
Sources: GasBuddy.Com, e-mails or phone calls with distant family and friends, Gas Receipts and personal surveying.
Neil Leeson,
Camrose
Asylum response
August 28, 2018
It’s interesting that Ron Williams wished to address several “miss-statements” regarding MP Sorenson’s column on asylum seekers, but failed to provide one fact to support his arguments. What Williams did was provide incorrect information to mislead the public in order to push his ideological approach on immigration. I wonder if his statements are the result of his extensive experience in the Immigration system or through years of academic research? Let’s review some of his statements.
“They are not illegal immigrants, they have broken no laws.” I invite Ron Williams to read the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Specifically, Sections 18 to 20, which provides in law who can and cannot enter Canada. It provides in law what foreign nationals need to enter Canada such as passports and Visa’s. If anyone enters Canada in violation of this act, they have by definition, “broken the law”.
Williams will have you believe that these people receive all the same checks as any other normal person who enters Canada “legally.” Williams has either purposely misled the reader or he is completely ignorant of the immigration process. Any person who has knowledge of the system would know that those who apply to come to Canada “legally” (other than Americans) go through a background check prior to arriving in Canada. This is done either through the Visa application process or through the Electronic Travel Authorization process. Those who “break the law” and enter Canada illegally do not get checked the same way as those who apply legally. Any background check is done after the fact and because it is being done in Canada and not at the home nation, the checks are not as thorough.
Williams suggests that these people are “not” queue jumpers, but rather joining the queue at a “different” point. I am finding it hard to follow this logic. It’s not queue jumping as long as you enter the queue at some point, just not the front? Would Williams allow this logic for people who wanted to enter the queue at a “different’ point when awaiting medical surgeries? Or would that be considered queue jumping?
Unfortunately, because this column has a 400-word limit, I cannot fully address all the inaccurate statements by Williams. The facts can be found as the government of Canada publishes all the statistics, federal court decisions and immigration division decisions on the Internet.
Martin West,
Camrose
Parking lots
August 21, 2018
I am writing this letter today about the dangers of children playing in parking lots instead of playgrounds. As I have gone throughout our beautiful city, I have seen this problem repeated over and over again.
I would like to take this time to warn parents and their children about the dangers of playing in such areas and not where it is safe, like our city’s beautiful playgrounds, before someone gets hurt. Please don’t play in parking lots, kids! It’s not safe.
Nathan Pinno,
Camrose
Statue destroyed
August 21, 2018
I find the actions of the City of Victoria in destroying the statue of Canada’s first Prime Minister to be appalling.
John A. Macdonald is the Father of Canada, just as George Washington is of the United States. Without Macdonald there simply would not have been a Canada.
Macdonald convinced the leaders of the leaders of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island to widen their vision to one nation from coast to coast.
He dominated the three conferences proceeding Confederation and was largely responsible for the compromises that are found in our constitution. As the first Prime Minister he absorbed Rupert’s
Land a.k.a. the Northwest Territories, formed Manitoba as our fifth province, brought British Columbia and Prince Edward Island into our nation, formed the Northwest Mounted Police, later the RCMP, which made the settlement of Western Canada peaceful as opposed to the “Wild West” of the United States and built the CPR to unite the nation.
He did not set up residential schools, but did allow them, but the relationship between the government and native peoples was peaceful; not violent as in the United States with its half century of Indian War.
Macdonald is a proud part of our nation’s history and attempts to downgrade him to satisfy a few malcontents is to be opposed.
Ron Williams,
Camrose
Asylum seekers
August 14, 2018
I wish to comment on several mis-statements made by Mr. Sorenson, MP in his column in the issue of July 31.
Canada is not experiencing insecurity and chaos in the situation of people seeking asylum in our nation.
Asylum seekers coming into Canada at other than regular entry points, e.g. airports, are not illegal immigrants. They have violated no law. In many cases they have suffered severe hardships to make the trip to the Canadian border, e.g. frozen limbs causing loss of feet and hands. They are not queue jumping. They are entering the queue at a different point. Upon entering the queue they are subject to all the checks applied to all seeking entrance to Canada. There is no queue jumping.
The number of persons entering by this means peaked sometime ago but has declined in recent months. Maybe Conservative spokespersons could check a few facts before yapping.
People are using this difficult way to seek entry to our nation because our agreement with the United States that asylum seekers must apply to the first safe country so if they applied at a regular entry point, e.g. airport, coming from the U.S. they would be turned back. The U.S., under Trump is no longer a safe nation. Proof of this is daily shown on news broadcasts with children being separated from parents, maybe permanently, hardly a definition of “safe”!
All persons seeking entry to Canada are carefully checked so immigrants are not security risks. My four grandparents were immigrants. I am not a security risk.
To claim immigration is a danger is a Trump idea that we don’t need in Canada! Immigrants, by bringing new skills and ideas, bring strength to our nation. We are a welcoming nation and we don’t need fear and hatred to be provoked in an effort to gain a few votes.
Ron Williams,
Camrose
Native grasses
July 24, 2018
Mr. Ernst’s informative letter (July 17, 2018) addressed issues concerning Green Space Management in Camrose, a discussion I would like to pick-up on but from a different perspective.
Would the City of Camrose consider introducing native grasses and wild flowering plants (forbes) into our green spaces, possibly starting with existing or future Naturalization Project sites?
Native prairie grasses have evolved to thrive in the harshest of conditions including extreme cold, heat and little moisture. They have deep, dense root systems that enable them to more effectively retain moisture in the soil. They slow down run-off and soil erosion and are able to withstand periods of drought. They add nutrients to the soil and help to build bio-diversity both above and below ground. Their massive root systems effectively choke out weeds. Plantings may be difficult to establish but once accomplished, native grasses should require minimal maintenance. When combined with wild flowers they create needed habitat for grassland dependent species including our much beleaguered pollinators.
The merits of integrating native grasses and forbes have been and continue to be studied with projects initiated throughout the Northern Great Plains, including in our own backyard. I refer to the Meeting Creek Grasslands Restoration Project headed by Glenys Smith, she and her group being a wealth of information.
The Departments of Transportation of Iowa and Minnesota over several decades have re-established native grasses, forbes and other carefully selected vegetation into thousands of acres of roadside ditches. These people are my heroes. They have developed best practices and in Minnesota’s case, a detailed handbook in which their experience and knowledge is freely shared. They strongly express the need for any project of this kind to be a truly collaborative process of give and take with teams that may include conservationists, farmers, ranchers, industry, city and government officials and
others.
The grasses, native or not, are at the peak of their summer beauty now. If you were to take a walk along our valley trails, know that the farther south you go, and the more you venture off the beaten track, the more likely you will pass through undisturbed areas with native grasses that have thrived in those places for thousands of years. These grasses are our precious prairie heritage. Do they not also belong within our city, in green spaces, to be enjoyed by all?
June A. Osborne,
Camrose
Snowbirds satisfaction
July 24, 2018
On Wednesday, July 18, we drove to the airport to see the Snowbirds’ performance What a show!
Thank you to all the sponsors who made this event happen. To those who set up and cleared the field–a great job. Also impressive was the organized way we were guided into the field for a perfect view.
Thank you as well to the men and women who spent the afternoon and evening directing traffic. Your efforts are much appreciated.
Gladys Kupka,
Camrose
Lack of facts
July 17, 2018
I found Rob Hill’s Letter To The Editor infuriating. The clear lack of facts about what MP Sorenson and Prime Minister Stephen Harper achieved for this country needs to be addressed.
First, under Conservative Government between 2006 and 2015 there were four major pipeline projects built, totaling more than eight thousand kilometres of pipeline and, expanding Canada’s energy industries market capacity by over a million barrels per day. Additionally, the government approved two more major pipelines,
Second, the federal equalization program is renewed every five years. The reason for this is simple: economic circumstances change. Former PM Stephen Harper fixed the “fiscal imbalance” that the nation faced in 2006 with a formula that fit the circumstances at the time. By comparison, the current Liberal Government rejected calls for consultation and changes to the current formula and unilaterally extended it by five more years.
