Liberals not only ones to break promises

Re: “So many unkept Liberal promises,” letter to the editor by Frank J. Toth (May 28 Herald).

Toth’s comments are well received. Unfortunately, as we have all seen, it hasn’t been just Liberals who have made these unkept promises over the years.

There has, however, been some exceptions. Lougheed did everything the people asked of him and put us on a path of achieving enormous wealth. Klein destroyed all of it with his promises of making things better. We are in financial ruin because of him and Alaska and Norway aren’t, and, as Lougheed called it, a “horrific mess.”

To date the NDP government, which Conservatives elected, has done what was asked of them. Passed the carbon tax that the oil industry wanted. Gave farm workers the protection they wanted, are updating labour laws, and are making it so the power industry can’t charge whatever they want, like Klein’s deregulation allowed them to do.

They are creating jobs, building hospitals and schools while the opposition claims we should do without and not be going further in debt to do so. In other words, they don’t care about the well-being of the people, or what lives might be lost, forgetting that if they hadn’t given away billions of our oil royalties and tax breaks to their rich friends, we would have had able to do so without going into debt at all.

The NDP also promised that they will get us back on the path that Lougheed had put us on by collecting proper royalties, but as we realize during this oil crash, now is not the time to do it. We look forward to seeing them do it if they can. Some of us are wondering what deals were made behind closed doors by the Klein, Stelmach and Redford governments that would prevent them from doing it. My oilmen friends share the same concern.

Alan K. Spiller

Edmonton