IMMEDIATE EXPECTATIONS
I recall former Saskatchewan NDP premier Allan Blakeney stating, “When you’re out of touch, you’re out of office” following the 1982 shellacking of the NDP at the hands of Grant Devine’s PCs.
I also recall Brian Mulroney/Kim Campbell not saying that when they should have after their crucifixion in the 1993 federal election, and the Liberals never saying that no matter how badly they have been beaten throughout the last 75 years.
Maybe that’s the lesson for the Alberta PCs. They were “out of touch.” It’s axiomatic in politics that “out of touch” usually means “out of office” and that “the electorate is never wrong.”
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I also think that the attractiveness of NDP leader Rachel Notley was underestimated by her opponents, the media and virtually everyone else. She was impressive right from the get-go.
However, attractive and bright as she and her colleagues may be, it will not be easy for them to stay that way as they try to meet their constituencies’ expectations amidst the serious economic challenges facing Alberta.
It’s also going to be tough for them to purge the entrenched “ultra-right wing” thinking they will find in government departments. They’ll need more than four years, and that may be longer than the predominantly “me-first-right-now” Alberta electorate is ready to remain patient.
Listen for grumbling to start in about six months.
Dennis Hall,
Saskatoon, Sask.
Farmers on their own
Once again, western grain farmers are left to face the powerful rail companies on their own.
With portions of the 2013 and 2014 harvests still in the bins and a long way from markets, the Harper government has relented under pressure from CN and CP railways and decided not to renew the requirement to transport minimum volumes of grain. With no regulatory framework, moving grain will not be a priority if the railways can make more money shipping other commodities.
Study after study shows the railways are over-charging farmers by as much as $8 per tonne. The Harper Conservatives have refused calls to conduct a rail costing review to determine a rate that would be fair to both the rail companies and farmers.
The cozy relationship between the Harper government and the rail companies (see John Baird’s appointment to the board of directors of CP Rail) has cost western Canadian grain farmers hundreds of millions of dollars. Rural Saskatchewan has been taken for granted long enough. It’s time for a change.
Nial B. Kuyek,
Regina, Sask.
CONTRACTUALLY SPEAKING
Jim Prentice, at the conclusion of the Alberta election, acted like a spoiled child in resigning the legislative seat he just won.
As a candidate in an election, he entered into an implied contract, which, if he was successful, promised that he would serve until the next election. As such, he should be held financially responsible for the resulting election that is required to choose his replacement.
As a farmer, I have been told repeatedly by the grain industry, and in some cases our governments, “a contract is a contract is a contract.”
John Raine,
FACT OR FICTION
Re: “Sask. input compiled, new drainage rules coming” (WP April 2).
The article said Agriculture Producers Association of Saskatchewan president Norm Hall repeated a point made by Keystone Agricultural Producers president Dan Mazier that extreme weather, not agriculture drainage, is the root cause of costly flooding that has occurred in Western Canada.
These two organizations provide no factual evidence or scientific studies to support their claim.
We have had above normal precipitation in the last several years, but we also have had decades of uncontrolled, illegal drainage.
Recently, John Pomeroy released the results of a study done on Smith Creek in the Langenburg area to determine the impact of wetland drainage on flooding in Saskatchewan. His work clearly showed that wetland drainage is contributing to significant flooding.
Several years ago the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority compiled a drainage review for Waldsea, Deadmoose and Houghton Lakes in the Humboldt area. This drainage review clearly showed that effective drainage area in these areas had increased by over 50 percent in the last 50 years. When this review was released at a public meeting in Humboldt, the SWA employees in attendance stated that drainage is a significant contributing factor to flooding in the area.
Drainage can have many benefits, however these gains cannot come at the expense of the producers and landowners downstream. Denying that drainage isn’t having impacts is misleading and does little to bring people together to develop solutions that benefit everyone.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but not to their own facts.
Barbara Onofreychuk, Chair, Ratepayers Against Illegal Drainage.
Peter Onofreychuk,
ISSUES NOT ADDRESSED
After the federal budget was released, CBC business journalist Amanda Lang asked finance minister Joe Oliver the future cost of his budget. He said, “not to worry Stephen Harper’s granddaughter will fix it”.