Third, we all know the current trade dispute with the United States is a serious issue with serious consequences. Justin Trudeau took full credit earlier in the year for avoiding a trade dispute and now that there is one, he carries the blame.
Fourth, accusing Kevin of abusing tax dollars without any proof is unfounded accusation. All MP’s expenses are online and available for anyone to review. Battle River-Crowfoot is almost as large as Nova Scotia, the time and costs to travel are understandable. A look at the carpet in his office will speak volumes about his ability to cut costs.
Those that have worked with Kevin, such as I, recognize his approachable nature, hard work ethic and deep rooted Conservative fiscal values.
Steven Snider, New Norway
Camrose greenspace
July 17, 2018
Is the Green Space Management in Camrose: Too Consumptive? Are the economic and environmental costs of grooming Camrose’s green spaces too high?
As a taxpayer and as an ecologist, I believe the answer is yes. Space is limited so I will address just two of my concerns: mowing and chemical use.
I believe mowing on a schedule rather than where and when it’s required results in unnecessary spending of taxpayers dollars while contributing to air pollution.
Diesel fumes are carcinogenic according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Particularly during dry periods, on some areas, there is little or no grass regrowth between mowings.
Although it is desirable to keep the grass short around playgrounds and other recreation facilities, much of the green space area seldom, if ever, sees a human footprint. Reducing both the mowing frequency and the amount of area being mowed will result in significantly lower economic and environmental costs.
Further, the city should initiate a program to convert the existing agronomic grasses on the green spaces to low or no maintenance species (I believe they exist). Otherwise, as labour, fuel, and machine costs continue to rise, so will our taxes.
The city’s casual and substantial use of the expensive and probably carcinogenic (according to the IARC) herbicide Roundup is another of my concerns. For example, the city’s use of it on annual weeds and the blanket spraying of it along Camrose’s paved trails is overly consumptive.
If the city has a Green Space Management Plan, does it include a section on reducing the economic and environmental costs of green space management? If not, it should. I’m confident that doing proper cost/benefit analysis including external and opportunity costs in all projects would result in substantial savings in both economic and environmental costs. Although my concerns might seem trivial in the context of a very large budget, I consider any unnecessary spending of tax dollars unacceptable, particularly when that spending also negatively impacts the environment.
I think if the city would take an innovative approach to green space management, the results would be both positive and rewarding. How sustainable are current management practices? Ten or twenty years from now, can we be doing the same old thing?
Reg D Ernst, Camrose
Pharmacare
Kevin Sorenson, you have some nerve. I read your recent report. Just another list of complaints. I don’t like the Liberals, but at least I have to give them credit for trying. The respected National Post journalist Andrew Coyne summed up the 10 years of the Harper Conservative government that you were part of as “attempted little, achieved less.”
So you complain about the Liberals’ attempts with Trans Mountain. Fine. What did you do when you were in government? Ten years you were part of the Harper government and not one pipeline built in Canada during that time.
So you and Jason Kenney don’t like the federal/provincial equalization formula? Fine. It’s the same one you used when you were in government. If it is so bad why didn’t you change it? You had 10 years.
So you have discovered that Trump’s trade war is going to create hardships for Canadian workers. And what are you going to do about it? You claim you won’t sit idly by. You claim you will talk to workers. Oh wow.
Kevin, we the citizens of Battle River/Crowfoot pay you well. You fly around the country and eat in fancy restaurants at our expense. We have a right to expect you to work for us. You have an obligation to do more than just complain. When are you going to do something positive?
I have urged you several times to work to bring us a national pharmacare program. You know we have the second highest drug prices in the world. I’m sure you know that Canadians pay more for prescription medications than the salaries of all of Canada’s doctors. A national pharmacare program would make medications affordable and save the country billions of dollars. All developed countries except Canada and the U.S. have a national pharmacare program. Its morally and economically the right thing for Canada. You know that. Why are you silent on the subject?
Rob Hill,
Camrose
Move on
June 19, 2018
If I hired a professional writer, I couldn’t have expressed my thoughts any better than Bill Mattinson’s recent article “Little Knowledge.”
Has it become a national sport to protest anything and everything–climate change, pipelines, G-7, oil sands, provincial rights, Whales, Parades, etc.? Still to come–“Volcanic Eruption” protest marches.
To the national news media–stop covering, with such repetitive intensity, these few hundred protestors and their perceived moral journey–we don’t care. Us 36,000,000 other Canadians, patriotic and proud, focus on more meaningful issues: roof over our heads, caring for others less fortunate, staying employed and healthy, adjusting to rising food, gasoline and property tax costs, fall harvests, animal care and safety, recovery from personal or related (i.e. Humbolt) tragic losses, etc.
While they could have been born in any bankrupt, diseased or war-torn place on earth, fate rewarded these protestors with prosperity, freedom and health in Canada. Now earn it.
Look in a mirror. Appreciate your good fortune, then start crying, and keep crying until you realize that your divisive protest rants are a conflicting embarrassment to yourself and to your country. Otherwise do the right thing and take your ideology, that you so believe in, to Iraq, Syria or Sudan and protest where there are real injustices and be sure to let us know how you made out. Meanwhile, in your absence, the rest of us will assume our duty to keep Canada United, Strong and Free of internal factions with Little Knowledge, but willing to sell out their loyalty for 10 seconds of fame.
Neil Leeson,
Camrose
Pipeline announcement
June 19, 2018
The pipeline announcement article paints the sunshine picture of the Trans Mountain project that the federal Liberals and Alberta NDP want us to believe, but it’s a long way from the truth. I’m saddened to see $4.5 billion that we don’t have being sent to Houston. We didn’t need to buy Trans Mountain to get it built because Kinder Morgan has the money to build it: We needed a federal government that would enforce the laws of Canada and buying Trans Mountain does nothing about that.
The federal government disregarding the law is reminiscent of what happened to Gateway and Energy East. When after due process a federal permit is granted, there is an obligation on the part of the government granting it to enforce it. Otherwise the permit is a sham. I’m not a fan of Trudeau the father, but when there was civil disobedience, he said, “Just watch me” and he enforced the laws of the land. If there are no laws, there is no country.
What will happen now is that the project will sink into the legal quagmire with endless court actions between governments, special interest groups, and indigenous groups and all will be endlessly funded with our money. With the problems that Ontario and Quebec are having with US trade, there are already rumours that the federal government is looking at how to back out from the purchase. The politicians are all just playing for time and they hope that they can keep this from sticking to them until they win the next election.
I’m happy to clarify any of my points.
Tony Hladun,
Camrose
Little knowledge
June 5, 2018
A wise teacher once remarked, “a little bit of knowledge can be very dangerous.”
I think this aptly applies to those (advocaters) who appear to be obsessed with blaming carbon solely for perceived climate change.
I’m not a scientist...and I’m not a climate change denier (I’ve been observing climate varieties for many decades). But I am a denier of the claims that greenhouse gas emissions are solely responsible for all the violent storms that are occurring, and for the warming of ocean temperatures.
I prefer to think that since the earth’s centre is a mass of gases and molten rock, it seems conceivable that some of this heat is escaping into the oceans through fractures caused by earth tremors.
An unusual occurrence of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions have been witnessed in recent years. The current horrific Hawaiian eruption is certainly posing danger for the Pacific Ocean and its aquatic species, yet I haven’t heard any news reports (so far) indicating its potential for climate changing. Meanwhile in Hollywood, celebrities, etc. under the sponsorship of the Suzuki Foundation will continue their denouncing of fossil fuels with only a “little bit of knowledge” while they themselves continue to travel with the benefit of petroleum fuels. Our Prime Minister is probably the biggest individual Canadian polluter.
If mere mankind can reverse our climate, what would they hope to achieve? Winds are required to move rain clouds in, then move them out. If we reduce winds and cloudy skies persist, this would not bode well for solar and wind generated power. We’ll need “a bit more knowledge” on how to achieve ideal climate.
