Saturday's letters: Public services are priority, not books
The baseball game was action-packed and the extra events that were ongoing throughout the game were very entertaining. We saw a mascot race, cool science experiments and an agility dog show. We would recommend a Riverhawks baseball game this summer. Let's go, Riverhawks!
Kathleen Eistetter's Grade 5 students, St. Mary School
Separatists should move to U.S.
Re. 'Alberta, join team Canada,' Mike Harcourt, May 24
I am a proud Albertan, or at least I was. I am sickened whenever the UCP announces another ridiculous proposal without sufficient assessment or backing from the majority of Albertans or without weighing the actual costs or potential results of these escapades.
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Vancouver Sun
2 days ago
- Vancouver Sun
'Leave the oil in the ground': Same debates, different country
Guyana, a country of roughly one million people perched on the northeastern corner of South America, is one of the world's fastest growing economies thanks to a super-charged nation-building project: the accelerated development of gigantic offshore oil fields. In just six years, one of the continent's poorest nations has emerged as the world's newest petrostate. The discovery, though, has enraged Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro and revived his government's claims to Guyanese territory in a century-old boundary dispute. These issues of nation-building and sovereignty are familiar to Canadians, so I wanted to talk with a wise Guyanese colleague about their moment, as we contemplate ours. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Selwin Asafa George, a 52-year-old entrepreneur, is remarkably thoughtful about what it's going to take for Guyana to embrace this movement towards prosperity, without losing its soul in the process. While the catalyst for accelerating nation-building in our respective countries differs, there is something for Canadians in Guyana's journey. 'This is our moment in the sun,' Selwin readily acknowledges when we virtually connect. Guyanese by birth, Selwin worked as an investment banker in New York City, studied at New York University and then Harvard's Kennedy School of Public Policy, before returning to Guyana in 2005 to take care of the family business. A mid-size enterprise employing over 150 locals, W&T George and Company holds several franchises in the food services and hospitality sector, and owns a portfolio of commercial real estate in Guyana's capital, Georgetown, as well as prime land outside the capital. 'There have been locals suggesting we leave the oil in the ground,' Selwin shares, with a smirk. 'And there have been very influential locals who have at least said to slow the rate at which we are extracting the oil, to give use a better chance, a better deal, to give us time.' Familiar sentiments to an Albertan like me. In Canada, I explain, First Nations remain divided on the merits of some of the nation-building projects pitched by provincial premiers, including, for example, the mining of critical minerals in northern Ontario's Ring of Fire. And despite the obvious need to become less reliant on a single market for Canada's oil — America — the green lobby is unrelenting in its push against the construction of export pipelines to tidewater. In the last decade, I tell Selwin, advocacy campaigns have sucked the energy out of many projects. It's different in Guyana, Selwin reports: 'Where you have strong economic interests, that will prevail.' Between Exxon and Chevron, American companies 'now control the majority of Guyana's oil output … so it's heavily in the interest of the U.S. to protect their economic interests.' (Exxon, operator and owner of 45 per cent of Guyana's Stabroek block, forecasts its output there to nearly double to 1.3 million bpd by the end of 2027. And Chevron now owns 30 per cent of the block.) There's no denying Canada is economically tied to America's hip, yet this conversation with Selwin is a reminder of the choices Canada retains. Foreign companies do invest in Canada's extractive sectors, but domestic ownership remains strong and influential. And while Canadians are struggling to define First Nations treaty rights within Confederation, we don't have another nation actually challenging our sovereignty. Venezuela is actively disputing Guyana's control over the Essequibo region, territory that makes up two-thirds of Guyana's landmass and includes oil and other resources. Selwin has thought deeply about the issues that bubble in nation-building endeavours and he's savvy enough to know what's negotiable. Right now, he's especially focused on one question: Who benefits from Guyana's resource windfall? After the first significant oil discovery in offshore Guyana was made by ExxonMobil, Selwin argued his country should adopt something similar to the Alaska sovereign wealth fund model. 'I believe it is critical that the public remains vigilant,' Selwin wrote then in a Guyanese newspaper, 'and so I urge that we go the path of Alaska by adopting a model of dividends for all. The introduction of the Alaska model of paying dividends to every Alaskan from their oil and gas resources would work wonders to strengthen the good governance model and ensure an engaged populace.' Who benefits? It's a critical question that can stimulate public awareness and buy-in — and one Canadians could spend more time talking about. How many Canadians know oilsands projects contribute roughly 3 per cent of our country's total GDP? How many Canadians understand the mechanics of equalization payments, how wealth is transferred from have to have-not provinces to ensure non-renewable resource bounty is shared? Ultimately, a sovereign wealth fund was created in Guyana but, Selwin reports, the funds have largely been squandered. He did the math at the end of 2024, to see what the outcome could have been if the government of Guyana had heeded his advice. (He's a former investment banker, so his calculations are credible.) The fund would likely have grown to roughly $1.5 billion, he estimates, the equivalent of US$50,000 to $60,000 for every Guyanese citizen, and would continue to grow quickly, he adds. Selwin is encouraging leaders in Guyana to focus not just on the building of physical infrastructure, but on the building of a culture of productivity in the country as well. What's that, I ask. 'That's culture where it's not just about the pay,' he says, it's culture that 'respects the dignity of being productive.' Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our newsletters here .
