I write in response to a previous letter sent to you by Gord Cowan of Medicine Hat, Alberta.
I wish to begin my letter by playing the devil’s advocate — perhaps Mr. Cowan is simply blissfully unaware of basic facts regarding several different fields.
The first fact that I wish to communicate? Cowan’s letter contains very few facts. His vile, short-sighted banner waving against the Liberals is infuriating and, to be honest, I pity the man.
I do not mean that we should all be pro-Liberal, the point I wish to make is that we as Canadians should be better than this. I challenge readers of this article to consider facts and do research on topics which you care about, no matter who you like to vote for.
Second, if I was to dismantle his senseless and factless bashing of Trudeau’s energy policies, I would be awake until the next election.
For one, Trudeau has arguably done more for Alberta than Harper ever did. Trudeau Liberals have attempted to put the money back into Alberta through investments in public infrastructure, such as the huge investment into Calgary’s transit system, or the approval of the Trans-Mountain Pipeline.
Furthermore, Cowan fails to grasp that the rest of Canada does indeed exist, and that Alberta is one of 10 provinces and three territories in our nation.
How shallow it is for him to believe that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians “owe” Alberta a vote. Conservatives have done absolutely nothing for Newfoundland and Labrador.
Need I remind us, that Conservatives wanted to keep us out of Confederation altogether.
Old Joey is laughing at you from somewhere, Gord.
And in more recent memory, even I can remember the blatant disrespect shown to us by Stephen Harper, a leader so anti-progress that even the N.L. conservatives turned against him!
Does Cowan expect us to vote for the same party with virtually the same platform? The same party which broke promises to us on oil and fishery revenues? The same party which lied to our faces?
I must stress again that Andrew Scheer’s smug face does not hide the fact that his agenda is the same as Harper’s — no steps forward, three steps backwards.
Newfoundlanders and Labradorians do not owe you the time of day, nevermind our vote.
Lastly, Cowan says that Trudeau Liberals are set on “shutting down” the oil industry.
Boy, I wish you were right, Gord.
Let us let that industry slip into the past.
Instead of cracking open new wells, let us allow the ones we have to be drilled and emptied to feed a push towards an entirely decarbonized Newfoundland and Labrador.
Let’s invest in windmills and battery banks instead of new geological surveys.
My friends, we stand on the cusp of a whole new world which is ours for the taking. Wind power and hydro can be harmonized in a way which is profitable for us and indeed beneficial for the rest of Canada.
We have a very short period of time to radically shift our ways of life so these very same ways can survive. Climate change is real, no matter what Cowan and the Conservative boneheads may say. They wish to export the problem. I believe it is a prime example of Conservative cowardice — they know science is right, they know they can’t argue, so they throw the problem at other countries.
Finally, I would like to mention that I am young. Me and my fellow young people are Newfoundland’s future. We are Canada’s future, and we are the world’s future.
We stand united behind science, behind truth, behind morality and behind no banner but our own. We stand against the values shown by Gord Cowan.
Mr. Cowan, if you read this, I sincerely hope you find yourself reflective, enlightened, and repentant.
Benjamin Oates,
St. John’s
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