Bill Mattinson,
Camrose
Royal marriage
May 29, 2018
The Royal Wedding is over. It was a great historical event. It was not made more significant by the endless comments of the self proclaimed experts. Many of these comments by American self important so called experts were off base.
The racial intolerance, which is still a central feature of American life and politics is not repeated elsewhere. Attempts to transport American racial problems and American history to Britain is off base.
Allegations of British involvement in the slave trade are overdrawn. Yes, in the very early days of the infamous trade, British merchants were involved, but when by international agreement the traffic was to end in the early 1800s the Royal Navy enforced the ban and many British sailors died of tropical diseases, while their ships patrolled the tropical coasts of Africa to stop the transportation of Africans to the United States, which had banned the importation of slaves, but did not enforce the ban because of political influence from the Southern States.
Within the British territories, it was a local decision to allow or outlaw slavery. In the case of Canada during the first session of the first legislature of Upper Canada, Ontario, in 1791 a law was passed which declared that any slave brought into the colony became free. A similar law was passed in Lower Canada, Quebec in 1825. The Atlantic colonies had received many freed slaves who had supported the British during the Revolution.
In 1834, an Act of the British Parliament outlawed slavery in the entire British Empire; 30 years before the United States fought a civil war to achieve the same result.
During the 1840s and later, Canada was the end of the underground railway and many blacks obtained freedom by crossing the Canadian border. When they reached freedom, they knelt and kissed the soil of the Land of the Freedom Queen.
In 1787, while American slave owners speaking and writing about all men being created equal while 40 per cent of the population was held in slavery the highest judge in Britain, namely Lord Chief Justice Mansfield declared from the bench: “There can be no slavery in Britain. English air makes free.”
It is good that love has brought a lady of mixed race into the Royal Family but that family will carry on its role of representing the nation of Britain and of each to the 18 nations of which Queen Elizabeth is queen as well as the Commonwealth of 53 nations of which she is head.
Welcome Meghan, HRH Duchess of Sussex by gift of the Queen, but let’s not get carried away but carry on.
God Save the Queen.
Ron Williams,
Camrose
Urban chickens
May 22, 2018
I just had a couple of quick comments regarding the article by Lori Larsen titled “Urban chicken concerns.”
I must say that Dr. Frank Marshall certainly covered every imaginable risk to the whole person and animal populations possibly stemming from a few chickens in someone’s backyard. The only risk that was not mentioned was the possibility of the caregiver being struck by lightning as he or she left the house to feed the chickens.
If the risks of a few backyard hens are as serious as Dr. Marshall suggests, then most of us baby boomers who grew up on farms should probably be dead. I gathered eggs as a kid, helped dispatch broilers for supper and I cleaned out the hen house on Saturdays. I also drank unpasteurized milk from our milk cows. I am still here to write this letter.
I have farmed for a large part of my adult life. Planting a crop that one hopes to harvest to eat or to sell is a risky business. There are about 20 very serious things that could happen to that crop before it is in the bin, but we do it because society needs to eat. Where do we think the sayings “don’t count your money before the crop is in the bin” or “don’t count your chickens before they are hatched” come from. I am all in favour of making sure that the backyard chickens are properly fed and housed which may require some regulation and inspection, but the opportunity for someone to raise a few backyard hens should not be quashed because of some very unlikely risks.
Ken Eshpeter,
Daysland
Alberta is different
May 22, 2018
Having worked in the pipeline industry for 30 years, it’s clear to me that current arguments about pipelines have little to do with pipelines, but are really about interprovincial politics and priorities.
Canada, essentially Alberta, is the world’s fourth largest oil producer and we compete with populous and economically powerful countries like the US, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia and Iran. This is the league we play in. BC, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland produce oil as well, but Alberta produces by far the most.
Other provinces than Alberta are largely fossil fuel consumers. Their economies and priorities benefit from reducing energy consumption, so reducing fossil fuel consumption costs them little, or actually benefits them economically. Nonetheless, they do like our dirty money, as federal transfer payments illustrate. Alberta is richer, with per capita GDP around $74,000 compared to BC and Ontario at around $55,000, and Quebec at $47,000. So, the other provinces are very different from Alberta.
Alberta can join the federal government and other provinces and squash our oil industry. If we do that we will become like Manitoba. We will have a huge deficit problem funding our current teachers, health care workers, and government. We’ll also have a lower standard of living by about 25 per cent and little large-scale economic potential. On the other hand we can persist in fossil fuel development. This will not sit well with other provinces or the federal government and they will continuously try to hobble our economy – but they’ll still enjoy our transfer payments.
Personally, I’d go for development even with the problems that creates. All we need to do with our fossil fuels is get them across the US border. The US isn’t the best of friends, but the US is the friend we’ve got and it’s the only friend we really need. We can forgo environmental leadership because what Alberta does, and Canada for that matter, will have no effect on climate change. The developed countries cannot cut CO2 emissions enough to offset the growing CO2 emissions of the developing world, and so CO2 levels will continue to increase.
Our provincial government will have to fight to make sure carbon penalties are equally applied to all provinces. We’ll have to hope that at some point the economic pain in other provinces will become unbearable, and the federal government will relent. The future will have its difficulties and Alberta can’t prevent that, but we can choose to face it from a position of economic strength.
Tony Hladun,
Camrose
Pool shutdown
May 15, 2018
I am writing to express my long time appreciation for the programs offered by our Camrose City’s pool and express my hope that such services continue without interruption.
As a Camrose resident since 1977, I have accessed/witnessed the pool’s fine programs such as swim lessons for my own kids and grandkids, school programs from “Splash Parties” to water safety/swim lessons for young students to senior students in scuba diving classes and our swim club.
I’ve participated in evening aqua aerobic classes and now as a “retiree” I participate with 80 or so others in the morning aqua aerobic water therapy classes.
I am so pleased that our council/administration is now looking at options to give us a more modern pool facility. Our current pool opened in 1980.
Hearing rumours of what was proposed, I called City Hall and spoke with Ryan Poole, community services general manager. As I understood him to say, three options are being considered to improve our pool experience:
1. Complete closure of the pool (12 to 13 months) to add on and renovate the existing site–the cheapest approach, costing “X” dollars.
2. Continued access to some part of the pool, while doing renovation on the existing site and adding on–taking longer and costing the basic “X” dollars plus about $2 million more.
3. A new pool, allowing access to the current pool until the new pool was completed– costing the basic “X” dollars plus about $8 million more.
As a retiree, I am now dealing with some of the health issues so many of my age group has “earned”. The morning water therapy that many of us enjoy reduces swelling and body pain that land training can promote.
I believe the “pool community” needs and deserves an improved facility and that a complete shutdown for a year or more is not acceptable. Can you imagine our golfers, hockey players, skaters, curlers or ball players accepting an option that would close their needed facilities for a year or more?
I appreciate this will not be an easy decision for our city council/administration. I encourage people to make your views known as to the best option towards having an improved pool facility by calling city council/administration at 780-672-4426.
A difficult decision has to be made and I believe as much input as possible is valued by all involved.
Brenda (Manning)
Deringer, Camrose
Still muzzled?
May 8, 2018
For several years leading up to the 2015 federal election there were reports of scientists being muzzled by the Harper government. Now some two and a half years later I am still waiting to hear what important information it was that they were prevented from sharing with us. What conclusion are we supposed to reach on their silence on this issue?
Is the list of Earth-shaking discoveries so lengthy that they have still not had time to compile it? Was the information released to the media and not deemed newsworthy? Or, horror of all horrors, could it be they are still being muzzled, even after over two years of Sunny Days?
Larry Lewsaw,
Camrose
Poor roads
May 8, 2018
I moved here from Vancouver, BC, where I spent my life growing up. That was 15 years ago. I looked all over BC and Alberta for two years for a place to retire. Camrose is where I ended up. I knew it would grow and it has. Camrose has not kept up with the road and sidewalk replacement. Go to the north side of town where a lot of sidewalks need to be replaced. The ones that have been replaced are not level and are made out of asphalt. Another joke for the taxpayers in the area.
