Few would have dreamt that Rachel Notley and the Alberta NDP would become bagmen (should I have said bag people?) for the oil and gas industry; an industry that quietly accepts billions of dollars in taxpayer handouts and regulatory exclusions and perks.
While they aggressively lobby, out of sight of most Canadians, for these taxpayer gifts they are also clever enough to shuffle the dirty laundry off to compliant politicians like Notley. Her recent antics clearly demonstrate she believes taxpayers are obligated to shoulder the burden of lobbying on behalf of a billion-dollar industry. She may have convinced herself this is good politics, but it is not good governance.
She once said her father, a man reputed to be of considerable character and dignity, “gave hope to people who were looking for a different path forward.” After an increasingly painful 45 years, Albertans did decide they wanted a different vision for the province — a different path forward. I doubt many voted for the temper tantrum, pipeline promoting bully they ended up with.
What this clearly tells Albertans, British Columbians and all Canadians is that Notley and the NDP government have sold out to one special interest — sending an ominous and strong signal to all of us that they are biased. This has far-reaching consequences. It says they are incapable of fair and ethical treatment of a wide range of other interests. It demonstrates they will be prejudicial in their treatment of critical interests and values like environmental protection and impact assessment, public lands, air and water protection and quality and endangered species. Fundamental issues like tax fairness, and expecting an evenhanded and honest democratic hearing when dealing with regulatory affairs and government — that now quaint concept of all of us being equal in the eyes of the law — all compromised in favour of pipelines and oil and gas.
Just as damaging, this leads the to a public service that is biased and corrupted. Their allegiance is to the oil and gas industry, not to the people of Alberta, and certainly not to the lands and rivers and coasts of British Columbia. One distasteful byproduct of a one-agenda public service, a bureaucracy that almost certainly has become stale, is bigotry toward dissenting opinion (and evidence) and toward citizens who advocate a reformed vision of politics and land conservation.
These nasty politics are not unlike the extreme bias shown by Penticton city council and city hall favoring the land exploitation and real estate development industry. Open, honest government, equal treatment of citizens and their issues and fair taxation become immediate casualties. Most people are unaware of how much more difficult their lives are because of this kind of entrenched favouritism.
Dr. Brian L. Horejsi
Penticton