Mr. Jenkins makes a very convincing argument in his letter to the editor (Aug. 13) about the changes to the temporary foreign workers program and its devastating impact on businesses and communities in Alberta. He also mentions McDonald’s owner Rob Chiasson’s address to the St. Albert Rotary Club on this same issue. He says that he and other business people have addressed this issue with local MPs and MLAs and the situation remains the same. Mr. Jenkins also says that the federal government has used a political “solution” to solve an economic problem.
Therein lies the crux of the matter — the political ‘solution.’ The present federal and provincial conservative governments have no worries about making political decisions that may hurt Alberta economically. They know that no matter what they do, or how unethically their governments behave, they can always count on Albertans to vote them in.
There is little point in Mr. Jenkins or Mr. Chiasson asking us to rise up and support the temporary foreign workers. We must keep in mind that the temporary foreign workers have no vote, so they matter little to our governments. This situation is a typical knee-jerk reaction of the federal government which does not resolve or is capable of resolving issues after careful and thoughtful study. It isn’t the public interest that comes first with our federal government. It is a decision making process that is based on a right wing ideology which holds the public good low on its decision making radar. It is corporations that pull both our federal and provincial governments’ strings, not ordinary Albertans. So, both Mr. Jenkins and Mr. Chiasson need to rally their corporate friends to put pressure on both governments, if they expect to see changes to the temporary foreign workers program.
As for me, I am too cynical to expect anything that is remotely in the public interest to come down from either of our governments, but I wish Mr. Jenkins good luck in his efforts.
Valerie Spink, St. Albert