As the City grows, we all get more traffic on our streets. I have a 75 per cent increase, but my street is not blocked off.
Then there is the long grass on the berm, all so they could save money for the overbuilt City Hall. If I wanted to grow long grass in my yard or on an empty lot in town, how long would it take the City to come and give me a fine. They want my yard to look good, but not the city berm.
Property taxes in Camrose are way too high. My brother-in-law has a 10-year-old, five-bedroom house in Camrose valued at $625,000 and his taxes are $6,200 a year.
My sister has an 11-year-old, five-bedroom house in Coquitlam, BC, valued at $1,200,000 and her taxes are $3,200 a year.
Retired people on a fixed income are going to move out and some have because taxes are too high.
Glenn Dunn,
Camrose
Tax guide
May 8, 2018
Kevin Sorenson, you need to change your ways. I read your recent report in The Booster reflecting on your “tax guide” and it is just more of the same. I read your “tax guide” and tossed it. How dare you use my tax dollars to send me blatant propaganda? At least be honest. The parliamentary budget office (accountants who keep the national books) concluded that due to the Liberals’ middle class tax cut, the Liberals are taking in less in taxes that your Conservative government was. The U of C economist Trevor Tombe has studied the Alberta economic numbers and concluded that “Alberta’s recovery is real and its economy is strong”. But from you Kevin, all we get is a steady stream of fear and anger.
You need to change Kevin. In a recent Insights West poll Canadians were asked which occupations they respected. While we respect nurses, doctors, farmers, scientists and teachers, we really don’t respect politicians. Politicians came in dead last. We don’t respect you politicians because you put the interests of your political party before the country and you are rather shady with the truth.
Stop the fear mongering Kevin, and start to work in the interest of your constituents. There are positive things you can do for us. I’m not going to stop pressing you to work for a national pharmacare program. We in Canada pay ridiculous medication prices because we don’t have a national pharmacare program. Canadians pay more for medicines than we do for doctors’ salaries. Statistics Canada says that having a national pharmacare program would save Canadians $15 billion/year. That is the same as a massive tax cut with no loss of government services. Work to get us a national pharmacare program Kevin, and you will earn our respect.
Rob Hill
Camrose
Not violence
April 24, 2018
I have read a news memo from 630 CHED announcing an attack against the Syrian government by the United States, France and United Kingdom. Now, I do understand that the Syrian government used chemical weapons against innocent people. This behavior should not be tolerated or ignored.
Now, I am questioning whether this will be effective against a government who seems not to even care about it’s citizens. Will this government use human shields to be placed in these selected military spots?
Now, I might not have all the details, which the leaders of these nations may have. I am not an expert on these matters. I am only wondering how many innocent people will be killed just because they are at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Now, I do agree something has to be done. I just wonder how shooting missiles at certain selected targets is going to resolve the problem of the Syrian government using chemicals. Maybe they can destroy their supply of these weapons. How does anyone know where those are being stored?
Maybe some expert could write a letter and explain this to all of us.
Lorne Wesley Paul Vanderwoude,
Camrose
Hockey team
April 24, 2018
The disastrous and unbelievable crash between a bus and a transport truck has struck me with sadness that I’m having trouble resolving. Saskatchewan is now in the forefront of the world. I was born in Saskatchewan and it will always be dear to me, although I have lived in two other provinces, Ontario and now Alberta for more than 50 years.
When I was 15 years old, I passed through that intersection in someone else’s vehicle. That was many years ago, but I still remember the total flatness as I hitchhiked from Nipawin to my hometown east of Regina.
What makes this accident so different? Is it because they are hockey players? Is it because of their ages and that they will never grow older? I know what I feel and I think that same feeling is worldwide. They represented the passion of hockey. They represented youth and vitality and were ready for whatever life would throw at them.
But the worst of all is really the families left behind, the parents, the siblings and all of their individual families. This burdens me more than their deaths, wondering how I would deal with one of my great-grandsons in the same age group disappearing from my life.
Even though this accident is heart-wrenching. I believe for everything that happens there is a reason.
Look at the response from our entire country. Look at the response from nearly 100 countries in our world. I expected a response from the world was inevitable. But the number of countries and the generosity is amazing. I include myself in that.
Why has this happened when we know about the thousands who have been killed in the civil war in Syria? Somehow it’s not the same. I really can’t fathom why.
The positive physical things that have happened show that we help our neighbours: the organ donations, the extra blood transfusions and the support from all over.
Will the people who share conflict all over the world learn anything from this? I doubt it.
We now have a better view of the fact that there are very good people in our universe.
Lew Goddard,
Camrose
Great volunteers
April 17, 2018
I wish to take a moment to send a public and personal thank you to people who volunteer.
We at the Camrose Association for Community Living (CAFCL) are blessed to have a variety of volunteers. We have nine board members who faithfully and competently govern our organization. We have program volunteers who provide service and support to the individuals in our programs. We have fundraising volunteers who organize and work at events to raise the dollars we need to offer the programs we do. Last year 57 volunteers generously gave us 987 hours of their time.
The list of names is long, too long to print in this column. But, each one is valued and provides a much needed service to not only CAFCL but to our community.
To each of CAFCL’s volunteers, I salute you and applaud you for sharing your time and talent. To every citizen who volunteers somewhere, I say thank you. You are looking after your community, taking responsibility and doing your part in making this world a better place.
Esther McDonald CAFCL, CEO Camrose
Deplorable road
April 17, 2018
I was raised in the Camrose area and I come back about six times annually to see friends and family. In my rounds of coffee time with many people, I have heard over and over about how the City of Camrose “mis spends” their tax money. The biggest bone of contention, however, is the road situation.
The residential streets have long been in constant disrepair and it seems the City ignores all but those surrounding City Hall and businesses downtown. I have even heard that if a street is repaired, all those living on that street have to pay extra taxes for it! I can’t believe that one as it sounds too outrageous.
Apparently $6.7 million is being spent on a bridge that may have lasted longer if the expensive Ring Road had been used by the hundreds of trucks that preferred the shorter route through town. They are now using the ring road as intended, so the City must find a way to keep it that way when the bridge is completed. Many expressed the opinion that the bridge was unnecessary as two large culverts would have done just as well. That is if money is so scarce other roads go unattended.
All this leads me to the main reason for my letter. I have travelled the Aberhart Highway often because it leads from where I stay right into downtown Camrose. All is not bad until you reach the City limits. From there to the Ring Road you are in constant danger of breaking your back, or your teeth, not to mention blowing a tire or losing parts of your vehicle! This road is in abominable condition. I have seen it being spot repaired over and over. Nothing works. Not to mention the eyesore garbage along the road to the dump.
This road is used by many trucks going to the City dump (which is in a location that defies all reason, but that’s another story) continually destroying the road, not to mention trucks from the gravel pit to the south. Instead of paving it though, thousands of dollars are spent grading it especially just before BVJ.
I have asked why this road is not paved and I was told that the County road (Aberhart) is not paved, so what’s the point? The County says the City needs to go first.
The City of Camrose should be ashamed.
Maureen Hanak,
Kelowna
(formerly of Camrose)
I was raised in the Camrose area and I come back about six times annually to see friends and family. In my rounds of coffee time with many people, I have heard over and over about how the City of Camrose “mis spends” their tax money. The biggest bone of contention, however, is the road situation.
The residential streets have long been in constant disrepair and it seems the City ignores all but those surrounding City Hall and businesses downtown. I have even heard that if a street is repaired, all those living on that street have to pay extra taxes for it! I can’t believe that one as it sounds too outrageous.
Apparently $6.7 million is being spent on a bridge that may have lasted longer if the expensive Ring Road had been used by the hundreds of trucks that preferred the shorter route through town. They are now using the ring road as intended, so the City must find a way to keep it that way when the bridge is completed. Many expressed the opinion that the bridge was unnecessary as two large culverts would have done just as well. That is if money is so scarce other roads go unattended.
