Dear Editor,
I was listening to U.S. President Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ rant on April 2 as he expounded how Canada has not been fair to the U.S. and that Canada has taken advantage of the U.S. for years and it had to stop.
It's amazing how he can brush aside the fact that Alberta oil has been discounted to them over the years to the tune of $1 trillion, often at a price below the cost of production. Scotiabank economists estimated the cost to the Canadian economy was $15.6 billion a year. We may as well have written a cheque to the U.S. for $43 million and again the next day and every day thereafter.
It was Rachel Notley being able to move oil to the U.S. by rail at a rate of 161,000 barrels a day that lowered the price differential and later Justin Trudeau building the Trans Mountain pipeline making the Americans pay a market price for Alberta oil.
We need to commend these two individuals for saving our oil industry. I, for one, give thanks to Notley and Trudeau
Guy Breckenridge
Foothills County
Justin Trudeau did not build the pipeline, Canada bought it partially completed , and the taxpayers paid a premium under his watch to see it completed. Giving him and Notley any credit for the destruction of Alberta’s economy is asinine.
The only reason the US gets our oil at a premium is because the Liberals under Trudeau would not allow any more pipelines nor tankers carrying more than 12,500 metric tons of crude to dock, load or unload on our West coast.
Guy Breckenridge there's an old expression, Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the work.
The UCP, PCs, CPC flapped their lips for years and nothing was done. Notley got oil moving with rail cars and Notley / Trudeau got TMX built. Smith continues in fight with Ottawa. In the first week Carney was PM she gave him a list of demands. When Carney gets things happening, Smith will claim a victory because she gave him a piece of her mind. She'll be a heroine in here new circle of US right wing buddies. She doesn't want to be in Alberta now with all the allegations against her.