Vern Hicks
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Whether the Eastern political establishment likes it or not, Alberta is the basis for much of the country’s current economic strength. Allan Gregg fails to recognize the amount of federal tax generated by oil-sands development, and despite a passing reference, does not give Alberta its due when it comes to the national impact of transfer payments. These are passive benefits, sometimes difficult to notice because they are absorbed into national figures, care of the federal government. A more active indicator would be a glance at the Toronto Stock Exchange and the number of energy and oil companies traded there. I assume at least one broker in Toronto has made money from the Alberta cash cow. Despite what Gregg says, Alberta’s wealth should not represent a threat or concern to the rest of Canada. Rather than look to the West with envy, Ontario would do well to clean up its own act. I, for one, am moving to Alberta.
Toronto, Ontario
Allan Gregg writes, “Alberta spends significantly more than the national average on education, culture, and industrial development.” According to the most recently available figures from StatsCan, Alberta spends less than the national per-capita average on culture, and less per capita than any province save Ontario and Nova Scotia.
Tom Mirhady
Calgary, Alberta
After billions of barrels of oil have been extracted from Alberta’s soil and billions of dollars have flowed into Alberta’s coffers, what will become of the barren ecological wasteland “the size of New York State” ? By that point, the oil companies will have cut and run with their profits, leaving polluted groundwater and contaminated sludge. It is not clear to me who will clean up this mess, but I feel that it would at least have merited a mention in a discussion on how the cash bonanza should be spent.
Gerald Labelle
Dorval, Quebec
Editor’s note: Allan Gregg will respond in the next issue.
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