All this leads me to the main reason for my letter. I have travelled the Aberhart Highway often because it leads from where I stay right into downtown Camrose. All is not bad until you reach the City limits. From there to the Ring Road you are in constant danger of breaking your back, or your teeth, not to mention blowing a tire or losing parts of your vehicle! This road is in abominable condition. I have seen it being spot repaired over and over. Nothing works. Not to mention the eyesore garbage along the road to the dump.
This road is used by many trucks going to the City dump (which is in a location that defies all reason, but that’s another story) continually destroying the road, not to mention trucks from the gravel pit to the south. Instead of paving it though, thousands of dollars are spent grading it especially just before BVJ.
I have asked why this road is not paved and I was told that the County road (Aberhart) is not paved, so what’s the point? The County says the City needs to go first.
The City of Camrose should be ashamed.
Maureen Hanak,
Kelowna
(formerly of Camrose)
Bill 71
April 10, 2018
Kevin Sorenson, now you’ve made me angry. I’m used to your columns being nothing more than rants against the government. But your attack on Bill 71 is shameful. We all know that farmers and hunters need guns. No one argues that. But a gun is a tool designed to kill. Any rational person agrees there need to be limits on gun ownership. As far as I can see, Bill 71 is a reasonable attempt to draw some limits. Of course at this time, those limits should be open to discussion, but you are not helping.
Your view that anyone, even if he is mentally unstable with a history of violence, should be able to walk into a gun show and buy any firearm he wants without a background check is dangerously wrong. Your view that to require owners to register their guns will make them feel like criminals is just laughable. I don’t feel like a criminal because I have to register my car. Do you really believe business owners feel like criminals because they have to register their businesses?
Kevin, we citizens know politicians are just playing political games. We don’t like it and we don’t respect it, but we’ve learned to live with it. However, trying to score cheap political points on an important issue of public safety is irresponsible. You need to find something useful to occupy your time. I suggest you start working to get us Pharmacare.
Rob Hill,
Camrose
Fear not
April 3, 2018
Having travelled recently by air, something I hadn’t done since 2001, I was amazed when we entered the airport. There were signs on the walls of impending danger and at regular intervals over the intercom came warnings to allow no one near your luggage. I said to my husband, “Does no one trust God?”
Fear is a very powerful emotion that immobilizes, constricts, paralyzes and binds us in crippling ways. This is different from a healthy respect for natural laws and innate wisdom in the face of obvious danger. Something I’ve thought of since the years of ‘terrorist attack’ is the propaganda in what defines the word terrorist.
While I spend very little time with the news, I realize that bad things happen. Does this determine our reactions to all of the future? By nature and the experience of life we seem very capable of working with what we see.
Rules and regulations are connected to manipulations and control and are often the result of fear. I would suggest that the biggest threat of terrorism is not outside forces as much as the power of our thoughts and inner life. We carry feelings of fear, hatred, unforgiveness, disgust (for ourselves and others), self-righteousness and strife with us regularly. We think our thoughts are our own business, but they often eventually affect others.
Our thoughts have a way of becoming words and actions. How many people have I wounded, some maybe permanently, by bad inner feelings that disintegrate others? We spend time in miserable and discouraging existence because of the ‘terrorist’ attitude we indulge in. The power of our mind is both an amazingly good and destructive thing.
I have read that fear and anger cause most cancer, fear of the future or imaginary fear cause high blood pressure and diabetes. Anger, fear, ill will and resentment can help bring on arthritis. It seems we can treat disease to some extent, but what is the “pill” that will heal our emotions? I recommend faith and trust in God as the best antidote for fear and all its ill-natured cousins.
Three Bible verses that are a great help are, “The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom”, “God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power of love and of a sound mind,” and “The Lord is my salvation, who shall I fear.”
We have many more promises in the Bible about how God looks after us and wants to help us by believing in Him and in His promises, so we need not walk in fear.
Mary Thiessen,
Edberg
Water park
March 27, 2018
This is my first letter to The Camrose Booster regarding any complaints I may have had in the 68 years that I have lived in Camrose. I have many wonderful memories of Camrose and my life here. At my age of 83 (on April 3, if anyone cares), I must speak up about the median that runs through Camrose on 48 Avenue, otherwise known as Highway 13. I drove downtown today (March 20) as I often do and was yet again reminded of what bothers me. It is the slop that I must drive in to get there. No use washing your car right now, unless you enjoy throwing your money away.
Over the years, I have heard so many complimentary remarks about Camrose. One familiar comment is how clean Camrose is.
I cannot agree at this time that “My Camrose” is a clean city. Every winter it is the same: maybe ever since the median was installed. I’ve heard from many people that the City cannot afford to clean the median.
Shame on Camrose, shame on us.
Evelyn Hrudko,
Camrose
Bridge work
March 27, 2018
March 26 is the day when the city of Camrose is scheduled to close 48 Avenue between 51 Street to 53 Street. This is going to affect traffic flow from now to Aug. 31. I am dreading the huge traffic jams on 47 Avenue, Grand Drive, 50 Avenue and others such as 51 Avenue.
I am a part-time taxi driver since June 1, 1993. In my experience as being a taxi driver, there have not been any streets shut down to this degree. This will make taxi driving very difficult. I am sure taxis are not the only delivery companies who will be affected. Canada Post, pizza delivery drivers, Camrose Delivery Service, other delivery services, Camrose Community Bus, as well the Rose City Handicap Van service will be affected too.
I am well aware that this project needs to be done for the good of our community. I am just making people aware that this closure will affect how people get around this city. So, make sure that your family, yourselves and all the people in your world have a plan to have alternative routes, so that this will not catch any one by surprise.
Now, this letter is written way too late to make the paper before this closure. So, by the time you read this, I sure hope all of you are coping with this huge change, which will be affecting our community for the next five months. Remember when this project is done, this will affect your children for many generations to come. You can get through this hurdle and Camrose will be better off because of what you as people have allowed this city to achieve.
Lorne Wesley Paul Vanderwoude, Camrose
Carbon levy
March 20, 2018
In response to Bruce Hinkley’s column in the Jan. 30 edition of The Booster, Mr. Hinkley stated that his carbon levy cost him $205.26 to operate two vehicles, a car and a truck, and heat his home. I also own a car and a truck and a home to heat, so I made some calculations of my own. The total to heat my home and operate two vehicles through 2017 cost me close to $300.
Something Mr. Hinkley is failing to mention is the extra money it now costs to buy groceries, clothing, entertainment and other consumables. A CBC website estimates the extra cost of these things to average 1.5 per cent. Using that number, I calculated approximately a $400 increase to my cost for these expenses over the course of one year. With the carbon levy rising to $30 a ton in 2018, assuming my spending remains the same this year, I can expect my cost to rise to $450 for operating my vehicles and heating my home, and $600 for groceries and other consumables.
When the carbon levy reaches $50 a ton, which is what the government plans to do, I can expect my cost to rise to $750 a year for my vehicles and home, and $1000 for groceries and other consumables for a total of $1,750. When you add in increases to things such as property taxes, purchasing new vehicles and the cost of taking trips amoung others, $2,000 to $3,000 a year is not as unreasonable a number as Mr. Hinkley would like us to believe.
Brent Bonter,
Camrose
Find solutions
March 20, 2018
Kevin Sorenson, I have read your latest report in The Camrose Booster and I am disappointed. All you have to offer is a list of complaints about the Liberal budget. We, your constituents, deserve better. Sure, the Liberal budget is just a propaganda document designed to make the Liberals look good, just as the Harper government budgets were. And now the Conservative response is to rail about how the government is failing the Canadian people, just like the Liberals did when they were in opposition. Its all a political game, one that Canadians are tired of. Its why we don’t respect our politicians. Kevin, I can go into any coffee shop in Camrose and hear patrons complain about the government. For the amount of money we pay you, we have the right to expect more leadership from you.
