I also would like to respond to Tony Gull’s letter to the editor (St. Albert Gazette, Your Views, Oct. 31).
If he thinks Alberta’s fiscal woes began three years ago, with the election of the NDP, he is very mistaken.
Peter Lougheed knew that oil is an unstable commodity, that is subject to price swings. He had experience in that industry. Also, he realized the importance of building things up, and saving for the future.
The other Alberta PC leaders and governments were the polar opposite of that. They accepted bad oil royalty rates, did not properly top up the Heritage Savings Trust Fund, (created by Peter Lougheed), did the most costliest scandals, time and time again, put in a flat tax, that drained Alberta’s coffers even further, privatized and deregulated core services, like utilities, causing their costs to dramatically increase, and did very strong austerity measures.
Alberta has an infrastructure maintenance problem that will take a lot of time and a lot of money to fix.
None of this is the fault of the NDP, but rather the fault of the Alberta PCs, and those who allowed it to continue for so long. Jason Kenney wants to return to the flat tax and more austerity. Who will that help?
Clearly, Mr. Gull does not grasp how equalization payments work. Alberta does not send a cheque to Ottawa. Nor does he understand how socialism even works. When he drives on public roads, or uses public health care, those are aspects of socialism.
It is best to exercise caution when voting in the next provincial election.
If anyone fails to remember history, they will most certainly repeat it.
Dwayne Wladyka, Edmonton
