Calgary Sun Letters, April 27: ‘UCP grocery plan tough to swallow’

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Cutting costs

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Danielle Smith and the UCP have this great idea that if they just sit down and have discussions with the major grocers in Alberta it will help lower prices for Albertans. What Disneyland Express are they on? There are a plethora of financial pressures on grocery stores from suppliers, market trends, global affairs and transportation, the last one which could be helped by removing the Alberta gas tax. The UCP seem steadfast in not removing that but want the grocers (who profit on an average of 6% margins) to bear the brunt of the costs. It might be time for the government to realize the best way to help the people of Alberta is to give them a food rebate similar to the one that the feds are giving, only raise the eligibility levels to include the middle class as well.

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GEORGE COLGAN

(Let’s start with the gas tax before they start handing out cheques.)

Tip the balance

One thing I admired about the Chretien, Martin and Harper, Flaherty team is that they saw financial reality through the same lens as me. You can’t spend yourself to prosperity. Both teams balanced the budget and we were better off because of it. Government can’t give you something they don’t first take from you. Balance matters. Debt matters and budgets don’t magically self budget.

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STEVE PECK, Brampton, Ont.

(It’s a Trudeau-era hangover of magical thinking budgets balance themselves. But it seems most Canadians don’t share your concern about debts and deficits. Too many people just like the spending)

No more late games

Regarding the 8 p.m. NHL start time. Why are we putting up with this crap? Puck did not drop till 8:30. The bar I was in was basically empty before the third period. The latest start should be 7 p.m. So what if our game starts and would then overlap the Eastern game? Big deal.

ROBERT SUPYNUK

(Not a bad idea.)

Different take

(Re: ‘Wayne deserves better,’ Letters to the Editor, April 25). Biznasty (Former-NHLer Paul Bissonnette) is one of the more entertaining people to watch between periods – great sense of humor and tells it like he sees it. As for Gretzky, while he was good for his time playing, I lost most of the respect I had for him in the 4 Nations when he acknowledged the U.S. team and not Team Canada.

STEVE MCLAUGHLIN

(We’re sure Gretzky was rooting for Team Canada)

Ground the flights

(Re: ‘Carney billed taxpayers $524Gs for in-flight catering,’ Bryan Passifiume, April 11): It’s clear the prime minister doesn’t travel on our highly subsidized national airline where you get little pretzels and a glass of ersatz wine on a long-distance flight. Perhaps we should instigate different fare classes on government flights where any upgrade over economy is paid personally by the traveller. While we’re at it, put a carbon tax on all the miles that these government officials spend swooning around the globe. We’d be able to wipe out the national debt in no time.

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BARBARA SPYROPOULOS, Toronto

(The Prime Minister has to travel — we get that. But would it be difficult to just have some consideration for the cost?)

Separate lives

Support for Alberta secession reaches 27% for those who would vote to secede, 15% for those who are leaning that way. A total of 42% and that is before the campaign begins to sway voters.
The secessionists have a very powerful argument in their favour. I’ve heard no income tax. It’ll also mean no transfer payments to Ottawa, all tax revenue raised stays in Alberta, no escalator tax on alcohol, no Alberta tax dollars wasted away on gender equity in farming in Uganda, control the immigration process on who Alberta lets in here, a substantial rise in Albertans’ standard of living, where free speech and liberty reign uncontested, foreign investment will skyrocket, pipelines will be built without the costly green grift. And what does the stay side offer? The status quo or the worse is yet to come.

JEFFREY ANDERSON

(Campaign to sway voters is well underway)

Light sentences

(Re: ‘Edmonton man sentenced to 14 years for killing teen on family dog walk,’ calgarysun.com) Writing to express my deep concerns regarding current sentencing standards within the Canadian judicial system. Specifically, I am inquiring about the status of the automatic 25-year sentence for taking an innocent life in this nation. It appears the gravity of shedding innocent blood is not being given sufficient weight in our courts today. Doesn’t human life have any value anymore?

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DONALD K. MUNROE, Three Hills

(Some sentences are tough to reconcile)

Control freak

Bye Bye Democracy. In autocrat Carney we have the most power- and controlled-obsessed PM in Canadian history! Not satisfied with controlling much of the MSM, Senate, RCMP and federal courts, Carney manufactured a majority that voters refused to give him. When his Senate makes Bill C9 law, Carney will gain complete control over social media outlets! A number of other Carney legislative bills are being pushed through, meaning even more attacks on hard-fought-for freedoms. Now with parliamentary committees also controlled by Carney, he can silence any criticism of his radical policies by opposition parties. Carney has made democracy, supposedly for the people, of the people and by the people, just a memory!

LARRY COMEAU, Ottawa

(The last guy also liked to control the conversation)

Easy fix

Canadians are so gullible. They keep feeding on the anti-U.S.A. rhetoric PM Carney keeps offering them. Everything he offers could have been done easier if he would have had a meeting with President Trump upon becoming Prime Minister and formally apologized for the disrespectful way former PM Trudeau treated Mr. Trump at international meetings. This was actually made public by a member of the President Trump administration recently.

GLENN W HARRISON

(Not sure how far an apology would’ve gone)

Still smarting from JT

According to an RBC report, between 2015 and 2024, more than $1 trillion of investment left Canada due to the Trudeau government’s economic mismanagement. As a result, Canadians are poorer and it will take many years to recover. Let that sink in, Trudeau fans who thank him for his service and wish him well in his post-political life. The rest of us wish he would disappear into ignominious irrelevance.

JOANNE and WAYNE MORCOM

(At least he can’t do any more damage?)

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