Luckily, the Liberals gave you an opportunity to do something of real value. In the budget they promised to bring in a national pharmacare program. This, of course, is great news. As you know, Canada and the U.S. are the only developed countries without a national pharmacare program and we have the highest drug prices in the world. Recently, Statistics Canada reported that in 2016 more than 1.6 million Canadians didn’t take prescription medicine because they couldn’t pay for it and nearly one million Canadians struggled to pay for food and heat so they could afford their prescriptions. High drug prices in Canada are a drain on our economy The health insurance industry said that Canada wasted $15 billion over the last five years on overpriced prescription drugs. Reducing medication prices through pharmacare would have the same effect on the economy as large tax break. A national pharmacare program is without a doubt something that would benefit all Canadians.
Unfortunately, we both know that the Liberals have proven good at making promises and not so good at following through. That is where your opportunity lies. Do your research and tell us what model of pharmacare is best for Canada. And most importantly, push the government. Don’t let them renege on this important promise. Then you will be doing something of real value. Canada will have pharmacare eventually. The benefits are too obvious to ignore. It could be your lasting legacy that you helped shape a program that really made Canada better. That would be something of which you could truly be proud.
Rob Hill,
Camrose
Snow removal
March 20, 2018
Our city snow-clearing crews have done a great job with our streets and alleys since March 3. Thank you! Thank you, too, to the Camrose Ski Club and Camrose Golf Course for wonderful cross-country ski trails.
David Edwards,
Camrose
Fixing roads
We owe a huge thank you to Boden Sand and Gravel for the extensive grading and graveling to repair the road two miles of road north of Edberg.
I can remember when a large gravel company from Edmonton was running 85 trucks from Edberg to Edmonton with each truck making four runs a day over this road. This really pounded out the road and they were suppose to help maintain the road.
Now Boden Sand and Gravel are held responsible for the maintenance of this road with an average of 20 truck loads per day during the busy season. They did a good job in restoring the road.
Robert Snider,
New Norway
Appreciated help
This thank you is to the young lady who saw a need and responded.
On Wednesday, Feb. 21 we purchased a new recliner and brought it home.
As we were trying to unload it and take it inside a young lady appeared from nowhere, greeted us and proceeded to carry it into the house for us.
We were so caught by surprise by this act of kindness by a stranger that we really didn’t get her name or thank her properly.
Young lady—thank you so much for your kind and capable assistance. If you read this, call us at 780-672-6404. From the grateful seniors at 44 Mount Pleasant Drive.
Viv and Ed Hapke,
Camrose
Work together
All of us know or have known a school teacher. Most of us know they have a tough job. Laid at their feet are the responsibilities of not only educating children but trying to instill in them some moral fibre as defined by our society, some accepted standards of behavior, a semblance of common decency. They are educators and psychologists and disciplinarians and counsellors. They work with children who come from a wide range of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. In the face of these exceptional challenges, they do their best. The job asks of them to be kind-hearted, empathetic, patient, knowledgeable and doing what’s best for all those who come through the doors of their schools.
School teachers are also easy targets. They are often the first to be blamed, first to be held accountable and first to be questioned and criticized when the behaviour of a student goes awry. They are often expected to fix problems that began far before they were tasked with the job of educating a youngster, a youngster whose formative years are the root of the behaviour that manifests itself in the classroom.
As members of our society, I believe all of us need to take responsibility in upholding the values we want to see in our young people.
It’s very easy to blame others. It’s easy to aim our criticism, often unfounded, at what is perceived to be a faceless institution. But within that faceless institution are people, friends, neighbours, members of our community, who are doing their best and who believe in the importance of what they are doing.
Now, I am definitely biased, we all have our biases, don’t we? I am married to a school teacher and the company I represent does business with institutional organizations in this region. But that doesn’t preclude me from making one simple statement: we’re all in this together. If we could share ideas without pointing fingers, we all would be better off.
Mike Ploner,
Camrose
Applaud letter
March 6, 2018
I want to first applaud Andrea Uglem for her letter to the editor this past week and unfortunately say that individuals that occupy positions like Mary Martin are not in touch with what is really happening in our provincial education system.
I just wanted someone to know that our province is currently discontinuing a long-standing anti-bullying program called Taking Action on Bully that worked in our area, half in our schools and half in our community.
This past year, BRSD chose to remove this program from its schools and the provincial government will not be renewing its funding come the 2108-19 school year.
So now where do those parents go when needing to address bullying in school or in the community? Unless something happens locally and provincially, this resource will be lost for all children and their lost parents.
Clarence Hastings,
Bawlf
School boards
March 6, 2018
It would prove more helpful if ASBA president Martin focused on improving Alberta’s defunct education system, instead of criticizing Nova Scotia.
Her misleading comments need correction.
She asserts Alberta is “recognized as one of the best education systems in the world” Facts: Not anymore. In 2006, Alberta ranked number two on PISA’s global math and reading tests and number four in science. Although Alberta’s 2015 science results remained strong enough to serve as “bragging” rights, Alberta’s PISA math scores have fallen 38 points, (to 511 from 549 in 2003; from the number two spot in 2003 and 2006, to 14). Likewise, Alberta’s Grade 4 2015 TIMSS score (482) placed Alberta at 38 globally, compared to Singapore, Hong Kong and Korea at the top, roughly 130 points above Alberta. Alberta’s students who function at Level 2 (PISA’s lowest math level) has more than doubled, from 7.4 per cent to 15.1 per cent.
Martin states our school trustees are “marginally compensated.” Trustees get roughly $18,000 to $20,000 for attending monthly meetings (plus extra for sitting on committees). Calgary and Edmonton trustees get $36,000 to $45,000 and Edmonton Public School trustees (Jan 31/17: Global News) voted themselves raises!
Martin further claims trustees “recognize the importance of working collaboratively with communities (I assume that should include parents) government and each other, as partners in education,” Facts: BRSD ignored parent/student demonstrations/protest marches in April 2013, and foisted SLAs, and “no zeros,” on us anyway. Parents as “partners” with “prior” rights (granted in previous legislation) has not translated into 2018 reality. A board chair, when approached, maintained, “I do as I’m told” (...obviously from administration, not from the electorate). Boards’ continued tolerance for bullies and bullying does not meet with parental approval, nor qualify as “collaborating” with parents.
Contrary to Martin’s claims that board trustees “are passionate about our children’s education, BRSD ignores local input for improving our children’s education, including the 20,000 Albertans who signed the math petition, thereby casting doubt on Martin’s claim that local boards are passionate and make better (“fully-informed”) decisions.
Whether success is defined as social well-being (in minister Eggen’s “safe and caring environment”) or as excellent academic achievement, BRSD ensures neither. Bullying continues and BRSD’s mediocre academic achievement declines.
Albertans must keep the pressure on, hold administrators accountable for our students’ lack of success.
Marion Leithead
(a former educator) Bawlf
Pink shirt
February 27, 2018
Anti-bullying day is a day where people wear pink to symbolize a stand against bullying. Bullying can be harassment, spreading rumours, sharing embarrassing information or threatening someone physically or emotionally.
Our high school-aged daughter has been the victim of bullying. It started off with the spreading of hurtful rumours about her character and escalated to stalking and threats of violence.
We reported these incidents to the school administration, parent council, school board, school trustees, County Peace Officers and RCMP. All the parties seemed genuinely concerned. Both the RCMP and County Peace Officer took statements and were keeping a watchful eye. The education community, in our opinion, did not seem to be able to do much. The bully was given a scolding but that was about it.
Our daughter had to remain in the classroom with someone who tried to harm her physically and mentally. How was she supposed to learn in this environment? We question the motto, Every student, every day a success. Hardly, in our daughter’s case. We felt that unless our daughter was assaulted in front of a teacher on school grounds, the school’s hands were tied and we wished the school could do more to protect the victims of bullying.
