I see there are still NDP apologists out there, namely Mr. Traynor (St. Albert Gazette, Your Views, Nov. 10).
Sorry, but your argument is lost when you can’t even admit (or realize) that Alberta is a huge net contributor to equalization, to the tune of $500 billion over the years. The mere fact that anyone tries to get around this fact with fancy nonsensical arguments just aggravates the situation.
No, it does not go there directly but from the pile the biggest portion goes to Quebec, a province that does not include hydro-power cash to the formula and does not develop their oil for fear of sharing the wealth. And they have social programs such as $7-per-day daycare and very cheap post-secondary schooling.
Yes, this is at the expense of Alberta. How do you come to the conclusion that "We'd be just as rich as we are now?" I did enjoy how you could ignore the Venezuelan comment and just glean onto the typical NDP hot points, like that the deficit isn’t that high at all or that the Conservatives are going to pay their “ultra-rich buddies”.
The only people who want taxes to go up are the ones not paying any. Are you in that camp, Mr. Traynor?
Your letter was quite good, like a bag of Halloween candy, all sugar, no substance.
Tony Gull, St. Albert
