Letters to the editor, feb. 17

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Re: Recall petition doubtless received’t go, Opinion, Feb. 15

Greater than 500,000 signatures are required for Landon Johnston’s recall petition to oust Mayor Jyoti Gondek.

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This must be a pointy reminder to those that would play quick and free with our system of democracy. You can not overthrow a democratically elected politician on a whim as a result of you’ve gotten grow to be disenchanted with them. Not on this province. Not on this nation.

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Love her or detest her, Gondek was elected by a majority of eligible voters in Calgary and she or he has the suitable to manipulate till she is voted out within the subsequent civic election or till sufficient Calgarians have signed their names to Johnston’s petition.

Chris Nelson seems to consider the recall laws bar has been set too excessive, that the sport is rigged. If the variety of signatures required was considerably much less, say 10 per cent as a substitute of 40 per cent, nearly each politician could be dealing with recall laws inside six months of being elected.

We’d have the spectacle of grandstanding residents with spare money of their pockets, in search of some free media protection to complain about burning points comparable to having to request straws and paper luggage with their takeout orders.

Nothing would make me happier than to see Danielle Smith recalled as premier, however the truth is, she received the election with a majority and she or he is our premier till she both steps down or Alberta voters make a wiser selection in 2027.

Let’s be glad about our democracy.

Jo-Ann Mason, Calgary

Ottawa must make U-turn on roads plan

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Re: Guilbeault’s newest decree: no funding for brand new roads for all these electrical vehicles, Opinion, Feb. 15

Don Braid reported that federal Atmosphere and Local weather Change Minister Steven Guilbeault acknowledged “the nationwide highway system (which incorporates the Trans-Canada Freeway) is simply positive the best way it’s and should not broaden.”

Apparently, Guilbeault has not pushed sections of the Trans-Canada from the Alberta-B.C. border to Revelstoke. The freeway was opened in 1962 and plenty of sections haven’t been upgraded up to now 62 years. The sections by way of Yoho, Glacier and Mt. Revelstoke Nationwide Parks are beneath the authority of the federal authorities, which has no plans to improve. B.C. is upgrading components of the freeway beneath its authority to 4 lanes and has simply accomplished the costliest part by way of Kicking Horse Canyon.

Site visitors volumes on the Trans-Canada are greater than twice the capability of a two-lane freeway, which has resulted in lots of fatalities and severe accidents. The federal authorities has collected a ten cents per litre excise tax on gasoline since 1995. This quantities to billions per yr however goes into common income not highways. Within the U.S., the federal tax on gasoline goes into the Freeway Belief Fund, which is used to fund highways, transit and a spread of motorcycle and different lively transportation amenities.

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Guilbeault mentioned: “Due to a mixture of funding in lively and public transit, and territorial planning and densification, we will very properly obtain our targets of financial, social and human growth with out extra enlargement of the highway community.”

Clearly, Guilbeault ought to get out of Montreal and go to rural Canada.

John Morrall, Calgary

‘Neuter’ marketing campaign in dangerous style

Re: Animal shelter affords likelihood to ‘neuter ex’ for good trigger, Feb. 14

With a lot information presently of intimate accomplice violence, it’s disconcerting that this slogan could be chosen, even for an excellent trigger.

Brian Wells, Calgary

Launch responses to pension survey

Re: Alberta refuses to launch responses to authorities’s pension plan survey, Feb. 14

Why not let just a little sunshine in and publish Albertans’ written solutions to the survey? That very same survey the place staying within the CPP wasn’t even an choice and folks used the “remark sections” to jot down of their sincere opinions. I believe these responses would make for some fascinating studying.

Is the federal government nonetheless clinging to the carcass of an Alberta pension with a $334-billion switch from the CPP? I hope not. Absolutely this implies the trouble to gaslight a whole province to vote towards its self-interest has stalled.

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I’m sufficiently old to recollect Brexit, when some charlatans lied to the general public. That is Alberta although, and we see you.

An enormous due to all Albertans who took the time to fill out the survey.

Isabelle Bonneau, Calgary

Tax discount meaningless for impoverished

NDP management hopeful Kathleen Ganley needs to regulate revenue taxes for lower-income individuals. Primary provincial revenue tax quantity could be lowered to $0 for incomes beneath $26,000. These incomes $148,269 may save as much as $400 yearly.

So, these with incomes six instances larger than stagnant minimal wage incomes additionally profit. Tax reductions with out concomitant indexing for inflation, residing wages and lowered indexation of advantages for the rich are ineffective, because the monetary unfold between the rich and the impoverished turns into even wider.

It’s fascinating how politicians of all political stripes all the time be sure that they, with their $100,000+ incomes, profit from their very own monetary packages.

Monetary silos benefiting higher center class and the rich have to be changed with co-ordinated listed residing wages and advantages primarily based on Market Basket Measure equivalence scales, in order that the impoverished may stay respectable monetary lives.

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Lin Gackle, Cochrane

Alberta will help world decrease emissions

I used to be questioning if all Canadians east of the Manitoba/Ontario border are conscious that Alberta is the chief in Canadian renewable useful resource analysis and growth, funding, and set up.

Canada’s power experience is centred right here, together with the experience in acknowledging that India, China and the Asia Pacific — who collectively emit roughly 48 per cent of the world’s CO2 — are in dire want of our non-renewable power export merchandise to mitigate their reliance on coal for electrical energy era.

If solely we may transport our product to them in portions that may make an impression.

Sadly, the federal authorities’s excessive environmental ideology, mixed with a shrewd electoral technique, has misled most Canadians to consider that we can’t make that impression on international CO2 emissions. They’ve targeted solely regionally, sadly, on Canada’s paltry CO2 footprint (only one.7 per cent of the world’s complete) and created a false sense of urgency round it that almost all of the Canadian voters have embraced.

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Bob Mackan, Strathmore

Royal go to to Canada ought to proceed

King Charles’ resolution to cancel his journey to Canada will solely gasoline the anti-monarchists braying for the elimination of the king as Canada’s Head of State.

He could be clever to ship a consultant to retain the Crown’s place on this nation’s Structure.

Sadly, after ready 75 years to take his place on the throne, he could also be detest to let anybody else step in.

I urge him to delegate the go to to the Princess Royal or the Prince of Wales. Each are extremely well-liked and would little doubt be welcome on our shores.

Because the late Queen mentioned, “I should be seen to be believed.” As typical, she was proper.

Nancy Marley-Clarke, Calgary

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