There needs to be more than one day a year to raise awareness about bullying because, unfortunately, we still live in a society that accepts and enables this behaviour. Pink Shirt Day is a wonderful initiative, but we’re not sure everyone is getting the message.
Andrea Uglem,
Bawlf
School boards
February 27, 2018
Nova Scotia’s decision to dismantle its seven English school boards as per the recommendations of the Glaze Report “Raise the Bar” is not only disappointing, but gravely concerning. Raise the Bar was developed following a scant three week consultation last fall and contains a number of concerning comments. For example, the report states that lack of turnover in trustees is indicative of disinterest and an inability to attract qualified candidates, when in fact, those who serve do so because they are passionate about our children’s education. In fact, the work is challenging, marginally compensated and critically important. Additionally, the report cites outdated student achievement data, places a disproportionate emphasis on standardized test scores and ignores a plethora of socioeconomic factors for which good governance can be a solution. In short, the government’s decision to dismantle school boards fails to acknowledge the value locally-elected school boards bring to our communities.
As president, and on behalf of Alberta’s 61 member public, separate and francophone school boards, I am saddened by the Nova Scotia government’s decision to eliminate locally-elected school boards. By virtue of being locally-elected, school boards’ abilities to reflect community voices and priorities in decision-making has resulted in Alberta being recognized as one of the best education systems in the world. Well-governed school boards, connected and responsive to their communities ensure an education system that is best positioned to deliver value to the communities and families they serve.
For Albertans who do not have children in our school system, I would like to say that K-12 education impacts every person. Every day, each of us interacts with someone whose success as an adult was shaped by their educational experience. That is why school board elections where every citizen has a choice in determining how the K-12 education system is governed are important.
School boards recognize the importance of working collaboratively with their communities, government, and each other as partners in education. What may appear to be dysfunction—as the report states—is more accurately school boards expressing their due diligence to make fully-informed decisions. As locally-elected representatives, they are connected with—and responsive to—their local communities and are uniquely positioned to ensure the very best outcomes for all students.
Mary Martin, president, Alberta School
Boards Association
Camrose transit
February 13, 2018
I’d like to thank the mayor and council for recognizing my service to the Camrose Transit Advisory Committee. Their funding and support is important in making transit a success. I feel Camrose has built a cost-effective and functional transit service using taxi tokens. Some 20,000 cost-shared rides are being provided annually to people in need.
The token system was truly a community effort and has involved many people and hopefully I’d like to recognize all of them. First, Malcolm Boyd and city administration have worked with and actively supported CTAC, even though this is a small part of their many responsibilities. I’d also thank Darren Lockhart and the city accounting department who imaginatively accommodated the payment systems and took on added tasks. Vision Credit Union, and particularly the cashiers, deserves special thanks for its service to the community in redeeming the tokens. I’d like to thank Yvonne Allan who worked to organize the 30 or so social agencies that hand out the tokens to their clients and I’d like to thank the agencies for their work. The taxi companies that accept the tokens as payment deserve thanks for their positive community approach and acceptance of tokens as payment. Lastly, I’d like to thank the other members of CTAC for their hard work and support.
No transit system is perfect, but Camrose can be proud that the token system combined with the Community Bus provides good transit services at a cost the City can support and sustain.
Tony Hladun,
Camrose
Reading skills
February 13, 2018
Kudos to Neil Haave in highlighting the importance of reading as a major contributor to academic success as outlined in second thought (Camrose Booster Jan. 30). His advice to undergraduate students and his insistence upon required reading is first rate.
Of supplemental importance is the Reading University summer literacy program in Camrose designed to help young readers get the basics they need in order to succeed at school and beyond. Perhaps additional resources might be available to expand this excellent program.
University instructors, parents, grandparents and teachers have a shared responsibility to ensure the acquisition of reading comprehension skills as vital to personal success.
Unfortunately, current use of technology has played a major impact in eroding development of these essential skills.
Excessive participation in highly visual computer games, especially in young males, coupled with television viewing has supplanted reading as a major pastime.
Social media also play a major role as younger generations receive information in 30-second sound bytes that has been “shared” by social media friends. This “shared information” is distilled, processed and stored in one’s psyche and has a tendency to result in group think and like mindedness. Social media “shares” of sound bytes have the propensity to create deeply rooted opinions and strongly held beliefs and stifle a better understanding of current issues that would ideally result by objectively reading in depth information sources either in print or on-line.
Unfortunately, the instant and expedient gratification of “learning” from sound bytes using Twitter is also used effectively by current politicians to influence opinion and garner votes rather than objectively deal with the plethora of issues facing us in a non-partisan and collegial manner.
It is incumbent upon us all (politicians notwithstanding) to encourage all young people to turn off/minimize the video, social media, Twitter tweets, Facebook, etc. and read, either for pleasure or for objective gathering of information.
Lynn Clark,
Camrose
Pipeline solution
February 6, 2018
To make up for the insult Albertans felt from his father, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should not approve the Trans Mountain bitumen pipeline to BC, but help build refineries in Alberta to ship cleaner product.
Alberta would get jobs and revenue, Kinder Morgan still gets business and praise for a cleaner pipeline, and BC keeps its coast safe and welcome to Albertans. Oil multinationals would save the cost of upgrades to their refineries outside Canada.
The real national interest is not to send jobs overseas but create them here.
David Heinimann,
Terrace, BC
Drug issue
February 6, 2018
Gail Schulte, if you are concerned about the negative effects of drugs on young people, legalization of marijuana is absolutely the right thing to do. For as long as I’ve been alive marijuana has been illegal and that hasn’t stopped people from using it and organized crime from selling it. It makes absolutely no sense to continue to do what has been proven to not work.
Gail, you believe that there will be an increase in marijuana use following legalization, but the evidence just doesn’t support that. Where marijuana use has been legalized its use stays about the same or drops. In the 1980s and 1990s, Portugal had a huge problem with drug abuse. Portugal decriminalized marijuana in 2001 and its use dropped. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, over a year about 12.7 per cent of Canadians use marijuana. In Portugal, the number is 3.3 per cent.
According to extensive data collected by the US National Survey on Drug Use and Health, marijuana use has not increased in the states where it has been legalized, but in Colorado since legalization, use among teenagers has dropped sharply to its lowest level since 2007-08.
Clearly, our goal is to reduce use of marijuana and other drugs. The problem we have now is that in or near every school, there is a representative of organized crime encouraging kids to try marijuana. Once kids get into the habit of using marijuana, the dealer tries to move them to harder drugs. To speed the process, organized crime is lacing the marijuana with an opioid so that by using marijuana, the kids are getting addicted to something much more dangerous.
We won’t have success against drugs unless we cut the legs out from under organized crime. Every bit of marijuana that will be bought in a store is marijuana not bought from organized crime and that is a step in the right direction. By purchasing marijuana in a legitimate shop, customers will not be encouraged to try a more addictive drug, and the marijuana will not have a more dangerous drug added to it.
There is no doubt that the legalization of marijuana is bringing challenges. No one likes the uncertainty of change. But it makes no sense to continue doing what has been proven to not work. There is every reason to hope that the legalization of marijuana can reduce organized crime and move young people away from dangerous drugs. It will not solve all drug problems, but it’s a step.
Rob Hill,
Camrose
Minimum wage
January 30, 2018
Our MLA, Bruce Hinkley, recently defended his government’s policy on the minimum wage (“Effects of minimum wage and carbon levy hikes exaggerated” Jan. 11).
I wonder if Mr. Hinkley is aware the origin of minimum wage laws. Minimum wage was first introduced by ‘progressive’ social engineers as a form of ‘economic eugenics’. They were designed to push ‘undesirable’ (minority and disabled) workers out of the job market.
From the beginning it was understood that minimum wage laws would make some people, people already disadvantaged, ‘unemployable’. Increasing the minimum wage will only make more people, more disadvantaged people, ‘unemployable’.
