What happened to Alberta?
By Lethbridge Herald on February 2, 2022.
Editor:
In 1978 we emigrated to Canada from England. The reasons we left the UK were: crime was a problem, drugs were a problem and of course, the good old wet and dreary weather.
We picked Alberta because we were attracted to the outdoor lifestyle and the beautiful scenery. Lethbridge, in particular, was ideal for us and we quickly settled in to our new life.
Coming here was wonderful, the freedom to do as we pleased felt good, we did not have to worry about locking the house or the vehicles and living expenses were reasonable.
When I started work here, I had a trade, I was earning $7 an hour, my wife did not work as we had two young children.
On that income we managed to run two vehicles, we bought a house and a small trailer and embarked on our adventure of camping as much as possible. In those days it was $2 per night to camp in any of the campgrounds in the Westcastle area including all the free firewood you needed.
Our kids grew up hiking, fishing and as a family we rode our mountain bikes on the trails throughout the area. As long as you obeyed some basic rules you were free to do as you liked.
We have now lived here for 43 years. Crime is a problem, drugs are a problem and the cost of living has skyrocketed, and there are more rules and restrictions.
But the saddest part of all is that this year we sold our truck and trailer as we can no longer afford the camping fees and as a retired couple our option of being able to get up one morning and decide to go camping is gone with the new complicated and cumbersome booking system.
The last time we camped the fee was $120 for three nights. What has happened to our beloved Alberta?
Nicholas Stanley
Lethbridge
13-12
The answer is simple. Albertans allowed the Reformers to take over our Conservative Party. They gave away about $800 Billion of our oil, gas and tax wealth and allowed these fools to privatize everything in site. All you have to do is see what Alaska and Norway have done with their oil wealth. I have been to Alaska twice and Norway once and they are a hell of a lot better off than we are, yet they followed our hero Peter Lougheeds example of collecting proper royalties and taxes. Guess who got screwed?
There was an incredible downward spiral when Notley and her crew formed a government(if you can call them that)
Yes Nicholas , I noticed that very clear.
Don’t go off on a tangent talking about the NDP … NO government has mismanaged Alberta more than the Conservatives. Klein renegotiated oil royalties and we lost over $800 Billion dollars and got ‘Ralph Bucks’ instead…that’s criminal!!
So would you be able to prove in court, without a doubt, that this disaster in Alberta was created after Notley took office when we know it happened before she was ever elected? Are going to be able prove the former conservative MLAs were liars when they praised her for being like Lougheed? Would you like to try ? Lawyers tell us we should stop putting up with guys like you spreading your B.S., can you see why we shouldn’t put a stop to it ?
Maybe you had better figure out how you are going to prove that former conservative MLA Allan A. Warrack was a liar when he said “Rachael Notley Has Led Like Lougheed” maybe you should keep your stupid comments to yourself or you are liable to find yourself in court. Lawyers in the Edmonton area are warning seniors to stop believing the Jason Kenney lies or else and that means you.
A very significant factor in the recent history of Alberta is that we no longer have the once inclusive Lougheed-style fiscal conservatism. For some 40 years after the Lougheed years, Lougheed’s ‘Six Principles’ of resource development were not followed by subsequent Alberta Conservatives. They are: “Behave like an owner, Collect your fair share, Save for a rainy day, Go slow, Add value, and Practice statecraft.”
That these ‘principles’ were not followed has taken a very sad, and significant toll on Alberta’s fate. With regard to the beloved fiscal conservatism of yore, Rachel Notley, leader of the AB NDP, displays more fiscal conservative characteristics than the ultra right wing neo-liberal Jason Kenney would ever hope to have. No wonder the AB NDP is in majority territory for voting intentions and have raised twice the amount of donations than the UCP.
As far as drugs, crime and homelessness go, it’s easy to see where the problems originate from.
I wonder how Nicholas voted all those halcyon years. Did he vote against the taxes needed to provide affordable services and help the vulnerable? Did he embrace the politics of nostalgia and resist progressive efforts to adjust to change? I read this letter as a complaint about the present, while denying his own culpability. If you want a better future, invest in community over individual selfishness.
So – – how do you invest in community to make lethbridge and my life better.
I have some responsibility for myself as with everyone else.
Take the letter writer bemoaning the condition and cost of camping in the mountains … After dozens of years of cutbacks on wardens and forestry people and summer programs. If government collected taxes instead of pandering to the corporate rich, and if the electorate stopped voting for governments that promised austerity instead of maintaining a heathy public service and regulations that protected the public and the environment, then Nicholas would probobly still have his free chopped wood.