Edmonton Journal
3 days ago
- Edmonton Journal
'Alberta Forever Canada' petition sees potential hurdles according to Alberta political scientist
Article content 'I would think that this has got to be one of largest petition campaigns, not just in Alberta, but in Canadian history,' Wesley said. 'I can't recall a petition in Canada that would have had north of 250,000 signatures.' Article content If they are able to garner that number of signatures in the dead-heat of summer, Wesley said it would be a great political feat. Article content It's a high-risk, high-reward venture that will ultimately see where Alberta stands on the topic. Article content 'If they get enough signatures, it does definitely support their claim that Albertans want nothing to do with separatism,' he said. 'If they don't, it has the potential to put wind in the sails of the separatist movement, who can claim their numbers are bigger than what the polls are showing.' Article content Wesley hopes the petition isn't motivated by wedge politics. Article content He views petitions and referendums as majoritarian instruments that are often used on complex issues that require discussion and negotiation. Article content Article content 'In a way, taking this to the streets and having these conversations in public removes it from the elite-style accommodation that makes federalism work in Canada,' Wesley said. 'Will this drive a wedge within the United Conservative Party? I'm not sure they need any more. Article content 'They've got the federal byelection campaign that's drawn the leader of the federal party into discussions around this; the UCP has their AGM in the fall where this will be at the top of their agenda; and if anything, this petition adds one more potential area for division among the UCP caucus and cabinet.' Article content With additional external pressures, Wesley said the petition will become another front where the UCP will need to pay attention. Article content 'And that position is very unclear,' he said. Article content In terms of the petition itself, Wesley said one challenge it may face can draw similarities from what federalists ran into during the Quebec 1995 referendum campaign. Article content Article content 'Albertans, like Quebecers, are not happy with the status quo, so selling them on the notion of remaining… (it doesn't) really capture the mood of Albertans, most of whom are not actually happy with the way things are going within confederation,' he said. Article content One of the challenges he sees is avoiding the sell of 'what Canada is right now.' Article content 'That's what the federalists did in Quebec in 1995,' Wesley said. 'Jean Chretien famously said that when somebody asks him how easy it is to campaign he'd say, 'It's easy, I have the best product in the world: I've got Canada.' Article content 'And if that's the tactic that the Lukaszuk group is going to employ, I think they're going to find some resistance on the doorstep.' Article content Another potential pitfall is making people choose between Canada and Alberta. Article content 'The vast majority of Albertans strongly identify with their province and country, and more than that, they hate being asked to pick between the two,' Wesley said. 'If the Forever Canada campaign is only selling Canada and not talking about what it means to be Albertan and how being Albertan is also being Canadian, I think it's going to be a branding misfire.' Article content If there's one thing Wesley would like someone to ask, it would be regarding laws surrounding the Alberta Prosperity Project (APP) petition and Lukaszuk's petition.
Calgary Herald
3 days ago
- Calgary Herald
Opinion: Alberta once welcomed immigrants now under microscope by government's panel
Article content It's been several weeks since Stampede ended, and Calgary's Ismaili community held its annual Stampede breakfast. As always, the event attracts several thousand attendees and stands as a microcosm of what defines Calgary today, and who has helped to shape it. Article content There is no mistaking the immigrant impact on this city and province. Article content Article content In attendance at the breakfast, there are always representatives of current and past generations – many sporting myriad versions of the ubiquitous Smithbilt hat rooted in the immigrant story of the Schumiatcher family, who came to Calgary in 1910 and created the iconic white hat in 1946. Article content Article content From teachers to entrepreneurs, business, arts and community leaders – we are a richer community because of all who have chosen to make Alberta home. And that includes my parents. Article content Article content Which is why the Alberta Next panel – which kicked off just after Stampede Week and is seeking feedback from Albertans on the province's place in Confederation through the summer – is troubling for me. More specifically, it's the question focused on immigrants – targeting those who don't meet certain criteria and could be denied access to social services supports if they come to Alberta. Article content I was in Poland when the panel was announced. It's where my parents were born and raised before the Second World War – and it was my first visit to the country, which had the largest Jewish population in Europe until war broke out. Article content I am a first-generation Canadian. My parents came to Canada, and to Alberta, in 1951. They survived the horrors of the Second World War, with my dad Moshe losing his entire family and my mother Tova and her parents being the only surviving members of her immediate family. My brother and I grew up in the shadow of loss, which hung over our house every day. Article content Article content Canada was a place of refuge, where my parents could rebuild their lives, and Edmonton was where they settled. Article content You see, the war interrupted my mother's education. When she left Poland, she had a high school diploma. And no English skills. She spoke many other languages, but not English. My dad had a Master's degree in history, but lacked a teaching certificate or other qualifications. He also didn't speak English. Article content Odds are, they wouldn't have qualified for social services support under the current construct of the question being put before Albertans and the panel. Article content Yet, as so many immigrants do, they figured it out. My dad did become a teacher, and my mother went back to school. She graduated with a PhD in history from the University of Alberta in 1968 and retired as professor emerita in 1996.