Those who do keep their jobs will, of course, see a small increase in their wages. But, we might ask, who are the people who earn minimum wage? In Alberta, less than two per cent of workers earn minimum wage. One third of these are 19 years old or younger. Nearly half of minimum wage earners still live with their parents, 42 per cent move to higher paying jobs within one year and only 12 per cent stay at minimum wage for more than five years (“Alberta Minimum Wage Profile” 2017 Government of Alberta).
For most people an entry level, minimum wage job, is a great way to build a resumé and references. The (primarily) young workers earn spending money and learn the value of work, lessons worth far more than a few cents an hour. They soon move on to better and better paying jobs.
For those who ‘disadvantaged’ in some way, the 12 per cent who stay at minimum wage for more than five years, a high minimum wage rate moves them to the ranks of the ‘unemployable’. They are forced out of the workforce and into the economic limbo of ‘social assistance’. Raising the minimum wage, in effect, if not intent, says to these marginal and marginalized workers, “You have nothing of value to offer.”
Reducing, or better yet, abolishing the minimum wage gives these marginal workers an opportunity to overcome social prejudice and prove their value as employees. It is much better for them that they have the opportunity, should they choose, to negotiate the dignity of work at a salary they can earn.
A truly compassionate and sensible government would make it as easy as possible for people, particularly disadvantaged people, to gain employment, whatever the wage. Those few who are unable to support themselves, the 12 per cent, could be assisted as necessary. Assisted without forcing them to give up the dignity of work.
Dave Gosse,
Camrose
Cannabis concern
January 23, 2018
Is anyone concerned about the passage of Bill C-45–an act respecting cannabis and to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Criminal Code and other Acts? I am, and for the following reasons. In US states, where recreational use of marijuana has been legalized, the amount youth (ages 12 to 17) use has increased. Dr. Amy Porath, director of Research and Policy at the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction says, “There should be no cannabis use below age of 25 if you want to protect brain development.”
Following legalization of marijuana, Colorado saw four times as many marijuana-intoxicated teenagers in the ER and urgent care centres. Legalization leads to normalization and teens do not consider the risks to their health. Chronic marijuana use that begins in adolescence is also associated with the development of mood and anxiety disorders later in life. Will we see escalating health care costs?
Another consideration is the difficulty in detecting the level of impairment following marijuana use. Colorado noted an increase in marijuana-related traffic deaths since legalization of marijuana.
We visit our daughter in Colorado twice a year and have noticed some of the negative social aspects of legalizing marijuana–more homelessness and “street people.” (During the summer there is actually a “community” of people living behind the local library, using the library’s public washrooms for personal hygiene care and the library’s outdoor electrical outlets to recharge their cell phones).
Taking a walk through Olde Town Arvada is an invitation to be accosted by panhandlers wanting money “for a joint”. Neighbours rent their home to out-of-state tourists who spend the whole weekend smoking “pot” and making it impossible for our grandchildren to play in their own backyard. Teachers find their middle school students using marijuana during lunch break. Does this sound like progress?
Bill C-45 is now being reviewed in the Senate. If you have concerns, contact our Alberta Senators: Douglas Black, Elaine McCoy, Claudette Tardif, Scott Tannas and Betty Unger.
Gail Schulte,
Camrose
Colour match
January 23, 2018
In regards to the Jan. 16 letter by George Morlidge of Okotoks. I’ve done a little research and found some paint codes for him.
The “salmon” colour as he refers to is actually called “Burgundy Mist.” GM’s code in 1959 for this colour is “N.” PPG has a paint code for this colour is 50536.
There is only one silver for 1959 in the Oldsmobile line up. It is called “Silver Mist.” GM’s code for this colour is “B.” The PPG code for this silver is 31827.
That being said, it may be in his best interest to try to retail any samples of the original paint colours if possible. With today’s paint technology, some paint companies have a colour match “gun” where the unit can be placed on the actual colour and a formula can be mixed with great accuracy.
Hope this helps with his project, feel free to have him contact me if he wishes to talk some more.
Daymion Weiss,
Daysland
Editor’s note: This information has been passed on to George Morlidge.
New direction
January 16, 2018
Kevin Sorenson, MP Battle River-Crowfoot, I wish you and your family a happy and healthy 2018. And I would like to suggest for you a New Year’s resolution – one that I’m sure will enhance your well-being. It seems to me that you’ve spent too much energy in 2017 bashing the Liberal government and I think you should let that go. After all, your constituents can do that well enough without you. Anyway, Kevin, the Liberals are doing better than you and I had expected. The economy is going like gangbusters, unemployment is down and, according to the Parliamentary Budget office, the Liberals have lowered taxes. So, why not use your energy for something more positive.
I’ll make a suggestion. Work to get us lower medication prices. I’m sure you know Canada has the second highest drug prices in the world. Only the US has higher prices. You may know that one in five prescriptions in Canada isn’t filled. Patients get to the pharmacy and realize they can’t afford the medication. Obviously, that’s not good. The Canadian pharmaceutical giant Apotex sells medicines in Canada and abroad. For every dollar Canadians spent on seven popular drugs sold by Apotex in Canada and New Zealand, New Zealanders spend just 11.5 cents. That’s because New Zealand, like all advanced countries except Canada and the US, has a national pharmacare program. The Parliamentary Budget office calculated that a national pharmacare program would save Canadians $4.2 billion /year. That’s huge. A national pharmacare program is no risk. It’s a success in every country in which its implemented.
You are an experienced parliamentarian. You should use your influence to get the Opposition to push the government to adopt a national pharmacare program. It would put you on the national stage in a good way. It would get you away from all that negative energy and you would be doing something good for Canadians. At some point, you will retire from politics and your efforts to bring us a national pharmacare program would be something you could look back on with pride. Start now, Kevin, and your 2018 will be truly great.
Rob Hill,
Camrose
Colour match
January 16, 2018
Murray, I saw your article about the Cougar in the Camrose Booster when I was passing thru Camrose before Christmas. I wanted to tell you about my projects and see if you or your readers could help me with a couple of things.
I have a 1959 Oldsmobile Super 88 four door hardtop that I have owned for about 20 years, used to take it to shows and am now doing a refresh. I took the body off the frame, removed the power train and had the frame sand blasted and epoxy coated. I had the motor and transmission rebuilt.
I put the body on a restoration revolver, turned it upside down and fixed all the issues (mostly rust) on the bottom. The car is now mostly back together and the next step is to get ready to paint. I have decided that I will get a pro to paint it but the first step is to identify the original color and that is my first issue. A tag on the fire wall says the paint is 3662 and the trim is 336. I have always said the color is salmon and silver, but I don’t remember where that comes from.
Who can help me resolve what the colors are? I have asked GM and got no help whatsoever. Also, can anyone recommend a painter or shop?
My second project is a bit different. I accumulated a 1929 Chevrolet one ton truck all in pieces. It features a metal skin over a wooden frame body. The guy I got it from was rebuilding the wooden parts when the project stopped. I have done nothing with this, but look forward to it after completing the Oldsmobile.
George Morlidge, Okotoks
Front page
January 16, 2018
The Camrose Veselka Ukrainian Dancers expresses our gratitude for the terrific photo which graced the cover of the January 9th issue of The Camrose Booster. The picture turned out awesome. This immeasurable exposure for our club will most certainly help bring a crowd out to the CRE for Malanka, our Ukrainian New Year’s Celebration, on January 20th. Again, thanks to the Booster for the support you generously provide to our club and many others.
Camrose Veselka Ukrainian Dance Society
A word about the covers on The Camrose Booster. Since March of 1991 we have not sold any ad space on the covers of our publications. The dominant photo area is gifted to groups and associations, typically non-profits, which do not have the required budget for serious and effective promotion. In these twenty-seven years and over fourteen hundred front covers of this initiative, we have helped generate traffic and assisted the efforts and fundraisers of hundreds of local teams, groups, clubs and other interests. We’ve helped the arts, sports community and groups that are not quite household words in terms of recognition. If you need more information about powerful presence on a Booster cover, give The Booster a call at 780-672-3142.
