Re: 鈥淩ising gas prices heighten simmering pipeline dispute,鈥� column, May 2.
So Jason Kenney, recently elected impotentate of the Oil Fiefdom of Alberta, wants to blackmail British Columbia into allowing a pipeline to pump Alberta dilbit to the coast to sell to Asian markets. Desperate times requires desperate measures, so the saying goes.
But my fellow Albertans would do well to remember that it is not British Columbia鈥檚 understandable reluctance to allow construction of a pipeline over extremely unstable terrain that has put Alberta in the financial position in which it now finds itself.
How quickly Albertans have forgotten the 40 years of Conservative government fiscal mismanagement that drained the Heritage Savings Trust Fund 鈥� a fund established for a 鈥渞ainy day.鈥� Had that fund not been raided and mismanaged by a series of Conservative governments, Alberta would today be in a much better position to weather the current economic downturn.
Kenny convinced the Alberta voters that threatening their neighbour was a winning strategy. But two can play at that game.
Every year, tens of thousands of Albertans flock to B.C.鈥檚 ski slopes, mountain parks, lakes and ocean. Perhaps B.C. should establish an entry fee, say $100 for each Alberta vehicle entering B.C., with the proceeds used to reduce the cost of gas at the pump.
John R. Paterson
Saanich