There were many issues not addressed by the budget, i.e. infrastructure, climate change, First Nation agreements, employment for young people. If we don’t start dealing with some of these issues now our grandchildren will suffer.
The federal government should be working with the provinces. Manitoba is the hub for all land traffic going east and west in Canada. Our north and south highways connect us with our biggest trading partner, the United States. The future, we have been told, is in the north.
How will Canada benefit from the wealth of the north if we do not have a transport system to bring materials south? Highways 10, 16 and 83 should be upgraded now. Our railway lines should also be double tracked and upgraded. Infrastructure is an important issue not addressed by Harper’s budget. He seems to forget that Canada is a group of provinces and territories and that he must consult and work with them for progress.
It is easier to fix a situation before it is beyond repair and that is why climate change must be addressed by our government. The Harper government has gone out of its way to eliminate scientists and environmental projects. It makes you wonder whose head is stuck in the sand!
There are many First Nation communities that do not have clean drinking water. The chief at Pine Creek stated that the water system is failing to meet the needs of his community. The water system needs to be updated so that it does not rely only on adding chlorine to provide drinkable water.
We know that small business is the largest employer and the engine of growth. Numerous small business owners are beginning to suffer as a result of the slowdown in the oil and gas industry. Unemployment hits small rural areas hard. Our government has not addressed this situation in its budget.
When voting in the next election remember issues that Stephen Harper’s government has not ad-dressed in the last 10 years.
Thomas Dowsett,
ACTIONS NOT DENIALS
Re: Many climate change questions, few answers (Kevin Hursh column, WP April 16).
The science is clear: human behaviour is significantly changing the climate. White House science adviser John Holdren: “We will respond to climate change with some mix of mitigation, adaptation, and suffering; all that remains to be determined is the mix.” To be a climate change denier these days is much like believing the world is flat not round.
Suffering is the “do nothing” option where we just react without planning or preparation. This is the worst option. I disagree with Hursh that “all climate change work has little value” (without answers to certain questions.)
The remaining choice is between mitigation and adaptation, but even this is a false choice.
Right wing politicians are already beginning to change their mantras to say the climate may change, but not that much so we’ll just adapt. The danger is that only those who can afford to adapt will. This brings out the other famous right wing idea that rich people deserve the advantages they can afford because they earned them. Developing coastal countries stand to suffer greatly due to anthropogenic climate change and they didn’t get the benefits from burning all of those fossil fuels over the past two centuries.
Mitigation is the best option for humankind, but it also requires the most immediate hard work. Our entire economy is based on fossil fuels like oil, coal, and gas. It is hard for me to imagine farming without diesel fuel, but who knows what future technology may displace diesel on my farm? The problem is that we aren’t really looking for those new technologies yet. Necessity is the mother of invention.
Climate deniers and weak government policies have delayed addressing climate change for the past 20 years or so. Part of the reason climate deniers were successful is because the climate hasn’t actually changed all that much yet, but it is happening.
What most people don’t appreciate is the carbon time lag: in terms of the Earth’s climate there is a substantial time lag between causes and effects. Greenhouse gases emitted today affect global temperatures 25-100 years into the future. Today, we’re just experiencing temperature rise caused by emissions from 25-100 years ago.
This time lag complicates efforts to do something about the problem as people are not generally inclined to sacrifice now to gain benefits (or to avoid costs) one or two generations down the road.
Both mitigation and adaptation are necessary at this point. But for every day mitigation is delayed, the need for adaptation grows. That’s not a recipe for egalitarian outcomes. Mitigation is fighting for attention and dollars against much mightier foes like indifference and narrow self-interest.
How should Canada respond? I believe Canada’s response must be twofold: 1. Diversify our energy sources to reduce emissions. 2. Prepare for a changing climate. Knowing that climate change is real and that the potential threats to the planet far outweigh the potential benefits, the most prudent action for individuals and governments is to act rather than deny.
Glenn Wright,
Vanscoy, Sask.
