Prime Minister Mark Carney and B.C. Premier David Eby in Vancouver on May 20.ETHAN CAIRNS/The Canadian Press
Political hypocrisy
Re “West unrest” (Letters, May 27): Preston Manning is right. I believe Alberta discontent is a wound self-inflicted by Ottawa and its asymmetrical federalism.
I see Mark Carney and his Liberals freely provoking, meddling and disparaging Alberta’s quest for independence, within or without the federation. On Quebec, these same people act circumspect, deferential to the French nation and politically and fiscally supportive of that pampered province.
The rest of Canada hears and sees and is now reacting electorally.
Barry Stagg Brighton, Ont.
Preston Manning should be reminded that Quebec, unlike Alberta, has a clearly defined separatist party. A citizen can choose to vote for the Parti Québécois or not. This is democracy.
Alberta has the UCP, which has essentially been hijacked by separatist ideology and provided with tools to do so by Danielle Smith. Separation was not part of the UCP election platform, as Mark Carney correctly notes. I am not sure this double-cross is democratic.
Bring back the separatist Western Canada Concept party or something similar. We would not need a referendum if Alberta had a clearly defined separatist party like in Quebec. Call an election and vote for it.
In the meantime, stop whining about Quebec and double standards. It’s old, and we should be better than that.
Patricia Bruton Calgary
Re “Carney calls Alberta separation vote unhelpful, undemocratic” (May 26): The Prime Minister is correct that the possibility of Alberta separating from Canada through a referendum has many parallels to Britain exiting the European Union. It sought to take back control, but then found many things got worse.
However, the Prime Minister and most of the No voices in Canada are in danger themselves of repeating mistakes from the Brexit debate. They place too much emphasis on the negative consequences of separation while not articulating a positive vision of why Alberta should stay.
Let us put ourselves in the shoes of Albertans and ask: What sort of Alberta do I want for my children? Show that this future is better achieved within the Canadian federation than through separation.
George Fallis Toronto
Mark Carney complains that Danielle Smith never mentioned a referendum in her last election campaign. As a result, she is being “undemocratic.” But I think he is suffering from selective memory.
Mr. Carney never mentioned rollbacks to the Liberal platform on the environment in his election campaign, but he is now busy removing many safeguards. Is he also “undemocratic?” He is now in trouble with some members of his caucus, as well as a faction of the Canadian people.
The Prime Minster should be careful: His hypocrisy is really showing.
Barry Seligman Norfolk County, Ont.
Pipe up
Re “Carney cautions B.C. not to drag out pipeline debate” (May 21): British Columbia wouldn’t need to stall if Mark Carney told Alberta that a new pipeline must run southerly, preferably with the Trans Mountain pipeline, and it cannot go to the North Coast. He would avoid further opposition, delays and unpredictability while responsibly safeguarding a uniquely valuable and vulnerable region.
I see absolutely no imperative to go north. The imperative, if that’s what it is, is to get a new pipeline built. That objective would not be compromised.
National unity may call for a pipeline, even if demand is questionable and the public may ultimately have to pay for it. But B.C. should be integral to decision making.
I find it offensive for B.C. to be threatened and excluded while directly impacted, and while working for both its and Canada’s public good.
Rob Garrard Victoria
Re “Mark Carney’s oil policy isn’t a political gambit. It’s an economic imperative” (Report on Business, May 22): Britain’s plan to ban oil and gas expansion is not a cautionary tale. It’s based on research, supported by prudent advice from the head of the International Energy Agency.
The IEA advised that further expansion in the North Sea fields will do little to change Britain’s energy security or price of oil and gas. Rather, expect a significant boost in renewable energy, which is already growing exponentially worldwide and cheaper and faster to deploy than oil and gas.
Around the world, industrial carbon pricing has more than doubled over the past decade, now covering nearly 30 per cent of global greenhouse gases, according to the Canadian Climate Institute. Given where the world is heading and the economic drag wrought by climate change, I would say that carbon pricing, along with deployment and innovation of renewable energy with storage, are the real economic imperatives.
Cheryl McNamara Toronto
Plainly speaking
Re “The plain truth about the plain truth” (Editorial, May 25): There is practical value in such word choices to “obscure reality” in today’s Internet-driven outrage society.
Given the pearl-clutching outcries, letter-writing campaigns and crowdfunding pleas already occurred with the phrase “ostrich depopulation,” for example, imagine what saying “we’ll shoot them” would have wrought.
It has thus become incumbent upon bureaucrats to do what they can to obfuscate the obvious from those of the population unfamiliar with the dictionary, in order to simply get things done that need doing in a timely fashion.
Nick Bryant North Vancouver
When I started working as a federal public servant in the early 1990s, I would phone media outlets directly and set up my own interviews. A few years later, a media relations officer set up my interviews, but I was still free to tell the story of whatever initiative I wanted to promote.
Fast-forward to 2010 and communications had taken on a life of its own in my department. Not only could I not contact media outlets directly, but every media interaction was stickhandled by a media relations officer.
I was also required to develop and stick to key messages and “speaking points.” These made it difficult to tell an interesting or even a clear story.
My conclusion is that the bigger the communications departments become, the less clear communication takes place. I’d welcome a return to a more direct, plain-language style of communications by our federal government.
Tamara Tarasoff La Pêche, Que.
In his 1979 book Man of Law: A Model, Canadian lawyer Morris Shumiatcher quotes Confucius on how best to manage a country.
“If language is not used correctly, then what is said is not meant; if what is said is not meant, what ought to be done remains undone; if this remains undone, morals and art will be corrupted; if morals and art are corrupted, justice will go astray and the people will be left in helpless confusion.”
Doug Baker Gibsons, B.C.
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