I am flabbergasted by what is happening in our country and province right now. I am unemployed as of Dec 23, 2016, as many Albertans are, and this is my second time being laid off this year.
To top it all off, I get a letter from the government stating I was reassessed and have to pay $65.11 from my 2015 income tax. Then the NDP have come up with this idea that we should pay a carbon tax on top of the increasing unemployment and no work to even apply for.
Do we not even have a say? Do we just allow our government to continue making decisions that affect us greatly and not protest?
I have looked at the carbon outputs across the globe and I do not understand why our government has pushed this so vigorously, especially at this time?
Alberta's outputs were considerably lower than similar producing regions. Quebec and Ontario seem very happy to take the equalization payments from Alberta – which is questionable to say the least. Canada is a country rich in natural resources, not just Alberta. However, it takes work to profit from those resources.
Farming and agriculture is one resource that the government has almost made impossible for farmers to continue let alone make a profit. As an example, the east coast grows some of the best honey crisp apples in North America, but most of ours come from California who does not grow them as well. Maybe the east coast government should build up the agriculture and supply our own country with apples.
The problem is the government has it own agendas and I am afraid our needs are not at the top of the list. We could be a self-sustaining country or close to it. I say again, do we not have a say in how the money leaves our pockets and who receives it?
Why is Saskatchewan not suffering? Because they have a leader leading their province looking out for his people in that province. Imagine if we had a premier and Prime Minister who looked out for the people. If that were the case I would have no need to write this letter.
We need a government in Alberta who knows how to profit and promote the resources we have. If we had a government who cared about the people we would be shipping oil to the east coast and the west coast, instead of purchasing from overseas! Please Premier of Alberta and Prime Minister, start fighting for us!
Iain Lovell
